brake lines finished yahoo!!

[John Dol]

I have not really done much to the coupe in a long time, while I was gathering parts for the engine. When I last left off I was working on the brake lines and got kinda discouraged when I was trying to make it really pretty with just the right lengths and flare them myself. That turned out not to be my strong suit and so it was left for a while. I decided I was not going to let the brake lines win knowing that if I could not get passed this I might as well pack it in with the coupe build. So on to Autozone I went and low and behold the brake line gods went and made new Nickel Copper lines just for me. These bend real easy by hand and do not kink easily either. All of a sudden I turned in to the master of brake line bending and before long I did more in 4 hrs then in the last 8 months.
I was going to post it in the "what did you do on your coupe today" thread but did not want to clutter it up with too many pics, besides I did it on Sunday but had no pics so then it didn't happen and......
anyway on to the pics.

From the brake booster to the left front caliper, down to the rear and on to the right side


on the right side


Bringing up the rear member and to the left rear brake


Through the frame across to the other side

[John Dol]

and out the other side



Just have to fill it up now and make sure it does not leak.
Glad I followed the advise of using standard lentghs to make this work. It's satisfying to know another hurdle has been conquered.
Any specific order I need to follow to bleed the lines? front, rear left right etc.

Thanks

John

[Cone Basher]

Nice work: I do have one suggestion for your consideration. You routed the rear lines through the quad shock brackets so my idea here is to take a section of fuel line and split it push it through the hole in the quad shock bracket and zip tie it in place to act as vibration insulator. Where your metal line makes contact with the quad shock bracket is a wear point and vibration there can result in a hole in your line.
HTH
CB

[CJBergquist]

Nice work John. I know the feeling when the brake lines are done. I think that was one of my top ten accomplishments. When someone asks how difficult the build is/was I show them the hand made brake lines.

[FFR 5332]

Nice work John! To answer your question about bleeding, start with the right rear, then left rear, right front, left front. The idea is to start with the wheel furtherest from the MC, then work toward it. Check for leaks as you go, and remember that the fluid can do nasty things to painted surfaces. I had to torque a couple of my fittings down pretty tight. They can take a surprising amount of torque without stripping, just be sure (as you probably already know) to use a flare nut wrench.

[GWL]

John,

I especially like the smooth curves in the lines that you have made.

I've got to agree with another comment that you have to be careful to protect the lines coming through the chassis against rubbing.

I also have picked up the same NiCopp lines that Autozone sells. I'm also getting those black nuts you are using. NiCopp sells them too.

What kind of flaring tool did you use and how did the flares turn out? I've been using the Eastwood tool and am having a bit of trouble with the line collapsing behind the flare giving me sort of a double edge outside the flare where the nut tightens down against the flare.

Thanks, George

[stengun]

Howdy John,

Congrats on the brake lines.

They are an incredible pain in the booty. I noticed that my rear brake lines where leaking on Sunday so when I went to the shop Monday morning I cut off the old flares and made new ones with a different double flare tool kit. No leaks now.

Before you add fluid and start bleeding the system make sure you have plenty of rags and spray solvent ( I used QD contact cleaner ) to clean up the excess fluid and any leaks.

Paul

[Ryan_W]

Nice work John! Off to the next task!

[ChazC5ZX]

Hay john if you havent added fluid yet you can use DOT5 fluid it wont harm the paint and as another plus it has A higher boiling point 540 deg but it dosent mix with DOT3 or 4.
Chaz...

[MPTech]

Brake-Lines finished! It's a good feeling, isn't it?
I put off doing mine for a couple months, but once I got help with them, it was simple. Just needed a push (and some expert advice).
Double check your connections for tightness, now that it's all connected.

Have you done your fuel lines yet? while you're on a roll........

[Thanatopsis]

Wow John, very pretty. Very professional looking.

[John Dol]

Thanks guys, it does feel good to be a step further.

CB: Good idea on the rubber line, will do that

FFR5332: Did not know about the flare nut wrench, will get one. Thanks

GWL: I went with the NiCop lines so I did not have to flare any lines (I cheated) I did have a cheap set and then a more expensive set that I bought for the purpose, but appearantly I do not posses the flaring skills needed! That's when the brake line gods looked upon me and said "here use these NiCOP lines cause you suck at flaring" LOL

Chaz: DOT 5 it is. I guess that's the nice thing about a brand new set up, you have a choice!

All fittings are hand tight right now so after buying the FNW and the DOT 5 we'll move on to bleeding the system.

It's good to have family!

John

[AC Bill]

Funny how certain points of the build process can stall a person.. Now you should be able to get rolling along again.

I have never seen the brake line routed along the 3 link bracket quite like that before. Usually it is routed higher up on the frame.
I wonder if it might not be a bad idea to slip some rubber hose over it to act as a shield from road debris, or eventually becoming sand blasted? I'm not familiar with copper-nickel line, but I know copper can be a pretty soft material.

[Cone Basher]

Jon Dol: FYI The wrenches you need are called line wrenches, they are basically a 6 point hex wrench with a slot cut in them that fits over the line. A must for brake line work, you can tighten the fittings much better to stop leaks and seat your flares. I got a 3 pack from NAPA, not expensive, just check the size you need. They work great on all kinds of lines and fittings.
HTH
CB

[Roger Dieter]

Nice work! Just one observation, that on the two pictures of the rear, I noticed that the brake line crosses past the line of the 3/4 square tube that the rear inner fenders get attached to. Hopefully they won't be in the way.

[John Dol]

any chance of a pic of those installed?

Thanks,

John

[Roger Dieter]

After further review, you should be ok on the pass. side. You might have to tuck the panel under the bend on the drivers side.
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1126.jpg

[John Dol]

Roger Roger (had to do it sorry)

Thanks

John