Brake lines

Topic: Brake lines (Read 2321 times) previous topic - next topic

Brake lines

June 12, 2018, 03:58:23 PM

As part of my TC remodel I am going to replace my rotors, pads, and rubber brake lines. I also am going to replace the Teves ABS with a 93 Cobra MC and brake booster. I have 5 lug 88 LSC rotors and calipers. Does anyone have a suggestion as far as the brand/type of brake lines to use?

Brake lines

Reply #1 – June 12, 2018, 05:30:17 PM

I'd got with NiCopp tubing. Easier to bend than std. steel, corrosion resistant like stainless steel, not hard to flare like stainless.

https://www.jegs.com/p/JEGS/JEGS-NiCopp-Nickel-Copper-Brake-Lines/2111534/10002/-1?Ns=P_Margin|0||P_SKU|0

Brake lines

Reply #2 – June 12, 2018, 07:01:19 PM

Quote from: JeremyB;466085

I'd got with NiCopp tubing. Easier to bend than std. steel, corrosion resistant like stainless steel, not hard to flare like stainless.

https://www.jegs.com/p/JEGS/JEGS-NiCopp-Nickel-Copper-Brake-Lines/2111534/10002/-1?Ns=P_Margin|0||P_SKU|0

X2 for the Nickel/Copper lines.

If you dont mind cutting and flaring your own lines, I bought this last time I did brake lines: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01801G45A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Brake lines

Reply #3 – June 13, 2018, 11:41:06 AM

the stuff is a dream to work with,,
go with nickle copper lines,, the brick and morter sell it as well along with fittings.

I just stocked up on all fittings for all my cars

Brake lines

Reply #4 – June 15, 2018, 08:23:05 PM

http://www.classictube.com/catalogsearch/advanced/result/?name=&description=&short_description=&sku=&price%5Bfrom%5D=&price%5Bto%5D=&year=1988&make=Ford&v_model=Thunderbird&cab=&ton=&duty=&drive=&box=&engine=&ymm_cat=Brake%20Line%20Kit

Brake lines

Reply #5 – June 20, 2018, 10:56:39 AM

Were you asking about the hard lines or the rubber lines that you mentioned you were going to replace? If it was the hard lines then the guys have covered that but if it was the rubber lines then I typically just got the ones from the auto parts stores when I ran rubber. You should seriously look at stainless steel braided lines in lieu of the rubber units. From what I remember you can order the lines for a 1993 Cobra and it will fit the TC's but I am not 100% on that. Let's see if anyone who has put SS lines on the rear chimes in.

Brake lines

Reply #6 – June 20, 2018, 11:43:31 AM

Thanks for all of the help guys.
Will the 93 Cobra rubber lines fit the 88 LSC calipers on my car? Could I order lines for the LSC? I'd like to go with braided lines if someone has a part number. Below are the rotors I plan on using.

http://brakeperformance.com/brake-rotors/premium-dimpled-&-slotted-brake-kit-black-zinc-coating.php

Brake lines

Reply #7 – June 21, 2018, 03:00:58 PM

Those rotors are garbage, I know I shaged up and ordered an entire set and their brake pads for my old Escalade. Two years and the coating was gone, rusting out down in the vents, and they made an annoying swishing noise when you were driving a low speeds where there was anything next to you that would reflect sound (car, wall, barricade, etc.). Found out from searching online that the slotted rotors will make this sound. With the brake pads we have today they now have degassing slots in them so the slots on the rotors are useless. That and try having a set of dimpled and/or slotted rotors turned, not gonna happen. I was going to return them but the shipping was high and I had to eat that. I was up to them if they would warranty them and in the mean time I would have had a SUV on jack stands waiting on the new rotors. Learned my lesson and just put some Centric plain rotors (center, edges, and down in the vents were all painted) and some Powerstop Z17 brake pads on it and three years later I sold it with them on it still braking like a champ.

The calipers on the 93 Cobra are the same calipers as the 93-87 V8 Mustangs. Changing to the larger SVO/Mark VII 73mm calipers is a well known swap and you can use the existing brake lines on the Mustangs. With that said it is a bullshiznit swap as it provides zero additional braking power or at least I noticed zero when I did the swap back in 2001 on my Coupe. Getting really good pads for the stock V8 Mustang 66mm calipers was a much better improvement by far. Also, you will have to install a manual proportioning valve or the braking on the car will be worse than the old brakes. Again, live and learn.

