Pre-Bent Brake lines

[D Calkins]

Good morning, everyone

Ireland Engineering has no idea when they will have these back in stock. I also reached out to AceAndrew but I have not heard back. Does anyone have another source?

Thanks

David

 

[rsporsche]

Ace Andrew takes a while. i know that W+N sells an 'un-bent' set. i have the product from aceandrew and its close but doesn't match the stock ones perfectly ... it takes some manipulation to get them to fit in the car. no idea about IE's set.

 

[bavbob]

I initially was intimidated about bending my own but I started with short lines and went from there, bought a flaring kit which is not too costly. I have found the skill invaluable over the years and with a nice learning curve. Unbent brake lines are super cheap so mistakes are not a big deal. The key of course is to save the old line as a template. I do finish all my brake rebuilds with SS lines when they are available.

 

[ScottAndrews]

I initially was intimidated about bending my own but I started with short lines and went from there, bought a flaring kit which is not too costly. I have found the skill invaluable over the years and with a nice learning curve. Unbent brake lines are super cheap so mistakes are not a big deal. The key of course is to save the old line as a template. I do finish all my brake rebuilds with SS lines when they are available.

So what raw stock do you use?

I see CU-NI, Steel, and Stainless Steel types, with 3/16 or 4.75 mm dia. (or are these essentially the same?), and single, double or bubble flares... and straight or in coils...

CU-NI seems easy because it is soft and apparently easy to bend, but I wonder how good it will look since it is pretty hard to make a coiled line straight..

SS seems like a nice choice long term, since it will weather well, but presumably hard to bend and flare, and because it is so hard, it may be hard to get a proper seal at the flare ends. Can you buy straight sections of metric SS line?

Plain steel seems like a poor idea, both inside and out..

IIRC the ends are 11 mm, right?

 

[mulberryworks]

I've heard CU-NI is the way to go, there are brake line straighteners available, $20 for hand held ones, about 2x that for fancier bench top versions.
Years ago I made the choice to buy the steel W&N lines for when I got to that point in my restoration, I have tubing benders waiting in the wings for that day, though I do wish I'd bought the CU-NI lines.

Ah, the internet provides this summary re: stainless steel lines:

• Hard Lines: Type 304 stainless is the most common due to its high corrosion resistance and strength. Type 316L is used in extreme environments (like marine or heavy-salt areas) for superior pitting resistance. Both are difficult to bend and flare without professional tools.
• Flexible Braided Lines: Upgrading to braided lines prevents the hose expansion under pressure that occurs with standard rubber, giving you a much firmer pedal feel.
• Alternatives: If you want corrosion resistance without the hardness of stainless steel, many builders use copper-nickel (NiCopp) alloy, which is highly rust-resistant but much easier to bend and flare by hand.
  

 

[mark99]

I bought the lines from AceAndrew, maybe 6 years ago, the pre-bent only goes so far, the long difficult one is not pre-bent so you have to do that anyway
And the main line from him was too short, I had to have a splice put in it
I did a very careful job bending it, but too short
FYI, I have an un-bent set for sale, I think I bought them from WN

 

[e9Leveque]

I bought the IE set, it was nice but did require some further bending. I purchased a roll of cunifer (copper-nickel) line for additional brake line work and for my fuel lines (different sizes). It’s very nice to bend. I agree with ordering a bender and straightener, I didn’t do that with my first attempt and wish I had from the start - straighten out the rolll and then use the bender for the curves. Use the lines you take off the car as your template. I know that some have mentioned that there are services where you can cut the roll to the lengths you need and then have a shop flare the ends and put on fittings - may be an option you could even pursue locally.