Sunday 18 October 2015

Brake lines

The brake lines were one part of the build I initially felt a bit wary about. I invested in a Sykes Pickavant Flaremaster 2 flaring tool (part number 02729600). This is one of the more expensive tools but I have to say it works brilliantly and I'm really glad I bought it. It comes with SAE and DIN flares, de-burring tools, pipe cutting tool and pipe bending tool. It's also the hand held version so if I ever need to make flares again on the car I've got the right tool for the job.
The picture below shows the flares that the tool can make:
I used the SAE flares. A single flare for the male connectors and double flare for female connectors.
I used 3/16inch pipe and M10 brake unions. I opted for cunifer pipe as opposed to normal copper pipe as apparently this is harder and less likely to work harden. It's also a lot harder to work with compared to copper pipe but with a bit of patience I managed to get the pipe run and looking reasonably tidy.

To fix the pipe I used 5mm stainless P-clips from carbuilder solutions. I drilled and tapped the chassis and used M6 set bolts to fix, with an M6 rubber washer in-between the clip and chassis to help avoid water ingress.

Having never run brake lines or used a flare tool before I tested the lines by rigging up the pedal box, master cylinder and servo. All lines and connections tested fine with no leaks. However, when I came and checked the next day I could see that the drivers side rear banjo fitting had leaked slightly - looks like the face of the caliper needs machining flat. Job for another day!

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