Ok so brake lines are next in my restoration. Is it a good idea to try and bend my own stainless steel brake lines? There is probably a thread already on this, but I haven't found it (Let me know if there indeed is one). But have any of you had success with this? Drop any tips below
thanks-
Frances

If you have all the tools necessary for the ends and bends then why not. There are pictures of the kits on the internet and you can use the old factory lines as templates.

This is a case of spend the money instead of doing it yourself. Send Eric at PMB a list of what you need. They come already bent in the correct places/angles, the correct lengths, and the ends installed. Brake lines are not where you try to save money.

I went with the Stainless from PMB.

Suprisingly Autozone sells all the pieces to DIY brake lines. Doesn't need to be stainless to do the job. The tools are cheap and it's not complicated.

When I removed the VW engine and the shelves it left the brake lines in precarious places, plus I removed the giant brake prop valve, so I needed lines that fit better.

If you don't need to modify the lines then PMB pre-made might be a better way to go.

I never did find new plastic retainer clips.

Stainless steel is not needed or easy to form the ends. I have formed a few from straight lunes from FLAPS. One thing to watch for are the fittings. The lines from FLAPS do not have full thread like original lines. I had one nearly stripped out the threads in an aluminum caliper.
I woyld hit the easy button and buy a set from PMB

And be warned that stainless lines are a beech to get to seal at all the fittings. I had to crank down all the fittings WAY more than than I ever did for mild steel lines, and even then it took several tries for one joint.

914 uses a spec 'Double flare at the ends= which pro brake shops have the tooling for. Also done manually by hand and extra tricky to get all of them uniform...my experience.
I'd not spend my time & cost savings, then having to do it twice...if leaky and sketch.
Email PMB...Eric + staff will get you the Best results !

Frances,
Having the skill to create high pressure metal lines is worth the time you will have to invest learning this.

50 year old German stuff will make the learning process a bit harder.

These cars use bubble flares which is less common than normal angle flares/double flare.

To do this job well you need a pretty good flare kit.

https://www.amazon.com/MASTERCOOL-72485-PRC...mp;gad_source=1

https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-hydraulic...google&wv=4

Both of those kits would last you a lifetime.
You can find cheaper stuff but at some point the quality level of the tool affect the quality level of the flare.

Super cheap is NOT the way to go here.

stainless is NOT the preferred material. Copper/Nickle IS the hot ticket for strength, ease of fabrication, and corrosion resistance.

Hydraulic versions of the flaring tools are 1000% easier to get professional results with but manual tools can create decent results.

Now, brake lines come with BIG ASS built in liabilities...

You make a brake line that fails and causes injury to others you CAN be held liable!

Even doing it for yourself creates liabilities if you crash into someone else.

My advice is "if you do it for yourself DO NOT document it or POST anything about it on open forums."

Buy the lines, keep the receipt...

"Having" the ability does NOT mean you should "apply" it sometimes.

If you want the ability, get a cheap manual flaring kit and some of the copper nickel line and play around with it.
Your 10th flare will be a vast improvement over the first one you do.

Double post, sorry!

I initially ordered some stainless lines but sent them back for the steel ones. As noted above, had ones I could not get to seal without tightening down more than I was comfortable with. Since there are no gaskets/washers involved, a good seal requires the ends to 'crush' a little.
The big advantages to stainless are corrosion resistance and much higher braking pressures. Unless you plan to take yours swimming in the ocean or do regular panic stops, steel lines are all you need.

+1 steel lines and buy them. Bubble flares aren’t easy to do well, especially if you’re not doing it regularly and with high end tools.

If you want to bend your own custom lines, buy pre-made, flared tubing at FLAPS, bend to your hearts desire. Various lengths available pre-flared.

The only thing worse than a vehicle that won’t Go is one that wont Stop.

You and Eric are buddies. I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t hit the easy button and call him up. There’s a lot to do to restore a car. When there’s already a kit at a reasonable price, that’s always my choice.

He can also advise you on the small parts and hardware that you need.

Frances,

You did me a solid on a contest a while back, and sent me a winning prize. What line or lines do you need? I had to replace one rear line I accidentally cut and bought PMB's whole kit. I used one line, so is there a specific line or lines you need....


I'll just send you the ones if I have them.... for free.

All in the spirit of learning, if you want to bend em, go for it. But if you're talking about certain lines, I may have them and am not necessarily using them.


Robert

I'm going to play the Devil's Advocate here and say "Go for it Frances". You impress me as the kind of person that enjoys the experience of creation and the lessons that failure teaches. A $10 bender will suffice but don't buy a cheap double flaring tool. Aircraft Spruce sells a good one. As Chris mentioned, steel is fine.

Reiterating - European vehicles like a 914 use a ISO bubble flare. These are not interchangeable with an inverted double flare

While I generally will back Eric/PMB - this time I'm going to say get a coil of nickle/copper brake line and DIY it.

I made mine from this stuff over 15 years ago and they still look more or less new. Its MUCH easier to bend and form the flares then steel or stainless. I have made up brake lines for several different cars with the copper/nickle line coils, as well as fuel lines. It really is fantastic stuff. You and your dad have the skill to do this.

I would NOT use stainless steel as a DIY solution. If you want Stainless - get it from Eric!

Zach

Perhaps another visit with PMB is in order? That way you can learn how to do the work yourself, but under "adult supervision". (That's what I called it when I did a transmission rebuild under the watchful eye of my mechanic; I got the phrase from a friend who did a 911 engine rebuild at his mechanic's shop.)

Though come to think of it, Bob the mechanic is older than me, so....

--DD

Add one more line

$500 per hour if another shop worked on it first AND you didn't tell me!



Had one TODAY that added 3 hours to the diag because of this...

Intentionally screw up the diag because you wanted to save some money?

You're going to need to find yet another shop as the good one you did find BANISHED YOU!

Haha thanks guys! I took a break from thinking about brakes to finish the electrical and work on the headlights, but now it's time to get back into it and I am looking forward to it! I will be in contact with Eric and this will definitely be a learning opportunity! thank you all so much for the support!

Oops! Thx for that correction.

IMHO, Copper nickel brake lines are much easier to bend and form than stainless steel lines. And accessible through Summit Racing.

If I did it over again, I would do what you did. And I agree that for our typical use, Stainless is overkill.

I got the bubble flares to work. Now ask me how many flaring tool sets I have in the garage. Lots of them. If you want to have the fun of learning, do yourself a favor and buy the best tools that you can find. That will give a price tag similar to buying lines from PMB, but then you have the tooling and knowledge for next time around. Not mentioned yet, but having the luxury of blaming someone else can be priceless.

or FLAPS.

I bought a complete set of Eric's "green" steel lines for my car and never looked back.