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

Thanx again, I'll research the remote fill kit.

Don, what were the symptoms leading up to your Treadlevac failure? I drove mine into the garage and all seemed fine. A few days later, when I started the car, there was a cloud of whitish smoke then no brakes.

The white smoke is the main symptom but in the case it my cars it was purely from disuse. Both my 1953 Clipper Deluxe and my 1953 Patrician had been parked for many years. I never actually had one fail on the car during use.

Ross Miller is right in your area.. I would use him...

He did mine no problems...... And has a rebuild ed strain did.... That...that is the first tv that I lost brakes..waiiting for results..but I am not in a hurry..it will be a spare..

Thanx again. I did some more research on the Wilwood site. They offer a remote fill kits with an adapter cap. One of them had 7/16-20 threads on the adapter:

https://www.wilwood.com/MasterCylinders/MasterCylinderProdAcc?itemno=260-8742

Does anyone know the the thread & diameter of the Treadlevac cap? Perhaps it would be an easy (never happen) way to get remote fill.

The threads on the BTV cap are 1 1/4-18.

Most BTV caps have enough meat in the center where the wrench square is protruding that if you cannot find a modern adapter in the thread size you can drill and tap the original cap for a 1/8 NPT brass fitting. The Wilwood fitting might work but 7/16 is slightly larger to the hole needed for 1/8 pipe. If the Wilwood fitting is too large you could use a regular 1/8 brass fitting in whatever type is needed to attach the line from the remote fill assy.

The original caps usually have a small vent hole visible on one of the square sides but on some caps it is sort of hidden. You would also need to make sure the vent hole in the original is plugged if the cap is converted for remote fill use.

EDIT: I vaguely recall the BTV cap being discussed some time back in another thread. If I'm remembering, someone posted a link to a place that had the right size replacement caps. Perhaps if the person who posted the link sees this he will remember the thread or post the link again.

If memory severs me correctly, the TV was used on many 'toe-board' applications . . . and some manufactures designed a generous fill tube, with dipstick, to aid in the master cylinder servicing. Perhaps this scheme would better serve your needs . . . . not much different than a modern day automatic transmission fill tube. The actual fluid level remains the same, but your ability to check the level is enhanced.

dp

So our little 'show and shine' Saturday night car show turns into a real zoo on the two weekends that the auctions are in town. Lots of cars that we haven't seen before show-up . . . one of which was a '57 Oldsmobile 4 door hardtop. I specifically looked to see if it had power brakes ( it did ), so I asked the owner if it was a Bendix unit and did it have a dip-stick. Nothing but a blank stare, but he did open the hood and let me look and take a few photographs.

The Bendix TV reservoir cover plate is a simple sheet metal stamping with provisions to thread-in a 'filler cap'. I suspect there were no more than a few thread diameters and pitches for these caps, and as the attached photos show, some manufactures did not provide a cap at all, but used a dip-stick equipped cover plate. The upper end of the dip stick tube would be the location were 'make-up' fluid was added. The longer the tube the easier access from above.

The master cylinder housing was optimized for a toe-board mounting where the nose of the cylinder is pointing downward. In these applications the reservoir open end would be level, thus a flat plate would seal the reservoir. I have seen the Bendix units mounted horizontally ('55 Chevrolet to name one) with a wedged shaped reservoir adaptor mounted between the casting and the flat cover plate. The wedge shaped piece restores the 'level' state of the upper end of the reservoir.

Since the compensator valve is essentially at the center line of the reservoir, and the dip-stick better not interfere with this valve, then the dip-stick should be biased to the edge of the reservoir housing, and not protrude too far into the fluid. I guess we're not trying to determine if we're a quart low, just if the brake fluid level is within ? inch or so from the top.

See attached photos.

dp

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Thanks DavidPackard for the pictures. I have 2 1953 Packard's with the BTV. I'm pretty proficient with a funnel, length of hose and pour the BF until I see it dripping on the floor. The contortion of hand and fingers getting the cap back in place (from above) has left me wanting some solution for adding brake fluid. The location of the MC filler cap is directly under the steering column along with the gear selector rod alongside the column, please keep us posted about other solutions you come across. The Wilwood MC solution is doable but I'm holding out to see if an easier/different solution is discovered. Thanks again.
Regards,
Steve

Thanks for all the research. I've decided to have my Treadlevac rebuilt and save the remote fill adapter as a future project. The Wilwood kit that I included a link to in a previous post had what looked like a screw in adapter for the fill tube. So, I'm going to try to source a spare filler cap and see if it could be modified to accept the adapter.

There was a posting from not too long ago that showed a source for new caps but unfortunately I cannot locate it now that I want it! Maybe you'll be more successful.