I'm going to start installing the brake lines on my 55' this weekend...new job for me and was hoping I could get some advice. I've got the tools I need (flaring and bending tools), but I'm really starting from scratch here. I've got discs front and back but no power booster. Also no lines on the Ford 9" I'm using so I'll need to make those as well. I was planning on starting there. The body is on the car. I googled the process and saw a guy use 1/8" galvanized wire to mock up the brake line...seemed like a good idea. I'm going to run the brake lines on the outside of the frame and will use an adjustable proportioning valve. thanks Charlie
You may want to consider residual valves both front and back.... Practice a few double flares before you start bending lines. Making the lines is not hard, just fit-up, take out, fit-up, take out...repeat... Good luck. Tom
Copper nickel iron alloy line (cunifer) is the bomb. Its about 1.10 a foot for 3/16 and available most places in 25" roll. 3/8 and 5/16 available too. Priced 3/8 and it was almost 90.00 a roll. Its easier if you have your junctions established first. Then you just ho from A to B. Wire mock ups are going to help a lot. Quality tools will save your sanity. Remember fitting first then flair.
I definitely agree about the copper nickel (cuprio) lines. Don't rust and great to work with. They even look nice. I don't prefer to use wire mock ups though. Just keep adjusting as you go. But try the wire mockup anyways. Maybe it will be easier for you. Like most things in life. Just take your time Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
Be sure to do the long lines first. If you screw up a flare you can cut the line and use it somewhere else. Charlie
Disc brakes us 2lb residual valves. Speedway p/n 910-31345 $15.00 ea. Wilwood 835-2601874 $18.00. What's the bore of your master cylender?
Be sure to buy a quality double flaring tool. The cheap ones that are made of two bars with wing nuts will not hold larger tubing to do a good double flare. It may do the tiny brake lines, but not very well. Eastwood sells some good ones. The hydraulic ones are the best.
I dunno 'bout that , I've been using my 40+ yr. old New Britian double flaring tool w/the wingnuts since it was new & don't have any trouble' dave
These help me. The pics are 3/8" tubing but, you get the idea. Sample 45*,90*,180* bends marked where they start on the bender. Hold them along your straight tube or at the area on the car that the bends need to be and transfer the bend starting point from the sample onto your piece. Also make sure to put the fitting onto the tubing before you flare it... Smokey opps forgot pic...
that is an excellent idea ^ one trick i learned to help make one of those shitty flaring tools work is to clamp the fucker in a vice. the wing nuts never seem to hold it tight enough, and if you twist them down using the handle (like the instructions tell you too) it just bows out the holder in the middle. so i place them in the vice and crank it down, they rarely slip that way. maybe older models were made of better metal and had nicer cut teeth so them wouldnt slip so easy, but chances are if your was bought new recently, it will slip.
Ordinary steel brake line from the parts store will last for 20 years if you DON'T take care of it. Will last indefinitely on a car that is garaged and only used in nice weather. How long do you plan on keeping your car? How bummed would you be if you had to replace a rusty brake line 20 years from now? Get the steel line.
I used to say the same thing , then I drank the "CU NI FE r" kool-aid. Its too easy, like falling off a log. My buddy tricked me into it. Make one goofy ass snake around everything line and you'll be hooked too. Now maybe we can explain why I see 2007 and 2008 with rotted lines. That's 4-5 years old. 2004 with every line bad not just a spot. Pretty hard to find a 2000 that hasn't been repaired or changed only once. And plow season will bring a load of busted lines pretty soon, trans lines mostly.
If the master cylinder is still on the firewall, you wont need the res valves for disc brakes, just drum.
I use plain old iron tie wire that I keep a roll of around for various things. It's cheap, and it bends easy for mockup. Once I get a mockup done I bend that one, then move on to the next. I'm also using a 50+ yr. old wingnut style flaring tool and it works fantastic. I inherited it from my dad's toolbox, and not sure how long he had it before me.
This is especially true if you are new to doing double flairs with a "less expensive" flairing tool. The nickle finish looks cool too... I get mine in 25' spools here. May look expensive, but you'll end up better off with it because it double flairs with ease... http://store.fedhillusa.com/316475mmtubingandnuts.aspx
Here's another vote for Copper Nickel! I did an entire Jeep Wrangler with one 25 foot roll and was spoiled ever since. Just about any flaring tool will work with this stuff, as already mentioned. I get it at Autozone.
There are some real good pointers in another post here about making flares that don't leak.Well worth the read. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=738475&highlight=brake+line+leak
When you buy the tubing in a roll, is there a good trick to getting it straightened back out for the long straight runs? You know, for those of us who are anal-retentive and the waviness in the line will bother us...
I tried too many times to make a decent flare with the cheaper tool only to have it leak. I get a perfect flare every time with my Eastwood kit. It was well worth the investment to have the peace of mind that my lines are sealed.
Boeing manufactures all their aircraft lines from a model made from bending aluminum rod, AL welding rod will work...something to think about.
There are several methods available to do this.. Some inventive manufacturing companies build and sell a high priced tool. Some inventive folks make their own. Some folks are happy with 80-90 % straight and do it quickly. Some folks have more money than sense.
^^^^^ 31 Vicky is right - straight is a relative term. All the low buck straightening methods I tried produced results in the 70 80% range at best
I was told to roll the tubing between the concrete floor and a 2x6 piece of wood. Anyone heard of this before I try it?
This'll get you to 70 or 80%. Ask the shop that's supplying your Cu/Ni tubing. If they've got it together, they'll have a tool for rolling the tubing out flat. We're fortunate in our little town to have a local Hose Shop that's really together.
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