Brake/fuel lines
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 3,930
Likes: 15
From: Calgary Alberta
Brake/fuel lines
I'm just about ready to give up on my pre-bent stainless lines which I bought. They are a pain to install and lots of them don't even come close to fitting. I am planning on bending up my own fuel and brake lines using regular steel tubing and steel coiled armor. Does anybody know which size of tubing I need for the brake lines, fuel lines, and fuel vapor lines (its a 76 vette)? What size fittings do I need, and where should I buy all of my supplies from?
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,458
Likes: 1
From: Collinsville MS
St. Jude Donor '08
I know Summit sells the stainless tubing and regular in 25' lengths. Just make sure you have all the right tools to do the flares correctly or you will have some headaches.
Have you tried Classic Tube? I bought mine premade for another project and they fit perfectly. Good luck, I know you have a lot of time in that car, it will be a keeper when you get finished!
Have you tried Classic Tube? I bought mine premade for another project and they fit perfectly. Good luck, I know you have a lot of time in that car, it will be a keeper when you get finished!
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 3,930
Likes: 15
From: Calgary Alberta
I know Summit sells the stainless tubing and regular in 25' lengths. Just make sure you have all the right tools to do the flares correctly or you will have some headaches.
Have you tried Classic Tube? I bought mine premade for another project and they fit perfectly. Good luck, I know you have a lot of time in that car, it will be a keeper when you get finished!
Have you tried Classic Tube? I bought mine premade for another project and they fit perfectly. Good luck, I know you have a lot of time in that car, it will be a keeper when you get finished!
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,458
Likes: 1
From: Collinsville MS
St. Jude Donor '08
I did the same on the Trans Am project. I didnt put stainless, just painted the lines with high heat like you said and 7 years later they still look new. You may want to clean the lines with some lacquer thinner and a scotchbrite pad before you paint, otherwise it seems to want to come right off when it rubs something, the scotchbrite give it something to adhere to. My .02
Safety Car
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 4,469
Likes: 275
From: Naples FL
I just did some stainless fuel lines on my '58. I got them from Corvette Central and they fit perfectly. Now i have one more item to polish. This is not ncecessarily a good thing.
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How to Restore and Modify Your Corvette, 1968-1982
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How to Restore and Modify Your Corvette, 1968-1982
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Racer
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 291
Likes: 0
From: Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (home in Colorado Springs)
I know Summit sells the stainless tubing and regular in 25' lengths. Just make sure you have all the right tools to do the flares correctly or you will have some headaches.
Have you tried Classic Tube? I bought mine premade for another project and they fit perfectly. Good luck, I know you have a lot of time in that car, it will be a keeper when you get finished!
Have you tried Classic Tube? I bought mine premade for another project and they fit perfectly. Good luck, I know you have a lot of time in that car, it will be a keeper when you get finished!
Very slow service. Wrong parts/reship replacement parts. Skimped on the coiled armor. Lots of modifications to get the lines to fit. I won't ever use them again.
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,424
Likes: 0
From: Lakeland FL
I got my SS fuel line from Ecklers and getting it to fit was a major PITA! I was ready to give up but refused to since I paid so much for the f'n thing. I finally just started installing it from the front and moving backwards and forced it into place as I went and I got it in there. It looks fine now that its in place but I'll never buy SS fuel lines again. I think it would have been fine if they hadn't bent the thing three times to get it in the box. 
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Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 3,930
Likes: 15
From: Calgary Alberta
I got my SS fuel line from Ecklers and getting it to fit was a major PITA! I was ready to give up but refused to since I paid so much for the f'n thing. I finally just started installing it from the front and moving backwards and forced it into place as I went and I got it in there. It looks fine now that its in place but I'll never buy SS fuel lines again. I think it would have been fine if they hadn't bent the thing three times to get it in the box.
