Brake pipe flares: SAE or DIN?

[Rich K]

Hi to anyone still out there,

Just getting rounded to fitting some replacement copper brake pipes/lines that were purchased as a kit a while ago from one of the Triumph parts suppliers. Unfortunately I have found that some of the pipes in the kit are too long and I have had to cut off the excess in order to match the existing factory pipes. I need to remake the flares on the cut ends but I am a bit confused as to what type of flares to make, SAE or DIN. The flares on the copper pipes in the kit appear to me to be the tapered SAE type but looking at the original factory pipe flares leads me to believe they are the square shoulder DIN type. Researching the Internet has only confused me further about the two types. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated as obviously making errors with brakes can be fatal.

Thanks,
Rich.

[Hasbeen]

It could be either at least in Australia.

I don't know if it is only in Australia, but unfortunately one of my 7s still had a sticker saying something like, "some models have Lockheed brakes & some have Bendix". If this is so in your case find out which manufacturer the master cylinder or caliper is, & that will tell you.

Hasbeen

[Rich K]

Thanks Hasbeen. I know that the TR7 was manufactured with metric (M10 x 1) threads on the brake fittings, it’s the type of flares on those fittings that I am unsure about. The replacement copper pipes look like they have SAE flares whereas the original pipes appear to have DIN flares. I obviously want to avoid mixing the two types on the car. The master cylinder and calipers are Lockheed so I’ll look into the specification of these to try and clarify what I should be using.

[dursleyman]

The brake pipe I have always worked with is usually quite soft and easily takes the shape of the fittings when you tighten them up so I don't think it makes a lot of difference?

[Rich K]

Hi Russ, thanks for the advice. That makes sense with the copper pipe. I’ve just purchased a brake flaring tool from Frost that does both SAE and Din flares so I plan to practice on some spare pipe and test which type of flare mates up the best with the various connections on the car.

[Rich K]

So, for anyone interested, the brake flaring tool I purchased from Frost (M640) worked really well and produced perfect flares first time around. It’s made in England and not some cheap Chinese crap.
My take on the original TR7 factory brake pipes is that the flares used on the pipe for the male fittings are the DIN type and the flares on the female fittings are the 45 degree double flare type. It would appear that the brake pipe kit I purchased has SAE flares associated with the male fittings. As the angle of the flare is different on SAE and DIN flares this is a bit concerning. I get that copper pipes are soft and will deform to a certain extent when the fittings are tightened up, but when it comes to brakes I would rather not take any chances.
As previously stated the TR7 has metric brake fittings with M10 x 1 threads.