Fill's Bedford

Hi all
Thanks Mairjimmy and Grandad. Grandad I think you have put me on the right track. I googled Kunifer and eventually I found a company they were called Partswise I called a number of there retailers but none of them stock it, some had never heard of it. So I rang Partwise and they are going to send me a sample of the pipe.They are in Shepparton, and a bit too far for me to visit. I did look at Ebay -there was lots but in United Kingdon or Germany. Grandad I looked up your profile, and I see you are a long way from Shepparton- did you buy it on line ? All the retailers for Partswise are happy to get it in for me but I would like to look at it first.
Going back to you Claire at this stage the pipe looks a copper colour, in the photo.

100_3000 by fill quinn , on Flickr
Thanks again for all the input every one has put in Cheers Fill

Hello Fill,
I am told that the brake pipes that everyone thinks are copper, are actually Bundy Tube, which is steel tube with copper coating to stop it rusting. All brake pipes should have double-flared joints that do need a special flaring tool, not an ordinary one as used by plumbers. Unfortunately, many amateur mechanics have assumed that the old tubing was copper and have replaced it with copper tube. This does not meet the regulations and the vehicle cannot legally be registered. (if the examiner notices) If you have an accident and the assessor finds soft copper brake lines, the Insurance Company will not pay out.

I will be in Shepparton on 9/10 and 11th September, for the swap meet and can go to Partswise for you. PM me or phone.

Shep. too far for you? mate, it is just around the corner. A couple of years ago, I went to a clearing sale near Shep and then to the Echuca Truck show. I reported it to an English club I was then a member of and they could not believe I travelled 651 kilometres in one day.

Morris.

Thanks for reminding me I need to restock my stock of brake pipe, since I used several metres of tube last year in the Piliga scrub.

Industrial Fittings Sales keep 3/16 to 3/8"Bundy Tubing - Copper coated for corrosion resistance. Can be supplied coiled (normal method of shipment) or strapped to a board for straight bits if required both 5.3m long see page 71 of their catalogue. They do have a branch in Victoria.

If you have an accident and the assessor finds soft copper brake lines, the Insurance Company will not pay out.

This is only correct if the copper brake line failed and was the cause of the accident.

It all goes back to Proximate Cause, which is defined as "the active efficient means that sets in train a series of events without the interaction of a new or independent force"

There's a lot of confusion as to how an Insurer can decline to pay a claim and most advice on the Net is wrong.

I'm a retired motor vehicle underwriter and insured trucks at one stage of my career, before moving to exotic cars.

Hi all,
The brake line that I am chasing is a pipe that is made of 78% copper 20 % nickel and 2% of what I can not remember apparently car manufacturers were using it but stopped, to be more competitive. Volvo Porsche Mecedes benz and Roll Royce have taken it up again. Going from copper to steel, copper would work harden at the flare and snap off, or burst some where along the pipe and leave no brakes at all. Steel would rust and get pin holes in it. But because it was a small hole you still had brakes for the short term, by pumping the brake peddle. Latter they put different coating on the outside. They new that rusting on the inside was a problem because brake fluid would draw moisture in so they copper lined it. The line that I am going to investigate a bit further is supplied by a company called Partswise. They supply to a lot of brake work shops but as I said in another post no one stocks it and most have never heard of it. It has a lot of letters saying it meets a lot of standards. With the bundy pipe that Morris mentioned that is the one that is failing with my brass fittings that are original. I do not want to change the brass because some are banjo fittings which would be hard to find or expensive to get made in steel. I am double flaring all the lines. I would like to thank everyone for there comments -Zeffen,,Mercskeepmeinajob, Morris.
Cheers Fill

Sounds B*****Y expensive to me.probably a bit like silicone radiator hose.Sold by the inch,to minimize heart attacks in customers at the counter.I d be sticking with good old bundy tube.Seems to last ok even out in the weather.If it rusts internally,your brakes are cactus ,anyway.Paint it with some zinc paint if you are worried.

JOHN.K. wrote: Sounds B*****Y expensive to me.probably a bit like silicone radiator hose.Sold by the inch,to minimize heart attacks in customers at the counter.I d be sticking with good old bundy tube.Seems to last ok even out in the weather.If it rusts internally,your brakes are cactus ,anyway.Paint it with some zinc paint if you are worried.

Fill I think there is a lot of wisdom in this reply
If your nut cracked it has nothing to do with the tube and the type of material its made out of as the flare is already formed and all the nut does is clamp it
The angle of the flare is formed whether its copper brass bundy tube or some other you beaut stuff , that nut was gunna crack no matter what tube you used
I will say it again , that flare was already formed no matter what the tube is made out of so all the nut does is clamp it

Paul

Hi all
I am going to give the brakes a rest for a while. I have been looking for a break cable because mine is worn , for about 4 years, with no success. I rang up a cable maker and sent a few photos. We worked out to make the cable would cost between, three hundred and three hundred fifty dollars, because of the fancy end. What I am doing is making a Bedford bus cable shorter. I had to make a new cradle, because it has a wierd thread. I went to a car cable place and brought a swaged fitting but the hole for the cable was a bit small and the wroge thread. He said if I drilled it out, (in a lathe ) cut a thread and re plated it, he would swage it onto my cable. (My new bus cable cost $40.00 )
Here are a few photos -the rod is drilled but the thread is not cut yet.
Cheers Fill

100_3009 by fill quinn , on Flickr

100_3007 by fill quinn , on Flickr

100_3010 by fill quinn , on Flickr

100_3012 by fill quinn , on Flickr

100_3013 by fill quinn , on Flickr