Now Young Master Joe Elliot, it's your turn: So you just saunter into an
AutoZone and ask for a particular Alfa brake line, the guy salutes,
disappears to the back room and brings out this brand-spanking-new brake
line which you run home (or to the dorms) and attach to your GTV6?
Okay, let's get real: You buy a pre-built 'metric' line. Either it MUST
be the Exact same length after bending or you have some major problems.
Also, it MUST have fittings on either end which are the exact diameter,
pitch, and type of Alfa / metric female fittings. They do come attached
with 'Alfa' fittings? If the fittings aren't attached, seems to me
you're screwed. Should you have to cut the line because it's too long,
you're now totally screwed.
Pray tell, what am I missing here?
I view making exact reproductions of Alfa brake lines (that look
correct, don't leak, and fit) akin to recasting cylinder blocks.
Enlighten me!
Biba
Irwindale, CA USA
Okay, just carefully measured four loose brake lines from a '79 Spider.
Was a bit surprised, they all came close to what might possibly be
'standard' sizes: 47 3/4" with male / male fittings; 62" with male /
female fittings; 16" with male / female fittings; 30 1/2" with male /
female fittings.
I could purchase any of these at AutoZone or perhaps PepBoys? Don't
suppose you could sell them to me in stainless line with black zinc
plated ends / fittings? Okay, not original but sure beats god-awful (not
to mention, garish) blue or red.
Yeah, I go into AutoZone and get a length of metric brake line that
is close enough in length to the piece that I'm replacing that I can
make it fit by varying the radius of the various bends to get it to
line up just right. (Yes, the flares and fittings are correct, and
the 3/16" diameter works for GTV6 brakes, and the 1/4" for the
clutch.) For extra-long sections, I join two pieces together with a
double-female fitting that I also get from AutoZone. The lengths
that they stock are a little weird, so you'll find that some
seemingly obvious sizes aren't available, but they have little
lengths such as 3, 6, and 9 inches so it's pretty hard not to find a
combination that works. I've replaced all the hydraulic line on the
GTV6 using this method, and the only problem I had was with the big
female fittings where the hard lines from the MC meet the flex hoses.
On the front this problem was quickly solved by installing braided SS
flex lines that were "incompatible" with the Alfa by virture of
having female rather than male fittings on them. At the rear (I was
too poor to buy a third stainless flex hose) and at the clutch slave,
I had to do something that I try to avoid--pay for professional
labor. Being very careful to cut my lines as cleanly as possible
with borrowed pipe cutter that wasn't quite as beaten up as my own, I
then went to a local mechanic who specializes in old British cars and
asked him to put a double-flare on my lines for me, which he did,
including the 37 degree angle. So it's not impossible, but I did
borrow a supposedly-appropriate tool once and had no luck in creating
anything that remotely resembled a usable flare. However, I imagine
that if I lived somewhere with a decent selection of hardware
available I could have found an appropriate double-female fitting to
avoid going to the mechanic.