I spent all day working on the brake lines for my rod. You'd think there would be some ****ing kind of standard for br*** fittings.... The flare fittings are 3/8 24, but the pressure switch is 1/8 pipe thread. One outlet fitting on the master cylinder is 9/16 24 flare amd the outlet fitting RIGHT next to it is 7/16 -24 Would it have killed them to make both the same size since they both serve the same function? Then theres the AN 3 and 4 threads. WTF? I spent half the day searching through those little bins at NAPA looking for appropriate fittings. I still cant find an adaptor so a 3/8 24 female flare fitting can fit to a 3/8 24 female wheel cylinder . I'm gonna have to make a short piece of brake tubing with male flare fittings on each end. That oughta look like ****. Anyone else have these problems or does God just single me out for a screwing now and again?
The reason that the fittings are differant are so you cannot accidently cross up the front and back brake lines which have differant opperating presures (if you have drum and front disc). Also, finding those fittings in br*** is rare. Try looking up (Godman supplies), They can fast deliever anything you need to do the job right. Poetry
I deal with this weekly at the shop. Ask your parts guy for a spare Edelman or Weatherhead booklet. It shows pics, specs and part numbers. It will save you AND THEM time!
use a tee NAPA part # 652X3 for the inline pressure switch, it has 3/8-24 for the 3/16 inverted flair on two sides , and 1/8" pipe thread for the pressure switch if it is a ford master cylinder , it probabilly has 9/16-18 thread..use edelmann pets # 258302 to adapt to 3/16 brake lines if the other port is 7/16-24...use edelmann part # 258340 to adapt to 3/16 line if any port is 1/2-20.....use edelmann #358350 to adapt to 3/16 line if a port is 9/16-20 (chrysler)...used edelmann #258303 to adapt to 3/16 line
It ****s putting a brake system together and having to make your own lines, what I ended up doing after going to like 15 napa stores all over town was to visit the local Nascar style road racing store, they had an unending supply of universal fittings and hoses, both for fuel and brakes. Putting the disc brakes and new master cylinder on my 54 was way easy after that and honestly not too exspensive.
is this book used at chain auto stores? id like to think i can go to the parts store down the street and get one but i have a strange feeling the idiot will ask me what yr/make the car is and its engine size.
Edelman and Weatherhead are the two main sources ALL parts houses use. The booklet is 20 pages are so, older parts houses keep the books in the binders on the counter.
the idiot will ask me what yr/make the car is and its engine size If it has automatic, and pwr steering ,A/C, lectric windows, COLOR
I looked through some catalog at every fitting made and never found the AN to Flared adapter that I needed. Lucky for me there was a machinist in the shop next door that turned the angle on the male AN fitting to match a flared line. It never has leaked now that I think about it.
I feel your pain brother. I'm going through the same sh*t with my sedan. M/C has 2 different size ports, residual valves go IN with 3/8-24 inverted flare for 3/16" lines, and OUT with 1/2-20 inverted flares for 1/4" brake lines, wtf?!? I bought the Edelman 1/2" & 9/16" adapters for my mustang master cylinder to adapt to 3/16 brake lines. The 1/2" adapters are fine, they are inverted flare like I need. The 9/16" adapters I bought have the correct inverted flare for the 3/16" brake line to screw into. What I don't understand is the male 9/16" thread has only a slight "cone" shape recess to seal against the M/C. It is not nearly as deep as the 1/2" adapter is. I don't see how it is going to seal and not screw up the cone in the M/C. It is the Edelmans #258302 too, but I don't know what gives. I think I built the frame quicker then the damn brakes are gonna take. Anybody want a free A Sedan?
I have been there. Several years ago, I got so frustrated on a roadster I forgot to install the brake pressure switch. I will never do that again.
Same feeling here...I just plumbed the front brakes on my '56 Dodge...the rears gotta wait for now, but in the meantime, I killed two birds with one stone by plumbing my brake pressure switch into the rear of the master cylinder. I have a good firm pedal and my brake lights work. But it's a pain trying to get everything to fit right without using 47 adapters and unions and all that. But, it works...for now anyway! By the way...I'm using a new, split master from a '70 Satellite in place of the original single reservoir unit.
i can see how it could be frustrating , but it becomes easier after you have done it a couple times.. tman's advice is good, get the parts books to use for yourself. and write down the part numbers for future use! when i go into an auto parts store 99% of the time i have the part number all ready,,saves having those idiots try to look it up
I know you're right, 36 3 window, It'll get easier. But it seems that all those standards are redundant. An AN3 fitting is almost identical to a 3/8 24 except one has a 37 degree seat and the other a 45 degree seat. to compound the mess, a 1/8 pipe thread is almost identical as well. Then add to the mix good old metric. Certain configurations of fittings are flat NOT SOLD -by anyone. It seems that a bunch of this **** should be phazed out... Theres no real reason for all of these to exist. Thats my story , and I'm stickin' to it.
I feel for you, too. I just got done plumbing my rpu. Probably three full days under the car. I found the fittings to be pretty straightforward, except at the M/C. The real mind-**** for me was bending all the lines -- especially the two (clutch and brake) that had to run parallel out of the M/C and down the firewall. I thought I had some spatial ap***ude -- boy, was I humbled. Parts are a little hard to come by locally, so I bought some stuff from the guys at Pure Choice. They were great to work with. They understood immediately what I was trying to do with my M/C -- and the parts came in two days. Their 3/16 tubing was HALF the price of the local "hose shop."
It is a pain the first twenty-eleven time you go through it, but one thing that helps me is to gather all the "big" parts-- master cyl, wheel cyl's or calipers, valves, etc. (and install them, usually). Then I draw a diagram on a piece of paper, nothing fancy, but enough to write down what kind of fitting goes into each spot. From there, I can make a parts list of all the tees, unions, adapters, and other fittings, and take that list to the parts counter or the www/1-800 place, and knock it all out at once. Worked out pretty good when I re-plumbed my entire car a couple months ago. Same concept works pretty well for wiring jobs, too.
I am a ways away from running all my lines but to keep from having the nightmare of a time have drawn up and started figuring out all the lines, fittings, switches , line lock and almost ready to order all of it but im sure im going to be missing some thing.
I tried to stick with AN fittings. I found the flaring tool was a lot easier to use, and a lot more precise, than the 45° kit I used to do the fuel lines.
I keep telling myself next time will be easier, it never is hehe. Heres a good link maybe somebody can use. You can download the Edelman Fitting Catalog that lists all their fittings and specs. It helps alot. Like others said, you can look up the info yourself instead of the counter guy. Heres the link: http://www.plews-edelmann.com/brochure.cfm?brochure=1879&location_id=2516
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