Pro
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 741
Likes: 1
From: Woodstock GA
Why not make your own out of stainless? Thats what I am doing. I am changing the routing anyway, so making my own lines just makes better sense, and is likely going to be cheaper, too. I have 3 different flaring tools (standard double, ISO Bubble "Metric", and 37 degree AN), and several benders, so it should be fairly simple. I'm using aluminum line for the fuel and return hardline, AN braided for the flexible portions, and stainless hardline for the brakes.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 3,930
Likes: 15
From: Calgary Alberta
Why not make your own out of stainless? Thats what I am doing. I am changing the routing anyway, so making my own lines just makes better sense, and is likely going to be cheaper, too. I have 3 different flaring tools (standard double, ISO Bubble "Metric", and 37 degree AN), and several benders, so it should be fairly simple. I'm using aluminum line for the fuel and return hardline, AN braided for the flexible portions, and stainless hardline for the brakes.
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 23,831
Likes: 10
From: Springfield MO
St. Jude Donor '07
You can't double flare stainless tubing at home - you need a $500 hydraulic flaring tool, which is out of the question for me. You can only single flare stainless at home, and even then it can only be flared to a 37 degree flare. which doesn't create as tight a seal as 45 degrees on regular steel lines. The reason they can only be flared to 37 degrees is due to the fact that the stainless steel splits when flaring. Believe me, I have done my research on this topic, which is why I have decided to go with regular steel.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 3,930
Likes: 15
From: Calgary Alberta
I'm still going with regular steel...it isn't worth it. My brake lines worked after 30 years with no protective coating on them while they rusted away. I'll paint the lines after I make them and they will stay nice and clean.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 40,241
Likes: 786
From: Redondo Beach, California
I ordered a SS brake line set for my 68 with manual brakes. They sent me a set for power brakes. (The main front to rear brake line is different for power and manual brakes since the vacuum booster places the MC in a different position.) I called and they sent me a new main front to rear brake line supposedly for manual brakes. It was the same as the first. I called them and they refused to admit an error, they said that I was incorrect. I made a tracing of the original manual brake line I removed, and a tracing of the line they sent me, and the difference was obvious. I called them to say I would fax the drawing to them, but they said they didn't want to have anything more to do with it. They said they were sure they were correct, etc...
I next ordered lines from In-Line tube and they fit perfectly. Also, for $30 extra, In-Line will use SS fittings on their SS lines. I ordered another set for my 70 from them last week. Also, ordered their SS parking brake cables. I installed a set on my 68 - look really nice.
I next ordered lines from In-Line tube and they fit perfectly. Also, for $30 extra, In-Line will use SS fittings on their SS lines. I ordered another set for my 70 from them last week. Also, ordered their SS parking brake cables. I installed a set on my 68 - look really nice.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 40,241
Likes: 786
From: Redondo Beach, California
I have now all SS and use silicon brake fluid so I shouldn't have a water corrosion problem ever.
You can buy hydraulic SS tube flaring equipment. Eastwood and I think In Line tube sells the units. On type requires use of a vice and the other is hand held. They do all sorts of flares, but both units are pricey - around $400.
Last edited by 68/70Vette; Apr 21, 2008 at 12:34 PM.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 3,930
Likes: 15
From: Calgary Alberta
I talked to Mike Dyer about this - I trust his opinion more than anyone elses. He said that you'd have to have a serious leak in your lines for a long time for water to get in and rust the lines from the inside out. It is a non issue with a well maintained vehicle - many vettes have been neglected in the past, which is why water gets in the lines and starts the rusting process.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 40,241
Likes: 786
From: Redondo Beach, California
I think you need to completely flush the brake lines every 2 or 3 (?) years to keep water from accumulating. DOT 3 is hydroscopic (spelling?) it absorbs water from the atmosphere. There's a lot of garages that have an open container of brake fluid to dump in customers MC if their fluid is low. I think an open bake fluid container becomes quickly contaminated with water.
Also, I wonder about stress cracking of old steel lines. They get pulsed with pressures of 1000 to 1500 psi every time you hit the brakes. You wonder about fatique cracking. A friend of mine bought an old car to use as a daily driver. Not to long afterward, he hit the brakes and the brake line cracked open. Don't know if it was a rust or fatique problem, perhaps both. He swerved off the road into a culvert to avoid a rear end accident.