One other thing is that the larger bore SVO/LSC calipers were used with a 1-1/8" bore master cylinder. Not saying that the Cobra MC will not work but you may get a soft pedal. So let's have a conversation about brake bias since we are kind of on the topic with MC bore size. The Lincoln LSC and the Mustang SVO had 73mm bore front calipers and 54 mm bore rear calipers with a 1-1/8" bore MC. The 93 Cobra had 66mm bore front calipers and 45mm bore rear calipers with a 1" bore MC. So if we start mixing and matching parts then the brake bias gets all out of whack. You can get anything from a soft pedal to a hard pedal and from the rear brakes never locking up to them locking up so quick it makes the car unpredictable. With that being said I would strongly suggest that you not install the 73mm front calipers but if you do make sure install an inline manual proportioning valve to the rear brakes so that you can make an attempt to tune the brake bias on the car. Do realize that you will need to gut the stock combination valve (brass block below the MC that all the brake lines go into) if you are going to install a manual valve (do a search it has been covered here several times). I am not saying this is not something a person would want to do but to me it is a waste of time and money.

I try to tell people that if you want better brakes on these Fox body cars you just need to bite the bullet and do the 94-98 SN95 V8 Mustang brake swap (if you have an 87-98 Mustang or 87-88 TC 8.8 housing then you can use also use SN95 V6 brakes as the rear axles are the same between the V6 and V8 cars) which will give you a rear track width of the 87-88 TC's. I do realize that this entails 5 lug wheels and its not cheap but the stopping power is what these cars should have had when built new. I would however suggest that if a person does this swap to upgrade to the 99+ front calipers which are dual piston 44mm units and a minor mod to the 94-98 SN95 spindle is needed so they will fit (do a search here it has been covered a couple times). I ran my Coupe like this for a couple of years before the full SN95 Cobra setup and it was like night and day over the Fox brakes.

Brake lines

Reply #8 – July 02, 2018, 05:27:50 PM

Thanks for the information Aerocoupe. I've made a couple of changes based on the information. The car is not driven daily, it's a garage queen. I've put a little under 10,000 miles on it since Nov 05 after the Phase 1 remodel- 2.3 to 88 LSC HO 5.0, 5 lug, T5. The LSC 5 lug conversion was done by the previous owner. Just trying to work with what I have.

I do have the Ford racing manual proportioning valve, (I knew about the bias issue), changed the master cylinder over to the 94-95 GT, V6 master cylinder. Also purchased the StopShop copper nickel brake line kit and the Max Motorsports master cylinder adapter kit. I already have new 88 LSC front and rear calipers so I'll probably use them. With your review of Brake Performance rotors it looks like I'll pass on them. Don't need more problems. I was planning on using ceramic pads. Can I use Mustang rotors on the LSC spindles? I'm just replacing the Teves system I have now mainly because of parts availability. The brakes on the car now work great. Car doesn't nose over.

The brakes are just part of the modifications I have planned. I will also be pulling the motor, rebuilding it- new cam, pistons, heads, intake, ignition, fuel system, gas tank, clutch, shifter, smog delete. Also clean up the wiring, deleting all the junk I don't need. Car runs great, I'm almost afraid to touch it. I'll be taking it to the dyno when I get done for tuning.

Thanks again for your help. Your advice is appreciated.

Brake lines

Reply #9 – July 04, 2018, 04:34:26 PM

"Can I use Mustang rotors on the LSC spindles?"

So you can put Mark VII rotors on the 87-93 5.0 Mustang spindles and the 87-88 TC spindles which leads to being able to put Mustang and TC rotors on the Mark VII spindles. Only catch here is if you are going to stay five lug then you do not want to put the four lug Mustang rotors on your car.

If you are going to run the Mark VII calipers front and back you should be fine with the 94-95 GT/V6 master cylinder as it has a 1-1/16" bore and the Mark VII/SVO used a 1-1/8" bore MC.

Brake lines

Reply #10 – July 06, 2018, 03:54:30 PM

Thanks again. I'm keeping the 5 lug rotors. Just trying to see my options. Do you think the previous owner kept the TC spindles? Any way of checking?