Homebuilt Hot Rod - Tech

Plumbing the pickup

Whizzing toward completion at the speed of a geriatric sloth, my Homebuilt Hot Rod project has finally received a bit more attention, this time with the long-overdue installation of its brake line plumbing. Like many of the assembly and fabrication chores I tackle in the pages of SRM, plumbing is yet another task that's less than rocket science. It's one of those more mundane phases of assembly, though not one of minor significance by any means, because hot rods that go fast but don't stop are usually only good for one trip-and I'm hoping to enjoy mine a heck of a lot more than just once. So it was with that in mind that I whipped out my dog-eared copy of the 2007 Speedway Motors Street Rod Master Catalog, flipped through the pages until I hit the brake parts section, and started shopping.

As you may recall, the Homebuilt Hot Rod is equipped with a quartet of '40 Ford drums. Not the most technologically advanced choice, but one I made none the less since I'm trying to build a traditional-styled hot rod on a shoestring budget-and the quartet of drum brakes was part of the original pile of parts I'd purchased as the starting point of this project. In keeping with the budget-minded build, Speedway Motors was a natural choice for me; the vast array of components the company offers is second only to its awesome pricing structure that goes a long way in helping to keep the project on or even possibly under the outlay I've allotted-and that's no bull.

So take a look at the accompanying images and captions to see how I went about my plumbing chore. Keep in mind that I don't profess to be an expert in the art, but the way I did it here has always worked for me.

I started out the job by perusing the Speedway Motors catalog and choosing the company's steel brake line kit (PN 617-8550, shown) along with my '65 Mustang master cylinder (not part of the Speedway kit).	I prefer using bulk tubing like that contained in the Speedway kit because it allows me to fashion my lines with the least amount of unions and less chance for leak opportunities.	Another vital item needed for a plumbing job such as this is a residual pressure valve.
I started out by removing the cab from the chassis to get the ball rolling.	First I bolted up my master cylinder, an early Mustang unit. I chose a single reservoir because of space limitations between my mounting bracket and ladder bar crossmember.	I then gathered up my brake tools, including my Classic Performance Products flaring tool kit and my Eastwood tubing benders.
I began my measurements at the master cylinder. I had more control over the locations of my unions since I was working off a roll of tubing, so I worked it out so the first one-to split the front and rear lines-was close to my starting point.	Next I cut a length of tubing to the measurement I'd come up with and began shaping it. I've found that these Eastwood tube-bending pliers have become indispensable.	After forming and flaring the first section of line, I installed the 10-psi residual pressure valve and cut and flared a second short section to which I attached a T-union.
From the union I then proceeded to measure, cut, and form the rear section of line.	Moving back to the T-union near the master cylinder I then measured, cut, and formed the line that runs toward the front of the truck.	Once formed and put in place, I then noticed the brake line retainers I'd welded to the frame during its construction ended up directly above the steering tie rod (a bonehead move I hadn't noticed until forming the front line).
I terminated the forward line just behind the left motor-mount bracket and installed another T-union.	The 18-inch braided flex line was then run from the adaptor to the left front-wheel cylinder.	Returning to the forward-most union, I then formed another line that ran under the motor-mount bracket, across the front crossmember, and to the right-hand line retainer.
And that about did it. From here I went through and installed the balance of the line retainers, using a flare nut wrench to fully tighten all the system's line retaining nuts.