Replace brake lines?
Safety Car
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 4,741
Likes: 1,639
From: Fairfax Virginia
The biggest problem with brake lines is that they may look brand "new" and shiny on the outside and can still be rusted 98% through from the inside. After purchasing my 1968 C3 (32 years ago) I replaced all my lines on my C3 as well as installed the stainless braided flex lines from the chassis to the calipers. I also converted all four calipers to using the O-ring seals. My car was built in October of 1967 and I like driving it semi-aggressively. Why risk the Corvette on old questionable brake lines? Had I been sure that someone prior to me had flushed the fluid every five years since new maybe I could have left the lines alone. Brake fluid absorbs moisture and it does it continuously year round while rusting the insides of the brake lines. Going fast means you need brakes to match if you want to survive to talk about the experience.
Testing the brakes in your driveway is always a good idea! I did it one day on my C4 and "pow", one of the lines blew and the pedal went right to the floor. The early Bosch ABS systems had a control box which is behind the driver in my 1988 C4 and one of the lines feeding into the box had rusted away. It turned out that all the lines had rust on them under where somebody gobbed on some clear (RTV) Silicone sealer over the factory seal going into the ABS box. The sealer had something corrosive to steel in it that made the lines all rust where it was applied. What surprised me was that the entire volume of brake fluid in master reservoir emptied onto the ground when the line ruptured. I was under the impression that 1/2 of the reservoir fed the front and the other 1/2 fed the rear section to help you in case you have a brake line leak or rupture. Not of the 1988 C4's it doesn't.
I bought a Corvette because I like the way they perform and if I want to go fast I darn well need to be absolutely sure it will stop as easily as it goes fast. I have drilled rotors on all four wheels and the calipers have all been gone through very carefully. I have spent a lot of money to make my Corvette go fast so I don't believe in saving money on my brakes. The same goes for the seat belts in the 50+ year old Corvettes. Everybody wants them to be original, "bad idea" if you drive aggressively or hard. Seal Belt webbing has a very finite life according to the aircraft and auto racing folks. My old Cessna 172 airplane was old enough that I had to replace all four seat belts sets because the ones in it were 15 years old. They looked brand new... It turns out that the material will break down even never being used. The NTSB "suggest" that we replace the automotive seat belts webbing every 15-20 years. According to what I read it is because they loose their strength as they age. How many of us have driven 100 mph in a car with seat belts that will not help you much if you hit a fixed object?
In aircraft seat belts need to be able to handle a 4G impact and hold. My old C3 came with just lap belts and they are bolted at one end thru a fiberglass floor section. Getting impaled on the steering shaft is not my idea of a fun experience. For a Corvette with 500+ Hp I want seat belts and brakes to match. I am updating my 1968 C3's seat belts to have a shoulder harness as well as all new parts and webbing. I want to be safe and when you drive a 54 year old model it might take a bit more attention than a newer car, since I can't see the condition readily I replace the parts. I also make sure that the E-Brake is always functional or I don't drive it at all.
Life is short so why add more risks? Stopping components are much cheaper than go-fast parts but yet many people take their brakes for granted.
Testing the brakes in your driveway is always a good idea! I did it one day on my C4 and "pow", one of the lines blew and the pedal went right to the floor. The early Bosch ABS systems had a control box which is behind the driver in my 1988 C4 and one of the lines feeding into the box had rusted away. It turned out that all the lines had rust on them under where somebody gobbed on some clear (RTV) Silicone sealer over the factory seal going into the ABS box. The sealer had something corrosive to steel in it that made the lines all rust where it was applied. What surprised me was that the entire volume of brake fluid in master reservoir emptied onto the ground when the line ruptured. I was under the impression that 1/2 of the reservoir fed the front and the other 1/2 fed the rear section to help you in case you have a brake line leak or rupture. Not of the 1988 C4's it doesn't.
I bought a Corvette because I like the way they perform and if I want to go fast I darn well need to be absolutely sure it will stop as easily as it goes fast. I have drilled rotors on all four wheels and the calipers have all been gone through very carefully. I have spent a lot of money to make my Corvette go fast so I don't believe in saving money on my brakes. The same goes for the seat belts in the 50+ year old Corvettes. Everybody wants them to be original, "bad idea" if you drive aggressively or hard. Seal Belt webbing has a very finite life according to the aircraft and auto racing folks. My old Cessna 172 airplane was old enough that I had to replace all four seat belts sets because the ones in it were 15 years old. They looked brand new... It turns out that the material will break down even never being used. The NTSB "suggest" that we replace the automotive seat belts webbing every 15-20 years. According to what I read it is because they loose their strength as they age. How many of us have driven 100 mph in a car with seat belts that will not help you much if you hit a fixed object?
In aircraft seat belts need to be able to handle a 4G impact and hold. My old C3 came with just lap belts and they are bolted at one end thru a fiberglass floor section. Getting impaled on the steering shaft is not my idea of a fun experience. For a Corvette with 500+ Hp I want seat belts and brakes to match. I am updating my 1968 C3's seat belts to have a shoulder harness as well as all new parts and webbing. I want to be safe and when you drive a 54 year old model it might take a bit more attention than a newer car, since I can't see the condition readily I replace the parts. I also make sure that the E-Brake is always functional or I don't drive it at all.
Life is short so why add more risks? Stopping components are much cheaper than go-fast parts but yet many people take their brakes for granted.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2021
Posts: 805
Likes: 260
The biggest problem with brake lines is that they may look brand "new" and shiny on the outside and can still be rusted 98% through from the inside. After purchasing my 1968 C3 (32 years ago) I replaced all my lines on my C3 as well as installed the stainless braided flex lines from the chassis to the calipers. I also converted all four calipers to using the O-ring seals. My car was built in October of 1967 and I like driving it semi-aggressively. Why risk the Corvette on old questionable brake lines? Had I been sure that someone prior to me had flushed the fluid every five years since new maybe I could have left the lines alone. Brake fluid absorbs moisture and it does it continuously year round while rusting the insides of the brake lines. Going fast means you need brakes to match if you want to survive to talk about the experience.
