Copper / Nickle brake lines

[Chris_ATL]

Hi,

I'm in the process of waking up a '68 280SL which has not been run for around 4 years... the brake lines look a bit rusty so i will replace them.

The original Mercedes ones appear to be mild steel. I personally prefer using a Copper/Nickle blend brake pipe, as it has the softness/flexibility of mild steel (needed to do the bubble flaring) with the resistance and durability of stainless. Plus it looks pretty.

Just wondering if anyone else had an opinion on what kind of non-original brake lines to fit.

Thanks

[stickandrudderman]

I really do not like the look of copper brake lines; they are never straight where they should be straight or bent where they should be bent.
Although not strictly accurate, I buy the green coated original from a 124 estate (because it’s the longest length) direct from Mercedes and use that to make my brake lines. I think they are a nice detail touch.

[Benz Dr.]

I buy some that are pre-made or I buy a 25' roll and make my own.

[Iconic]

Stick,
I've seen the green coated brake lines you are talking about.
Is that what was originally on our Pagodas from the factory?
Thanks,
Mark

[mdsalemi]

For what its worth, and maybe Stick or another one from UK can weigh in, I believe the Austins/Morris/Minis of 1959-mid 1960s had copper brake lines as original, but I believe they eventually changed to steel. As I recall the reasoning at the time was that the copper can "work harden" and become brittle and break. Since these cars had single braking systems this was a catastrophic failure. I had a 1966 Cooper S 1275 and recall this was a subject matter at the time.

Of course 1960's copper isn't exactly 2017's copper/nickel so maybe these new lines are an improvement...

Personally I don't think rust on a brake line is a major issue (compared to other parts of a car and its body) so the OEM steel ones should be fine.

[Chris_ATL]

Thanks for all the inputs... I think from this using steel seems to be the preference.

One of the reasons i'm a bit paranoid is because I've had a pipe corrode and burst on my lotus, under hard braking, which was one of the scariest moment of my life.

[thelews]

Personally I don't think rust on a brake line is a major issue (compared to other parts of a car and its body) so the OEM steel ones should be fine.

Personally, I don't think rust is an issue anywhere on these cars the way they are driven today by most (not all) current owners.

[Benz Dr.]

I'm fairly sure that copper brake lines are illegal here. I know brass junction boxes are illegal and they have to be steel with properly flared brake line ends or they won't pass a safety check. Some MB brake lines have a light copper plating on them but that's a different thing.

[ja17]

I think these modern copper lines are actually a copper nickel alloy and should be much stronger than just copper.  It be nice to actually see the engineering specs on the steel versus the copper/nickel alloy.  I like the idea of never any rust at all, inside or out.

[stickandrudderman]

The green lines I use are not period correct for pagodas but in my humble opinion look significantly better than all of the alternatives.

[ja17]

You can always paint the alternative lines green Stick 

[stickandrudderman]

Yes, and I could paint valve covers and inlet manifolds silver and injection pipes gold too!
 

[Shvegel]

The epoxy coated green lines are commonly available in the US at Advance auto parts etc.  I just buy long ones and cut them down and re-bubble flare them.