TR2/3/3A TR 3A Brake, Pipe Line Question.

Redoing the brake lines as part of the frame off restoration of my post 60000 TR 3A. The lines that were on the car were steel and some of them were not original I suspect. In any event I am replacing them with cupro-nickel lines that are cut to length with the fittings on them. They are not pre-bent. I'm sure some of you out there have done this so I need your guidence here. The main pipe line goes from the flexible rear pipe to a fitting on the 5 way union. along the way it takes a jog around the jack hole. I was told by the tech guy at TRF that this is the only pipe that cannot be prebent and then installed. I can understand that after looking at the rout that it has to take. My question is how did you put the jack jog into the pipe. Obviously you can't put it in after its installed so how did you do it? What I see is possibly putting the jog in first then sliding it through the rear frame hole as far as it will go and then sliding it through the front frame holes. Does that make sense? Do any of this make any sense, heh.

Help, Help, anyone out there!

Thanks, Tinkerman

Here is how it's done. The photo is from Menno in The Netherlands. He added the extra clips which I did not add on my 1958 TR3A, nor on the late TR3A I finished in 2006. There is a clip spot-welded to the bottom of the floor pan to hold up this brake pipe where the dog-leg makes the two closer middle turns.

I don't remember any real problems putting in that pipe. I had to do a little bending to get the old pipe out. I then pre-bent the new one to as close as possible to the one I took out. I had to finagle getting the new one in, with some bending here and there to line things up one it was in place.

Pre-bend it the best you can, and then work from there.

"TRF that this is the only pipe that cannot be prebent and then installed"

Dick - I can only assume this is correct, not because of installation difficulties on your TR, but it's simply too long to prebend before they ship it to you. So it comes coiled up and the rest is up to you. As Art writes above, it's not hard to install, once you do the bending. But it's a lot easier if your body is still off.

martx-5 said:

I don't remember any real problems putting in that pipe. I had to do a little bending to get the old pipe out. I then pre-bent the new one to as close as possible to the one I took out. I had to finagle getting the new one in, with some bending here and there to line things up one it was in place.

Pre-bend it the best you can, and then work from there.

Click to expand...

Agreed Not such a tough job!

Thanks, guys. I suspect I was in one of my over engineering modes. I will just go do it!

Cheers, Tinkerman