Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Hi 55 Packard Guy,

Yep, that's me standing by dad's 23rd series, think it was purchased in the summer of 1949, I would have been about six at the time so the photo may have been somewhat later.

It became my car in high school when dad purchased a new car in 1960. I foolishly traded on a used TR3 being sold by the former Packard Dealer about 1961.

The TR3 lasted about a year till I married Maxine in 1962. We had a rather rough 55 (400?) and a really nice 55 Clipper purchased from the secretary at the Packard dealership, drove those till our first new car in 1964.

Still have Maxine and in recent years a couple of Packards again, just too limited on time to enjoy them fully.

packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/registry/index.php?Action=view&ID=1150

packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/registry/index.php?Action=view&ID=1281

Short tale about another sports car and our Packardhiddenvalleymotel.com/media/redroadster.pdf

The 23rd series was dads only Packard, Uncle Joe had a 46 or 47 Clipper. Once had the chance at a 40 or 41 Custom 180 with jump seats, it was the one that got away, I couldn't talk dad into advancing me the 75.00 asking price.

Jim in Boone

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Owen,

You probably know most of this off the top of your head, too:

>What power brake system was used between '40 and '50?
>Were these and earlier units vacuum assist or some other design?

I'll do some reading up, but would like to know if there was any comparison between the original Bragg & Kliesrath design that Bendix bought and the Treadlevac.

>It would be interesting to establish whether the Treadlevac was an evolution of the '40s design, and if this or any of the earlier systems had any better reputation for reliability than the Easamatic. This could be relevant to our general topic of the care and feeding of early power brakes

>Also, was the '51 Packard the first auto to offer the Bendix Treadlevac design?

As for the previous post by Jim in Boone, I think it's safe to say that the car pictured in the avatar did not have Easamatic brakes, and that the cars the author refers to in his post had to be newer than the car in the picture. I was just curious to hear some history from Jim about his Easamatic-equipped cars.

BTW, I just drove the heck out of the Clipper in stop-and-go situations, braking it from various speeds up to about 50 mph, and it stopped great. I'm getting more confident that it'll keep doing that!

Jim,

Thanks for all the great memories! That '48 is a very handsome car, and the fact that it has a history as a funeral car-- with the resulting low mileage-- is a cool bonus.

Your SInger story is very entertaining to say the least. I'm curious about what model year the car was, as I didn't see it mentioned.

And speaking of memories, the '55 Clipper in your post is a match for our family's bought-new '55, except it has two fewer doors! Perhaps the dark blue isn't the same, but that could just be the photo.

You can see my current ride here:


packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/registry/index.php?Action=view&ID=1267

If you take time to read it, there's a bit of interesting history with this '54, too... it's fascinating to get the background on old cars. I hope you get drivin' soon. Life's too short not to spend as much of it as possible in a Packard!

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No similarity whatsoever between the earlier units and the BTV except that they both utilized vacuum to provide the motive force. The earlier (thru 1936) B-K systems used on the mechanical brake seniors used a vacuum cylinder attached to the frame somewhat below the rear floorboards with a cable attachment to the mechanical linkage at the pedal shaft which was actuated by a valving arrangement intergrated into the brake pedal linkage. When the seniors went to hydraulic brakes it was still a simple vacuum cylinder but linked directly by it's cylinder shaft (no cable) to the brake pedal linkage. So no, the BTV was not an evolution of the earlier designs in any stretch of the word' these early hydraulic systems used an entirely conventional master cylinder with the pull of a remote vacuum cylinder applied to the pedal linkage. If you examine the image from the 33-36 parts book of the brake pedal and linkage, you'll see the actuating valve and at the very bottom of the picture is the cable going rearward to the booster can. The feature that's circled (from a prior inquiry) is the brake light switch.

I don't believe Packard offered any kind of power brake system between 1941 and 1951; not entirely sure about 1940 but I believe the last prewar Packard with power brakes was the 1939 Twelve.

And no, the 1951 Packard was not the first car to use the BTV, it was first offered in 1952 with a retro kit available for installation on 1951 Packards. As far as first useage of the BTV, I believe Packard was first in 1952 with the slide valve (type 3A) model; in 1953 it was offered by Olds, Lincoln, & Mercury, followed by Chevrolet, Hudson, Nash and Pontiac in 1954, and then with the poppet valve style by Cadillac, Lincoln Continental, Rambler, Buick, Edsel and finally in the early 60s by Mercedes-Benz.

The other power brake system used in the 20s and 30s by several European makes and in the US only by Pierce-Arrow was a very unusual design adopted in the US by Stewart Warner which used the rotation of the driveshaft via a multiple disc pack arrangement somewhat like and old bicycle coaster brake to provide the boost effort. I may have a description of it somewhere. The neat thing about was that the faster the car went, the more the boost. I forget where the original design originated in Europe, perhaps with Daimler or maybe Hispano. CORRECTION - the system was powered by a transmission output shaft, not the driveshaft and I'm told it was used by Roll-Royce thru the mid-60s.

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Greetings from another lurker and as present for the thread hosts an Easamatic sketch to contrast Dave's pic of a 34 brake pedal assy. Click to enlarge.


[picture source: ebay]

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Guy,

Too bad we can't just print pictures from memories, there is so much more that isn't reflected in the family photo albums.

Been many years since the Singer experience, I believe it was a 1953 model 4AD, those folks also have a website that can be found heresingercars.com/index.html it was a fun experience, looking back I seemed to get so much more done than I accomplish today.

I'd bet the colors on the 55's were the same and any differences are just due to lighting and the scanning process of old color prints as they seem to age and change color over the years.

I like your 54, colors attractive as well, sounds like you made a good choice and always nice to know the history of the vehicle. I'd be proud to park one like that out front, but I think I've used up all my favors with Maxine.

We've driven the 40 a few times since purchasing it last fall, she just didn't want to start the last time I wanted to ride; the 48 has sat long enough to need some attention. At 70, I still work a "day job" several days a week and Maxine and I operate a mom and pop motel which usually occupies my weekends and some evening, fun, but too many projects. Guests like the cars, may not get to ride often, but I do get to show them off and have conversations with nice folks about them, so that part is still fun.

Jim - jim@hiddenvalleymotel.com

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Owen,

I wonder why the fall from grace for power brakes in that decade? Maybe an improvement in the manual hydraulic system, or just deciding the old system too complex and/or unreliable.

For example, how many applications of the brakes were possible before the vacuum was depleted? Even if a few stops in quick succession were possible, each one would have less power assist than the one before. Then, how long before full power assist returned as the cylinder recovered vacuum? I would think this would make driving pretty tricky. Good thing the Seniors were often driven by chauffeurs who could practice the fine points.


Guscha,

Thanks for the Easamatic drawing! Looks like something out of customer literature. Makes it all look so simple!

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Jim,

I hear you. Unfortunately, my family was never much into photo albums. A few pages would get used and then we'd lose interest, so a lot of loose photos are floating around that I'd like to find, but probably never will. Like you say, I do remember them. Oh well, as soon as we get our brain chips we can plug into printers and presto! Produce lots of old photos, and also a whole lot of junk we'll want to quickly delete, I suppose.

Gentlemen,

would all this mean that a remote brake fluid reservoir cannot be installed on a BTV, because of the relief port opening being permanently immersed in brake fluid?

would all this mean that a remote brake fluid reservoir cannot be installed on a BTV

No, it doesn't mean that. Remote fillers are often found on BTV units and were an accessory offered by Studebaker-Packard and many (all?) of the other companies that used the BTV.