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It might be to dangereous to drive my 36 120 around, more people pay attention to the car than to the traffic! This resulted in me having to make an emergency stop! The car brakes almost like a modern car but after the emergency stop I lost my brakes!
I'm got the car parked about 5 miles away from home, and I'd like it to be here instead of there! Anyone else battled this same problem before?

single circuit system - did you find a wet spot where a hose or line blew?

If you have no pedal at all, then you have either popped a steel line or (less likely) a hose. Call AAA.


Let me make a definative statement: There is no Packard that should have any of its original brake hoses or so much as one inch of its original brake tubing. The newest Packard is 54 years old and that tubing corrodes from the inside just as the wheel cylinders do.

I crawled under there and I don't think I busted a line; I mean I didn't see fresh oil except on the rubber on the brake cylinder.

If no sign of fluid loss, it would seem that master is at fault. I had a failure in a 64 Chevelle because of the master. It wasn't even a BTV either -- but the pedal went to the metal and I sailed right thru a 4 way stop. Lucked out that no one else was there and the car stopped fine the next time. On the rebuild, there didn't appear to be a reason for the failure.

One other thing worth looking at is the actuating rod and attachment to the pedal. Any chance the emergency hard stop could have bent or broken or dislodged the old rod or the attachment pin to pedal?

The rod and the pedal are fine. I'll get it on the lift tomorrow so I can get a better look.

Howard, are you absolutely sure it wasn't a BTV?

Absolutely. It was one of those big round but skinny things with a single master. I've thought of that episode so many times when people recount their BTV woes.

Bdc and HH56:
Neither one of you described any attempt to have pumped the braked pedal to possibly allow for some brake recovery.

To pump the brake isn't a workaround but the last measure in a life-threatening situation. I think, Keith is talking about pumping as a quick test in a standstill.