Brake System Dissapointment

I installed the brake lines over the weekend (6/9-10) with #1 son and help from Uncle Packard.  This was a bigger deal than I thought, including fabing a bracket to position the control valve outboard of the battery tray, making several runs to the auto parts store for various brake lines and connectors, cutting and double flaring several sections of brake tubing, bending up and installing 5 different brake lines in the engine compartment, spending hours under the car installing poorly-fitting rear hard lines, cutting and fitting a brake push rod to the new dual master cylinder, self-bleeding the master cylinder, then bleeding the power unit and each wheel. 

New chrome master cylinder in place, next to the stock battery tray.

The combination valve (proportioning and residual, a must for disc-drum systems) tucked away outboard of the battery tray.  #1 son made this suggestion, and it's a very good one!  This should keep the valve away from the exhaust heat.

Top view of master cylinder, combo valve, and battery tray with heat shield in place.  The brake fittings from the master cylinder fit through new holes in the battery heat shield.

Stock power assist unit in front of the battery tray.  Front circuit must go from master cylinder to the power unit, then from the power unit back to the combo valve.

Front line from the power unit connected to the combo valve.

Power unit with both lines routed below, neatly tucked away.

Double flaring brake lines sounded intimidating, but was actually pretty easy.

Rear line from the master cylinder going into the combo valve.

Front brake line from the combo valve goes to the left front junction.  Flex line under the junction goes to the left caliper, hard line continues across to right side flex and caliper.

Front line from the combo valve, from the engine's point of view.

Rear line added in place from the combo valve.

I added heat shielding to all the lines at the rear of the engine compartment.  This is near the exhaust, and it gets pretty hot in there.

New fuel line, after wrestling into position.  I cut this line to add an electric airtex fuel pump.  It wouldn't have fit if I didn't cut it.

Rear brake hardline, before installation.  It didn't fit very well, and was very hard to install!

Rear hard line to flex line.

The rear hard line in position.  It is very tight in there.

Bleeding the master cylinder prior to bleeding the brakes.

I learned a lot this weekend.  I learned that inverted flare fitting (iff) connections come in four different sizes, and that my master cylinder/combo valve uses all four.  I learned how to use a double flaring tool.  I learned that "made to fit" brake lines really don't.  But on Sunday afternoon, we had the entire brake system together.

one of the three leaks.  Bummer!

Last night about 10PM, we finished bleeding the brakes, and learned something else.  We learned that the brake system had at least 3 different leaks! We were pretty tired, and this was just too much.  #1 son and I drove home feeling pretty low.  My goal of installing the engine on Friday seems unobtainable.  The reality that I really can't fix everything has started to bring up old doubts and insecurities.

I thought about this at work today.  In the calm of my office, I realized that things really weren't too bad, and I could approach fixing these leaks systematically.  A call to Mr Mechanic confirmed that most custom brake systems leak when they are first installed, and each requires careful tweeking and adjustment to make it work properly.  Encouraged, I decided to take a crack at fixing the leaks tonight.

I also found out that my boss scheduled an important meeting on Friday.  The engine install will need to wait until at least Saturday.