Swapping brake master cylinder questions.

[HJF]

I continue to work on my Son’s Sprint. I may need to change the brake master cylinder. Access looks really difficult. Clearly the carbs will need to come off but even then there doesn’t look like there is much space to swing my flarenut spanner to undo and re-secure the brake pipe union. Had a search through the archive but not found anything on this so am assuming I am anticipating a problem that others have not had? Even with the carbs off there still seems to be plenty of gubbins around it, so wondering how much will need to be dismantled?
Any advice on this appreciated.
Harry

[rgh0]

Once the carbs are off the master cylinders can be accessed but you are right and there is not a lot of working room. Getting into the footwell to disconnect the pedal linkage and get at the bolts securing the master cylinders to the firewall is challenging , Removing the hydraulic line can also be a problem with the limited space and purchase on the compression nut, in the past I have had to cut the brake line when the nut was rusted into place and then remove the master cylinder before I could get the cut off stub of the hydraulic pipe off.

cheers
Rohan

[HJF]

Once the carbs are off the master cylinders can be accessed but you are right and there is not a lot of working room. Getting into the footwell to disconnect the pedal linkage and get at the bolts securing the master cylinders to the firewall is challenging , Removing the hydraulic line can also be a problem with the limited space and purchase on the compression nut, in the past I have had to cut the brake line when the nut was rusted into place and then remove the master cylinder before I could get the cut off stub of the hydraulic pipe off.

cheers
Rohan

Well it does sound like my initial thoughts were correct. If I do end up changing it I was thinking of fitting a new brake pipe at the same time to improve its routing. Maybe attach the brake pipe to the cylinder first before finally offering it up to the firewall?

I’ve done most maintenance jobs on a wide range of classic cars including a couple of full nut and bolt rebuilds. What surprises me with the Elan is how some routine tasks are made considerably harder due to the way everything is so crammed in to make the car’s overall dimensions so small plus it was built with body on last.