I'm still entrenched in the bodywork of my project. The Firewall end of the the floorpan centre-tunnel was crushed so I've cut it out and will be welding in a new section from RD. But it got me thinking about Brake Lines.

I've removed all the lines except the long one inside the tunnel itself; they all appear to be in very good condition and came apart without problem. No obvious corrosion at all..

I will be upgrading the brake calipers - I have a couple of early 3" M Calipers aswell as 3.5" ones from a later Carrera to choose from to handle the power of a Suby 3.0.

What are my options? Should I upgrade the lines aswell...to Stainless Steel? All thoughts, advice and supplier info welcome!

Thx alot, O.

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=227880

If they're in good shape, don't f--k with them.

--DD

Ollie:

I looked into a few options but ended up sticking with my old stock lines. I had to splice a few sections in using unions and brake line from a local flaps though. An end was rounded off on the right rear and another fell victim to a cut off wheel.

Everything is fine...but my system is completely stock, including a 17MM master cylinder. No regrets on the way I did it, but if I were I that spot again, I would just install new ones.

PMB has a nice set up and most the normal vendors carry them.

I found this to be a good option as well:

http://www.austinhealeywood.com/brakelines.html

I hope you mean" Flared Unions..... and that you flared the tube to make the splice.

...I'll dig the lines out and give them a closer inspection. But I can't help thinking as the car is stripped and I've done alot of chassis upgrades that I may aswell go for SS lines while I'm at it.

Apart from better corrosion resistance, do the SS lines give any other benefit?..braking performance?

I'll be putting in a 19mm M/C too..

O.

SS hard lines or SS soft lines?

The SS soft lines are generally considered a "downgrade" unless you inspect (and replace) them on a regular interval.

In my dual role as a tech/shop owner and parts guy, I don't believe I've ever seen SS hard lines, at least not with German bubble flare fittings. SS would be most likely a mutha to flare, what with it being hard/brittle/take your pick. "Hard" brake lines are actually pretty soft material, especially the aftermarket versions, so they're more easily formed into the required shapes to fit the job properly. True, you "could" probably use SS, but you'd have to overcome connection issues and possibly adapter complexities, and that's just not gonna be worth the hassle. Most hard line failures come in places where they're subjected to a lot of water. Rusted our VW beetle floor pans come to mind. If yours aren't rusty, and you haven't chingered up the fittings, just leave 'em alone .................

The Cap'n

We have complete stainless sets for all 911's through 1977 right now and all 914's.

They just bolt right on. What connection issues? What would be complex? What's the hassle?

Definitely hard-lines...yeah, appreciate the soft SS lines would be a step backwards.

Thanks for the input all.

PMB's set is nice and bolt on....

I don't understand why stainless lines are a problem, especially if they're pre-bent and there isn't a bimetalic corrosion problem at the fittings. Is it that they are prone to damage by being soft? I wouldn't know if they're any softer than aftermarket lines unless the SS spec shows that to be the case.

I like the SS corrosion resistance of the lines myself. Most of the issues with metal lines (other than the rusty sheet metal the Cap'n mentioned) is at the fittings when people goober up the heads with improper or worn-out tools. They are a challenge when they've been there since the beginning of time, but that's the same for all lines regardless of the material. The answer is to make all of the fittings out of hard-as-balls materials.

Speaking of bimetalic problems. That's why I use grease, silicon spray, or CRC's SP-400 to try and protect where the fittings are on my unions and aluminum calipers, and disconnect/reconnect them every few years. Like exhaust studs/nuts, regular PM is a good thing just to make sure they aren't corroded into place. Oops. Slid off into the OT zone.

Eric, what's the material the lines and fittings are made of on your SS sets?

E, is $279 the installed price if I drive to SLC for those SS lines?

Just kidding

You missed the message. I said I was unaware of any stainless lines with German bubble flare connections. Despite my 40+ years in the biz, I either missed them or they weren't commonly available in the marketplace where I sourced parts. You're the brake guy, and I'm sure you know that "if" they were only available in Japanese, British, or US versions, adapting them for use on German cars would be less than ideal. Simpler is always best.

The Cap'n

I've always gone with the nice gray E-Coated lines. Buy, bend, cut and flare to what you want. Ends up costing around $50 to do a whole car.

While you were in the business, they were probably not available.
I recall a thread within the last two year that Eric was showing these SS in development from a hard line manufacturer.
so, thanks to Eric's focused efforts! these bolt on lines are available off the shelf???at least while he still has them.

Rich

The PMB lines look pretty nice and will be easy to bolt on. If you don't have the tools or want to become a brake line master, they could be a great way to go. Just bolt on!

Danke,

We found them while dealing with caliper compensating line issues. We ditched our previous supplier because they were;

1. Slow
2. Expensive and
3. They didn't fit. We would spend an hour just to get S-Caliper lines to look right.

We went to SEMA and found a new supplier. Sent them some S-Caliper lines that were perfect. They had the new technology. 3D scanner and CNC tubing bender. The lines they sent back were amazing. That gave us the confidence to approach them for complete kits, all pre-bent etc.

Rich Dauenhauer to the rescue. Rich had all of the lines cataloged for all of the years. Rich sent us the lines which we had scanned and done up.

The only problem for 914 guys is this: the most expensive tubing is correct for our cars. The green coated tubing from Europe. Strangely enough, the 356's and the 911's didn't have this tubing. I'm guessing it's probably a VW werks spec item. So, seeing as how it's imported and only used in a limited number of vehicles, it becomes the most expensive.

Tin coated steel that Matt mentions is the standard on all 356's and 911's. That's the least expensive tubing. Stainless is about $10.00 per line more (average... with an average of 9 lines in a 914).

Krusty is really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, old. I don't think stainless was invented when he was working on carriages.

We sell them individually or in sets. We don't have the sets loaded on the site yet but, you'll find them in the Member Vendor section. Check out Andy's build if you'd like to see a full set of the factory green lines.

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...1062&st=790

Leather brake bands...how to tune the leather bands on your carriage.
Shop class in his early school years.