hi im looking ofr the name and function of this part its from my 85 camaro at the front of the driver side in the engine bay. in the corner it has alot of tubes attatched to it. i was wondering what goes through the tube that in the middle? it connect to a metal tube like brake lines and removing it, the tube was really rusty and snapped so id like to know what its used for. heres the picture http://postimage.org/image/2jgq4jiw4/

 

That's the charcoal canister. There is another name for it that eludes me right now.

At least one of the fittings connects to the vent for the fuel tank.

 

so the line in the middle is just a vent? so do i need to replace the metal vent line? or just do a cap on it or leave it the way it is? is it bad to get rid of the cannister all together?

 

some people call it a purge canister as well, its job is to vent extra gas fumes in the tank into the motor so the gas tank isnt over pressurized

 

I'd take a piece of rubber fuel line, attach with a small hose clamp, and route the rubber fuel line under the car, so there's never any chance of fumes/gas leaking out into the hot engine bay, but rather under it to the road. Most of us do this when we swap to carb from EFI - just to be on the safe side.