The MGA With An Attitude
Brake Pipe LENGTHS And Fittings - BT-132
If you need a compete set of brake pipes for your car, Automec in the UK provides nice pipe sets tailored to individual model cars. Original pipes were commonly galvanized steel, often rusting out within 20 years or less (depending on climate). It is good to get replacement pipes in cupro-nickel material, easy to form, highly corrosion resistant, likely to last beyond your lifetime. Avoid pure copper pipes, as they are prone to work hardening and stress cracks with vibration encountered in extended use.
Brake pipes are otherwise a generic type part, so if you need a single replacement pipe you can likely find it at your local auto parts store. Most cars and light trucks use 3/16-inch OD tubing. The only trick is to know the length of the pipe and the type of end fittings. MGA originally used bubble flares, although universal flares work as well. Do not use double flares.
Of particular interest is a change of threads for fittings on the two pipes on the rear axle running from the 3-way fitting to banjo fittings at the wheel cylinders. These changed in middle of MGA 1500 production from British Standard Fine threads to Unified National Fine threads, and the 3-way and banjo fittings changed at the same time. You may have a problem finding the BSF threaded parts locally, especially in North America. If you change the 3-way fitting and the two banjo fittings to the later type, you can use pipes with UNF threaded ends (same as the later cars). If you do make this change on an early production car, please keep records of such changes for future maintenance.
Original BMC Part Numbers:
Early Later Description Notes
AJA5028 3-way fitting
3H2424 3-way fitting com. (c)27989 DW, (c)28540 WW
27H7164 Banjo (straight)
AHH5634 Banjo ("L" shape) com. (c)27989 DW, (c)28540 WW
AJD30 Pipe 3-way to RR
AHH5629 Pipe 3-way to RR com. (c)27989 DW, (c)28540 WW
AJD82 Pipe 3-way to LR with DW
AHH5631 Pipe 3-way to LR with DW com. (c)27989
AJD78 Pipe 3-way to LR with WW
AHH5633 Pipe 3-way to LR with WW com. (c)28540
Early 1500 - 27H7164 All Other Models - AHH5634
MGA 1500 before (c)27989 DW or (c)28540 WW:
Length Location End Fitting 1 End fitting 2
1 - 34" - M/C to 4-way (RHD) 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
1 - 56" - M/C to 4-way (LHD) 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
2 - 19" - 4-way to RF 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
3 - 47" - 4-way to LF 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
4 - 75" - 4-way to rear (at battery carrier) 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
5 - 16" - 3-way on rear axle to RR 3/8-BSF-M 3/8-BSF-M
6 - 45" - 3-way on rear axle to LR (Disc Wheels) 3/8-BSF-M 3/8-BSF-M
6 - 41" - 3-way on rear axle to LR (Wire Wheels) 3/8-BSF-M 3/8-BSF-M
7 - 13" - Bridge across front brakes (2 required) 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
MGA 1500 from (c)27989 DW or (c)28540 WW:
Length Location End Fitting 1 End fitting 2
1 - 35"?- M/C to 4-way (RHD) 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
1 - 48"?- M/C to 4-way (LHD) 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
2 - 19" - 4-way to RF 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
3 - 48" - 4-way to LF 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
4 - 75" - 4-way to rear (at battery carrier) 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
5 - 16" - 3-way on rear axle to RR 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
6 - 45" - 3-way on rear axle to LR (Disc Wheels) 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
6 - 41" - 3-way on rear axle to LR (Wire Wheels) 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
7 - 13" - Bridge across front brakes (2 required) 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
MGA 1600 and 1600-MK-II:
Length Location End Fitting 1 End fitting 2
1 - 35"?- M/C to 4-way (RHD) 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
1 - 48"?- M/C to 4-way (LHD) 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
2 - 21" - 4-way to RF 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-F
3 - 46" - 4-way to LF 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-F
4 - 75" - 4-way to rear (at battery carrier) 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
5 - 16" - 3-way on rear axle to RR 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
6 - 45" - 3-way on rear axle to LR (Disc Wheels) 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
6 - 41" - 3-way on rear axle to LR (Wire Wheels) 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
MGA Twin Cam (or "Deluxe"):
Length Location End Fitting 1 End fitting 2
1 - 29" - M/C to 5-way (RHD) 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
1 - 49.5" - M/C to 5-way (LHD) 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
2 - 17.25" - 5-way to RF 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-F
3 - 43.25" - 5-way to LF 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-F
4 - 79.5" - 5-way to rear (at battery carrier) 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
5 - 17.25" - 3-way on rear axle to RR 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
6 - 45" - 3-way on rear axle to LR 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
7 - 6" - Front hose to caliper unit (2 required) 3/8-24-UNF-F 3/8-24-UNF-M
8 - 13.75" - Bridge across front calipers (2 required) 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
9 - 13.25" - Bridge across rear calipers (2 required) 3/8-24-UNF-M 3/8-24-UNF-M
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Bridge pipes are different mirror image form left and right.
Front bridge pipes are longer due to the larger pistons for front calipers.
Most recent change in January 2023 came from Mark Wellard in Australia (confirmed by Garry Kemm) decreasing length of the Twin Cam caliper bridge pipes (previously stated as 15.25" for all four corners).
If you have any problems with these pipe lengths, please let me know, especially with the lengths followed by "?".
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