I am slowly fixing every part on my 62 Dart. Today when reinstalling the trans cooler lines to the radiator I noticed the line which hooks into the left side of the radiator, (left side looking forward), had two bends which had collapsed. I will replace the lines. Is there a reason the lines ore steel? Can I use the stainless hoses? Will a parts house carry pre-bent lines? What works best.

Try classictube.com or inlinetube.com

You could also remove the damged area and install an inline compression fitting. Here is a link for repairing a brake line, but the same principal applies.

http://volksweb.relitech.com/brakeln.htm

That compression fitting repair is great for a cooler line repair only ! !
NEVER USE THAT STYLE FITTING ON A BRAKE LINE ! ! Brake lines need to be spliced with flared fittings.
I don't want to offend anybody, especially people with good intentions. A great thing about this forum is that it is a friendly place to get correct technical information.
Safe Motoring
D150

The problem he has is with the transmission lines.

I am not sure what the actual PSI rating on these compression fittings, but I would be willing to bet it is much greater than the force required to operate the brakes.

http://www.fogco.com/pre_stainless.asp

For the brake line I would not suggest it.......It is just as easy to buy the approximate length of tubing needed and the needed flare fittings and of course the flare tool.......brake lines need the double flaring tool.

I found that the tranny cooler lines out of an 82 truck with a slant were in good condition so I cleaned them up with a wire wheel and repainted. I then used rubber hose/clamps for the last 6 inches to the tranny cooler. Total cost was less than $5.

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Cheers!
Al T

I really like the idea of splicing the trans lines. Thanks for the tip. I understand this is for the transmission lines only.