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fredkanter Quote:

I am a graduate engineer (B.S. USAFA, M.S. Purdue U, both in Astronautical Engineering) and a former Rocket Scientist for NASA Apollo (#7-#12) at the Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, TX. I owned and operated a high performance Pontiac business in the 1970s (H-O Racing Specialties, Inc.) and set an NHRA National speed & E.T. record in 1977 with my 1974 Trans Am 455 Super Duty race car. I know what I'm talking about.

In the rocket & spacecraft business, if you have an unreliable part, you replace it ASAP with something better or people die and/or severe collateral damage occurs. If something on your race or street muscle car is unreliable, then ditto.

While I appreciate your anecdotal information about your family's experience with BTVs, it is interesting and probably not coincidental that BTVs were NOT used after approximately the 1950s. Automotive engineers apparently figured out that there were better solutions.

Craig

As well V piston air conditioning compressors, mechanical voltage regulators and carburetors went by the wayside but that does not mean that our low mileage '52 should be updated to fuel injection, alternator etc although they are better and perhaps more reliable.

After 1960 there were no integral power unit/master cylinders used by any US manufacturer I know of, the driving force in automobile manufacturing is usually cost. A vacuum diaphragm unit bolted to a master cylinder that is much simpler and nearly identical to the manual unit became industry standard.

In space travel safety above all else is what is paramount and the fact that often only one capsule will be used makes decisions quite different from automobiles where millions of units will be made and a difference of even $1.00 per unit is a significant cost savings.

During my college years I was nearby to Allentown Brake and Wheel, a Bendix distributor and rebuilder and hung out at 2 former Packard dealers who became Rambler dealers. both makes used the BTV and neither had a plethora of cars in for BTV problems.

Indeed my observations of our many daily drivers was anecdotal, our invitation for a free rebuild was more wide ranging.

I still wonder why, as an aeronautical engineer, you didn;'t delve further into failure analysis

fredkanter Quote:

I am an Astronautical Engineer. Astro entails aeronautical engineer along with many other disciplines including computers. Be that as it may, I decided to re-engineer the booster/MC system on my 55 Pat rather than screw around with it anymore. If it had been a less critical system (like a radio, for instance), then I probably would have gone about a failure analysis and kept the original. However, the analogy implied by radios is a good one as after the 1950s, AM band started to significantly diminish in listenership.

BTW, don't take any offense at what I've posted lately on this thread. I appreciate what you and your family has done for the Packard and other orphan car families. I've also bought a lot from Kanter Auto Parts over the years.

Craig

Craig,

Thanks for your kind comments and pointing out my error, perhaps my CPU and memory module need updating.

With over 20,000 BTV rebuild kits sold since 1984 and few calls about subsequent non-operation or failure I think that would not be considered anecdotal. I agree that our personal experience with our cars is anecdotal but wouldn';t that make your experience even more towards the same?

Craig,

PS. In 67-68 I worked at Johns-Manville, specifically as an Industrial Engineer on the production of window gaskets for the Appolo capsules. Saw destructive testing/analysis

This is the effect of moisture laden brake fluid leaking by the seals ant not being drawn back into the reservoir. It gets sucked into the vacuum section and lays in the bottom where it rusts the bore of the can.

Easily repaired with a good "DuraGlass" type product but in this case we're going to use spare parts in stock

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While I do agree that Dan's and my experience with our many Bendix Treadle-Vac equipped Packards, Cadillacs, Lincolns, Mercury etc over the past 56 years may be anecdotal, we have over 6,000 customers with 52-56 Packards , many of which were BTV equipped.

I asked our sales staff how often we get inquiries about the availability of an alternate system, the reply is "maybe one a year"

One sales person with wide automotive knowledge recalled that early '53 Buicks with PB had a fluid loss problem, they were promptly recalled and the problem ceased.

Indeed, if the BTV was a defective design, someone....GM, Ford,AMC,Packard would have had at least a service letter

I understand Craig's decision to put a modern dual system in his 400 due to his experience, but I do not think is necessary for all owners to do so . Our extensive experience with rebuilding and selling kits gives no support to the need to convert.

If it were so, then all cars 28-66 with single master cyls whether manual or power should convert.

My 1952 has not been on the road for a couple years. Have owned it for about 25 years. Will be replacing the rubber hoses shortly. Have bled the lines a couple times in the past year of so. Seems to be ok, but thinking of taking you up on the Kanter offer. It has not failed anytime. But thinking as a precautionary measure pulling the treadle vac in the next several weeks to have rebuilt. Just to be on the safe side.
The car was owned previously by Fred and Carol Maucks parents so I believe when I purchased the vehicle the tv had been rebuilt shortly before then.
Thanks Todd

Todd,

The free offer is for units that have filed in use so that we can determine what caused the failure. All other units we charge for. Thanks for thinking of the project