Non-Volvo car chat megathread

[BlackBart]

I have a serious question (I know I'm not serious very often here) -

Does anyone have experience with flaring new brake pipes? This is for my Alfa - all new brake lines, hard and soft. I'll be using the ingenious "cunifer" (copper nickel steel alloy), which is used by most Euro manufacturers now. It's safe, strong, doesn't corrode, and is quite easy to bend and shape. I used it to replace the pipes on my son's BMW E30 rear trailing arms, but it was pre-made with flares and fittings already done.

You could buy a cheap Harbor Freight flare tool, or a bunch of Chinese stuff on amazon, or a $300+ hydraulic flare tool aimed at professionals. I want to do this once. More important than that is that this is a single-circuit car, and they have to be good - you have no back-up if something starts leaking.

So it's worth it to me to spend a certain amount to get a nice and reliable tool. I'm still looking into whether the pipes are all metric or mixed sizes. I can re-use most of the fittings I think. I'll be doing it on the car, which is more difficult, especially with the engine in, but it has quite a bit of room and I have it lifted pretty high. I'll probably be pulling the transmission as well, to replace the rear main seals on the engine and install a new clutch. That makes the firewall pieces easier to get to. I'll plan to remove individual pipes and match the curves on the bench, unless that shape won't go back on the car without twisting it around.

I'm looking for advice on a good tool as well as things to look out for.

Thanks -

[850 LPT]

Hello Bart,

Cunifer is a great material for brake lines, I have used it for many years on different European cars. I buy it from a company called Fedhill. They also have all the fittings you could ever need.

http://www.fedhillusa.com/

Years ago I bought a flaring tool from Eastwood. It's expensive, but it makes the job so amazingly easy. With this tool its actually fun to fabricate brake lines.
Since I have used it much over the years it paid for itself.

https://www.eastwood.com/professional-b ... gle&wv=3.1

I see that you can find it a little cheaper from other online retailers. You would have to do some research, but it's worth it.

Dirk

[BlackBart]

Also, since it's Friday........

The Alfa Romeo Giulia Super, and Walter.

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It's supposed to look like this....

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They built around a million of these, from 1962 to early 70s. They were common in Europe, but very few sold in the US, so now they're a cult car here. (I gave a roller version away once...sigh). Popular as police cars in old movies. They were raced, and once set the 1600cc closed course record at Talladega. They came with everything from a single carb 1300 to a twin carb, high compression 2-liter. The boxy shape is deceiving - they were shaped in a wind tunnel and are more aerodynamic than the Spider and the GT coupe, which they are identical to underneath. The rounded nose corners, the fluting along the sides, the narrower greenhouse, and the Kamm-design roof and trunk lid made them very slippery. They're very comfortable and fun to drive.

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They were built by men in ties!

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[BlackBart]

^ Thanks Dirk!

Yes, Fedhill is a great source, I've been looking there! I was looking at the Eastwood tool, and like you I found what looks like an identical tool with a different name elsewhere. I assume they make them for Eastwood. Did you feel like the big handle and the carousel was bulky and hard to maneuver in tight spaces? That's just leverage, not hydraulic?

Here's a post from 10 years ago by one of the Alfa gurus on the Alfa forum. He was fabricating a dual-circuit system using stock parts. I wrongly assumed the whole system had the same pipe and same flares...

"If your late RHD '67 is anything like our early LHD '68, there are no less than 4 different brakeline fittings; basically 3/8" X 24 in the engine bay, 10mm X 1.0mm at the wheels and 12mm X 1.0 mm & 7/16" X something at the master cylinders. Obviously, you can reuse old fittings but you will need some additional ones for the new lines.
There are also two different types of flares on the lines; an inverted double flare and an ISO bubble flare. The attached pics show the two flares which, by the way, are on the same brakeline! (booster to junction block)."

A thought just popped into my head while I was typing...
If I ever get a 122 wagon and put the newer dual-circuit brake system on that, I'll need this tool again....

[850 LPT]

^ Thanks Dirk!

