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Since I have decided to bolt the C5 brake booster/master cylinder directly to the firewall, I have had to modify the brake
pedal bracket also. Previously, the brake pedal bracket bolted to the firewall and the bolt pattern matched the bolt pattern
of the master cylinder.
My plan is to cut off the end of the bracket, make new plates with holes drilled to match the C5 brake booster, then weld
the plates to the old bracket.
Here is how everything worked out:
Below is a picture of the plates and the original brake pedal bracket (center).
To make the plates, I started with .090" steel, which matches the thickness of the material used on the original brake
pedal bracket. I cut out two plates and marked a line where they will be bent.
I do not have a press brake to the bend the plates. Due to the thickness, I cut a slot in each plate in order to make a 90
degree bend. The slots will be welded when I am finished.
In order to determine where the holes should be drilled and how to position the plates, I cut off the end of the brake pedal
bracket and matched each piece up with the new plates.
I trimmed the new plates, then tack welded them to the brake pedal bracket.
Here is the bracket with more trimming and welding.
I added more metal to the top of the bracket in order to provide strength, then I ground the welds flat.
I am using a brake booster from a 1977-82 Corvette. It is essentially the same booster as a C5 Corvette, except the pushrod
has a 3/8-24 thread. This will allow me to connect the pushrod to the brake pedal easier than the C5 booster. If you are
working on a similar project, the C5 booster has a pushrod that is extremely long.
After mocking everything up, it appears that I will be able to use the clevis from the original brake pedal assembly. It
has a 3/8-24 attachment point.
The two pictures below show the entire assembly.
In this condition, there is a slight amount of preload on the booster. However, after the thickness of the firewall and a
gasket is taken into consideration, I believe this combination will work well. I still have to clean up some of the welds
on the bracket and paint it. At that point, I should be able to reassemble everything.
Finally, here are two pictures of the modified bracket beside a factory bracket.
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