Disc brake hoses don't fit frame brackets. Grind which one?

[DrCharles]

I just got new front brake hoses for my '72 Dart which now has '73-up disc brakes. I did request hoses for a '73 and they fit the calipers & banjo bolts, clear the suspension, etc.

But the chassis end of the hoses won't go through the mounting tabs so I can install the retaining clips, because the hose end is round and the bracket has a flat on the outside parallel to the frame rail.

It seems to me that the point of the flat is to keep the hose from twisting (when the wheels are turned) which would allow a twisting strain on the stationary steel hardline. So I'm thinking of filing a flat on the female hose end.

Could I have bought the wrong hose? Thoughts on modifying anything?
thanks
Charles

 

[mvh]

Yes, you could have bought the wrong hose. Or rather, they could have supplied the wrong hose. My experience is that, starting in the mid-80s, all the listings for A-body brake parts became filled with errors and omissions. You can't trust any supplier part listings -- you have to compare it to what you have.

That said, I don't see why you couldn't grid a flat on the hose end. It's an expendable part, and if it works, it works.

 

[DrCharles]

Thanks, I think I'll do that (my concern was weakening the end and a potential stress crack when the flare nut is tightened and under pressure with heavy braking)...

Also I will carefully inspect the bracket to make sure it's not twisted. I looked at many pics online from different suppliers of '73-'76 A-body hoses, and they all have round ends. I can't find a really good pic of a '72-down drum brake hose; wonder if it has a flat side?

I just re-read Richard Ehrenberg's article on front disc conversions (and did other searching) and nowhere is this mentioned as a fit problem.

(I didn't have any existing hoses to compare to, I got the car as a rolling shell and it had single-piston '73 calipers already installed, with the old hoses cut off at the banjo-bolt ends).

 

[AJ/FormS]

I stopped working on cars for a living about 10 years ago. At that time WAGNER hoses always fit. That flat, as you surmised, keeps the hose from turning under several different circumstances, which would tend to cause problems upstream to it.If you cant find the right hose,a well-filed flat should be no poblem, and certainly better than none at all.

 

[DrCharles]

I took a closer look today... the snout of the hose will go through the bracket if held at exactly the right angle. But the part that keeps it from rotating in the bracket is definitely different between the drum brake hoses (round with a flat on one side) and the disc brake hoses (hex with one rounded side). I'm sure Mopar changed the bracket to match. It's welded to the frame rail and not worth swapping.

So I took a die grinder and carbide burr and carefully reshaped the hole to accept the "5/6 hex". Then the spring clips secured the hoses in their sockets so they don't twist.

I spent the rest of the afternoon bending steel brake tubing for the front hard lines. It's a lot of tedious work and gives me a greater appreciation for the pre-bent ones even though they're expensive (partly because they must ship in a light but very large box). So the front brakes are complete Now I just have to route the hard line to the rear frame bracket, and make two short lines along the axle tubes.