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Suspension done. Brakes are next... Steel or stainless?

1K views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  Captn_Jim 
#1 ·
Now that the suspension is up-dated it is time to move on to the brakes, and I would like to get some opinions;

Is the extra cost and difficulty of using stainless tubing over galvanized steel worthwhile for a hot rod on a limited budget? The rod will be driven and never be "show" quality, so I am thinking to save the bucks on other items I know I will need, but don't want to regret later that I should have pony-ed up.

Your thoughts?

Capt'n Jim
 

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#3 ·
i used ss on my 58 truk. a straight line kit that had five 5' straight sections
i bought a couple of short lines to incorporate the prop valve and residual valves
i only ended up making a few flares, maybe 5 total
ss is a pain to flare unless you have access to a snapon hydraulic or similar flare tool

i chose ss because i didn't want to paint them
oem used plain steel for ever and they lasted for many years before rusting out
my truk is a driver, never been shown

don't buy rolled tubing if you want them to look good
straight tube looks better and hangs better
 
#4 ·
All of the "parts store" steel tubing I've had occasion to try is undersized to the point where the flaring tool cannot get a good enough grip (which allows the tube to push through) so you end up with mangled, marked up ends...

Russ
 
#5 ·
imo... roll tubing is annealed to roll up and never will look as good as straight line tube
rolled tube bends easier than straight tube, i consider that a negative for rolled tube
for the same reason i would never use rolled copper to plumb my house or air lines :D
 
#6 ·
Thanks for all the input. Ended up going with straight sections of coated steel and only had to do one flare, and it came out really good.... on the second try :mwink:

All in all, it didn't turn out as good as I would have liked, but acceptable as a driver and not too bad to not say "I did it".

Now on to exhaust.

Capt'n Jim
 
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