4 replies to this topic

[alpder]

My car came with unregulated rear brakes (just a standard tee on the rear subframe).

 

So ordered a 21A1774 regulator to fit instead of the tee.

 

B-i-g trouble! Screwed the cunifer tee-to-wheel pipe into the regulator 'out' port... and the flare sheared off inside the regulator port. (And the sheared-off copper ring that's now inside the port won't damn well come out, either, so that's scrapped an expensive regulator :-( )

 

Squinting inside the regulator 'out' ports, I can see the bottom of the port (which is female) has a pip ('volcano') inside it. But the pipes on the car just have a 'bubble' or similar type of flare. Which I thought was standard for all males on the car - and certainly it fitted fine into the old plain tee.

 

Anyone know what kind of flare I need on the pipes? And, reassure me... these will be imperial threads, surely? The part is, after all, from the '60s.

[mbolt998]

Haven't fitted one of these specifically because I have a later car with the regulator under the bonnet. But a "double flare" will work on everything, whether you have a volcano thingummy or not, at least if you have a kunifer or copper pipe. As for whether the threads are metric or not the only way to be sure is to try screwing in both kinds of union. The imperial bolt will go into a metric female and feel OK but wobbles a bit from side-to-side when it's in. Easy to tell if you have both to compare with.

 

It ought to be imperial at that age but you never know. The brake regulator (in the engine bay) on my 79 car is metric-- but the (new) wheel cylinders are still imperial.

[Spider]

I've always only even known the valves, as fitted at the factory, to need a 'bubble' type flare, however, it's possible the new ones maybe made needing an invert type of flare.

I always look at the fittings and make the pipework to suit.

[richmondclassicsnorthwales]

They accepted a 3/8 UNF single flare (bubble) in each end (3)

 

I have not known them anything other than this, the idea is you use the existing pipe work to plumb the regulator on to.

 

I looked at the MiniSpares advert for the item, and it does indicate the cars which these regulators fit, it mentions nothing

about having to change brake pipes to make the item fit.

 

They were indeed imperial threads at the rear, the later 80,s started using a bit of metric at the front, but not at the rear.

[alpder]

I ordered another 21A1774 rear brake regulator from MiniSpares to replace the one I wrecked by fitting the wrong pipes. The pipe-maker (Perk423 on ebay) kindly made another set of pipes at no extra cost with a double-flare at the regulator end. It all fitted-up neatly without trouble. So I'm sorted.

Just to make it crystal for anyone in doubt: the 21A1774 currently (July 2023) being sold by MiniSpares requires a 'bubble' (or half-double) flare for the "in" port and a double-flare for the "out" ports. All threads are imperial.

So in many cases, retrofitting a 21A1774 to a car which currently has a simple tee piece will therefore require a new pair of pipes across the subframe. Same will probably be true for the 21A2031 because it uses the same shell.

Thanks everyone.

Edited by alpder, 14 July 2023 - 07:34 PM.