If one had to narrow it down to one system in the overall mechanical workings of their classic truck, they would most likely place their brakes at the top of a list of things that shouldn't fail. After all, if an engine blows up or a transmission takes a hike, all a guy would have to do is coast to a stop, whereas without brakes there is no stopping.
Bypassing the usual reasons a used vehicle's brakes fail, like mechanical wear, aging of flex hoses, and rusting steel hydraulic lines, we'll move directly to discussing the fabrication of brake hydraulic systems intended for a newly constructed truck-in particular, the plumbing.
In an industry like customizing classic trucks, where there is little tolerance for inferior brake components in the marketplace, the most likely source of an immediate hydraulic failure can usually be traced to a defective joint in the plumbing, allowing the system to lose pressure. For trained professional mechanics, frequent repetition of the steps necessary to manipulate a mechanical vise-held flaring tool to form a flawless 45-degree double flare does not really present much of a problem. But for the do-it-yourselfer at home with less occasion to form a 45-degree double-flared end, the process can produce a pile of scrapped tubing that can ultimately result in a poorly formed 45-degree double-flared end that is guaranteed to leak.
Not too long ago, our knowledge of how to double-flare a fitting was the manual way as described above until recently while we were shooting a tech feature at KA Custom in Huntington Beach, California. Kevin Francis was plumbing the brakes on a Chevy pickup and used an interesting handheld hydraulic tool we had never seen before to double-flare the brake lines right on the truck. When we asked about the tool, Kevin told us it was a handheld deluxe hydraulic flaring tool he bought from Master Power Brakes. Kevin went on to tell us that in addition to being able to effortlessly produce a perfect double flare on new brake lines, the tool really worked for tapping into existing lines without having to remove them from the vehicle. In short, Master Power Brakes' Deluxe hydraulic flaring tool empowers the serious home builder to produce professional results and saves time for professionals as well.
Then the yoke was fully backed...
Then the yoke was fully backed off (counterclockwise), and the male cone adapter was placed onto the adapter seat.
Then the yoke was fully backed...
Then the yoke was fully backed off (counterclockwise), and the male cone adapter was placed onto the adapter seat.
The valve was closed on the...
The valve was closed on the hydraulic pump.
Next, the male cone adapter...
Next, the male cone adapter was pumped completely forward into the inverted die.
Then the valve was released...
Then the valve was released by turning to the "open" position, the male cone adapter was removed from the yoke, and the 3/16-inch inverted male adapter was put in its place.
With the valve now turned...
With the valve now turned to the "close" position, the male inverted adapter was pumped forward until it...
...fully seated into the face...
...fully seated into the face of the female inverted die.
Once fully seated, this action...
Once fully seated, this action completed the double-flaring process, the valve was opened for the last time, and the 3/16-inch tubing and the dies were removed.
Here's a close-up of the completed...
Here's a close-up of the completed double flare. Notice that it is perfectly formed and is equal in appearance to a factory double-flared end. In addition to 45-degree double flares, the deluxe kit includes dies for swaging GM push-connect fuel lines and dies for metric bubble-flaring.