I have 2000 Mustang calipers on the front of my 1970 Capri and need to sort out flex hoses for it.
Other than trawling through Rock Auto's website trying to guess at hoses that might work or having custom hoses made is there a good way of finding a stock hose that will work for my application? I need a banjo fitting on the caliper end, ideally a standard female inverted flare on the other end and about 16.5" long.
Easiest option is to build them out of AN lines with adapters on the end - especially since there's a good chance you'll be mixing SAE and metric fittings with your setup.
AN fittings on the caliper side, braided hose, AN to Flare adapter on car side.
Good Luck
BA5
HalfDork
7/8/24 10:11 a.m.
The above two posts are correct.
I built mine with parts from Summit Racing. You just pick the length of hose you want and add the correct fittings to the end.
Worked well.
I was hoping to run an OEM style rubber hose ideally
You'll need to know just what the actual fittings are. Like, what size, what thread?
Racingsnake said:
Other than trawling through Rock Auto's website trying to guess at hoses that might work or having custom hoses made is there a good way of finding a stock hose that will work for my application?
Nope. I'd start with a 2000 Mustang hose and adapt it to the car as necessary. When I put 2005 Mustang GT brakes on my buddy's 68 Mustang, I used the 2005 hose and an adapter I got at NAPA.
wspohn
UltraDork
7/8/24 11:32 a.m.
There used to be physical books with that info it in from some after market sources like Repco, including threading and dimensions - when I was a young sprout working my way through university selling car parts, we'd get people coming in asking for unobtainable parts and we'd come up with something 1/4" longer than stock for their car, with the same threading etc. If you can locate such books they could point you to what common cars may have parts that would suit you.
One caveat on Aeroquip lines - I have always run them on the race cars but in one instance, I experienced a line that has one of the steel wires that make up the outer shield part, likely from something like a stone bruise or some such. The loose but sharp end perforated the Teflon inner and caused a slow leak. Since then I have always thought that having some sort of outer shielding (like a split bit of rubber fuel hose zap strapped to the line) would be a good idea, especially when used on a street car that gets examined once or twice during your ownership rather than intensely before every race.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:
Racingsnake said:
Other than trawling through Rock Auto's website trying to guess at hoses that might work or having custom hoses made is there a good way of finding a stock hose that will work for my application?
Nope. I'd start with a 2000 Mustang hose and adapt it to the car as necessary. When I put 2005 Mustang GT brakes on my buddy's 68 Mustang, I used the 2005 hose and an adapter I got at NAPA.
That was my first thought, unfortunately the Mustang hose has a length of hardline where it attaches to the caliper which doesn't work well on the Capri.
wspohn said:
There used to be physical books with that info it in from some after market sources like Repco, including threading and dimensions - when I was a young sprout working my way through university selling car parts, we'd get people coming in asking for unobtainable parts and we'd come up with something 1/4" longer than stock for their car, with the same threading etc. If you can locate such books they could point you to what common cars may have parts that would suit you.
One caveat on Aeroquip lines - I have always run them on the race cars but in one instance, I experienced a line that has one of the steel wires that make up the outer shield part, likely from something like a stone bruise or some such. The loose but sharp end perforated the Teflon inner and caused a slow leak. Since then I have always thought that having some sort of outer shielding (like a split bit of rubber fuel hose zap strapped to the line) would be a good idea, especially when used on a street car that gets examined once or twice during your ownership rather than intensely before every race.
A book like that or website equivalent would be ideal.
Your experience there is kinda why I want rubber hoses.
In reply to Racingsnake :
Yeah, a lot of cars have that. I'd suggest a walk around a u-pull yard, or a wander through Rock Auto. There's nothing special about a GM hose vs a Chevy hose. As long as the banjo portion fits the caliper properly, the banjo bolt and crush washers are the right sizes for the hose and the caliper, and the hose is long enough to route without getting rubbed or pinched or stretched, it's all good.
Racingsnake said:
wspohn said:
There used to be physical books with that info it in from some after market sources like Repco, including threading and dimensions - when I was a young sprout working my way through university selling car parts, we'd get people coming in asking for unobtainable parts and we'd come up with something 1/4" longer than stock for their car, with the same threading etc. If you can locate such books they could point you to what common cars may have parts that would suit you.
