Hi all,

The restoration continues, albeit delays....

This past weekend I removed the old master cylinder to regulator lines from the original chassis on my '69 vert (manual/no power brakes) hoping to be able to clean them and re-use on my new chassis. Sadly, the lower flare nut ended up seizing on the brake line as I was unscrewing it and twisted the line till it broke - I tried soaking the stubborn one beforehand in liquid wrench and then heating it up, but to no avail - it still snapped the line, so now I need to replace.

By the way, I had to use a 14mm open end wrench for the bottom, and 11mm open end wrench for the top. I never noticed that these nuts were different sizes. Tried SAE first, and they kept slipping off -mm was a much tighter fit, and both flare nuts unscrewed without stripping.

These lines are wicked expensive to replace, so I figured I would make my own replacements for both the upper and lower lines. I have a line bender and a K Tool KTI-7008 that really makes fantastic flares, so I am good there. It's not that I can't afford to buy these premade, but I refuse to pay $75 for these guys - no way - It's the principal of the matter. Just need specs, so help would be much appreciated:

Material - Steel or Stainless Steel? (I've read that steel is better than stainless because it's harder to seal than steel lines)
Diameter/Size - I think it's 3/16" but please confirm
Flare- Inverted Double Flare???? I assume this as it is a commonly used flare for domestic vehicles.
Flare Nut - Assuming 3/16"??

This is for my '69 4 speed vert. All manual - no power anything.

Thanks for your help!

 

Anyone?

 

I like the way you are doing this.

When I make these lines, I try to reuse the original nuts as the common replacements are not close to correct.

Use only zinc coated steel lines as stainless is expensive, incorrect, hard to flare, and hard to seal. The steel lines you install today will last MUCH longer on a babied classic than the original factory ones ever did. Probably still nice looking long after you and I are both gone.

You probably want to buy new armor spiral winding for the lines that originally had it. It's a nice touch.

 

Thanks sting. The replacement rolling chassis that I installed in late 2022 had all new brake lines (including the spiral armor) already attached. It's just these I have to worry about.

Is 3/16" the correct size, and am I right about the flare - inverted double?

 

Inverted double flare is right.

I can't help you with the right size. Just don't know the answer.

 

I can't help you with your materials question. I had to make some mods to my lines and found it helpful to work out of the car. SS was not a problem if you are careful about alignment

 

Thanks, ignatz. Slick setup. What diameter brake line did you use? I want to also replace the flare nuts, but I'm not 100% positive of the size of the line - 3/16"?

 

All 3 of the lines in your pic are 1/4" Brake tubing is measured by outside diameter. To be sure of the size, I just measured them on my own 69.

That said, I'm fairly sure the flare nuts used on these locations, and on the master cylinder in particular, are not standard inverted flare nuts. If it were me, I'd make an effort to salvage the nuts for reuse unless replacements are readily available.

 

Personally I would use NiCop line. Easier to bend, easier to flare, more resistant to cracking from vibration, more corrosion resistant than plain steel. All wins. It’s not super shiny like stainless but TBH it’s a functional part of the car. Kinda like a fan belt. Who cares whether it’s shiny. Biggest deal is is it functional.

 

thanks. Yeah ,mine are also 1/4" outside diameter. I thought the inside diameter was used in measurement, but I'll just go by 1/4" outside diameter.