nor wil it work terribly well on 3.5mm pipe

your pipework is exemplary

My long brake hardline is all over the place Russell... yours is much neater...

That's very kind of you to say, I get a bit funny about stuff like that. The real irony is I'm probably just going to stick the old shell back on as it is pretty much, and run it about while I restore another one.

Today's progress:

None.

My fiat wouldn't start (quite normal, it usually doesn't) and when using my girlfriends Renault to jump start it I noticed the alternator pulley was loose. Five hours and £145 later, I have repaired the Renault and vowed to dispose of it as quickly as possible. I've had to cram in a days work into four hours, I'm shaking like a shitting dog because I've not had any lunch yet and most upsettingly I didn't have time to do all the painting I had planned which would have seen me with enough 2cv bits to get through my paternity leave.

I've got a day off to deal with some legal and family stuff tomorrow so that's out and Wednesday looks like the soonest I can get going on it again. I'm in something of a race against nature as the girlfriend is 3 days overdue in her pregnancy, if she drops the sprog it's game over on working on the 2cv at work for a fortnight. Fingers crossed she can hold on until my paintwork is done.

Also, I have a 54 plate Renault megane 1.5dci 3dr for sale in metallic black, it's a little tatty here and there but has a new alternator. I'm asking £950 but haggling me down for a fast sale is likely. I also have a polybushed and strut braced fiat seicento on a 51 plate for sale, lots of spare wheels and tyres, it's the abarth sporting edition and its terrific fun to drive but less fun to fit starter motors on, but it will have a new one before the sale! I'm asking £650 for that and again, haggle away and see what happens.

I've tried modern cars, and I'm afraid it hasn't worked for me.

Catching up here... Straightening brake pipe, put the bends in your long straight bit then roll the straight parts of it between two hard sheets, plywood @ a pinch, melamine faced (ply, chipboard, etc.) for pref. put your weight on it and that should do the trick. Softer the pipe, e.g. copper, easier & better it works, steel pipe would prob. need a couple of bits of steel plate.
Wot u did looks great but I know where u coming from on this, I hate wobbly pipe when I do it.
Fingers crossed for the rest.

What do you mean by roll it between two sheets? Isn't a 2cv a massive twat to get pipe straight on? What with having to kind of bend it round stuff just to fit it in the first place, you kind of have to straighten it on the car.

I didn't even try modern cars (I know it won't work for me) and the older I get the more I appreciate my o(l)d(d) Citroens.... even the "bubble" around me (family, friends, colege's and even my boss) are used to it and have peace with it...

Be Lucky you aren't restoring a M35....

[YouTube]http://youtu.be/BvWOHxr3X0E?t=1m27s[/YouTube]

Or an Sm...


Yes, they are pretty at original shape, believe or not...

WTF.

If You like to see more of these original piping, I have some photos here, from three -71 cars. I own the blue car, I just have been repairing these two other cars...

I think, they were not thinking about pipework, they can hardly be seen without removing stuff around them...