Brake Pipes

[Guest Guy]

Hi All,

 

I’m at the stage of fitting the brake pipes and I have a few questions,

 

Can I cable tie the copper brake pipes strait to the chassis tubes and tunnel panels?

 

I have used the nose cone infill panel to mount the front flexi pipe into, is this okay?

 

How can I form the bulge in the copper pipe so I can make up a connector?

 

I couldn’t find anywhere for the rear flexi pipes to mount to the chassis of my Sub-K so I had to make a bracket and weld it to the talque tube, what has everyone else done or have I missed something obvious?

[Guest Paul S Usowicz]

Guy

 

I would not cable tie the brake pipes to the chassis. You can get proper Y-clips from places like Demon Tweeks for only 16p each. Simply drill a 6mm hole and whack them in. Looks just like a production car job then.

 

I beefed up the infill panel with a piece of stell bolted to the chassis where the brake pipes met. On other kit cars they tend to have a piece of 3mm steel welded to the chassis. I beleive that aluminium only is not considered sufficient as it flexes too much.

 

To form the bulge in the end of the pipe you need to buy (or borrow) a brake pipe flaring tool. These can be had for around £20 from the kit car shows. The pipe Robin Hood supplies is 3/16" copper.

 

I bolted a 3-way brake union onto teh axle and used this as my splitter to my 2 very, very long braided hoses. Minimum fuss that way but quite expensive!

 

Hope this helps. I'll post some photos when I get them developed.

 

Cheers

Paul S Usowicz

[Guest Mr Pid]

Hi Guy,

 

I have been having a nightmare with brake pipes myself but here is what i know so far:

 

You wont get away with cable ties on the chassis, i dont think, as they must be properly secured every 4-6 inches, i made some little "p" clips which i riveted to the chassis after passing the pipe through them.

 

Apparently the SVA people arent satisified with the infil panel as a mounting point as it is not sturdy enough. I have used the side panel but haven had an SVA yet so i am yet to see if this will suffice.

 

To make the "bulge" in the pipe you need a brake pipe flaring tool, these can usually be bought fairly cheap or your local garage should prob do it for free.

 

Do be careful with the brake though, cover the pipes as much as possible as they are the only thing that is going to stop you, seeing how low the car is a stone can easily flick up and puncture the pipe and then you're buggered. Ive seen it happen in a mini and the result was a couple of broken legs.

 

Good Luck

 

Stu

[Guest Guy]

Right then, I’ve ordered 100 P-clips (I’ll have to think of a work related use for them before they turn up).

 

I’ve been down to Wilco and got a tool for producing flares for £23.00, I’ll have fun lighting them when it’s dark.

 

I’ve got some heat shrink to cover the pipes on the exposed bits.

 

With regards to the flexi pipes in the nose cone infill panel, if I weld a piece of steel bar from the chassis to the panel where the pipe exits and screw it in maybe this will service.

[Guest jwaterman]

Guy

 

I have mounted my brake pipes every 4" with P clips these have a rubber sheath to protect the pipe. (If you look at production cars they have a rubber sheath to protect the pipe!) These clips are riveted to the chassis. If a pipe is suseptable to vibration then it must be mounted to something that has any sharp edges that can pierce the pipe. SVA man said "better to over clip than under clip".

 

As for the mounting of the front flexi pipes, i mounted these on the front infill panel at the bottom in the courner of the bottom chassis tube and the vertical tube. Spread the load by using 30mm st/st penny washers. Locked the tube with a M10 fine nylock nut. This left me with just enough room for the female union. SVA man fine with this!

 

As for flaring / swaging the pipe ends buy tool from wilco or kit show. Bear in mind, that you must over clamp pipe and try not to beaf up the flare or swage as it will not seal. Practice on some off cuts first and do it several times before committing to the actual pipe!!!!

 

Hope this help

Sorry its a little late

John

[Guest Guy]

Hi John,

 

Thanks for the reply, I mounted my copper pipes with plastic p-clips but no sleeving so I’m now debating going back and putting sleeving on!

 

I’ve mounted my front flexible pipes into the nosecone infill panel supported with a bracket which I’ve welded onto the chassis, I had to put the pipe in the centre because when I turn the steering, it only just reaches and if I mounted it any further away it wouldn’t reach on full lock. Mind you, I’m using the original Sierra pipes, have you got longer ones?

[Jon Bradbury]

Guy,

 

I thought RHE supplied brake pipes for the front with the 2B kit? Obviously not with the Sub-K. I have a set of four flexi pipes supplied and the front ones I believe are longer than the donor pipes. They've also got a wire spring wrapped round them - for protection and support I suppose.

 

I am at the same stage as you brake pipe wise. Am clipping them roughly every 5 cm using plastic p-clips from Maplin, which cost a couple of quid for a bag of 100. Cheap as chips. Well, actually cheaper. Where I come from a bag of chips could easily cost more than that - but I digress.

 

I am using the pipes RHE supplied with the kit (they already have the ends on them) and I think they are made of copper. There is a special type of brake pipe product out there which is superior called "Cunifer" that doesn't corrode; I would rather have used that instead but I have not got the flaring tool.

 

Have you noticed how difficult it is to make neat curves and straight runs in this pipe? Its easy to bend but somehow once fitted looks wobbly and amateurish. Of course this isn't going to upset Mr SVA but its not pleasing to the eye. Have you any idea how to neaten this up? I know there is a curve forming tool out there but I cannot see the point in buying it just for one car. At the moment I am using the chassis tubes as formers.

 

Meanwhile I'm also clipping up the wiring loom which I have stripped of some (but not all) of the unnecessary wires. I am having a devil of a job sorting this one out and I think I might have to remove the engine again to get the access I need to drill the holes for the p-clips. How are you getting on with this job?

[Guest Guy]

There are no flexi pipes in the Sub-K kit so if I need some I have to find my own! but from where I don't know, I tried my local auto shop but they only do standard Sierra.

 

I couldn't find anywhere on the back of the chassis to mount the rear flexi pipes to, I had to make my own brackets and weld them onto the 'Saleen Deon' tube, I also fitted the pressure controll thing for the rear brakes so I ended up cutting up the supplied copper piping and re-making the ends. As for making it look neat, er.. well... I just bent it and put it in then bent it again! I know that copper work hardens quickly so I try not to adjust it to much.

 

I havn't attempted the wiring loom yet, it's still in it's draw, I look at it sometimes bit it tries to get out so I shut the draw quick!

[Guest jwaterman]

Guy

 

My flexi hoses came with the 2B kit. They are quite long! Has a spring on to stop bending to sharp a radius. It also has some rubber bushes on it which i moved to one end which touch the wing mounting. SVA man looked at this, ok with it though.

 

just had a look at your web site. very interesting. I have made a number of go-karts in my time. Also made a couple of the motor scooters. Great fun. We have to keep moving on and up so what next after the karts, has to be a 2B. But what will be next??? I am helping a friend build a kit aeroplane, on a slightly different scale to the car.

 

will you be at Stoneliegh? I'm going in the car on Monday. Might see you there.

 

John.

[Guest Guy]

A tank! yes it has to be a tank, I cant quite think what to do with it yet and I'll need a bigger shed!

 

I just phone Robin Hood Engineering and have bought some longer front brake hoses, a bargin at £5 each. I am also missing one of the 'under pants' pannels for the nose and they said that I'm not the only one so they'll put one in the bag.

 

I'll try to get to Stoneleigh if I can.