Testing the brakes in your driveway is always a good idea! I did it one day on my C4 and "pow", one of the lines blew and the pedal went right to the floor. The early Bosch ABS systems had a control box which is behind the driver in my 1988 C4 and one of the lines feeding into the box had rusted away. It turned out that all the lines had rust on them under where somebody gobbed on some clear (RTV) Silicone sealer over the factory seal going into the ABS box. The sealer had something corrosive to steel in it that made the lines all rust where it was applied. What surprised me was that the entire volume of brake fluid in master reservoir emptied onto the ground when the line ruptured. I was under the impression that 1/2 of the reservoir fed the front and the other 1/2 fed the rear section to help you in case you have a brake line leak or rupture. Not of the 1988 C4's it doesn't.
I bought a Corvette because I like the way they perform and if I want to go fast I darn well need to be absolutely sure it will stop as easily as it goes fast. I have drilled rotors on all four wheels and the calipers have all been gone through very carefully. I have spent a lot of money to make my Corvette go fast so I don't believe in saving money on my brakes. The same goes for the seat belts in the 50+ year old Corvettes. Everybody wants them to be original, "bad idea" if you drive aggressively or hard. Seal Belt webbing has a very finite life according to the aircraft and auto racing folks. My old Cessna 172 airplane was old enough that I had to replace all four seat belts sets because the ones in it were 15 years old. They looked brand new... It turns out that the material will break down even never being used. The NTSB "suggest" that we replace the automotive seat belts webbing every 15-20 years. According to what I read it is because they loose their strength as they age. How many of us have driven 100 mph in a car with seat belts that will not help you much if you hit a fixed object?
In aircraft seat belts need to be able to handle a 4G impact and hold. My old C3 came with just lap belts and they are bolted at one end thru a fiberglass floor section. Getting impaled on the steering shaft is not my idea of a fun experience. For a Corvette with 500+ Hp I want seat belts and brakes to match. I am updating my 1968 C3's seat belts to have a shoulder harness as well as all new parts and webbing. I want to be safe and when you drive a 54 year old model it might take a bit more attention than a newer car, since I can't see the condition readily I replace the parts. I also make sure that the E-Brake is always functional or I don't drive it at all.
Life is short so why add more risks? Stopping components are much cheaper than go-fast parts but yet many people take their brakes for granted.
Testing the brakes in your driveway is always a good idea! I did it one day on my C4 and "pow", one of the lines blew and the pedal went right to the floor. The early Bosch ABS systems had a control box which is behind the driver in my 1988 C4 and one of the lines feeding into the box had rusted away. It turned out that all the lines had rust on them under where somebody gobbed on some clear (RTV) Silicone sealer over the factory seal going into the ABS box. The sealer had something corrosive to steel in it that made the lines all rust where it was applied. What surprised me was that the entire volume of brake fluid in master reservoir emptied onto the ground when the line ruptured. I was under the impression that 1/2 of the reservoir fed the front and the other 1/2 fed the rear section to help you in case you have a brake line leak or rupture. Not of the 1988 C4's it doesn't.
I bought a Corvette because I like the way they perform and if I want to go fast I darn well need to be absolutely sure it will stop as easily as it goes fast. I have drilled rotors on all four wheels and the calipers have all been gone through very carefully. I have spent a lot of money to make my Corvette go fast so I don't believe in saving money on my brakes. The same goes for the seat belts in the 50+ year old Corvettes. Everybody wants them to be original, "bad idea" if you drive aggressively or hard. Seal Belt webbing has a very finite life according to the aircraft and auto racing folks. My old Cessna 172 airplane was old enough that I had to replace all four seat belts sets because the ones in it were 15 years old. They looked brand new... It turns out that the material will break down even never being used. The NTSB "suggest" that we replace the automotive seat belts webbing every 15-20 years. According to what I read it is because they loose their strength as they age. How many of us have driven 100 mph in a car with seat belts that will not help you much if you hit a fixed object?
In aircraft seat belts need to be able to handle a 4G impact and hold. My old C3 came with just lap belts and they are bolted at one end thru a fiberglass floor section. Getting impaled on the steering shaft is not my idea of a fun experience. For a Corvette with 500+ Hp I want seat belts and brakes to match. I am updating my 1968 C3's seat belts to have a shoulder harness as well as all new parts and webbing. I want to be safe and when you drive a 54 year old model it might take a bit more attention than a newer car, since I can't see the condition readily I replace the parts. I also make sure that the E-Brake is always functional or I don't drive it at all.
Life is short so why add more risks? Stopping components are much cheaper than go-fast parts but yet many people take their brakes for granted.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 400
Likes: 74
From: Atlantic Beach, FL
...did both my '68 4spd conv & '75 L-82 auto coupe without removing the body. The hardest part is getting to the fittings at the rear main line junction fitting, especially if the car has some and/or rust.
Is my vette stock?? HAHA
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 20,117
Likes: 9,247
From: Im not allowed to tell you
2020 C3 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
Once i was sure the new one was going to go in, i folded it up
Is my vette stock?? HAHA
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 20,117
Likes: 9,247
From: Im not allowed to tell you
2020 C3 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
I have used Inline tube and like them and can vouch for the quality of the parts...replaced all the lines with their stuff and it lined up perfectly....havent used classic tube
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 7,645
Likes: 2,464
From: Indiana
i just bought first time rubber clutch boot from inline tube…very impressed and usa made
