Brake lines

[68angrypony]

I am converting from 4 wheel drum to 4 wheel disc on my 68 mustang. I am going to be using front and rear brake set up off of a 2012 mustang gt. I already have the brackets and the wheels to fit over them. My questions is, should I replace the hard lines and just go all new brake parts or can the hard lines be flushed/reused? I still need to find a 1 inch bore master cylinder for disc/disc and proportioning valve as well as the soft lines at each wheel.

 

[Horseplay]

If you have the tools and ability, I would recommend installing new hard lines. Who knows how old the existing may be or more importantly the shape they are in and what lurks inside. Cost of new lines is rather low if you fab them yourself.

 

[cmayna]

Yes for a new hard lines. If you can't use new lines that will fit your car, you can buy the tubing in rolls. Make your own bends, etc. For flaring, at worst case once you have the pieces bent, you can always have a local shop do the flaring.

 

[68angrypony]

I've never messed with brake lines before so this will be a whole new experience.

 

[Anonymous]

Go with new lines, especially if the originals are still in the car!

 

[68angrypony]

Can anyone recommend a good place to get brake lines? anyone dealt with classictube.com before? I definitely won't be doing the brake lines myself lol.

 

[Horseplay]

Don't be such a chicken. You have the old ones coming off to use as guides for bending the new. You can get a roll of tubing and even borrow the cutter and flaring tools to make them. There is a lot of line out there that bends and flares very easily. Honestly, it is a pretty simple job. I'm not sure what pre-bent lines to do the whole thing would cost but probably a lot to be saved doing it yourself.

 

[68angrypony]

I'm definitely a chicken with a lot of this stuff. Not having someone to show me or get me started is a big hindrance. For the cost of the tools, tubing, trial and error cost etc, it might be not much more just to have someone knock it out for me. As I will need new lines from master cylinder on down. I haven't even figured out which master cylinder to use etc.

 

[SELLERSRODSHOP]

look hard at the 2000 mustang v6 master cylinder. that's what I went with on my install & what mustang steve recommends with most of his late model brake kits. I made all of my new lines out of stainless steel & couldn't be happier. made a few modifications on my new lines to better fit the new brakes I installed. you can find softer materials to bend lines out of instead of stainless, but i'm a glutton for punishment. :roul

 

[Horseplay]

look hard at the 2000 mustang v6 master cylinder. that's what I went with on my install & what mustang steve recommends with most of his late model brake kits. I made all of my new lines out of stainless steel & couldn't be happier. made a few modifications on my new lines to better fit the new brakes I installed. you can find softer materials to bend lines out of instead of stainless, but i'm a glutton for punishment. :roul

I wouldn't recommend using stainless your first time out. Even with really good flaring tools it can be tough to get leak proof flares. Leave that one to the pros. The line you can get at Napa or Autozone, etc. is very easy to work with. Honestly, one of the easier jobs to do when rebuilding a car. And as Steve says, you will have some custom pieces to make depending on the MC you go with so you will need to do some fab work no matter what.

 

[68angrypony]

What is the biggest factor in determining size of the brake line? I was told I should use 3/16" line. Would going bigger equal better braking?

 

[Horseplay]

What is the biggest factor in determining size of the brake line? I was told I should use 3/16" line. Would going bigger equal better braking?

You only need enough line diameter to supply enough fluid to operate your calipers correctly. 3/16" is fine for what you are doing.

 

[SELLERSRODSHOP]

stick with 3/16. the larger the line, the less pressure you will have in the system...

 

[Anonymous]

I have 3/16" lines and up until recently, pushed the braking to its limits on the track, worked great.

 

[68angrypony]

I have a buddy that swears by the guy that did his brake lines. I called him and the guy quoted me for stainless steel lines, an fittings, stainless hangers, plumbing and running the lines however I want for 600. He was saying that most of the line out their is crappy and splits when flaring the ends and that using the good ends prevents leaks and basically makes things easier like a race car. So it got me thinking about material quality etc. Is their any kind of grading system or regulation on brake line quality/strength etc? Is 600 astronomical for everything like I think it is? lol.

 

[Horseplay]

$600 is a lot of money but if you calculate cost of materials and time it's not out of line.

Cracked flares are not a common issue with regular line at all. It's a VERY common problem when using stainless. That's why I said to stay away from it. I'm sure that's what his comment was in regard.

The lines on your car right now are not stainless and I'd be willing to bet there are original sections in use. You don't need stainless unless you expect to have people crawling underneath to admire them.

 

[GTchris]

The lines on your car right now are not stainless and I'd be willing to bet there are original sections in use. You don't need stainless unless you expect to have people crawling underneath to admire them.

I ordered stainless because I did not know any better. I really wish I did not.

 

[SELLERSRODSHOP]

you have to research the stainless before you buy. I get a stainless that's a softer grade & haven't had any problems. I even double flared all the lines on my car which some say you cant do on stainless without it cracking. I had one small line I had to redo that ended up being a flaw in the line where I flared it. I even have a cheap trick to straighten out the rolled coil of line without buying one of those $200 tools....

 

[68angrypony]

So I found a buddy who said he will help me do the brake lines. He said he has all the tools to do it. He works at a trans shops and fabs up off road racers in his free time so I've seen his skill set before. I will probably give him a few bucks for his time, but I'm sure it will all total out 200 or less. He doesn't want to use the coiled line. Says it never really straightens out right. He likes to buy and use the 5 foot straight sections and bend them. Say it looks way cleaner. At least now I can get things prepped and know I have someone to show me how to do it and make sure it gets done. Big weight off my shoulders.

 

[Horseplay]

So I found a buddy who said he will help me do the brake lines. He said he has all the tools to do it. He works at a trans shops and fabs up off road racers in his free time so I've seen his skill set before. I will probably give him a few bucks for his time, but I'm sure it will all total out 200 or less. He doesn't want to use the coiled line. Says it never really straightens out right. He likes to buy and use the 5 foot straight sections and bend them. Say it looks way cleaner. At least now I can get things prepped and know I have someone to show me how to do it and make sure it gets done. Big weight off my shoulders.

Make sure you get involved and hands-on. You'll find out it's not such a tough job and learn a few of the tricks for future tasks.