I was working on my 1975 standard beetle. I knew that I was going to need some new lines, since I was replacing my brake master cylinder. I was not going to be able to use my existing lines as a template since my car was at my friends shop which is a few hours away from my house. Since I had some free time at home, I wanted to do some prep-work before heading back to his shop.
Something that wasn’t easy to find was a table of steel line lengths, so I prepared this handy table:
| Description | VW Part Number | Length MM | Length Inches |
| Front Left | 113611723G | 240mm | 9.45” |
| Front Right | 113611724C | 550mm | 21.6” |
| Front to Back | 211611741K | 2180mm | 85.8” |
| Rear Left | 113611724B | 425mm | 16.75” |
| Rear Center | 113611724C | 550mm | 21.6” |
| Rear Right | 113611781D | 330mm | 13” |
I used the green coated 3/16 brake line. It seems to be pretty close to the original metric line which is apparently 4.7 mm.
4.7 mm = 0.185039 inch
3/16 = 0.1875 inch
Delta = 0.002461 inch
Another consideration is that when constructing these lines, you must use a metric bubble flare kit. 
Note the two types of flare – the left is a bubble flare, and the right is a double flare. Sometimes folks try to creatively use a double flaring tool to create a flare that resembles a bubble flare.
Do not attempt to use a double flare, it may leak – and that’s not cool!
When crafting your new lines, uncoil your line as straight as possible and cut with your tubing cutter at 90 degrees to the tubing. If you are off, you will make an uneven bubble, and you may need to start again. The measurements in the table above are from the flare tip to the flare tip. I might add two inches to these measurements, to compensate for a do-over on the longer lines. Be sure to follow the instructions that come with your flaring kit.
Even if you don’t build your own lines and decide to purchase from a store, be aware of the different flare types. One of them will leak and you won’t like it!