Reuse old brake lines or replace????

[cbudvet]

I need peoples opinions on something. I have the old hard lines from the brakes and fuel lines and they are in pretty good shape for their age. There is still some of the cadmium plating on them. The question is....do I have them replated and use them again or do I just replace them with newer stainless steel lines. I am not going for a concourse rebuild so its not like I need them to be original. Part of me would like to reuse them because of the good condition. Do the newer stainless steel lines get you anything? I know when the rubber lines are replaced with flexible stainless lines you get better response. Also, the cost to replate them may be a factor as well. Any input is always appreciated.

carl

[madkaw]

Carl,

I was in the same dilemma. Though my lines were very servicable, I didn't want to put in nasty looking hard lines against a freshly painted engine compartment. I also have put on wildwoods and needed to install a bias valve, so my lines would have looked different from each other. I opted for new lines that I orderd off of ebay-not SS, just newer ones. The line kits were cheap and the fitting were correct for our cars. The lines were also very maliable and most of my bends were done by hand. I think they were about 50$

The fuel lines I did just paint with some por-15 silver. They didn't look "concourse" by any means, but they looked fresh and consistant in color.

As far as whether you would mechanically benefit from SS lines, I can not see where that would make a difference.

[ZCurves]

When I was working on the brakes of my Z, I went with the old hardlines, but I did choose new hoses to the Calipers and Drums. I also went with Loaded Calipers and New Cylinders/Hardware for the rear.

I cleaned my lines by soaking them in Varsol for a few days to dissolve the undercoating and loosen the crap that was inside the lines. I used a snug piece of lawn trimmer line to chase the inside of the lines to remove any debris. Finally, flushing the lines with spray brake cleaner prior to installation.

I don't think that there is anything wrong with using new hardlines if you have the time and inclination to do the bending. (I probably would have about the same amount of time invested if I had used the new lines though). I would suggest that you should ALWAYS replace the hoses to the Calipers and Drums. SS Braided lines always look nice on a car -they perform better and last longer.

With all of that said, I think that you should give it a shot. Build a JIG to lay out the lines, use a good tube bending tool and take your time! Brakes are the most important part of your car! This is where you should definately put your $$$! Generally, brake parts are all pretty reasonable(conversions aside) - so don't scrimp.:classic:

[cbudvet]

Thanks Steve and Andrew,

I appreciate the advice. If I'm going to all the trouble of rebuilding the car, I might as well put new lines on. I will keep the old lines so I know how to bend them.

carl

[Maples71240Z]

Thanks Steve and Andrew,

I appreciate the advice. If I'm going to all the trouble of rebuilding the car, I might as well put new lines on. I will keep the old lines so I know how to bend them.

carl

I replaced a couple hard lines on my 71 and found that bending the line with a good pair of gloves made a easier/nicer bend than doing it bare handed.

Dave...

[madkaw]

Be advised that you want find anyone that sells a long enough peice of line to go from the front to back in one piece. Make sure you get the right fittings-I believe 10mmX 1.0. The real fustration will be if you start flaring your own ends-it is harder then it looks. You want that right or NO brakes.

[ZCurves]

Make sure to use a tool that does a "Double Flare", like OEM.

Eastwood has lots of this kind of stuff:

http://www.eastwood.com/stainless-steel-brake-line-tubing-kits.html

Check out the video on the page.

[240znz]

I made up new lines for my project. My advice is to bend up the rear lines first as they are the shortest so you won't get too pissed off when you **** them up. If you aren't confident with using a double end flare tool...well it's easy to do right with a bit of practise. Just buy a double end flaring tool and have a go. Just remember not to nip the tool too tight or the pipe will split.

Buy a pipe cutter, you can use a hacksaw but the right tools for the job makes it easy to make them look great. Make sure you file the end of the lines at 45 degrees before flaring or else it won't seal.