Custom front brake line routing

[Deceus]

So I went with the Wilwood tandem master cylinder and proportioning valve. I cut the stock lines out and don't really care to follow them at all especially for the driver's side. I was thinking of drilling a hole in the driver side inner fender and just running the line straight to the bracket holding the soft line. With a grommet to prevent the line from vibrating against sheet metal I don't think there will be an issue but I don't really see anyone else doing this so I'm concerned I'm not considering something.

So that brings me to the point of this post: is there anything I should consider before doing this? It would be pretty much a straight shot on the drive side and cut out a couple 90 degree bends on the passenger side.

 

[younggun2.0]

I am having a hard time picturing your proposed line position. I re-plumbed my entire car front to rear with all new stainless stock. I am no professional but here is my advise. The lines need to be routed away from extreme heat like exhaust. They also need to be routed in a way that in case of a catastrophic part failure they won't be cut or damaged. Think drive shaft failure under car, blown tire in wheel well or blown trans or engine. You also need to consider road hazards. If the car where ever to bottom out or hit pot hole. Lots of factors to consider. Then there is the ease of service factor and how much you want to hide them.

 

[Deceus]

I am having a hard time picturing your proposed line position. I re-plumbed my entire car front to rear with all new stainless stock. I am no professional but here is my advise. The lines need to be routed away from extreme heat like exhaust. They also need to be routed in a way that in case of a catastrophic part failure they won't be cut or damaged. Think drive shaft failure under car, blown tire in wheel well or blown trans or engine. You also need to consider road hazards. If the car where ever to bottom out or hit pot hole. Lots of factors to consider. Then there is the ease of service factor and how much you want to hide them.

My proportioning valve is pretty much one with my master cylinder:

So it sits right over the driver side inner fender rather than the inside of the frame rail like the stock one.

The stock line just goes around and up the frame rail, past the bracket and the has two 90 degree bends to go into the top of the bracket for the soft line. I'm suggesting to just go straight through the inner fender instead of running it all the way down and around the frame rail. Definitely going to keep it far away from the tire. The rear line will likely just go through the front of the floorpan to a braided softline for a hydraulic handbrake, will definitely keep it away from the driveshaft on the way out now that you bring that up.

 

[younggun2.0]

My proportioning valve is pretty much one with my master cylinder:

So it sits right over the driver side inner fender rather than the inside of the frame rail like the stock one.

The stock line just goes around and up the frame rail, past the bracket and the has two 90 degree bends to go into the top of the bracket for the soft line. I'm suggesting to just go straight through the inner fender instead of running it all the way down and around the frame rail. Definitely going to keep it far away from the tire. The rear line will likely just go through the front of the floorpan to a braided softline for a hydraulic handbrake, will definitely keep it away from the driveshaft on the way out now that you bring that up.

Pretty slick setup! If it was my car I would drill as few holes as possible! I would run the lines straight back to the firewall then down the outside of frame rails

 

[Deceus]

Pretty slick setup! If it was my car I would drill as few holes as possible! I would run the lines straight back to the firewall then down the outside of frame rails

Just seems like a ton of work and line just to avoid a 3/16in hole for me. I guess I'll do it and find out, already found some grommets that will work too. As long as this isn't one of those things that will instantly fail a tech inspection, I don't mind.

 

[younggun2.0]

Just seems like a ton of work and line just to avoid a 3/16in hole for me. I guess I'll do it and find out, already found some grommets that will work too. As long as this isn't one of those things that will instantly fail a tech inspection, I don't mind.

Sounds like you've got a plan keep us updated with progress

 

[Deceus]

So I did a lot of digging and wanted to do a follow up on this because I get ALOT of my information from old threads such as these. I'm going to go with a bulkhead adapter instead of a grommet. The grommets were expensive and I didn't consider the fact it would either need to be a split grommet or big enough for the fitting to pass through as well.

