I don't mean to sound picky but "steel braided" or "metal covered rubber" is not an adequate description to determine whether or not it might be suitable as fuel line. Shielded hose comes in many varieties formulated to resist all manner of different chemicals. If yours is factory original it may have failed from simple old age. If replaced somewhere along the line, it might not have been properly specced. It is true that modern fuel contains compounds that can cause problems with some older materials but those used in modern cars handle it very well.
Hope this helps,
Phil
