The Europeans have a lot of nasty weather, thus the need for a better brake line was a more urgent problem than in the U.S. In the early 70's, the Swedish government decided a rust proof replacement for steel was required. Many studies were done, and the end result was cunifer.... a 90% copper / 10% nickel alloy that won't rust like steel and won't crack like pure copper. Since that time, most high end European cars have switched to cunifer brake lines as standard equipment.
Austin Healey Wood is a company that normally deals with Austin Healey and Jaguar XK model restorations. Of course any restored Healey or Jag has cunifer brake lines, so the company makes up brakes lines for those cars and Triumphs and Porsche! So again following my "upgrade when possible" philosophy, I ordered the cunifer brake lines for Tillie.
The lines come cut to the correct length, the connectors are in place, and the required flares have been made to each end. They are shipped bent in gentle curves, so all the installer needs to do is bend the pipe to match the original. Cunifer is soft enough that no special tools are required for bending...just match the new pipe up against the old and start bending with your hands !
The new cunifer lines come with an identification tag that tells you which old pipe it's replacing, and I did label the old pipes as I removed them, so bending the new was an enjoyable project !
Oh, did I mention that cunifer will polish up really nice! I know, who will see polished brake lines?
The solid brass "T" connectors also polished up nicely, and a little clear coat should keep them looking good !
And finally, I decided to add polyester braided sleeves to the exposed lines for a bit of protection against rocks, etc. They are split, so removal would not be a problem.
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