Replacing brake pipes, part 1
Although the brake pipes themselves are sound, the unions are heavily rusted and disintegrated when I recently attempted to replace the flexi hoses. The only real solution is to replace them, using a kit I got from MX5Parts. Replacing the fronts wasn't too bad; the routing is quite convoluted and it was a bit difficult to get them out without bending them (I wanted to copy their shape exactly), but it was done within a couple of hours. I had to cut the old pipe ends. I bent the new pipe over a screwdriver grip, to get smooth radii.
The rear pipes are proving more difficult. There's a single pipe from the front to the offside-rear wheel, which goes into a distribution block from which the NSR brake is fed (this block is an integral part of the rear flexi hose). The pipe is routed through clips along the chassis rail, along with the fuel feed/fuel return/tank breather lines. Unfortunately, the bolts holding the clips are heavily rusted and will most likely shear if I try to remove them. Instead, I've bent the clips down but it's still going to be difficult to remove the line intact.
The rear pipes are proving more difficult. There's a single pipe from the front to the offside-rear wheel, which goes into a distribution block from which the NSR brake is fed (this block is an integral part of the rear flexi hose). The pipe is routed through clips along the chassis rail, along with the fuel feed/fuel return/tank breather lines. Unfortunately, the bolts holding the clips are heavily rusted and will most likely shear if I try to remove them. Instead, I've bent the clips down but it's still going to be difficult to remove the line intact.
