'73 thunderbird brake booster

[sheol]

I have a '73 Ford Thunderbird, and I think it is having some kind of issue with its brake booster.

The brakes work, but I have to really stand on them to get the car to stop fast. Tracing the hoses from the master cylinder, there is one going to the carberator. Next to where that hose leads to a vaccume diaphram which is on the firewall side of the intake manifold. When a finger or something is put over the hole, it seems to make the engine better, and the brakes build pressure bettere.

What should be leading to this opening, and what should I do to solve the problem with the brakes?

[97Bird]

Put a plug on the hole to stop the vacuum leak and your brakes should work better. Your post is too confusing to tell where the hoses go to and where the hole is. The vacuum diaphram you speak of sounds like the EGR valve.