Replacing Tunnel Brake Line

[Rick Wall]

I am in the process of replacing all the brake lines in my 1962 B Coupe. Looking at the tunnel line, and its bends above the nose of the transmission, is it possible to replace this line with the transmission still in the car? I have a new line, but it would need to be bent to match the old line. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Doug McDonnell]

Not much room. I did it on my 65C with trans out. If young with thin arms and flexible you may be able to do it on a lift. I wouldn't want to try it laying in my back. I would think you would have to use the spring benders to do it. If you take your engine out you can drop the nose of the transmission some for more room.

[Rick Wall]

Nope, not much room, plus I am old without thin arms. I do have the engine out, but no lift in the garage. I don't like leaving this one line in the car since I am replacing everything else, including a new dual circuit master cylinder.

[Hugo Karasawa]

That line is difficult even with the transmission out, you need to do some bends on both sides.
What I would do is pre bend the rear line using the old one as a template. Feed that line into the tunnel to the front and in the front do a 90 deg bend or use a 90 deg coupling, couple this line to a smaller line to the dual circuit master cylinder.

[Martin Benade]

I did mine in two parts with a connector inside the tunnel. That may have eased the job, it was done on the floor with engine and trans in place. I don't recall that it was very hard. You can get various length lines at the auto parts store, ask for metric bubble-flare lines.

[Doug McDonnell]

And please let us know if you accomplish this task, maybe by dropping the front of the trans down a bit?

[Rick Wall]

Thanks guys for your ideas. I will let you know how it turns out.

[Hugo Karasawa]

Martin,
That is a great idea.

Rick,
You can use AGS Poly-Armour lines, the ones with bubble flare are marked as PAE and have green connectors. I found those at Auto Zone, the part number start there with PAEX.

[Martin Benade]

If you are getting a connector for two lines, be sure you study the seating area inside it very carefully to get the right style. The people at the store may not know about what goes with what, and the wrong type (for a double flare) metric line will screw together just fine. It would probably even seal OK, but you want it perfect, not just OK.

[Rick Wall]

Thanks for the additional suggestions. After looking again under the car this weekend, using Martin's suggestion to create a separate line above the transmission looks like the answer. I have removed the gas tank, so I now have more access to the front area lines and master cylinder. I will also try to find a local auto parts store that has the knowledge to provide the correct connector and line.

[Doug McDonnell]

If wealthy here is the line that goes over the transmission nose: https://www.stoddard.com/69535260100.html.html

[Rick Wall]

Doug, thanks for the link for the over-the-transmission line, and I did actually by one a few months back, along with all the other hard and soft lines.
Regarding the tunnel line replacement, I bought that line, that was offered with no bends, other than several for shipping ease. I was able to extract the old tunnel line by straightening the front end, then removing the passenger side transmission mount, rotating the line 180 degrees from 12 o'clock to 6 O'clock and pulling the line out the back of the tunnel. Once the workbench, I set the old line side by side and formed the new line with a small tube bending tool. I put electrical tape on the front end of the line to keep it clean on the way back through the tunnel. I installed new grommets, and formed the front line to meet the new master cylinder. A bit time consuming, but l like the way it turned out.

[Norbert Poggio]

Rick, I just came across your old thread on removing brake line from center tunnel. I'm in the process of replacing all my lines as well and was wondering why you didn't simply cut put both ends of the tunnel brake line and pull out the straight section. Was there a reason for not doing this since you are replacing the line anyway? Cheers
Norbert

[Doug McDonnell]

Here is a picture that shows the center tunnel brake line with rubber covering for anti rattle at the front of the tunnel area. From a C but should help

[Rick Wall]

Norbert, the reason I removed the line intact was to use it as a template while shaping the exact bends and length in the new replacement line. Once I straightened the front 90 degree bend and removed the grommets on each end of the tunnel, and the tunnel internal clamps as Doug illustrated, it came out easily. Now I had an exact template, and avoided shaping issues under the car during reinstallation. Perhaps cutting the old line would have provided the same result.