Can you run a rubber brake line from your master cyl down to the frame? Some say its "too much pressure" but wouldn't it be the same psi throughout the brake system? I ask because I'm almost to that part of my master cyl/pedal swap & I seen that the factory power brakes on my car ('55 olds) had a rubber line going from the master to the frame where it goes into the hard lines. Building a couple rubber lines would be a little easier to run than bending hard lines, but I'll do it the "right" way no matter what! Thanks- John
A friend of mine has steel braided lines from the m/c down to the frame. He hasn't had any problems. Myself, I always use steel, and will continue to do so.
Speedway has several lengths of steel braided line. Be careful on the ends, don't even think about using a 37 degree flare on a 45 degree fitting.
I seem to recall seeing a "strain-relief" strategy of rolling a small dia. hoop (or two or three), or routing the steel lines so that they can survive the bending stress, as things go bump in the night.
There is no way that you can "build" a rubber brake line in your garage that will stand up to the brake pressures. I guess you could splice in a commercial brake hose but I personally don't think it's necessary if you add a couple of neat loops to allow the M/cyl to move like some of the old P/B setup did.
it can be done with the proper line and fittings but the more rubber line in a brake system makes for a softer feeling pedal.
i think that would be more work than bending and running some steel lines. more fittings and connections means more chances of leaks.
The pressure is the same so the appropriate brake hose would be fine. Matter of fact the Hemi Super Stockers used to put rubber brake hoses off the Master Cylinder since the M/C needed to be moved over to change the #7 spark plug.
As was mentioned, more rubber equals more squisy pedal, so you should aim to have as little rubber in the brake system as possible. The coil seen near the master cylinder on many cars is not only for movement (very slight), but also to retain braking in a serious accident, one that moves the body on the frame. Seems silly, but you may need to continue to brake after such an accident. Citroën, on their 2CVs, used only hard line for many years. On the front, the brakes were inboard, so no movement there. On the rear, the lines were coiled and clipped at each end, then run through the suspension tube (each side was a single-sided swingarm) to each rear brake. The coils allowed for the movement, the clips made sure only what was supposed to move, did. In the end, for a safe brake system, use as little rubber as possible, secure each end of each rubber (or flexible steel)line, and secure the hard lines every two - three foot as well. And when you are done, test the brakes with a simulated panic stop on a deserted road. And I mean that you should stomp on that pedal as hard as you can. If it's not built strong enough, better to find that out when you are prepared, than when your family's in the car and you just ran out of options. Cosmo
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