Rear hard brake line

[Mervyn Hyde]

Just checking ... I assume that the hard brake line at the rear goes thought the 'notch' in the end of the spring plate attached to the real axle/drive shaft and then to the wheel cylinder? Mine are not in that slot.

[Vic Skirmants]

Drum brake; in slot.

[Mervyn Hyde]

Thanks Vic. Thought so. One of mine was damaged and had slipped out.

[Phil Planck]

DSCN9928.JPG (82.96 KiB) Viewed 1086 times

[Mervyn Hyde]

Thanks Phil. That is a clear image. I am going to make new lines for both sides this week. It’s time. Just need to decide what kind of steel pipe to get that will work with my flaring clamp. Also to find the right kind of plastic tubing to put around the pipes.

[David Jones]

Merv, I would buy cunifer brake lines, may be under trade names like Kunifer, It is a copper steel alloy which does not rust and available in different sizes, pretty much all that is used now on European and Japanese cars. Ideally you need 8mm but 5/16" is as close as it needs to be and it should be workable with your flaring tool if it works with steel tubing. As far as the plastic tubing goes I would think virtually any modern clear plastic tubing will work as well as the original from the 50's and 60's. Try food and beverage supply houses for that or get some used tubing from your local.

[Mervyn Hyde]

Thanks David. I can see that we have the copper/nickel lines here. They seem to have some iron in there too. http://www.brakeconnect.com/cunifer-brake-line

Not sure about their legality here however. My brake lines are 3/16" and as I recall they have 'bubble' flares.

[Mervyn Hyde]

Edit. I had to buy some steel brake line as ones with copper in the mix are illegal in Australia and result in loss of vehicle registration if detected in an inspection. Fortunately, we are still allowed to get the Bendix Blue Dot 4 fluid that changes colour as water is picked up over time.

The steel line was easy to work however with the bubble flare tool.