Borrani Knock off tool

I used this for years, works great, but you do have to buy a large torque wrench . Takes the worry out of hitting it with a hammer.
https://www.hillengineering.co.uk/hill-engineering/soc-04-2?page=7

 

It's called a "Dead-Blow" hammer. Tekton and many others sell them

 

Over the last 50 years, we have tried them all. Finally settled on a 3 lb dead blow hammer. It is the best for street cars. For race cars, you must use a lead hammer to get the wheels tight enough for safety. I never had a tool using a torque wrench that could consistently tighten the wheels enough for spirited driving.

 

If no one here can answer this with confidence, all you have to do is take a couple of photos of the knock-off with a tape measure or ruler in the photo and send it to the Oldtimer site and he will tell you/confirm which tool you need. That's how I confirmed the right tool for my 330 GTC and the tool is freaking fantastic!! I believe there is info about how to send them pictures, etc. on their website. And yeah, I use a four-foot breaker bar and a four-foot torque wrench for these little tools, but it's so worth it. The trio (tool, breaker bar, torque wrench) make changing wheels, bleeding brakes, changing pads/rotors, etc. so much easier and you won't ever scratch your wheels.

I won't argue about the need (or not) for the big breaker bar and torque wrench. I use the four-foot bars because I'm not a big guy and I need all the leverage I can get to hit approx 300+ lb-ft on the wrench. I truly have to put all my weight on the torque wrench to hit that number. And same with the breaker bar when I'm removing the knock-offs. Whew! But it's better than risking hitting a wheel with a hammer. On my Campo's the offset isn't much and there's not a lot of room to swing a hammer. That's just my opinion, of course, and others will see it differently. With the wire wheels on my Jag, the knock-offs stick out far enough that I just use a hammer and I've never hit a wheel.

 

I can say it worked fine on mine 1970 one with 9“ Cromodoras on the rear.

 

Yes, take a look at their website and you'll find the right one for your car. The one drawback of the Oldtimer socket, for as much as it costs, it is not universal. So, for example, a three-eared 42 hub socket may not be safely used on a three-eared 32 hub. I suppose to have a socket that fits as perfectly as this does and is as safe to operate, it just could not be made universal.

https://www.oldtimertools.de/Vehicle-Type/Ferrari/

john

 

Dont try to reinvent the wheel.
Lead hammer is the only way to go

 

While I don’t have anywhere near Dyke’s experience, I probably remove & install wheels more often than most contributing to this thread and having seen more than plenty of results on the rims after someone missed* the “ear” while using a hammer of some sort, I tend to err on the side of the caution, hence made and use my own design sockets with torque meter (not a “wrench”).
So far in 15+ years and countless wheel installations, I haven’t experienced any issues or loosening, even after multiple (& often extended) spirited drives.

I also find it strange that some owners might easily spend $10K-$20K+ on factory tool kits they’ll never use for anything and other similar frivolities, but may hesitate spending $1K-$1.5K on something practical, like a good socket and proper torque meter to take concerns/worries out of wheel installation.

Obviously, a lead hammer can be a practical option if/when a roadside spare replacement becomes necessary on some extended road trips, but the socket + torque meter didn’t get packed prior to departure, etc …


* One such sour occasions was long ago, after I had just painted a set wheels on clients Daytona and the car came back after only couple of weeks later for some other services, when I noticed both rear wheels having severe paint chips from impact of some sort.
Quick call to said client revealed that between visits to my shop (+/-60 miles away) the car been in some closer-to-him shop for something that required their removal/installation …

 

OTOH, I'm probably in a very, very small minority of real vintage (road) car enthusiasts/owners who actually drive/use theirs "as (originally) intended" (on average, a few thousand miles a year for past 4+ decades).
Depending on the length (days/weeks ?) of any intended road travel/trip, I usually pack upwards to 100+ lbs of tools, along with other practical items like repair/service kits, spare parts, etc to deal with potential roadside emergencies.
Heck, I've always carried a small assortment of practical tools in my daily drivers and couldn't tell how many times over the decades I've used them to assist other, stranded road users.

 

you forgot laguage kits for a lot of money

 

… and how often people actually use them when traveling ?

I just realized the more accurate average is probably closer to 10K miles a year between 100+ vintage cars I’ve had pleasure owning in past 40+ years.

 

good question
next question: how often they use the factory tools kit?
sad that they not even pay a little money for really important tools