Yes, Fedhill is a great source, I've been looking there! I was looking at the Eastwood tool, and like you I found what looks like an identical tool with a different name elsewhere. I assume they make them for Eastwood. Did you feel like the big handle and the carousel was bulky and hard to maneuver in tight spaces? That's just leverage, not hydraulic?

Yes, the handle is just for leverage. Since you are flaring them by hand you get a good feel for the pressure needed to make a good flare. Something you don't get from a hydraulic set up.
I have used this tool only while clamped in my vice on the workbench so the handle size didn't bother me.

I see you are having fun restoring one of my all time favorite cars

[BlackBart]

Thank you! It's all a bit overwhelming to consider all the different jobs and pieces and parts and tools. I had collected most of the parts over many years anticipating rebuilding the suspension. Then a guy thumped into my trunklid with a pickup, and it was in a body shop for three years..... When I finally got it back, we had replaced the bubbled sills under the doors, the rear arches, and the lower quarter panels, and painted the whole thing. Somebody in their shop backed up into the nose, so they fixed that on their dime and did it right in all metal (all Spiders have been whacked in the nose at some point).

So then it was 40 years old, with old tubing and rubber and brake system and a fuel tank and carbs full of gum. I decided no one was driving this car until I went through all the systems. That turned out to be quite a bit of work, and my kids were little. So it was put off..... and off. Last fall the Covid caught us even though we were so careful, and the last year my work has exploded, so I feel guilty in the garage.

My pals said no, you must get this car on the road. They give me rides in their fancy vintage Porsches. The fire came back!

Here it is at an Italian show in South Seattle near a Ferrari 400 Superamerica (!). '86 or '87 I think.

Alfa Kent1 mod.jpg (397 KiB) Viewed 825 times

Pre-trunk thump in MT. My old trusty 240T wagon as well!

More recent... That little ridge above the badge is all metal instead of putty or flattened like happens when they fix them. Only this car had that - all later years had a smooth nose.

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Spare engine I've hoarded...

They keep just looking at me every time I go in the garage.... "You have no idea what you're doing, do you!"

[BlackBart]

Weekend progress.

It's been a long long time since I pounded in new bearing races. I thought I was clever using the old one to get it started in the bore....but then the old one got stuck and had to come out.

Lots of good new red grease packed in, seal on, and got it together. As I was tightening and spinning, there was metal grinding and it wasn't good. I was about to start pounding the gravel shield back. Maybe I put the pieces on in the wrong order! Maybe I bought the wrong rotors!

I had forgotten to snug the rotor to the hub with the big set screws, so the rotor was just flopping around. Whew.

I remembered that the bleed screw is always UP! Went to find the right one in the box.


So now that it's pretty much together, I don't need the LF as a pattern, so I tore into removing everything yesterday. Beautiful day, garage doors open. My wife was gone, and I just kept working until almost 9PM and went inside exhausted. Oh...food, that's right.

Here's the spring pan coming down. Slick system, and safe. You just use a 9/16 ratcheting box end wrench on those tall nuts and buzz them down until they're slack.

Everything goes fast until you come upon a balljoint castle nut with a corroded cotter pin. Couldn't get hold of it with any kind of pliers or vice grips. Tapped a pointed awl tool into the loop and bent the tip 90º (HF, cheap). Tapped my tiniest screwdriver into the loop and snapped off the tip. After an hour messing with it and getting frustrated, I took the dremel with a cutter wheel and cut up into the nut parallel to the bolt shaft, and cut both sides of the pin off. Big long 19mm wrench and a hammer and broke it loose. Hub off, arms loose, just need to detach them from the chassis and start grinding and painting.

Couldn't resist checking out the wheel fit!..... It'll be way lower with weight on it.

[850 LPT]

Beautiful Duetto!

I like those little blinkers on the fenders.

[BlackBart]

1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Mille Miglia Spider. (Mille Miglia was the 1000 mile stage race around Italy)

Supercharged straight 8 twin cam motor with center chain-driven camshafts. These sound like an American big block with a single straight pipe - they just bellow! But only 2.3 liters. Not very good microphones here. But cool original racecar. Look at the casting on that intake.

[BlackBart]

Friday......