BRAIDED STEEL LINES (?)

[CaddyDaddy]

Some of us old timers (me) need a little refresher. On 1:1 cars, around what year did both Top Fuelers and NASCAR stock cars start using braided steel lines? I CAN remember that the first time I ever bought some anodized AN fittings and hose was 1977, so it must have been before that as I was definitely not a trend setter!

[Force]

I would guess sometime under the 60's, like so much else in racing these came from the military and aircraft industry.

[Richard Bartrop]

Motor Trend does have that Hot Rod archive that goes back to 1948.  Maybe browsing through that will provide some answers?

[stitchdup]

most of the earliest mention i've seen were mid 70s for street cars. seems they really took off in the mid 80s as thats when most companies seem to have set up shop. I imagine old bonneville cars would have been among the first to use them on cars for racing since there seemed to be a lot of aerospace gys involved with it. as for when they came about i would guess on aircraft they became most needed when jets were first starting out but that just a guess

[Ace-Garageguy]

Braided abrasion and burst-resistant soft lines came into use on competition cars shortly after the end of WW II, when rodders began to find AN hardware and hose on the surplus market for very little money. Military aircraft used AN hardware during the last big war. The name "AN" is derived from Army-Navy.

A well-known manufacturer of AN-style plumbing bits marketed to car guys today, Earl's Supply, began business as a reseller of surplus real AN bits and hose.

Early postwar applications of AN-spec hose usually employed a fabric braid on the outside, still common well into the '60s on race cars, and still widely used today for performance applications where cost and weight are issues.

I DO NOT KNOW when the stainless braided hose became widely accepted for automotive applications.

[Force]

One more thing.
There were a couple of aircraft factorys in California and in the LA area, Boeing still have a factory in Seal Beach formerly owned by Rockwell and McDonnel-Douglas now owned by Boeing had one in Long Beach (now used by Mercedes) right beside the Veterans Stadium where the Hi-Performance Swap Meet are held, the old "Fly DC Jets" sign is still on the building.
And much of the hot rodding and even drag racing originates from that area.