This little vehicle absolutely must have a history somewhere. It was shown at the 2016 Detroit Autorama with a plea to every one to help with it's history. There were many suggestions, but nothing concrete has turned up. It appears to be the kind of project that might have shown up in POPULAR MECHANICS OR MECHANIX ILLUSTRATED. What the current owners can state are 48-51 Hudson taillights, 1948 Hudson sheet metal, 1941 Plymouth dash, 1944 War motor (9 horse Cushman), transmission is an unknown motorcycle unit, electric start, frame may well be a Cushman truckster, Rear Axle has external brakes (like Chrysler had on the tail shaft of their transmissions), Both the hood and trunk have been expertly narrowed. the hood has been ‘pancaked’, 1950 or 51 Plymouth ‘dog dish’ hub caps, there may have been a cut down glass windshield on this car. ‘Witness’ marks seem to indicate that. The present plastic windshield may well be a replacement for it, the car is about nine feel in length. It has been in the Detroit, Michigan area for at least nine years, before that is anyone's guess. The thinking is that this vehicle was most likely built in the 40's or early 50's. If you have any idea as to its origin, the builder, or any history, the past three owners would love to know about it.
Neat little 'kiddie' car. Cruise the swap meet in this, maybe build a little trailer for all your goodies! The Truth is out there.
It appears that there was a real glass windshield at one time, but somewhere along the line it was replaced with this plexi-glass 'shield. There is a 'witness' mark on the cowl indicating a former windshield.
Mechanix Illustrated used to show cars like that in practically every issue, in the Golden Hammer awards or in a small picture. I don't remember that one.
The first 'real' Goodguise event at Pleasanton was great. Meaders went to all ends to bring every street roadster he could find, throughout the Bay Area. Most interesting was some young guys from out-of-state with their unfinished '34 five window coupe, front end and steering were done, no floors at all. In the rear (!) was a Briggs & Stratton 4 H.P. pull rope start, they cruised all day! Memorable...
A lot of guys made their own cars back then, not many were this well finished. Is there any evidence that it was used or driven around much? Like wear to the seats, pedals,tires etc? The concept resembles a slightly larger King Midget another mini car with a 1 cylinder air cooled motor about that size. They were quite practical and a lot of people used them for local trips and bopping around town, a few owners even completed cross country trips. This was before the interstates when you could drive around at 40 or 50 MPH without blocking traffic. Would be interesting to know the complete history of it and its builder.
Ohhhhhhhhhh boy.This looks like fun.The H.A.M.B.detective agency is open for business again.I`ll saddle up and go along for the ride. Good luck.Have fun.Be safe. Leo
I wrote about this mystery a couple of months ago in the Detroit based CRUIS'NEWS magazine. I figured if no one in the area knew anything about this car, 'someone' on the H.A.M.B. must. I still hope for that.
With the Cushman scooter motor you wonder if it was originally built for kids or as a smaller ride for adults like the King Midgets were. I'd agree with the Popular Mechanics build your own little sports car concept an would bet that the builder had easy access to a wrecking yard or maybe a Hudson dealer's body shop/back lot. Donor parts had to come dirt cheap or free for those builds in that time frame
The consensus would appear this is largely Hudson components. If that is the case, are there any Hudson aficionados here that might know of its background or that of the builder? Man, I've never seen the H.A.M.B. stumped before. I was really counting on this.
homemade cars like this really get my attention, saw some pics of a homemade sports car that started with a t roadster with late 40's to early 50's front end cut down with a flatty v8. car was at one time a nice looking ride. hope you find what your looking for. i can't find hardly anything i look for.
It is very unlikely that it has a Truckster frame, otherwise it would have the trans and rear end from a three wheeler. Cushman used the same diff as Crosley. Also, that is not a 9 horse engine. The biggest flathead that Cushman built was an 8 horse. It was the later, one piece block. Yours is probably a 5 horse, at best. I don't have my Cushman book handy or I could look up the engine and tell you exactly what it is
Beauty is in the eye................ Yeah, I can (somewhat) agree with your assessment. The quality of the work in narrowing the deck lid and hood is incredible. There is a history with this little guy and the previous two owners have tried every which way imaginable to find it. The H.A.M.B. is their last resort. I'm just trying to help them out without ridiculing their efforts.
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