Automec Brake Line Kit (Part 1)

(Part 2 is here)
(Part 1 update is here)


The past couple of days I've been laying out the brake lines, using the purpose-made kit for the Land Rover Series 2 by Automec. I've never used a kit before, so before I give any comments please understand I'm no expert. These are just my subjective impressions. Someone who knows what they're doing could have a completely different view. In sum, here's what I think:

Good points: Very nicely prepared lines, excellent quality, nice materials.

Things I'd like to see done differently: First, much better instructions (it was only thanks to 3 Brothers Classic Rovers that a layout diagram, from the workshop manuals/parts catalogue was included). The kit could really use a detailed instruction manual, saying clearly where the lines should go, where it should be fastened to the frame, the curve radius of the tube where necessary. I scoured the web and thankfully found some photos of an almost completely original 1958 Series 2 that provided a lot of information, plus an illustration in a Land Rover sales brochure that was nicely detailed in a way that clearly showed that a photo had been used as the source. My own original chassis showed where the clips should go.

I'll make the diagrams for Automec, if they like.

Secondly, tube lengths. Without a detailed instruction manual or photos, I think the average user would have a hard time making things join up in a neat and certifiably safe way. Nothing impossibly wrong, and it may come down to model variations, but some tubes appeared too short, some too long, no matter how you looked at it. The photos below will help illustrate this. In the pictures, I've used tie-wraps to hold the lines in place while they are test-fitted.

In this view, all's well here, for the most part. Some radii are more pronounced than photos would suggest they should be, but really that's all.

In this view, there is a tube which passes underneath the gearbox (visible just under the prop-shaft UJ), and should be attached to the rear of the cross member. On my original chassis, the clips that hold the lines in place indicate very clearly where. This line is too short and you really have to count the millimeters to get it to fit back there, plus make its way to the front-left brake flex hose.  This isn't helped by not having a reference point as to where the 5-way connection shoud be placed. I sort of had to average everything out, in the end, and the connection ended up a centimeter or two from where it was installed on the original chassis. Would have been nice to have a precise starting point location for the whole brake line project.

Here you can see that it fits, but only just. Two or three inches more would have made a big difference, in both accuracy and comfort. As it is the pipe will easily end up laying again the flanges of  the cross member, which could promote friction and perhaps leakage or breakage at some future point. To help prevent this, a protective anti-chafe plastic tubing will be placed over the pipe as it goes across the cross member. The pipe looks a little wavey as it passes under, because it has to clip to the cross member in three places, while curving over the flange to get to the clip (clip not installed yet, here).

In this view, the pipe from the rear brake flex tube to the 5-way connector. Here, the pipe was too long, by any standard, if you were going for the original routing. This was solved by making the rather exaggerated upward curve between the flex tube and cross member. This pipe could use about 3 inches off, if it was to be shaped accurately as per the original factory pipe.

The forward-right pipe fit just perfectly, once the 5-way connector location was established. Before then, the size of the radius as it leaves the flex tube made a big difference as to where it ended along the chassis rail (as it did on the other side, as well).

On the rear axle, one pipe was too long, one was too short. I think this may be because whatever particular Land Rover was used as the template for the kit had a mounting point for the 3-way connection further towards the top of the differential. The long pipe was quite at its limit, to have it attach to the pipe-protection bracket. I would have liked to have both sides have matching radii in their curves, just from an aesthetic  point of view. Right now, it may look, to people behind me in traffic, that I don't know how to measure brake pipes!

None of this is really a big deal, as the pipes do fit (well, haven't tried the ones from master cylinders yet!), and the materials quality is excellent, but if you're trying to be extremely authentic, enjoy symetry, or need to know if the way you're installing is at least the way the kit makers intended it to be, this kit can be a little frustrating. However, if you don't have the means (or want) to make your own brake lines, then this kit will do the job.

Small Things

Have just been going over everything to date and trying to finish up the details of things as they are, before any major bodywork pieces go on.


In this view, dynamo and fan belt are now installed, as are the bulkhead supports (from Ashtree). Dynamo needs a new pulley nut, as the original double pulley had to be removed as it was fouling the cooling fan - and the second pulley was acting as the nut.

