Apologies for the navel - gazing, but a conversation I had with Kristian (BigKriss) on Saturday at the Sydney Oran Park meet has been on my mind.

We were talking about tools, specifically breaker bars and extensions on rachets compared with air tools etc etc.

I found that when I was lying under my car the other day torquing the loaded thrust arm bushings to 127 Nm (if my memory serves) it was just about the limit of what was possible in such a confined space.

Are components made to be just about unremovable without special tools because that is the optimum or because if components were put together more tightly no mortal could remove and replace them ? Would we have better cars if we were strong enough to work on them ?

What I am getting at is every time I work on the car I feel that were I 20% weaker I would not get the job done.

Is this "near the physical limit" mechanical work intended or deliberate ?

Could vehicle manufacturers construct a vehicle that your proverbial 100 lb weakling could work on without serious exertion ?

Or does the flaw lie in the quality of our tools ? Or perhaps that we use steel nuts and bolts - when we could perhaps use some more high - tech but easier to work with material ?

Don't really know if I have expressed myself well enough but I hope you get the idea !