Sunday, Sept. 26, 2004  -  Well, I spent the whole day at the shop today working on brake lines. Even though there are certain aftermarket companies like Inline Tube who have pre-bent lines in both steel and stainless steel, I decided I wanted to try my hand at doing my own. Though the aftermarket vendor's prices weren't necessarily a deterrent, it did help seal the deal. Pre-bent steel lines are about $155, whereas I was able to get all the steel lines, unions and connectors for under $30 at the local auto supply store. And while the final result isn't concourse-worthy, I felt it was pretty darned good for a driver, especially since it was my first time.

All steel lines were to be replaced, with the exception of the the lines between the master cylinder and proportioning valve, since they were still in great shape. However, I did end up using another chunk of used line, because it was still in great shape...and this is the piece exiting the proportioning valve and heading back to the rear brakes. When I removed the proportioning valve from the parts donor truck, I reached back from inside the engine compartment and snipped the brake line back as far as I could reach, mainly intending to just use it as a template for bending a replacement. However, since it was in such great shape and already bent perfectly, I decided to use it and to just flare the end of it and attach it to the rear brake circuits with a line union.

So anyway...I started off bending the lines which run across the differential, then ran the line up the left frame rail to the proportioning valve. The prop valve wasn't cleaned up yet, but I went ahead and mounted it to the top of the steering box so I could use it for bending the lines. However, I noticed that I also hadn't gotten around to sandblasting or mounting the front brake-line brackets, as well as a few other small brake-related items, so I decided I just needed to fire up the sandblaster to get these all done. Once sandblasted and painted, the brackets got mounted onto the frame on each side with new holes drilled into the frame. After drilling the holes on the driver's side, I was able to access the inside of the frame (behind the steering box) through a hole (Fig. 4) using an offset distributor wrench. I hope I never have to remove these brackets again, as the nuts behind the steering box are extremely hard to get to!

The only portion remaining is the section from the propportioning valve to the right-front corner. I ran out of steel line before doing this corner, so it'll have to wait until next weekend.

Fig. 1  -  My first custom brake line...not too bad.

Fig. 2 - Again, it's not bad. Not perfect, but it'll get the job done. I might redo this section later on, just for appearance sake, but I might not. We'll see.

Fig. 3 - Here's the newly-mounted disc brake line brackets. You can also see the bracket in the upper right-hand corner on the top of the frame, which is used to help secure the rear brake line as it exits the proportioning valve.

Fig. 4 - I was able to tighten the bracket bolts with a distributor wrench through this hole.

Fig. 5 - I was able to salvage the brake line armor from the truck's old lines. After getting cleaned up, they were slid onto the lines prior to flaring the ends. Here's a shot of the semi-finished product on the left-front corner. (The armor also has the added benefit of hiding minor bending flaws from novices like myself.) While it might never impress the judges at a car show, I think it looks pretty good. Once I connect the flexible line to the caliper, this section will be done.

Fig. 6 - Here's another view of the finished left-front corner. There is one brake line union hidden behind the crossmember, which connects the line exiting the prop valve with the rear brake circuit.