Hey folks. I have a what I believe to be 1982 z28 Camaro. the title says it is, and the vin matches the stamp on the upper radiator support.

However I am having an issue finding a rear center brake hose. The one I got from rock auto and from autozone do not fit the car, the axle lines screw into the block, but the center brake line from the front will not screw into it.

Another thing is the steering wheel nut is a 14mmx1.5 (which I am told changed in the late 80s from the 1/2x20 that should of been on the 82).

Not sure what I should do here, I'm assuming since the core support and title match it is an actual 82..... but why don't certain parts (brake hose and steering wheel nut) match up like they should?

 

Maybe somebody changed something in the almost 40 yrs since then?

Not declaring as a fact; just sayin.

Welcome to the world of ANTIQUE cars. Not quite like looking up parts for yer 2015 Camry or something.

Sometimes ya gotta just LOOK AT THE PARTS. No matter what year the sheet metal wrapped around em, the PARTS just kinda ARE what they ARE. To a certain extent, anybody can put anything into anything. Sometimes ya gotta fuhgeddabout da parts catalog, and just LOOK AT what ya got in yer hand. And sometimes, ya gotta take whatever ya can "order", and ADAPT it to whatever ya GOT.

 

I completely get that, already looking for adapters or new fittings.

I am however now second guessing myself.

The last 6 of the vin on the title and the vin on the plate on the core support is 195505....... now I highly doubt I somehow have the same last 6 digits of two different cars. See the plate I am talking about below......

My title says 1G1AP87H7CL195505 (and by using a vin decoder that is actually a vin for a 1982 z28 camaro...... but it seems to not match the vin on that plate. Is there another vin on the car somewhere I can look? Door sticker on drivers side has mostly all peeled off no numbers or letters I can decipher.

 

If someone has swapped in a later-model rear, 84-up more or less, the center hose will be different from 82.

Sounds like that's probably what has happened.

What did it have before for that hose?

Same for the steering column... any year will bolt right in. If the car had been stolen at any time in its life for example, that could EASILY have happened. For example I put one out of a 87 into my 83 at one time for a different reason.

Pay less attention to "how can this possibly be" and more to "now that I know what size it is I just gotta get whatever fits no matter what it is".

 

There are VIN sticks attached to sheet metal all over the car. Under carpet, behind plastic covers etc. The VIN plate at the base of the window is generally the VIN that's used for the car. Although these can be replaced to change a car that's been written off to some other car, it's not a common practice unless someone is trying to commit fraud.

That plate in your picture is not the VIN plate. It only shows the last 6 digits of the VIN. All the other numbers are build data.

 

One under the windshield is so rusted it's not readable, and I cannot get to it to clean it up. The fact that the last numbers match the title and that plate I'm not concerned about that anymore.

Just have to get a brake hose that will fit, looking at the one I pulled off and the ones I've tried to replace it with,they look almost identical, except the one that was on there has a bit more threads and no bubble out in the center of the brake hose that connects to the hard line. Believe that I'm looking for a 84+ brake hose now. With that being said I just replaced the axle housing lines that connect to the hydraulic hose with 82-83 brake lines..... worried they wont screw into the 84 hydraulic Hose now

 

Theres the old vs what I bought. Definitely different will the 82-83 lines screw into the 84+ hydraulic hose?

 

No they will not mix. Very different threads.

Looks like the new hose you have there is 84-up (metric bubble flare) and the old one is 84-back (SAE inverted flare). 84 was the changeover year: some were the older SAE, some got switched to metric.

Problem is, cars were generally ALL one, or ALL the other. Not mixed, that I've ever seen. I would expect that your car would have come with SAE, being pre-84; where if you had a rear end swap, it might have metric lines on that, but the car end would still be SAE. I've never seen or heard of such a mixture from the factory, such that the hose would have 2 different styles of ends.

Eeeeezy enough however, if necessary, to go to the parts store, and buy acoupla sticks of SAE line, and a pr of SAE wheel cylinders, and put all that on your 84-up rear to change it over to the older kind; and use a center hose for 84-back SAE.

 

So the brown non square head hose is for 84 and up? The square shiny one (one I just bought) was supposed to be for a 1982.


These are the lines and wheel cylinders I bought. The center hard line will not screw into the new hydraulic hose.

Could I get an 84+ hydraulic hose and the two 84+ axle housing lines. In my mind that would make everything connecting together from the center hard line to the rear end/rear wheel cylinders all 84+ lines and hoses.

Or is there a simpler way?

 

Post a good clear close-up photo of the end of the hard line attached to the car body where it screws into the end of the hose.

AFAIK brass vs "shiny" fittings is not an indicator of the size, age, or type.

 

Sorry about my potato camera on my phone but thats about as good as I can get. I can try a friend's phone if that would help.

 

That's adequate; it shows what it needs to.

That's SAE inverted flare. Your car has the original stuff on it.

Do the lines on the rear have the exact same kind of fitting on them?

 

Yessir the lines I ordered off Ebay have the same fittings on them, they screwed right into the wheel cylinders without a problem. The only issue I'm having is that the main center hardline will not screw into either hose I have ordered. One from rock auto and one from autozone, they both said they're for an 82, but they definitely do not look the same as what I pulled off the car (the hydraulic hose with the rounded top instead of the flat square top).

Do you by chance know which hose I need, since the main hard line and the lines on the rear axle appear to both be the same SAE fittings?

 

Try ordering one for something similar; a 78 El Camino or something. Whether you use it or not, or it "fits" or not (might be too long or some such), it'll at least give you something to look at and compare.

Looking the same as what you pulled off isn't that big of a deal. Don't worry about round vs square. As long as the fittings fit, it's all good.