I've got a '68 Sweptline and I'm replacing the heater control valve and the heater core. The control valves aren't made any more. I have to use a generic control valve and add a tube to it to go through the firewall. The stock tubes have a lip rolled into the pipe.

I've been to machine shops, old school car shops, and radiator shops and no one seems to have the equipment to roll the bead into the copper pipe to make it like stock.

I know that:
1) Eastwood sells equipment to do this but I ain't spending $600 to roll two beads
2) I could just flare it.

I want this to be as original as possible but if I cannot find someone that can roll the bead in then I will just flare it.

If there is a shop or person in the Atlanta area, heck, a shop or person within a 200 mile radius of Atlanta that can do this, let me know.

Here's what the stock end looks like:

Try an air conditioning fab shop maybe ?

A slight flare of just the right amount & it will not leak and it would be hidden if you could live w that

I can live with the flare. If I cannot find anything by about this time next week, then that's what is going to happen.

Most A/C shops and plumbers these days just sweat pipe. At least the ones I've talked to.

You can buy the individual tubing beaders from Aircraft Spruce for $50-60.

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/search/search.php

yeah I wanted to roll a bead on some tubing pieces to fab some custom radiator hose routing and Eastwoods price stopped me dead in my tracks . I hear their stuff is top notch but like you I'd only be rolling several beads.

John, I owe you one!

I found some info on the interwebs. Fantastic!

Cool tool!

Are you going to leave it exposed? 'Cause if not, who the hell's going to know it doesn't have a bead ?!?!?

If this were under the hood, I likely wouldn't care. But some of these connections are in the heater box. While not a PITA to pull, it isn't exactly fun just to fix a slipped hose. Plus, they sell these at Summit, I live near a Summit outlet and I have a Summit coupon right now that covers nearly half the price.

Oh, and it is easier to do a job right the first time than to do it over. Though the amount of time trying to find this tool nearly broke that rule.

Another way to accomplish what your trying to do is to see if you can find a brass ferrule to fit your tubing and just solder it on the tube.

thats a good idea


old mopar man must have been around the block a time or two and been there done that

hardware store in the plumbing section for a ferrule that size

Forget the ferule ... get a short piece of household copper wire (14 gauge) and make yourself a ring and solder it to the pipe. Shouldn't take more than 2 inches.

Ferrule is what I had in mind. The copper ring would be great if OD of tubing isn't an aval. ferrule size.

How's this 'ghetto' way of "getting 'r done"...?

Meet, the GhettoBeader...!