Battery/air filter tray has also been installed, as has the fuel tank. The fuel line from tank to flex hose has been bent back to what I think must be its original shape and was installed, but has been removed for painting. At far left you can just make out the main instrument cluster. Word from Nisonger this week was that the auxiliary oil/water gauge overhaul should be completed soon.

Prop shafts are being installed, plus various bit of plumbing and wiring that can go on before the bulkhead. Have also started to lay out the brake lines (from Automec via 3 Brothers Classic Rovers).

Once the final prop shaft bolts have arrived and are installed, the clutch slave cylinder unit will also go on. Rear prop shaft is installed and bolts torqued. Also waiting for some new locnuts for the hand brake drum. Arriving soon should be a variety of parts, inlcluding clips for the speedo cable.

Bean Can

Or, as it's otherwise known, the brake and clutch fluid reservoir. Spent a while cleaning it up today, to see if it is worth restoring - and I think it is. Not in perfect shape, but as long as it doesn't leak it should come out ok. Most of the discolouration is just light corrosion and surface rust. The nice thing about using this one is that it's original to the vehicle. Just have to find a way to make sure the bottom exit doesn't leak.

In this view the basic components:

Inside is nice and clean (except some dust from the cleaning!).

Gearbox Installed

Another milestone in the project today, with the installation of the gearbox. I'm glad I bought the splined clutch alignment tool, I'm pretty sure it made the process that much quicker. If I'd had to slowly rotate the primary pinion as well as pushing and trying to get everything aligned by myself, it would have been more difficult and taken a lot longer. As it was, getting everything correctly aligned was a time consuming process, but after an hour or so there came the moment when gearbox and engine suddenly appeared to stop resisting and in went the pinion.

These two views show the gear show the gearbox being lowered into place. Not much clearance on all sides, what with the exhaust pipe in place, it even took turning the 'feet' below the rubber mounts to an angle to get everything in place without scratching something.

Getting the two sections precisely aligned so that the shaft would enter the clutch drive plate was a challenge. In the end, I had a jack under the rear of the engine, a large C-clamp on one side keeping engine and bell housing at a set distance, and a wooden lever on the other side to adjust the distances. Turning the C-clamp handle would close things up a little, then everything else was adjusted to suit. Only when everything was aligned with a pretty good degree of precision did the shaft suddenly enter the clutch plate. Nice not to have to search for spline alignment, thanks to the tool. Once it was in, it was a matter of getting the nuts on just to hold everything together and then tightening them to hold engine and housing tightly together. Tomorrow I will go back and install the nuts correctly with their lock washers and then torque as required.

View below: The moment of success! I even put the hand brake lever mechanism back on, just to get it out of the way. After everything was in place, the engine was turned over a few revolutions using the starter handle to make sure everything was in working order and output shaft flanges turning. 

Clutch Installed

This evening the clutch driven plate and cover were attached. The Land Rover came with a 9.5" clutch installed, and so I decided to keep things that way. Installing the new clutch was pretty straight forward, helped by the clutch alignment tool you can see at the bottom of the photo, from Rovers North. I was contemplating making my own from pipe, but as the purpose-built tool has the splines and cost next to nothing, I went with that. Having the splines on the tool also means I can make sure the splines of the driven plate and those of the primary pinion are aligned as much as possible before trying to slide them together, which, I hope, should cut down on the 'jiggling' necessary when installing the gear box.

Plow, Etc. Gone at Last; Gearbox Prep; More Parts

Today was an exceptional day, in that I was able to meet the three brothers of 3 Brothers Classic Rovers, who had driven here from Cambridge, Ontario to collect the un-needed set of new tires and the snow plow, plus my original bulkhead for refurbishment. A real pleasure to meet the brothers in person. Once the old chassis is gone to its new home in NY and the replacement tub is here, the brothers will be back to drop off the original bulkhead once it's completed, and will take the original tub back with them. Then the garage space will really be freed up. Already, with just with the plow, etc., gone, it feels as if there is much more room to work in.

