Power Brake Upgrade
The Red Rocket is a very original car, with very few changes from the way it left the factory in 1965. Previous owners have made some changes, mostly aimed at improving safety and reliability rather than performance. One of those changes was the installation of power brakes and a dual-circuit master cylinder.
Although the Red Rocket came from the factory with disc brakes on all four wheels (1965 was the first year for disc brakes on the Corvette) it also came with a single-circuit master cylinder with no power assistance. The photo above shows the engine bay with this original master cylinder in place. In modern traffic, following modern cars with vastly superior braking, this set-up would be extremely dangerous.
Wisely, the brakes were upgraded in 2011 (by owner Jesse Phinney) with the dual-circuit master cylinder, proportioning valve and power booster from a 67-68 Corvette (purchased new from Ecklers).
