Pre-formed Brake & Fuel Lines

[Bingster]

I see where Bernbaum sells pre-formed brake lines and maybe fuel lines as well.  Anybody had experience with pre-formed lines?

[Plymouthy Adams]

preformed and then curve and bent to fit a box for shipping, you better off making your own tailor fit set.......

[junkers72]

It’s good to learn with these old bombs. When you get that perfect double flare you’ll then realize that you forgot to put the nut on. Oops . I enjoy making up my own fuel and brake lines. I agree with Plymouthy Adam’s, you’ll have to reshape them anyway after unpacking them. 

[keithb7]

Another vote for making your own. It’s like a puzzle to solve. You screw a few up. You learn. You get better. 
 

Building and shaping your first ever 3 ft line across the left rear axle housing? Order two 25 ft rolls of 3/16” brake line tube. 😄

Edited April 19 by keithb7

[D35 Torpedo]

Make your own, unless it's stainless, that stuff is a monster to work with and requires expensive tooling.

[Ivan_B]

Why in the world would you use stainless? 🤣 I bought a set of new lines for a modern car, at a local store, once. Had to "adapt" all of them because they did not fit right.

[Bingster]

Thanks very much for that all of you! 

[Frank Gooz]

I had bought a set for my 1964 Plymouth. I came in a very large box and it was bent around a five gallon bucket.

I was very pleased with the fit. I think that one came from inline tube

[moparfun]

I used inline tube for the Plaza wagon.  Impressed with the fit and ease of installation, the cost was less than the cost at Napa for straight lines.

[Ivan_B]

14 minutes ago, moparfun said:

Impressed with the fit and ease of installation, the cost was less than the cost at Napa for straight lines.

Autozone sells the same lines cheaper (at least around here). That is, if you need them now; otherwise - Amazon coil.

[Kilgore47]

 

I used a pre bent set to replace the brake lines on the P15.  Wasn't sure I had the skill to make the double flares.  They were bent to fit the shipping box and had tabs to show where they needed to be un bent.  They fit good.  If I ever have to do that again I will make my own.  Next I'll replace the fuel line.  I got roll tubing for that project.

[Sniper]

They do make a tool to straighten out hard llnes

 

https://www.amazon.com/Tool-Guy-Republic-Tubing-Straightener/dp/B073W197H5

[D35 Torpedo]

On 4/18/2024 at 8:07 PM, Ivan_B said:

Why in the world would you use stainless? 🤣 I bought a set of new lines for a modern car, at a local store, once. Had to "adapt" all of them because they did not fit 

 

Stainless is the better material, Hotrodders love it, You can buy complete stainless kits, It doesn't rust, it looks good, plenty of reasons. 

[Ivan_B]

Better than standard copper-nickel? 🤔 The only reason I see to use it instead of copper is if you are after the silver look.

[Plymouthy Adams]

stainless steel brake lines...the ultimate bling on a rat rod.......................😁

[Sniper]

Stainless steel is more brittle and work hardens easier and it does rust.  Not better on many fronts.

[rallyace]

19 hours ago, Sniper said:

Stainless steel is more brittle and work hardens easier and it does rust.  Not better on many fronts.

Stainless, when in contact with ferrous will rust. I have done a lot of stainless projects over the years and you have to avoid contact with ferrous at all costs, especially on sanitary work. Cupronickel tubing works well. It does not rust and it is easy to form. The best SS to use would be 304L or 316L but hang onto your wallet and plan on purchasing some rather expensive tools to form the flares. If you do not have plans to show your car at Amelia Island or Pebble Beach, save some money and use the copper nickel alloy tubing.

[Tired iron]

I did my entire brake system in nicop and agree with everyone else...a learning experience, definitely, but enjoyable, satisfying and pretty cheap to do.

[Sniper]

Stainless can rust..  When I was in the Navy they called it cres steel, for corrosion resistant, which it is, but if you actually drive it and whatnot, it'll rust eventually. 

 

For a show poodle, yeah it can polish up nice.  But for most of us, not really useful.  Having spent a lot of time in the Navy polishing various shiny things, I'll pass on self inflicted polishing, lol.

 

Cupro-nickle is easier to use and way easier to form a proper flare on, whereas stainless can crack right at the flare if you don't do it right.

 

When I worked in semiconductor R&D we used a lot of stainless lines, but we did not use flares, we used compression fittings.  Those are much more user friendly but not legal on an automotive braking system last time I looked, nor did we have the pressures involved that you would see on a braking system,

 

In any event, it is your choice, just know the issues so you can accept and deal with them is all.  I see a lot of how to videos out there for doing stainless brake lines, while the videos look easy, I suspect there are years of experience behind them.

[Plymouthy Adams]

and then, working some 16 years DoD Navy, used a lot of Monel...(Ni-Cu) .where high strength was needed along with corrosion resistance, most plans/drawings specifically called for which fastener you were to use.  Cres will gall at high torque and basically weld itself together.

 

Stainless steel is a catch all term for steel with a chromium content of no less than x percent  and will be magnetic to a lesser degree than steel and still corrode a slight bit.  More chromium less chance of corrosion/magnetism and for sure you paying or the chromium content as you go up in grade.   

Edited April 21 by Plymouthy Adams

[Bingster]

I've heard that Nicop is very easy to bend. 

[D35 Torpedo]

The best stuff I've used is Cunifer. Copper nickle iron. It works nicely and has a nice glow. Also, very corrosion resistant.

Edited April 21 by D35 Torpedo

[Bingster]

So basically you take off the old line and copy it?

[D35 Torpedo]

Pretty much

[Sniper]

Assuming the old line is what you want to copy, it may be a mess for all I know, lol.