On Thu, 26 Jan 1995, William Hartwell Woodruff wrote:
> I went through this a few months ago. My decision: pre-made brake
> lines are a little too expensive - copper or not. So, I ended up making my
>own
> (always the best solution IMHO). I cut all the end fittings off my lines and
> got them replated with the rest of the fasteners. The local auto store sells
> aluminum coated steel brake line in 25 foot lengths (10 - 15 bucks).
> I bought a double flaring tool (cheapy ~ 25 bucks) at Sears. The flaring tool
> is easy to use (both double and bubble flares). I can make a line in about
> 15 minutes to a 1/2 hour depending on how complicated the shape is. Also, I
> found very little need for a bending tool. I think you can get by using your
> hands and a really cheap bending tool. The results look as good as anything
>you
> can buy.
Not to flame anyone here, but with the copper line kit for my Mayflower,
I got all new, correct fittings already installed on pipes exactly the
correct length. Including bending and shaping, the whole job probably
only took about two hours.
Well, actually it took longer because I had to spend a bit of time
convincing fellow SOLer Rik Schlierer that, since his early TR3 wasn't
going anywhere right away, he wouldn't miss those big, silly,
Whitworth(?)-threaded nuts that hold the front brake pipes to whatever
they are held to? (Da*n it, Ray, another senseless, sentence-ending
preposition!)
I do second the notion of NOT needing a bending tool, even for steel
lines. Yes, one needs to be careful not to kink the pipes. For this
reason, one does not simply hold each end of the pipe and attempt to
amaze your friends ala George Reeves in a c.1956 episode of Superman.
What one SHOULD do is simply look around in your garage/workshop/
driveway, etc. for an object suitable for use as a form -- an old Lucas
Sport Coil or generator, or a piece of lead or iron pipe (if your house
is old enough), or even a Crosley hubcap, depending on the size of the
arc or loop you need to fashion. I've made dozens of brake and clutch
lines this way; if it weren't for the color on the fittings, they'd be
indistinguishable from original.
Andy "are the copper pipe kits REALLY THAT expensive?" Mace
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