Better Braided Lines and Fittings

HOW-TO
SECTION
Better braided L
ift the hood of any race car from
the 1950s or later, and you’re bound
to find one thing: steel braided lines
and AN fittings. (AN is a US-military-
derived specification stemming from a
lines and fittings

joint standard agreed upon by the Army
and Navy – hence AN. However, some
documents say the name is really Air
Force/Navy.)
Some modelers are intimidated by the
thought of adding these details to their
models, but with a little patience, the
right supplies, and a bit of guidance, you
Two ways to make engine-bay plumbing easier can add these instantly-recognizable lines
to your model.
by CLAY KEMP Follow along as I illustrate a few ways
to assemble and install these often-
daunting details.
32 Scale Auto • O C TO B E R 2 0 0 7
METHOD ONE: PRO TECH SYSTEM
1 2
Here are the basic supplies needed to start plumbing your next project. When it comes time to start making hoses for a project, I try to do as
The braided lines and fittings are made by Pro Tech, and this is one of many as possible. Start by cutting off several pieces of braid longer
the simplest, most-realistic ways to make AN lines. than you think you will need. A sharp blade is a big help. Make sure the
ends are cut clean, and have not frayed.
3 4 5
Move the knife blade in about 1⁄2 inch from the After the braid is cut to the center, gently Strip the braid from the rubber center core of
end one of the previously cut pieces of braid, slide off the excess, exposing the copper cen- the excess that had been removed. The rubber
and gently roll it back and forth across the ter core. core will be reused; discard the scrap of braid.
hose until you get to the copper center core.
Try to just cut through the braided part; a
light touch is needed.
6 7 8
Slide the rubber center core back onto the Use tweezers or needle-nose pliers to bend After the hard line is bent to the proper angle,
copper wire core. This will be the basis for the the hard line section to the desired angle. slide another fitting on the hard line to serve
hard line of the fitting. After the rubber core Normally a 90-degree fitting is used, but 45 as the pipe fitting. This is held on with a touch
is back on, slide two fittings over the braid. degrees is common as well. I usually bend up of super glue.
Make sure the first fitting sits right on top of several styles at once, just in case.
the edge where the braid and rubber core
meet; the second fitting will sit right next to
it on the braid. A touch of super glue will hold
them in place.
O C TO B E R 2 0 0 7 • scaleautomag.com 33
9 10
With the connection complete, the hard line needs to be painted. Use The fittings can be finished by brush-painting Clear Red and Blue.
some chrome silver paint and a fine brush to paint the rubber-coated Tamiya jar paints work well for this, and Sharpies can be used too. I
hard line to match the fittings. This will serve as a base for the anodiz- prefer to paint them before they are added to the model.
ing paints.
11 12
Good reference material will be needed to show where the lines mount. Do a dry test-fit first to get an idea of where the lines will go. This will
Drill pilot holes the same size as the hard line. These oil lines will go show how long they need to be, and where the other end of the fitting
from the pan to the dry sump pump, to be added later. will need to be placed. After the length is determined, use the same
steps to do the other end of the hose. Do another test-fit to make sure
everything looks right, then apply to the model.
METHOD TWO: DETAIL MASTER SYSTEM
1 2
One of the original, still-popular methods of building AN hoses and fit- To avoid a lot of frustration, drill out the fitting before you start. Using
tings is made by Detail Master. It truly is a system. It consists of the a pair of needle nose pliers, hold the combination fitting while you run
braid, fittings, and hard lines. a pin vise bit through the center – just enough to open the center a bit,
and give a bit more room to get the braid through.
34 Scale Auto • O C TO B E R 2 0 0 7
3 4
Here’s the bit through the fitting. Do all of these at once, and things Lay out enough supplies to do several hoses at once. Here I have a few
will go more smoothly. pieces of braid cut, and I’ve cut off a few pieces of the hard line. After
the hard line is cut, bend up several angles.
5 6 7
The compression fitting is tapered on one After all of the combination fittings are sepa- Slide the braid through the fitting until the
side; the adapter fitting (middle) is the thin- rated, glue the pipe fittings to one side of the end of the braid is at the center of the fitting.
nest; the pipe fitting is at right. Roll a new hard lines, and slide the compression/adapter Go too far and the fitting will fall off; it needs
blade in the groove between the pipe and fittings onto the braids. Here’s where reaming to be pulled through far enough so there is
adapter fittings, until they separate. out the center pays off. room for the hard line to fit in there too.
8 9
Touch the open end of a piece of hard line into some super glue, and Here’s the set of hoses, ready for test-fitting. After the length of the
insert it into the open end of the fitting. Give it a minute, then touch hose is determined, follow the same steps for the other side.
the fitting again with some super glue from a toothpick, to give it a bit
more strength. Try to make sure as little glue as possible gets on the Want to see more great models from Clay Kemp? Check out the
braid; that will stiffen it, and make it difficult to work with. Portfolio of his work in Contest Cars 2007!
O C TO B E R 2 0 0 7 • scaleautomag.com 35

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HOW-TO

lines and fittings

METHOD TWO: DETAIL MASTER SYSTEM

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