front brake lines

[cubbear]

my front rubber line from wheel cyl to upper a frame bracket are 17" long I have ordered from 2 vendors and get 15" which are not long enough anyone have same problem? thanks again Rob

[protourbird]

I haven't had that problem but some of your local parts stores may be able to make new ones for you. I'd check with a NAPA store or someone who has fleet business or even a local hydraulic hose operation.

[GTE427]

The front brake hoses on the 58 differ from the 59-60. The 58 had two brake hoses originally, connecting to each other at a bracket on the frame. On the 59/60, the steel line ran up over the frame and into the wheel well, thus I can imagine this line being shorter than on 58.

I had this problem 30 years ago working on my 58 at the time, none of the parts stores or Ford's Part Catalogs recognized the two lines for the 58. I was able to match the line to the wheel cylinder, but not the short one in the engine bay, which is both hose and a short steel line with a bend.

Indicate whether yours has the two lines or one and maybe someone else will have the solution once we know how your car is configured.

[YellowRose]

front brake lines

Hi Rob,

I talked with Don, at Bird Nest about this. He said no one makes those hoses anymore. What was said below about them is true. That is another way the '58 was different from the '59 & '60. Two ways to fix this is to take those hoses off, and take them to a company that makes pressurized hoses, or a company that does hose work and get them to replicate those hoses. Or do what Protourbird suggested. Or you can take four 15" hoses, and he said to screw two of them together for each side and put them on like that. However, that means that you are going to have an extra 13" of hose left over that you are going to have to wrap up, or wrap around something.. That was Don's two suggestions. He said this has been a problem for years when it comes to '58 front brake lines.

[Guest]

Regarding the non-existance of 58 brake line parts, I would suggest converting your front brake line assembly to that of the 59 model year. Just use the 59 hose instead of the two 58 hoses. In the book "Squarebirds Illustrated Parts Catalog" you will see the 58 brake system schematic on page 8 and the 59-60 schematic on page 9. The only difference be between the two styles is the single hose replaces the double hose. Thusly eliminate the 58 two hose system and the longer 59 single hose length will fit the 58. I had done this to my 58 some 10 years ago with no real effort, but only after I had made numerous inquiries about the out of production 58 two hose system. I had also found out that in many states it is illegal for brake hoses to be made-up special even at certified hydraulic shops. Such is the case in both MN and CA.

[Guest]

Thought I'd post to all 2read a response from direct mail I had today with cubbear regarding the 58 brake line retrofit, as follows;


Well it's been 10 years or more since I did it so don't recall exactly what I did, but common sense tells me that I bought the 59-60 brake hoses and installed them and they fit. However there was some re-routing of the hose necessary to bring the hose from the line above down to the wheel cylinder on the backing plate. There was also a brass connecting block that connected the two lines on the 58 of which that connecting block had to be eliminated or used in a different fashion. I believe that the connecting block may be used as a t-block to branch out to the passenger side break line. But with out getting out under the hood of my Bird I just can't be certain. Last night I had only just made reference to the schematic in the Illustrated Parts Book.

The other option that may make even more sense (and maybe that's what I had done 10 years ago) is to make note of the exact end terminals required for a longer hose, take the overall new hose measurement needed and go to your auto parts store and buy the correct length hoses with the correct crimped end terminal fittings.

I do recall much hassle in trying to figure this all out and the many trips to hose shops and parts stores before I eventually discovered how easy the conversion actually was for me to do. I could look at my Bird brake set up and let you and all know of my findings, however I won't be able to do that until perhaps end of the week as my Bird is stored some distance away from my home. Hope this all helps.

Best Birding,
Jed Zimmerman
612-708-2144


In a message dated 3/18/2009 9:27:31 A.M. Central Daylight Time, cubbear@uslink.net writes:

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thanks jed you say that the brake line on 59-60 is long enough to replace the 2 hoses on the 58?

[GTE427]

Jed,

When I encountered this in the 70's, a trip to the yard was on order. ! found a 59/60 without the engine, took all the lines, brackets, bolts, junction tee off the car and back to my car.

The biggest difference on the 58, the passenger side line is routed to the front radiator support to cross from side to side, the 59/60 cross beneath the engine (motor mount x-brace) which is a nice short run from side to side. The 59/60 steel lines continue into the wheel well and terminate with the fitting pointed to the ground, the 58 fitting ends in the engine bay with the fitting pointed at the stars.