I got some really good ideas after watching this video on custom brake lines: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mNbssuPvXk

Here's the important bits from the vid:

I really like this setup. The adapter I'm going with is just a 3/16 inverted flare to -3AN bulkhead fitting from summit:

I'm throwing away my stainless steel line and picking up some Nickle Copper line which will hopefully be the final piece to the puzzle because I'm tired of dealing with brakes at this point.

 

[Maplecap]

So I did a lot of digging and wanted to do a follow up on this because I get ALOT of my information from old threads such as these. I'm going to go with a bulkhead adapter instead of a grommet. The grommets were expensive and I didn't consider the fact it would either need to be a split grommet or big enough for the fitting to pass through as well.

I got some really good ideas after watching this video on custom brake lines:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mNbssuPvXk
Here's the important bits from the vid:

View attachment 1714976718

View attachment 1714976719

I really like this setup. The adapter I'm going with is just a 3/16 inverted flare to -3AN bulkhead fitting from summit:

View attachment 1714976720

I'm throwing away my stainless steel line and picking up some Nickle Copper line which will hopefully be the final piece to the puzzle because I'm tired of dealing with brakes at this point.

Thanks for the update. I'm facing this exact problem and was looking at that exact Wilwood setup. The headers on my hemi leave zero room for the stock setup. Please post finished pics if you can. Thanks

 

[Deceus]

Thanks for the update. I'm facing this exact problem and was looking at that exact Wilwood setup. The headers on my hemi leave zero room for the stock setup. Please post finished pics if you can. Thanks

Will do. I won't be able to get my hands on the car until next Friday but I'll definite provide another update once I'm done. The only piece of the puzzle I'm missing at the moment is the soft line. I have no idea what the size of the banjo bolt is or what length hose I'll need but all the hard-line should be done next weekend.

 

[BillGrissom]

Should work. I expect the factory didn't do so because it was quicker to route the tubes under the frame rail. BTW, I read that the wire wrap on the factory brake tubing was so the workers could form the bends by hand without kinking. Some think it was armor to protect from road debris, which it may have served also but it was wrapped in protected spots as well.

 

[Deceus]

This was definitely the easiest way I see this being done.

So much easier than going all the way down and around the frame rail. I wanted to place the fitting on the backside of the wheel well to match the passenger side but I had already drilled a hole there for the grommet plan. No big deal to me but that's why the driver side fitting is where it's at.


I didn't get a good picture of the passenger side line but it was just routed under the steering column, over the transmission, along the firewall to the back of the wheel well on passenger inner fender. For the rear line I just went over the steering column/under the brake booster and into the firewall since I have a hydraulic handbrake inside the car that I needed to hookup. Highly recommend these fittings and Nickle Copper line if you're not looking for originality. I was done in just a few hours and it was one of the easiest things I've done on the car yet.

Just need to run a -3 AN to banjo brake hose from here to the calipers once they're on.

 

[Maplecap]

This was definitely the easiest way I see this being done.

View attachment 1714980990

So much easier than going all the way down and around the frame rail. I wanted to place the fitting on the backside of the wheel well to match the passenger side but I had already drilled a hole there for the grommet plan. No big deal to me but that's why the driver side fitting is where it's at.


I didn't get a good picture of the passenger side line but it was just routed under the steering column, over the transmission, along the firewall to the back of the wheel well on passenger inner fender. For the rear line I just went over the steering column/under the brake booster and into the firewall since I have a hydraulic handbrake inside the car that I needed to hookup. Highly recommend these fittings and Nickle Copper line if you're not looking for originality. I was done in just a few hours and it was one of the easiest things I've done on the car yet.

View attachment 1714980991

Just need to run a -3 AN to banjo brake hose from here to the calipers once they're on.

Thank you for the pics. Exactly what I needed

 

[Clelan]

That is a nice clean install for sure!

Cley

 

[halifaxhops]

The armor does work well for bends but it also keeps rusting of the lines and keeps debris from hitting the line. I love it have a roll of it.