Brake and Clutch reservoirs

[PaulProe]

From research and pictures, I see the reservoirs for the clutch and brake are Girling items.

Somewhere, I read the clutch reservoir was a different size than the two brake reservoirs. Can anyone give me an approximate height and dia. of the two different cans.

Does anyone have a picture of this that would show relative size

Thanks

Paul

[Power Surge]

Here is a pic of my car, you can see all three cans. Notice the small one is just about half the size of the other two. On most originals, the small can was actually around the corner of the inner fender, above the headers.

[PaulProe]

Sal,
Thanks, that is exactly what I was looking for.

Would you mind sharing the height of the two different size cans.

I've printed your picture as a resource for my shop as it answers about 15 other questions on the engine compartment

Thanks

Paul

[hi-tech cobra]

Hey Sal,
Where can I find a set of fluid cans like yours?
Thanks,
John

[PaulProe]

John
The taller reservoirs are available from most British parts suppliers, Moss Motors, Victoria British, Englishparts.com, LittleBritishCar Co.

Be prepared. You won't believe how expensive a 6" tall tin can costs And if you're intent on being period correct, you'll need two tall ones and one short one.


Paul

ps: the short one can easily be made from a PVC glue can. Never could find a source for the taller can though

[Power Surge]

Originally Posted by hi-tech cobra

Hey Sal,
Where can I find a set of fluid cans like yours?
Thanks,
John

The Kirkhams make their own and they look pretty much exact, give David a shout.

[mickmate]

Hey Paul, I always like your questions. 4 1/8" tall 2 5/8" dia. As pointed out a glue can works good for the clutch reservoir. Street cars of course had a reservoir on the master and the two brake cans on the front of the footbox.

[Tom Kirkham]

I have been told that the short can was....I am not making this up.

http://www.minimania.com/web/Item/GA.../InvDetail.cfm

The large cans are from a Austin Healy 3000

However unlike modern plastic reservoirs, steel reservoirs rust, turning the brake fluid brown, and making it very difficult to get the caps off.

[Dominik]

Nice link from Kirkham!

We have various items on the shelf in steel reservoirs: Baking powder, brass polish, ...
I have to check! Mostly with a plastic screw top, though.

Nick, please send dimensions for clutch reservoir.

Dom

[Tom Kirkham]

Dom,

You will need to use a cap with a breather...The Gaskacinch can has the same threads as the Lucas cans...You can buy just the cap from Moss motors. Or you can buy a plastic cap with a rubber expandable seal from Wilwood.

[OCCOBRA]

I have an older 91 Legendary Autos kit car that has Girlings. All three FB, BB, CUtch all 3/4 inch Girlings
Call Neal in San Diego he is a big Girling guy Neal Performance Products 858-677-6784
Dane

[mickmate]

http://www.pegasusautoracing.com/pro...asp?RecId=1103

[lineslinger]

Originally Posted by Tom Kirkham

I have been told that the short can was....I am not making this up.

http://www.minimania.com/web/Item/GA.../InvDetail.cfm

The large cans are from a Austin Healy 3000

However unlike modern plastic reservoirs, steel reservoirs rust, turning the brake fluid brown, and making it very difficult to get the caps off.

You beat me to it Tom, those cans look exactly like the originals on my big Healy.

[Dominik]

Of course, the vent...

While we are at it: Make sure the feed line from reservoir to master cylinder is big enough to give the air bubbles a chance to escape into the reservoir. Aim for 5/16" (8mm) diameter.

Merry Christmas!

Dom

[David Kirkham]

We made ours from billet aluminum. Brake fluid is hygroscopic (absorbs water from the air) and soon rusts the can out.

We use the Wilwood caps because the ones from Moss dent if you look at them wrong. Also, they don't seal worth a dang and the brake fluid sloshes out and runs down the can eating the paint off the can (and anything else in its path). So, we went with billet aluminum to solve all those problems. Unfortunately, billet aluminum isn't cheap...but we sell a LOT of them--especially to the Shelby CSX4000 guys.

David

[PaulProe]

David,
Do you have a link to any pictures of the Kirkham setup? Do they have the same appearance as original cans or are they different?

Can you tell us pricing of them

Thanks

Paul

[David Kirkham]

Coming up! Sorry for the Holiday delay.

David

[David Kirkham]

Paul,

Here is a shot of all 3 of our cans together with the special bracket we made to hold them all together. We were tired of them all falling all over the place when we took out the wheel well panel. They are much easier to deal with when the are all together. The cans are $100 each and the bracket is $35. The bracket is threaded with a 1/4-20 female thread on the back side. So, to mount the unit on your car, you simply drill two holes and then bolt the whole unit down with 2 of the 1/4-20 bolts. It is really simple.

The bottom adapters are male dash 4 JIC--just like what was on an original Cobra.

I will make a special deal to anyone here on this thread for the next 2 weeks. I will sell the entire assembly (2 brake cans and 1 clutch can WITH the mounting bracket) for $250.

Merry Christmas!

[David Kirkham]

Here is a shot of the Wilwood caps we use. They are MUCH better than the original which dented if you looked at them crooked. The cans are made from billet aluminum to prevent them from rusting. We have been using them now for many years.

[767Jockey]

Originally Posted by David Kirkham

I will make a special deal to anyone here on this thread for the next 2 weeks. I will sell the entire assembly (2 brake cans and 1 clutch can WITH the mounting bracket) for $250.

David,
Please count me in for one set. I'll call later this week with payment, I'm out of the country until Friday. By the way, it appears that the original cars did not have hard line to the masters, they had the black fabric covered soft line. Do you know the proper name for that type line and where it can be bought? Thanks.