New steel lines available in the aftermarket, then if a parts car can be located, the remaining mounting hardware can be gotten. The hoses are easy to find for the 59/60.

[GTE427]

I took a look at Pat Wilson's site. He lists the upper hose (58 only), and the lower hose, problem is the 58 lower hose is group with the others, as was the original problem.

Pat does quite a bit of work on these cars and finished a 58 convt a few years back (with the correct two hose setup). A call to him may be worthwhile as he's very experienced with these cars and has probably been there, done that.

[dfitz176]

Hi gents, new guy here. I have the same problem with my '58 front brake hoses. The short ones just don't stretch! I just need a clarification here: do you have to replace the steel lines and brackets to make the '59 hoses work? How about just useing 2 rear hoses, aren't they just a little longer, I think 19 inches? I think if I file out the V at the bottom of the hole in the frame bracket they would work. Great site you have here!

[simplyconnected]

I'm in favor of making the hoses as short as possible (within reason). Do that by bending a short 3/16" hard line from the tee, and mount it to a frame bracket closer to the wheel cylinder opening.

Jed had good suggestions, too... just bring the length you need to your friendly auto parts store and buy the correct size hose.

Hey, did you ever think about retrofitting to disk brakes?

These are Mustang rotors on my original spindles.

[dfitz176]

I eventually do want to convert to disc, and to that end I have a '75 granada in a friend's field I plan to strip this spring, but for now I am EXTREMELY budget conscience. I must ask tho, what year mustang parts are you using, and are they all just bolt on? What mods did you need to make?

[simplyconnected]

There are no changes to the car. Just swap the spindles with Granada spindles. You will need to open the bottom ball joint tapered hole on your Granada spindles to accept the larger T-bird ball joint. (I just bought a reamer for that purpose.)

Granada spindles are 11" - perfect for your T-bird. If you add a power booster and the Granada proportioning valve, those brakes will put you through the windshield. I have that exact setup on my '55 Customline.

If your Granada has wheels, use them too. Seems all the T-bird guys like to stay with 14" wheels. If you cannot get real Granada wheels, you may need to cut the snout on the rotor down to 2.5", to fit the centers of other Ford disk brake wheels.

My 1955 Customline came with 15" wheels. The more premium Fairlane came with 16", so caliper clearance is never a problem for me. I did have my rotor snouts turned down to my original drum dimension (2.5"). The machinist only charged me $15, he said, "because I have a classic Ford."

I don't know how much you drive your T-bird, but if you use those Granada disk brakes, you will be amazed how well your car stops. It's not a small difference, it is huge.

Take those parts off the Granada and rebuild the calipers yourself (I did mine). They only have two neoprene parts to replace. For ten bucks you can rebuild both rotors, using a compressor to pop out the pistons.

Check out this instruction file for retrofitting a Mustang. <-click here.
This will give you an idea of what to do. - Dave

[dfitz176]

Thanks for the info, I can't wait to get started! I'm actually just getting started on the Tbird, I just pulled it out of a 30 year barn nap. It's also my first full resto project so I hope I don't cobble it up. I have very limited resources right now but I'm not in a hurry. It runs but of course needs a complete redo. It's cold here now, and after the infestation of brown recluse spiders and the complete, intact 4 foot snakeskin I pulled from under the dash, my wife doesn't want it in the garage. So, I look to spring to really get started. This winter is research, planning and parts aquistion. Merry Christmas!

[Yellowbird]

What? No sense of adventure? Here's true car / snake story. The night before I am to get married, I chased a water snake up the hill from the lake. The snake crawls up underneath my '67 Mustang (for the car guys, it was a 289, 3-speed, a/c, p/s, p/b, blue with white vinyl top). Anyway, several hours later, driving down the highway, this snake starts crawling up through the cowling onto the windshield. I set a record for the shortest stopping distance from 60 mph! This snake had rode for almost 40 miles somewhere in the car. The only damage to the interior was where I tore it up trying to get out of the car!
I hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas and a snake-less New Year!

Leonard

[dfitz176]

Ha! If that was me and my fiance was with me I would not be married today, as she would have lept from the car! The snakes don't bother me as much as the fiddleback spiders, those things are wicked! What will spring bring?