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vitesse mk1 front brakes


iana

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I'm on the final leg of re bushing the suspension, new shocks, new brake hoses etc and on the front Im not convinced its correct, the hose looks too short, the hoses are the same length as I have taken off but it doesnt look right. Can someone post a picture of the correct positioning of the hose / pipe and the hose bracket positions (Ive put it back where i removed them from)

 

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Is the car on the ground or still jacked up. hoses get extended when jacked & look wrong!

If you have to change the hoses think about the Stainless Steel braided type gee they made a great improvement on my daughters Spit 16 years ago, a real hard pedal all the way.

I'm in Australia and interestingly the early S/S types with no plastic sleeve over the braiding or nylon sleeve/bush between the S/S braid and the compressed crimp on ends are illegal here, ADR here say because the S/S can fatigue and fray/break at the joint interface! BUT they were fitted new to European cars go figure! I've subsequently changed the Vitesse and Dolly to the later plastic sleeved S/S braided type must do the Spit!

Similarly ADR's (Aust Design Rules) don't permit the use of copper pipes in the brake system as it can work harden and fail, I had brought a set of Automec made Cu ones which my friendly local  brake supplier had to remake in steel bundy pipe, but the brass fittings were OK to use, he took the copper pipe in part exchange for use on caravans or boat trailers where I believe its OK, go figure! Public Servants & supposed Tech Experts! 

Peter T

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The purpose of the stainless steel braid is to protect the rubber pipe from road debris, it isn't to hold the pipe in compression to aid pedal hardness. If this is happening the rubber is faulty. I would suggest the improvement in Peter's daughter's car was down to new rubber not braid.

The upside of braided pipes is they protect from puncture/damage, the downside is you can't see what's happening to the rubber, which is why many go for plain rubber hose. You can't be too careful of the junk that's coming out of China!

Doug

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15 hours ago, iana said:

Pete it may be correct but to my mind it looks a little tight, Ill post a picture and see what the consensus is.

Can you get any other angles of photo? It's only recently that I discovered (not having owned one!) that Vitesse and GT6 brakes and uprights are not the same layout or design, so I can't compare to any of my cars, but it's possible that something may stand out in a different angle of shot.

Doug's correct about the stainless hoses, they are NOT fit and forget but merely keep the rubber compressed on the outside and you've no idea of what's happening on the inside. I changed a full set on the Gt6 recently after fifteen years on the car, it was an expense I could have done without but then so is a lack of brakes...

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Doug the Goodridge S/S braided hoses I use have a ptfe inner pipe carrying the brake fluid with the woven S/S outer braiding then covered with a plastic?cover, mine is imitation carbon fibre finish

They do keep a firm pedal under repeated use when driven hard! The pedal remains rock hard.

The Dolly Sprint I have the rear pipe obviously shredded internally as it kept the brakes on and locked, that is when I replaced them with the S/S braided ptfe flexible pipes. It was interesting as the brakes locked on whilst turning on a country road don’t want to repeat that again.

Peter T

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Thanks all, the set up on my vitesse is the same as Paul H's, it looked wrong to me when I initially reassembled it (and I wondered if something wasnt quite in the right place)

I have checked the new hose against the old one and its identical in length, its 300mm long end to end.

In the parts manual I have downloaded it refers to a brake hose reference 132958, (not sure if this is correct) but most traders list a GBH??? which seems to vary.

 

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From my own cars 143320 is the GT6 front hose; 122767 is the early Herald, yet almost all suppliers list the GBH216 as the one-size-fits-all equivalent.

There is one on-line supplier selling a pair of 38cm Borg and Beck hoses which would seem excessively long.

GBH203 are available at 30cm if you want a little piece of mind re stressing the shorter hoses - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TRIUMPH-GT6-VITESSE-GOODRIDGE-STAINLESS-STEEL-FRONT-OR-REAR-BRAKE-HOSE-GBH203/372519487628?fits=Car+Make%3ATriumph&epid=1272411255&hash=item56bbe4488c:g:rJMAAOSwU9xURnnT

I've found a contemporary box showing other vehicle applications for the same hose; it may help others when searching for a set. There just might be an Otosan Anadol owner out there with an unwanted pair...

 

 

 

s-l1600-106.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...

Ideally you should be using Kunifer pipe which is more robust and vibration proof. Obtain that and give to a garage to make the pipe.

I have found the company you have flagged, adequate at best - just my observation and experience.

Regards.

Richard. 

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21 minutes ago, iana said:

Doug thanks, I’ve had a quick look and at that cost I’ll try and find someone local to make the pipes up I need, the flaring tool does look a lot more robust than the one on the eBay link. 

I purchased a similar kit from EBay and made replacements for both front brakes and slave cylinder . 3 years on with no issues. I did buy a cheap pipe bender at the same time which was a waste of space . I’m sure Kunifer is better but I’ve got no complaints 

Paul 

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14 hours ago, iana said:

Remember those are metric ends, so you may have to source Imperial versions. I bought 25 feet of Kunifer pipe recently for £14, more than enough for a car. (I see the price has gone up in this relisted product!)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-16-25-FT-LONG-CUPRO-NICKEL-KUNIFER-BRAKE-FUEL-PIPE-ROLL-25FT-BS-EN12449/271597859816?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

If you're only doing one car or just a couple of pipes it's probably most cost-effective to get someone to do it all for you or buy a ready-made pipe; if you want to try it yourself you'll need pipe, bending and flaring tools. Brake pipe benders are quite a variation; I bought the small club-supplied version but find it fiddly and sometimes prone to kink pipes, however the larger type I also use (£13 - 15) does not provide tight bends, plus you need to think ahead as to where you want the actual bend to be - bend at that spot and the large radius actually means the bend will be an inch away from where you require it, so it takes a little bit of practice to have the pipe at the right spot so that you know the bend will end up exactly where you need it. 

Flaring tools also vary; I used to use the hand-held version (£36 approx) however at a show a few years back I bought one of the professional vice-mounted flaring tools and it's a real doddle. Perfect flares every time, as Uncle Ben would say, cost me £40 second-hand, but it has really paid for itself ever since.

Tot the price up - pipes, flaring and bending tools work out at about £65, less if you go for the cheaper items, and with a little bit of practice you've acquired a skill. With copper-only kits around £70 on eBay and over £80 from suppliers doing it yourself might not be much greater expense, plus you've always got the tools.

 

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having a simple flaring tool kit and some pipe is always a useful to have handy,  odd it says   'imperial'  when its only the 3/16" tube but  10mm metric fittings 

youre's will definitely have unf threads   no metric when it was built   unless someone has fitted type 16 metric calipers to replace the type 12s   !!!   like i fitted on mine 

Pete

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4 hours ago, Pete Lewis said:

youre's will definitely have unf threads   no metric when it was built   unless someone has fitted type 16 metric calipers to replace the type 12s   !!!   like i fitted on mine 

Pete

That's why I was being cagey and not committing myself that Imperial UNF fittings were definitely required! :)

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