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Packard BTV vs Chevy BTV applications:

Simply not a good comparison effort after all. SO many tri-5 chevies have been rodded over the last 30 to 40 years that nary a Tri-5 extant has anyhting that resembles OEM Chevy brakes. Wild guessing someone will accuse????
Go to any cruise in and what do u see???? U tell me. Dozens of Tri-5's with OEM brake systems???? I don't think so. Maybe ONE at the most and that one most likely has manual brakes.

To Packard V8

We sell BTV rebuild kits for all makes. We sell a large amount for 55-56-57 Chevrolets. Your conclusion is incorrect.

Fred Kanter

Incorrect???? Not impossible. Collectors only know what is seen and heard on the streets. Not what we see in any Vendor or service providers sales reciept books.

Gday packaddicts

Sorry guys in this litigious age I can not name the supplier in a public forum . However I will write to the supplier and suggest they inform all those people who have purchased BTV rebuild kits from them in recent times , that they check the compensator valve and maybe send out a new one for the sake of PR if they have not already done so .

Meanwhile it's not rocket science to check this valve - if you are losing pedal pressure when your foots on the pedal , remove the filler cap from the BTV , shine a torch into the reservoir while your wife presses down on the pedal . If you notice any swirling or disturbance in the reservoir fluid the comp valve is faulty

Good luck
Regards Chris

Did the replacement part correct the problem??????

To Packard V8:

You say that collectors only know what they hear and see on the streets, and not what is in vendors books. Fro what is on the street, that is called "hearsay" and in life as in court it is not reliable. I read form wht you wrote that parctically all of the tri-5 Chevy's have converted power brake systems. Just how do you know that, have you pesonally seen every tri-5 in the world?? I think not.

On the other hand, my company sells BTV rebuild kits and sells a lot of them for 55-56-57 Chevys. Now there is a possibility, I will grant you, that all these owners are buying all these kits for lawn ornaments or bookmarks.

What we need in these forums are people who want to contibute to sharing information on collector cars.

Please inform all of us just how your curious information helps anyone at all?

Patiently awaiting.

Fred Kanter
Kanter Auto Products


To Starliner:

To Starliner:

We hold all be here for the betterment of the hobby, but above all for the safety and welfare of fellow collectors and the people who might be injured or killed in an accident.

Litigious or not, our society adn courts deem truth as the absolute defense against libel. INtent also counts, with the lack of malicioius intent it is difficult to prove harm.

You know of a supplier who may have sent out defective valves which can cause failure but you are afraid of the consequences. A few months ago the Toyota gas pedal issue was in the papers, did any paper you know of say
"the gas pedals of a popular car may stick and cause fatal accidents?" NO. Did any papers say the pedals were supplied by Denso?? Darn right they did.

So you WILL write to the company, putting many at risk in the meantime?? When did yoiu discover this problem??

Let's add light to the allegedly dangerous subject, not jut the heat that's been generated for so long.

By the way, although I've asked to hear form peple who have experienced sudden BTV failure I've yet to get one note or call. From the "sky is falling" crowd's posts I thought I'd be inundated.

Fred Kanter
Kanter Auto Products
Boonton NJ

Fred, you are now hearing from one who just recently experienced it. I had my BTV rebuilt by Ed Strain app 2 years ago, have had no problems with it until about 8 wks ago when I drove my car to a show, everything worked fine all day except on way home went to stop for red light and pedal to floor with no hint of brakes, no sign of fluid anywhere under car but fluid missing from reservoir. Have not removed unit yet to inspect. This car will not move again until I have designed and updated the brake system, I will not give this type of unit another chance at me and my wife who was also in car.

ps: I also have converted to front disc about a year ago and the BTV operated them just fine.

Rowdy, When you do remove it, I would really be curious about the gasket and that relief port discussed earlier here and in one of the other BTV threads.

Missing fluid was my symptom except no failure because I rarely drive the car. Was starting my AC change and decided to pull BTV for access and do some other work down there. Checked fluid, mostly for the heck of it and was surprised reservoir was only about 1/2 full since the car has maybe 100 miles on it since the BTV was installed. After pulling unit and opening vacuum side, found a considerable amount inside.

Rowdy,

Great, but not so great. Sorry you had a scare, good nobody was injured, now I have a real live incident to investigate. I think you will find the missing fluid in the vacuum section, unless you had a wheel cylinder or brake line leak.

If you are not going to be driving the car ( guess not with no brakes) I would much appreciate it if I could send a call tag for the unit so I can investigate the failure and report in this forum. I'll return it to you assembled.

Nice to hear that the BTV was adequate with the discs. Hope to hear from you.

Fred Kanter
Kanter Auto Products
Boonton NJ