My experience building a complete tool inventory for classic car restoration over fifteen years, starting with almost nothing.

Year one: hand tools first. A complete socket set in standard and metric, a set of combination wrenches, a torque wrench, pliers in four varieties, screwdrivers. These are the tools that touch every part of every car.

Year three: power tools. An impact wrench, a 3/8 angle drill, a die grinder. These accelerate the work that hand tools can do but don't replace them.

Year five: specialty tools. An engine stand, a transmission jack, a valve spring compressor, a ridge reamer for cylinder bores. These are tools you need once or twice per project but without which the job cannot be done correctly.

Year ten: the lift. Everything else in the shop is useful. The lift changes what's possible.