Another mystery solved

This car was equipped with standard brakes originally, but for safety's sake it's being upgraded to power brakes. Understanding what parts are needed for that system has proven difficult. There are changes to the firewall and the brake pedal that were shown earlier, but the final pieces of the puzzle have been tricky to figure out.

Figuring out what parts are needed to provide the brake booster with manifold vacuum to make it work has been one of the most difficult.

Corvettes of this vintage got vacuum from the base of the carburetor to power their brakes. There was a chromed pipe that connects via a 3/8-in fitting to the back of the QuadraJet carburetor allowing for the rubber vacuum hose from the booster to connect.

Yet, how that pipe connects to the carburetor was unclear.

From photographs of original cars, a fitting goes between that chrome pipe and the carburetor. One of these was found in a box of carburetor parts that was being saved for just such an occasion. A quick trip through the blast cabinet and electroplating setup and it's ready to go.