I have been meaning to post up for ages but after I lost the last entry when it timed out and I had to sign in again, I got kind of miffed off and just sulked in the background.
In the meantime there has been some forward progress but some setbacks too- all part of the joys (or so I’m told) of owning a car rapidly approaching its 29th date of first registration.
So as things were left, the new rear shocks were on, as was the refurbished front ARB complete with replacement rubbers and the stiffener brackets. The bat wing needed some fettling & the calipers had gone off for some much needed attention.
Today (well not actually today but whenever it was….) I decided I would try my hand at making the replacement rear hard lines. You see I’d noted that the car had supposedly had braided lines fitted at some stage in its life and although I could see them on the front; I couldn’t see them on the rear. Now, I’m used to braided brake lines being quite lengthy things ‘cos I’ve fitted several sets to various motorcycles that I’ve had & this funny hard line clearly wasn’t a braided brake line so one of the previous owners had clearly been done by the garage that said they had fitted a full set. So when the time came to remove the rear caliper and then undo the nut on the hard lines, I simply cut the pipe if the nut didn’t undo…………...................................................Oh dear! Little did I realise at the time just what I’d done (proof that ignorance can be bliss however short lived)
. It was only a few weeks later when the braided line kit actually turned up did I realise the error of my ways and find the rear braided lines to boot!! With genuine replacement lines looking at £90 the decision was made to make my own - after all, how hard can it be?
I cannot recommend the flaring [url]tool/www.ebay.com/itm/Copper-Brake-Pipe-Line-Flaring-Tool-Professional-In-situ-4-75-DIN-Hand-Held/262319149667?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649[/url] that I got highly enough. Simple and easy to use with perfect flares every time with no fettling required unlike some alternative tools.
Fortunately, I had kept all the pieces of hard line including those that eventually came out of the calipers so taping a piece of string to one end, I carefully followed the contours & bends of the line, taping at regular intervals so that I could get the overall length of pipe required to make the new versions; I added in a little extra to allow for making the flares and cut the string.
Cunifer pipe is normally supplied in rolls and requires straightening before use and you can buy [url]this
http://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Sealey-Brake-Pi ... 772&chn=ps[/url] handy little tool for just that task. Once my pipe was straight, (stop sniggering at the back) the string was taped to one end, set to length, the pipe marked and then cut. Despite having practiced on some small lengths of pipe to get a feel of how the flaring tool worked, I was still a little apprehensive as this was for real and not just practice. I needn’t have worried though as the tool worked just as before and a perfect flare appeared when I separated the tool. The next thing I did was to slip on the two nuts as the most common mistake made is to make the flares, bend the line to the required shape & only when going to fit it is it realized that you have no way of screwing it in! With that bullet dodged, I began shaping the line.
You tube had revealed several tools available for bending the line & the one I personally found easiest to use for partial and 90’ bends was this. Again, I had practiced on some short lengths of line which was actually more difficult than with the proper length of line as you have more leverage available so it is easier to bend-still didn’t stop the anguish as the first one was made though! With this done, I taped it to the original line and then followed the contours of this applying gentle pressure to get the required shape. I‘d like to say “ and within half an hour it was done”- but that would be a pile of poo and the truth is that I was so worried about cocking it up I took a good couple of hours to get it right. With the drivers side completed and as the rear calipers were not back from the trip to the refurbishing company I simply got on with making the passenger side line.
Porsche original lines have some plastic sleeving at various points so that they can be clipped in place under the swing arms without risk of chafing (ooer missus! chafing of the hard line- sounds painful). I’d given some thought to this and a conversation with sensei Waylander had come up with heat shrink- not just any old heat shrink but the glue lined stuff so it actually binds to the pipe rather than relying on friction to stay in place. Again the Bay of Flea came up trumps with what was required and on the test pieces of brake line, worked so well you would have thought it was factory applied.
Test pieces are one thing but getting the heat shrink on pre-formed brake lines was a whole new lesson in perseverance, patience and other things beginning with P. Suffice to say, if I had a swear jar in the garage, I would still be in a severe amount of debt!! Having finally wrested it in place with only minor re-tweaking to the line required, it was time to shrink it down. Now, I do have a small butane powered heat shrink torch but it would have been tough going on this stuff. Then I remembered that my son was trying to sell for my father-in-law his electric paint stripper heat gun - worked like a charm so I may just have to buy it for future endeavours.
Hmm that hasn’t posted quite right- anyone tell me how to post a link without showing the http address stuff?