One caveat on Aeroquip lines - I have always run them on the race cars but in one instance, I experienced a line that has one of the steel wires that make up the outer shield part, likely from something like a stone bruise or some such. The loose but sharp end perforated the Teflon inner and caused a slow leak. Since then I have always thought that having some sort of outer shielding (like a split bit of rubber fuel hose zap strapped to the line) would be a good idea, especially when used on a street car that gets examined once or twice during your ownership rather than intensely before every race.
A book like that or website equivalent would be ideal.
Your experience there is kinda why I want rubber hoses.
Go into NAPA and look for the old guy. He's probably got a set of the books squirreled away. Angry forgot to mention that you need the same flare fitting on the car end of your hose, and it's possible that Ford went from imperial to metric between 1970 and 2000. That's why I've mentioned knowing exactly what the fittings are, you may not be able to find a metric/imperial combo hose in the wild.
You can get AN hoses with a plastic sleeve to give them a little more impact resistance. It would be interesting to know if wspohn's rock hit would have sliced a rubber hose.
Summit has a searchable database. You can select the type of fitting on either end of a brake hose and see what is available.
iansane
SuperDork
7/9/24 10:34 a.m.
If you have an o'reilly near you they can search by hose characteristics such as fittings size/type and length. The hard part is finding the one employee on staff that knows how.
Trent
UltimaDork
7/9/24 11:06 a.m.
Keith Tanner said:
Go into NAPA and look for the old guy.
All those old guys haven't existed in this area for over a decade. When the locally owned Napas were bought out by the larger groups, their experience was deemed unnecessary and they were treated like it, so they all left.
I know for a fact there is an assortment tray of hydraulic cup seals at my local Napa under the counter but no one there knows what I am talking about. I used to go through it once a month with Jimmy, but he was told by the new owners group he was too expensive for the service he provided.
iansane said:
If you have an o'reilly near you they can search by hose characteristics such as fittings size/type and length. The hard part is finding the one employee on staff that knows how.
If you shop one store and state you are the first choice, the store I use, pretty much will let me use their computer by myself. It's either that or I will "help" them myself with the selections. It also helps I have commerical account access which ANYONE can get at Oreilly's. 😉
Trent
UltimaDork
7/9/24 12:18 p.m.
OK. My last post had no relevant info, so as penance.
When I need custom brake lines I go to the local hydraulic shop and get DOT braided stainless made. It is usually about $30 per line which is more than acceptable to me for the high quality product I get in return. I did a quick look. Your profile says you are in Fullerton, CA. The first result for a hydraulic shop in Fullerton was Metro Fluid Connectors. Right on their products page is this
Custom brake lines
Stop by. Most shops like this can put whatever thread you need on any end. Banjo fittings, flare fittings, AN fittings. They should have them all.
I prefer the DOT approved rubber sheath coated braided stainless to the open weave stainless wrap that the fabricate yourself AN hose has. It is supposed to be more robust as well.
Thanks for all the responses. The old guy has been retired from my NAPA for a couple of years now, he would have been my first stop.
Should have thought of Summit, don't know how much luck I'd have at my local o'reillys.
Went to a place called Alternative Hose on a friend's recommendation, should have the hoses back tomorrow. I'll keep MFC in mind for any future needs.
Sunsong hoses (sold on RockAuto) has a stellar online catalog where you can filter for size, length, fitting, etc. Used it on a few different builds for OEM hoses (well, OEM to something) that I adapted on what I was building
iansane said:
If you have an o'reilly near you they can search by hose characteristics such as fittings size/type and length. The hard part is finding the one employee on staff that knows how.
You can do this with Summit Racing's catalog, too, and they sell stock replacement parts.
If youre in the DC/MD/VA area, Colliflower makes custom brake hoses and are really affordable.
https://www.colliflower.com/services
They can also make any type of hydraulic hose. Built me an AN fitting into a powersteering hose to convert our Elantra endurance race car to the Volvo electric power steering pump. Took less than 2 days to modify and cost $75.