rear brake pipes

Whilst waiting for the heavy labour to arrive and provide assistance to the differential fitment thought i would turn my mind to the rear brake pipe installation.

so what comprises the rear brake pipes..?

4 way brass union
x2 copper brake lines with male and female unions
x2 braided brake hoses 

Working in sequence, the 4 way brass union requires an 8mm hole through which a bolt with Nyloc nut holds the union onto the chassis. The existing hole in the chassis that the union should fix through is 10mm which is puzzling of GBS to provide when trawling the market for brake unions there does not seem to be a fitting which has a 10mm mounting point...

so new hole needs to be drilled to accommodate an 8mm bolt which I duly positioned top right of the existing hole. Simple drill, bolt on and job done.

Onto the copper lines next which run left and right from the brass union to the chassis mount point where in turn the braided hose connects to the chassis. These two pieces are quite short and a good starting point in which to practice the art of copper pipe bending.

Clearly there is a knack to this as the first one I did was distinctly average in its final look and I elected to replace with a new one - if a jobs worth doing right...

Lessons learned:

1. Don't strive to follow the chassis precisely, this approach does not work
2. Start with the copper brake pipe screwed into the union as that acts as a fixed point from which to bend / form and get the pipe to meet with the hole leading to the braided brake pipes.
3. Use a pipe bending tool to get a nice curve in the pipe plus it saves sore fingers doing bends!

with this knowledge in mind the second pipe running left from the union is one I am far more pleased with and is now ready for final fitment and p-clipping to the chassis.

in terms of the braided hoses, the hole in the chassis needs cleaning out with a 10mm drill bit to remove the powder coat and provide better clearance for the end of the braided hose to come through the chassis and fix in position / connect to the copper brake pipe.

so progress made on the rear brake pipes.

Gearbox Mount

Another job which I have bought forward is the fitment of the gearbox mount, realising that whilst panels are off accessibility to the bottom of the transmission tunnel will be easier.

The gearbox mount was sourced from GBS however it does require some trimming and holes re-drilling before final fitment can commence.

Simple process to mark up using masking tape where the lugs need trimming back and sawing off with a hacksaw.

New holes need to be drilled (8mm) and these were marked onto the masked tape with a black marker pen being conscious to ensure the mount is sat as central as possible in the aperture (although note, not unduly critical reading other blogs and GBS own advice).

A Pedestal drill is the best solution for drilling the holes and my father came to my rescue assisting with the drilling of the holes.

Once drilled and tidied up the mount is located from underneath the chassis and fixed in place with 8mm hex bolts and nyloc nuts.