Brake Lines

[armand67Fstback]

Stangnet, I will be installing brake lines in my car soon and I am trying to figure out what to order. What is recommended stainless or steel brake lines?

I have Wilwood discs in the front and rear with braided stainless lines that will connect to the brake lines.

Would I order the lines for a 67 with discs all around? Will I need the small brass distribution block?

I would like some feedback/advice from those that converted to discs all around, thank you.

 

[Rusty67]

I think we need a bit more info. Sounds like you are replacing the steel hard line correct ?

Are you ordering bulk line and bending your own or are you going to order prebent stuff for your car ?

For the rear brakes, the only way I've seen disc setups done is to have the single line come back to the rear, use the standard single soft line to the axle and then have the hard line go out the length of the axles to a pair of soft lines.

The later model Mustangs don't do that. They have hard line to both side of the chassis above the axle/brake assembly and have a soft line on each side.

Either way works, choice is yours.

 

[armand67Fstback]

I will be replacing all of the steel hardline, is it recommended to bend all of my own hard lines or just buy them pre-made in Steel or Stainless? If so what kit is recommede

Would I run into any issues connecting OEM style hard lines to the aftermarket stainless braided lines?

 

[Rusty67]

You can bend your own but I have had bad luck flariing lines with the cheap kits. If you buy a pre-built kit then its fine to go with stainless. If you are going to bend it yourself I'd go with standard steel unless you have a lot of experience bending the tubing.

If you get a pre-made line for the rear axe just ask them to set it up for disc brakes. Hopefully they will make it a little shorter. You are going to need to put some metal tabs on the axle housing to secure the flexable line just like at the front of the car so the hard lines should be a tad bit shorter to allow the extra space needed.

 

[sparx]

I have a 66, not sure how a 67 differs. I purchased one line pre bent, the long line which runs from the front to the back. Got it from NPD.

I used the original set up in the rear with block to hose to axle component.

For all other lines I bent my own, I have been bending conduit for 40 years so bending brake lines was not all that big a deal. Believe it or not I used a Harbor Freight $4.00 brake line bending tool to bend the lines, clamped the tool in a vise since it requires 3 hands to operate successfully.

I bought a double flare flaring tool from Summit and it worked great. Use a fair amount of oil and take your time and the tool does a nice job. I cracked one maybe two ends doing a flare. I did about 4-5 practice flares on old lines and scrap line before I started.

I had only one leak in the entire system.

This is not a job you can fly through, but it is not rocket science. Save your old lines for a pattern or make a pattern with 12 gauge solid copper wire then bend a new line to a match.

sparx

 

[armand67Fstback]

Rusty and Sparx, thanks for the replies. I am going to ask at work if they have a flare tool set and go from there.

It sounds like the best option is to purchase the long line from front to back then bend custom from the shock area to the master cylinder.

Then do the same for the each of the rear discs to the main line.

 

[sparx]

Right!
It is not too bad, take your time and be aware you will make a mistake, I made a few bending but I was using a very cheap tubing bender.

I think I saw some nice benders at Jegs.
Post if you have any questions.
sparx

 

[67GTFB]

my $.02 worth as I replaced all my '67 hard line with a stainless kit (source of kit was Classic Tube from CJP) .... for stock configuration, all lines were just about perfect except for those from the distribution block to the mstr cylinder -- those required some "tweaking" with a bender .... the fittings and flares were perfect ... word of caution -- you can double flare stainless, but that's best left to a machine as stainless tubing is fr*&%&&^* hard to flare correctly .... regular steel is OK ..... the only issue I see with mating to the flex lines is ensuring the fittings on the hard line are the correct size for the flex lines .... another caution if you use stainless - ensure the flare is absolutely centered and straight onto the seat (that "cone" thing) of the female fitting ... otherwise it will leak and the more you tighten, the more damage you'll do to the seat (typically brass) .... actually excercise that caution regardless ..... and this can be challenging for the lines at the mstr cylinder bowl ....

btw, don't overtighten !!

have fun ...

 

[rbohm]

my advice would be that unless you are building a show car, use mild steel tubing, even if you get pre bent lines. the reason is that our cars were not the most accurate from the factory, and sometimes what works on one 66 stang will not work on another without a little persuasion. with mild steel lines you can do minor tubing bends and reshaping by hand. stainless steel tends to be harder to bend and rework if needed. in the end stainless steel only makes sense if you are building a show car.

 

[armand67Fstback]

Cool deal, I am glad you warned me about the increased difficulty of working with stainless lines. The car itself is not a show car, it is bieng built for spirited driving. Thanks for the input.

 

[sparx]

I forgot to mention that, also more and more of the lines are coming with a greenish/brown coating on them for corrosion resistance. I think I had to use one or two with the coating but they are on the rear axle so are not normally visible.

sparx