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I just removed my old 1967 8" rear and am getting ready to give it to the guy I traded for my Versailles rearend about 5 or so years ago as he is now ready to use it. Before I give him my old rear do I need any of the hard brake line stuff off of it? What do I use for lines on the Versailles? I'm not sure what to use from the point where the brake line comes off the body to the center of the housing and from there to the rear discs (2003 Cobra.) Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I know that many of these swaps occurred a long time ago, I've been struggling finding older articles, many of the links I try are no longer active. Thanks
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The Cobra discs will have specific soft brake lines that then must be joined to the hard line running along the rear. You may be able to simply cut, bend, and reflare the existing hard line and make that work, or just make new lines from the Y-block on the soft hose running between the front to rear brake line and the hard lines on the rear.
I say may, because I'm trying to recall the type of flare the Cobra soft lines use. I run the same rear brakes on my '89, but I used a kit from Maximum Motorsports that may use a special soft hose with the Cobra caliper end and an American double flare of the other end. I think the Mustangs had gone to bubble flares and possibly metric lines by '94 (Cobra brakes are the same '94-'04). Here's the kit I used:
Possibly the soft lines are available separately if they are unique. If you determine that they are I would call MM and ask them. Great folks to deal with.
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Thanks for the info. I found the line that goes from the frame to the rear housing. I"ll be using the Cobra brake lines from the calipers to the housing, I just need to figure out the hard lines from the "y" block to the Cobra soft lines. Thank you
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The best soft lines for connecting cobra calipers are the VERSAILLES HOSES. They fit perfectly and the housing already has a mount for them on the spring perches. The cobra rear calipers have a 3/8" banjo fitting that matches the hoses perfectly. For the center hose, your 67 original will work nicely.
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Thanks Steve!
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I just searched for quite a while, looks like the Versailles rear caliper hoses are not sold anywhere other than a company on ebay that will make them to order. $99 for both hoses plus shipping, OUCH!
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mikec35 wrote:
I just searched for quite a while, looks like the Versailles rear caliper hoses are not sold anywhere other than a company on ebay that will make them to order. $99 for both hoses plus shipping, OUCH!
In that case, any generic hose with a 3/8" banjo on the caliper end and a 3/16" SAE inverted flare on the axle end will work, but you MUST have a solid mount point for the axle end.
Since we found out Versailles hoses are obsolete, maybe a new approach is in order. Later model Mustangs used a hose that went from the caliper up to the frame rail. This totally eliminates the need for a rubber center hose, but does require running a hard line back to each frame rail. I did this on my 56 F100, but have not done it on an early Mustang. If you do this, be sure you have enough slack for the suspension travel not only in a vertical line, but also for when the axle is at a severe angle, as it would be in when turning into a steep driveway, where one side is at full extension and the opposite side at full compression. In that case, the side in full extension can exceed the extension the hose would ever see in vertical travel full compression.
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Thanks again. I think I still have all the old brake hardware for this rearend, wonder if a local hose shop could make new hoses using my old hoses with the brackets? And if it would be worth it? Guess I'll be calling around tomorrow.
Last edited by mikec35 (1/23/2019 6:48 PM)
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mikec35 wrote:
Thanks again. I think I still have all the old brake hardware for this rearend, wonder if a local hose shop could make new hoses using my old hoses with the brackets? And if it would be worth it? Guess I'll be calling around tomorrow.
There are a couple of brake line companies out there (I can't remember their names) who will make custom lines for a fee. I have used both and just give them the specs as to which fitting at each end and total length of hose. Prices have been good, and service quick. I feel they are more likely not to make a mistake making the lines than I.
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A local hydraulic shop might be able to do it.
I know that Inline Tube and Classic Tube will also take an original as a pattern and make new hard lines, possibly soft lines too. Worth a call or an email anyway.
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Don't be afraid of making your own hard lines. It is not difficult. Use a coathanger or welding rod to make a pattern, and bend the line to match. The new stuff bends much easier than your original brittle and hard stuff. Just remember, on the final part of the flare, do not tighten the flare tool more than about 1/2 turn to allow the tubing to remain soft so the flare will seal. Let the cone in the female fitting do the final flare and it will seal better.
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Unless you use stainless, in which case its not terribly hard to bend, but boy is it tough to flare without specialized (and expensive) tools.
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Here's where I go when I'm trying to find brake hoses that might fit an application:
You can filter by length, end type, etc. BTW, for hard lines copper-nickel is hard to beat. Bends and flares easily and will never rust. Has a nice bronzy appearance.REMEMBER!!! When posting a question about your Mustang or other Ford on this forum, BE SURE to tell us what it is, what year, engine, etc so we have enough information to go on. |