This afternoon the chassis bracket for the handbrake was installed, and then the gearbox mounting brackets. Also was able to start attaching the hand brake itself. Just need the specialised clevis pin that connects the hand brake rod to the relay and hand brake lever, a new oil seal for the front of the transfer box, and a new clutch adjustment tool to arrive (could have made my own, but want the splines to line up as well), and the gearbox plus clutch will be ready to install. Earlier this week Blanchards in the UK had sent a few harder to find parts for the gearbox, plus the clutch adjuster had been put to the correct distance, and so things really moved along.

As promised, an overall view with the wheels on, now that there is once again a bit more room.

And, as ever, more small parts to clean and restore, these coming for the most part from the original bulkhead.

Wheels on at Last

Today the good folks at the Firestone Tire Centre put the wheels on the rims, and did it with care not to scratch the rims. Now I can use the 'wiggle' method to properly tighten the hub inner nuts, and the chassis will then be ready to roll.

Someone has asked what make the tires are, so I'll add that here now. They are from Universal Vintage Tire (who have excellent service), and are 650-16 Super Traxions. The web page: https://www.universaltire.com/650-16-sta-super-traxion.html

Lined up and with the rims looking much whiter than they are in real life: the five wheels.

With the colours more as they are, here's the forward right, installed. It would be nice to have an overall shot of the chassis with the wheels on, but presently the garage is almost too crowded to move. Next weekend I believe someone is coming to take the old chassis off to its new home and new life (and leave an undented tub in exchange!), which will make more room, and the following weekend the brothers from the truly excellent 3 Brothers Land Rovers should be here to take the snow plow, old tub and various other things, which will free up even more room. Then I can take an overall photo!

Unusual Fuel Tank?

The old fuel tank was sufficiently corroded that I purchased a new one, but when taking the old one out it was interesting to see that it was a two-part unit. I haven't found this in the manuals. The old fuel tank was a replacement from "Mr Fuel Tank" in Toronto as some point. The tray on which the tank itself is very nicely made, and so looks as if it may be a Land Rover part, but I can't be sure.

The old tank would have been held in place by the filler and vent lines alone, which somehow doesn't seem safe. The new tank is the more usual one-piece bolt in unit.

(Edit: those that know indicate this is most likely an error, as the two should indeed be attached.)
Here's both parts:

The underside of the tank:

The underside of the supporting tray:

Bulkhead Arrives

The bulkhead is finally here. Thanks to a screw-up by the shipping company, SeaBird, and with the agent here, Ecu-Line, apparently unable to do anything about it, the bulkhead couldn't be delivered to my home, and so had to be collected in Toronto. And it had to be collected this week, or storage fees would start to be added on. On Thursday I rented a cargo van from the excellent foks at Enterprise, and headed off to Mississauga at 6:00am. Thanks to arriving in Toronto at rush hour, it took 2 hours to traverse the city (do people really do that every day? Both ways?). Everything else went smoothly, the bulkhead cleared customs and the duties were paid, the Toronto agent was paid the handling charges, the warehouse were paid their dock fee, and a few hours later the 7 month wait for the bulkhead was over.

The only surprise was the $537.87 I didn't know I'd have to pay, on top of the bulkhead and shipping already paid, for all the above (unless, of this, I was actually supposed to pay the $190 Ecu-Line handling fee and $50 dock fee from SDV Logistics all along - but it would, in this case, have been nice to have been told this ahead of time at some point in the purchase process). This in spite of an assurance from SeaBird that delivery to my house had indeed been paid for.  SeaBird have now offered to reimburse $210 for the delivery mixup.

Duties and taxes were a further $281.79, not included in the above, but they were expected.

In this view: Crossing Toronto to get to Mississauga....two hours of this, one way!

Somewhere in here is the bulkhead. I forgot to take a photo, but it was extremely well packed by SeaBird Packaging. SDV Logistics kindly said I could leave the pallet and wrapping there, as I didn't need them. The person who helped get the bulkhead said the blue pallet at bottom right, which had been lost by another company somewhere in transit and only just found, contained souvenirs of the UK's Royal Wedding - just a little late!

The bulkhead, sans packing, loaded into the cargo van.

And there it is, in the garage back home. The garage is now officially overcrowded. : )

Ashtree very kindly sent some galvanized extras with the bulkhead, very nice indeed! A lot of work to do on the bulkhead before it can be painted and installed, but I'm looking forward to seeing a bulkhead on the chassis at last.