I am about to order a set of new rear brake pipes. I see there is a choice of copper nickel alloy or stainless steel.
Is there much difference?
Is one easier to fit (i.e. more flexible) than the other?
Plus, any handy hints for fitting? Am I right in assuming the fuel tank must be dropped?
Any thoughts much appreciated.

Personally I've only ever fitted the cupro-nickel ones.
Surprisingly straightforward to fit too.
No need to drop the tank out.

You cab only get stainless that go curly through the axel?

Does that mean the copperniks take a different route?



Not dropping the tank would be a bonus as knowing my luck it'll fall to pieces. When you say easy, did you do it with the body on the chassis?

I've done a pair on my Charleston with the body on and a pair on my blue special with just the rear axle hanging in the garage not attached to anything.
To be honest the pair with the body on was easiest.
Don't worry about it. Just crack on and you'll be fine.

Thanks Lenny, I have gone for copper. I'll just give it a go.

That's the spirit Ben, I've got a piece of wooden dowel I put down the middle of the coil with a slot in it to help manipulate the pipes into place.

Thats clever, like that idea. Wish I had know of that trick when I did mine.

Ben, will come armed with a piece of dowel ready to try.

This is all good guess what i'm doing tomorrow!

I feel like I am being sucked into a Black Hole, and here it is!



Local hero Mr Squeezebox kindly leant me some time and moral support on Friday afternoon, thanks again. We removed the old brake pipes, fiddly, very fiddly, but they came off.

So on to installing the new brake pipes. How can I best describe the absolute mind numbing fiddlefest that is getting the pipes back to exactly where they should be in that hole? Err swatting a fly with a long garden cane – the two are just unlikely to make contact.

The brackets that we transferred from old pipe, to new where a bit of a quiz. The inner bracket has a jazzy wave to it, but, the new pipes don’t seem to have quite the same wavy bit. So, is this how them come, or can I err, ‘make waves’ in the pipe without damaging them? As it is the pipes are just not lining up.