I am in the process of a complete brake system installation on my 56. New master cylinder with booster, all new lines, Corvette IFS and IRS with disc brakes on all four corners. I bought a quantity of 3/16 SS tubing and a professional Kent-Moore flaring tool but I think that the .035 wall thickness of this tubing is causing me some grief...tubing pushes out before flaring. I live in SoCal so rust is not an issue, I guess I started on this path hoping to have something that would always look good and never need replacing. I have been told that .028 is preferrable but now I am at a decision point...is the stainless really worth the added cost and effort?

 

Stainless is good because its all weather and all conditions and its a single flare arrangement. Mild steel needs double flares. Its what works best for you I suppose. I will probably go mild on mine. I'm in New Mexico so rust isn't a problem here either.

 

The steel lines on my 56 have lasted 50 years, so I don't see the need for stainless, unless you want to park over mirrors all the time.

I understand that the stainless is much more difficult to work with also.

 

Good one, Randy!


Actually I think it's a matter of SS not being able to be double flared, which is a better joint. Also note that it's a total crap shoot as far as what alloy of stainless is being provided; see the thread on SS bed bolts. Not all SS is rust-proof. Like copper, it is somewhat more brittle than steel so be sure to support it if you use it.

Also, I was shocked to discover that steel lines are not really "just steel". They are layers of steel wound in a spiral of several layers, then oven-brazed. It is a superior product. Check this out:
http://www.tiauto.com/bulktubing/double_wall.php

 

Ross,

Very interesting! Who would have thought that a simple thing like small diameter tubing could be so complicated?

Bobby

 

Double post, How do you delete one???

 

By the way, I meant to mention also that in Europe, specifically Britain, they commonly use a special copper tubing for brake lines. I about died the first time I saw it! It is heavy wall, and absolutely doesn't corrode -- looks dynamite under the car, too! Here's a link:

http://www.nfauto.co.uk/brake_flaring_tool.htm

(Check their "Products" pages too, they have some neat stuff -- too bad it's in UK)

Also, "Bundy tubing" (the spiral wrapped stuff) is likely what all our trucks came with, but modern replacements are just as likely to be single-wall.

 

Gotta love the Brits..."brake pipe"... :~)

 

Mine is regular steel lines. I was told they have been replaced at some point in time.

I just added a power brake booster under the floor. Instead of buying a good double flaring tool and doing all the work, I bought pre-flared lines and just bent them as needed. I saved a lot of money and headaches that way.

I tied the new dual master cylinder and residual valves into the old lines. I have good brakes now! Dad locked them up the other day!

I need to check the adjustment on the pads is all that is left.

 

Hey Chuck !

Steel !

Shout out to you in El Cajon ! How frickin hot has it been the last few days ? :-)

I live in Valley Center but my Business is in Poway.

E-Dawg-A-Roo

 

The special "brake pipe" us Brit's use is a copper nickel alloy often called cunifer

It dosen't rust is easy to bend and flare and wont work harden and break like copper

I have used it for the brake and fuel lines on my truck

 

Note that SS not only uses a single flair, but the angle is different than used with steel double flairs, so you need to replace all fittings with the proper SS flair ones as well, can't mix and match. Regular steel lines will last a lifetime in CA.

 

The GM calipers have ISO bubble flares so I will have to work that issue. These flares are easier on the metal when formed since they don't fold the metal back on itself. I'll post some pics soon in my gallery, all the aluminum in the IFS and IRS has been polished to a show chrome finish. This isn't a show truck but the polishing work had already been done so I wanted to keep the brake lines looking at least as good as the rest of the chassis. I think that I will give the .028 a try and if the tool won't hack it then steel will have to do. Thanks for all the inputs...maybe that cunifer "pipe" would polish up like stainless, can we get that on this side of the pond? I looked at the link that ALBUQ posted but they're in the UK as well.

 

All polished IFS and IRS??? Tell us more and put up some pix. TTIWWP!!!

 

Steel with clear coat look pretty darn good. Just a though.