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Brake pipes - make or buy?
wombat - 21/6/11 at 12:20 PM

Hi, I was fully intent on making my own pipes but have found someone on ebay offering Tiger Avon fully ended copper kits for 38 quid.
motorsport-toolsuk - Anyone used these guys before or should I stick to doing my own?


sdh2903 - 21/6/11 at 12:35 PM

Depends on whether you have tools and feel comfortable with making them or not. If you do then go for it, it will only be a tenner for a roll of copper nickel pipe and save the 28 quid for shiny stuff

If you dont have the gear then just buy the kit.


nick205 - 21/6/11 at 01:51 PM

I don't think you'll buy all the bits (pipe, flaring tool and unions) for much less than £38 so unless you really want to make them yourself I'd save the time and buy the set. Could save you half a day's faffing about.


D Beddows - 21/6/11 at 04:55 PM

It's actually really easy to do yourself tbh but as has been said if you have to buy everything from scratch you probably wont see much change from £38 - having said that make sure they will fit in YOUR car with your engine mounts, brake calipers,brake hoses, axle configuration etc etc before you buy them because otherwise it will be cheaper to make them yourself!


studon - 22/6/11 at 04:12 AM

I was lucky and had a father-in-law that had the tooling. The tiger brake line kit is ok but you will still end up needing to make some mods (shortening etc). Recommend fitting a dedicated proportioning valve (Even if it not cockpit mounted). The sierra inertia valve in my experience was clumsy and not effective.

Making up the brake lines yourself is pretty easy if you have access to the tooling and will let you layout the brake lines much neater.

Stu


indykid - 22/6/11 at 09:10 AM

Even if they cost a little more, I'd still make my own.

Otherwise, you're bound by their routing and their ability to weild a tape measure.

I was pretty disappointed with my set from MK (many years ago fwiw) and the support wasn't in place for them to explain their chosen routing properly (neither baz or phil could tell me anyway). If I'd had the tools to make my own, it would have made the procedure far less painless.

If you're making your own, I'd buy kunifer, not copper. I much prefer it to work with and find it flares more consistently with cheaper tooling


wombat - 25/6/11 at 01:01 PM

Thanks folks, gonna make my own then, mate gonna lend me tools so sorted.
Pick chassis up next week, gonna be a long week.............
Bill


Ian D - 27/6/11 at 05:51 PM

Having used the tiger supplied kit which came from Automec I would suggest you spend a lot of time planning your routes to fit what pipe lengths you have. I have some pictures posted which may help. The most important decision is where to fit the unions for the front calipers so you do not stretch your flexible pipes nor have them foul the bodywork or suspension. This was my only fail. I ended up buying new flexible hoses and used bajos on the calipers.

My Sierra pressure valve I fitted in the engine bay so I could get at it easy. I also used a hydraulic pressure switch for the brake lights mounted on a tee piece next to the brake cylinder. With floor mounted peddles my pipes are low on the chassis so I fitted a plate under the master cylinder for debris protection.

Hope this helps

Ian


wombat - 28/6/11 at 06:17 PM

Thx Ian, where can i pick up your pics?
Bill


eddie99 - 28/6/11 at 06:33 PM

As above, Use Kunifer if you make your own and i would recommend it. If the lengths are slightly too long it will annoy you and too short it wont work. I think its unlikely you'll buy it and it'll work perfectly.


wombat - 28/6/11 at 07:31 PM

Best place to buy - CBS - Butts??


indykid - 28/6/11 at 09:28 PM

clarik engineering supplies on ebay

3/16' X 25 FT CUPRO NICKEL (KUNIFER) BRAKE PIPE 1 ROLL | eBay UK

ETA - They do unions and joiners too

[Edited on 28/6/11 by indykid]


Ian D - 7/7/11 at 08:12 PM

Send me a U2U with your email address and ill send them