FHC resto nr. 135; Brake pipes part 3

With the start of my Christmas holidays, I decided to continue where I left this job in mid-November: Bending more pipes. But first I had to collect the last missing pieces from the Shed (the fuel pipes). Luckily I knew where to start my search. What I didn’t know was that I had a full brake pipe set hidden there too. And these pipes turned out to be in far better condition than the set from the attic! So they were also taken home to act as template. Though they looked like a tangled mess on the drive!

With the templates sorted, it was time to get the next batch of pipes out for bending in their proper shape. To be precise the short fuel pipe between tank and back of right hand sill (PKC390), the brake pipe from the pressure reduction valve to the LH front strut (RKC1007) and the two pipes for the back axle (RKC1015 and RKC1036).

But as you can see they first needed a bit of straightening. For the shorter pipes that was fairly easy. Straighten them by hand as best as possible and roll them between two wooden planks. Same method was used for the longer pipes, though due to their length it’s not as easy as with the shorter ones. Took me about an hour to get them straight enough to start bending them.

With the pipes more or less straightened it was time to start bending them. Using the bending tool as a reference, all bends were marked on the template pipes.

After which these markings were copied to the new pipes, to enable positioning the bending tools in the correct place. Fairly straightforward, but rather time consuming.

But it is the only way to get a decent result! Though the eagle eyed will have spotted a fault in the picture above. Two of the male nipples fitted to the back axle’s pipes were too short. Actually the same happened while restoring the DHC over eleven years ago. But I had completely forgotten about it till yesterday!

Luckily C&C Parts, who are my preferred supplier for brake and clutch parts, are only a stone’s throw from where I live. So that was quickly rectified, and of course free of charge. And with the correct nipples fitted I was able to finish the first batch of brake pipes:

RKC1007

RKC1036

RKC1015

I have to admit that it was more time consuming than expected. I am clearly losing the hang of it 😵 But nevertheless rather pleased with the results so far.

Final job will be bending the three remaining pipes (fuel pipe along sill to engine bay and brake pipes from pressure reduction valve to RH front strut and back axle). Fitting them to the car might be postponed till the weather warms up a bit, as plastic clips are involved! And they have a tendency to break when they’re cold.

p.s. I forgot to take some pictures of the fuel pipe. So that will be for a future post …