Maybe you can just download the kernel source from kernel.org, and rebuild from that - there's a little tutorial here:
http://www.jsward.com/linux/redhat-kernel.html
Before you start you want to check that linux properly supports your modem, as many PCI modem manufacturers refuse to provide drivers or specifications (so that we can build our own drivers) for PCI 'winmodems'.
See
http://linmodems.org/ for the lowdown
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