1957 No booster,Do I need one

[60eldo]

  On my 57 I have a master cyl but no booster on the firewall,,,Do I need one? Is it missing

[austingta]

Without a brake booster, you cannot have power brakes. Can you post a pic?

[Ralph Messina CLC 4937]

Johnny,

All '57s had power brakes. The master cylinder was under the driver's side floor board and was plumbed to the booster on the driver side cowl. Sounds like you have DIY installation......Does not sound safe to drive on the streets.

[Walter Youshock]

You should definitely get one.  These cars need all the help they can get to stop.

[60eldo]

    Good morning,,,In the 57 shop manuel, page 8-7, I see a pic there showing no booster, just a master to a power brake box, this looks like what I have,,is this correct

[J. Gomez]

Johnny,

On the ’57 there is no traditional power brake booster per say, it has the brake assistor power unit also known as a Hydravac.

It is a separate unit from the M/C which traditionally the M/C is mounted on the power booster.

HTH

[gary griffin]

I have not tried it out much yet but I had my Hydravac booster rebuilt before I even drove the car. I understand it was a one year only device and only one guy specializing in rebuilding them. Should be easy to get one from a salvage yard and rebuilt it for great (As great as drum brakes can be) ride.