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| Here you can see how the flare kit works. The brake line is held in place by the sandwich plate while the flaring tool squeezes the walls of the brake line against the beveled edge of the sandwich plate to form the flare. |
For all of the flares, we used a genuine Chinese simulated steel flare tool from Harbor Freight, and bent the lines with a Harbor Freight brake line bender made of 100% Chinalloy. Amazingly, these tools survived the entire endeavor, and we got change back from a $20 bill when buying them. When flaring your lines, simply cut the lines with a brake line cutter – also from Harbor Freight – and insert the fittings. For the ferrule and collar fittings, put the collar on first, then the ferrule. After the fittings are on the line, sand the end of the line flat, and insert it into the flare tool to make your flare. Check your work after you’re done to ensure there are no rough edges or mars in the flare surface, and reassemble.
Bending a new set of lines is just as frustrating as bending up a roll cage, except far less costly when you make a mistake. To make life easier on yourself, the first thing you need to do before you bend a line you actually plan on installing is measure where your bender starts actually bending the line. Simply place the bender on the line, put a mark on the line that is referenced by some feature of the tool itself, and bend the line. Measure the distance between the line and the start of the bend, and keep this in mind when making your lines. Make sure to keep all of your lines as far away as possible from potential heat sources and moving parts.
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| A close look at the two main feed lines from the master cylinder. The one directly in front of the master cylinder is routed to the cabin where it will meet the proportioning valve. The one coming out the side is T’ed off at the source to feed the front calipers. |
