I went to the drag races in Indianapolis yesterday. I saw one of coolest Drag Cars I have seen in years! I could not find the owner, I would have loved to talk to him. From the age of the window stickers it appears that this car has a LONG racing history, with the new Hoosier tires and golf cart, I assume that history is still being made! Anyone know anything about this car? On the way home from the races, we were traveling on West I-70 toward Terre Haute, IN. It was raining pretty hard, we passed this car in tow. The trunk had opened and I was concerned things were going to fall out or the deck lid would get damaged. We pulled up along side the owner and his wife, honked, waved, pointed etc... till they pulled off. I assume they found the problem. Would sure like to know if they got home OKAY.
Those Hornets with built 308s have a long and admirable racing history. Hard to believe with how much weight we're talking about. I've got a White Triangle News magazine around here somewhere with a long article about one such family/gentleman who raced the bejesus out of one of those. I'll try to find the article and see if the pics/names match up. Clifford Performance (6=8) I'm told was basically pioneered by Clifford, a 308 drag racer.
I don't know but it's way cool. Uncommon engineering here does a LOT of Hudson custom engine work but that thing looks pretty vintage. Would love to know more.
I just realized, after looking at my own photos, that there is a Road Knights, Evansville, IN car plaque in the back window.
I remember this car having a race history back east, I think. You'll have to do some more searching. I think it was the only Hudson used in the lower gas classes.
beautiful...probably not built as a gasser....more like a vintage stock car. I'd love to know who owns it. I'll post a link on the Hudson Message boards and see what I can find out.
This car is from evansville I see it almost every week, he drives it to nearly every show around here. I cant remember the owners name but he is a very nice guy.
That reminded me of a Packard that used to run at the U.S. Nationals. I also seem to remember a black Hudson that was there regularly, in the '60s.
A Hudson really doesn't weigh much more than a mid-70's Camaro, at least not according to my book (3400 lbs or so). The couple I've towed were no problem at all, hardly felt like I was pulling anything extra.
Could this be a nostalgia racer ? The class designation,U-S,by todays standards wouuld be for a stick shift U stocker. NHRA stockers must be 1960 and later. This rule has applied since 1972. In the era of the junior stockers, late 60s, several Hudsons,Studebakers and early 50 Oldsmobiles were raced and some of them were very competitive.
u stock.... it would probably be in the mid to low 15's ...possibly high 14's... i have a shot of a hudson modified production car ...it was a later early to mid 50's sedan called "grits" ..... brandon
My dad and uncle drag raced Hud's during the mid-50's. For the young bucks, Hudsons were available with a 308 cid six cylinder, dual carbs and aluminum head from the factory. Twin-H powered Hudsons absolutely ruled NASCAR for many years and held win records long after the last Hudson left the plant. They were hard to beat on an oval because of the "step-down" body. They were the first production car to have the floor lower than the top rail of the frame. Basically a factory "channelled" body, the lower center of gravity made them nearly unbeatable on an high-banked oval. My dad was a paraplegic and raced our hydromatic equipped '54 Hornet using hand controls. My uncle's was a stick, interestingly they had a cork faced "wet clutch" you had to use a special fluid for the clutch faces. Unc was a deadly speed shifter and beat many flatheads and other sixes racing on the old airport strip in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. We sit on the fenders of the cars that were parked down each side of the strip and watched for hours. One of the other interesting cars that ran at that strip was a Cadillac powered Allard that was really fast. It always amazed me how mad my dad would get at me when I got old enough to drive and street race and I could clearly remember him doing the same thing when I was younger.
This in from the Hudson message board: "FYI This Hudson is Gary Ellerd's Record Holder 6 cyl Hornet. Gary has raced it over 40 Yrs and shamed many V8's..... Ike Smith, who built and raced several NHRA Record Holder Hudson's during the '60's did some tweaking on this Hornet." and "Gary owning this car for many,many years has done a substansial amount of R&D also. My Dad and I visited Gary[Evansville,In.]about 10 years ago.He was doing some freshing up for the new season.He told us that he has had a great time with this car!! "
Mmmm.... I need to finish building that Twin-H 308 that's in pieces in my garage... Anyone have a spare set of pistons and valves the don't need?
Very interesting Hudson. I would love to hear more specs about it. If I remember correctly Clifford raced a `54 Hornet in Stock class and ran mid 15s with it.
It is indeed Gary Ellerds car. I was sent an e-mail with his address and phone number from a guy that is in his car club. Should I give him a call and ask about his car or is that crossing the line? What would you think if you got a call from someone you did not know that tracked you down via the internet to ask about your car? Would you be okay with the call or would it creep you out?
People have called me out of the blue to ask a question about my car after seeing my number on the HAMB or be given my name and tracking me down. I think it is flattering when people will go through a little work just to ask a question. It has always made me feel like I must have made something some one else likes also. I say do it. Just be curtious, introduce your self, explain why you are calling, how you got his info, and be thankful for his time. He is a car guy obviously, and like the rest of us, loves to talk about his pride and joy.
I got this from his son of of the Hudson boards. Cool car with some real history. "Gary is my Dad, he is a member here.... He's not on too often, I think since Ike Smith got some pics of his car put on here (Thanks 'Ol Racer) he probably gets on more than he used to. He goes by Hudsonman. He drag raced the "Green Hornet" thru the '60s anywhere from Ohio, Sturgis KY. , Chandler IN. , Indy, California and probably anywhere in between. He raced in stock class primarily U stock.Ike Smith was a REALLY BIG help the way I understand it, as I wasn't around then to personally meet him. I have talked to him several times on the phone, a wonderful and VERY smart man(Thanks Ike). Back then there was no designation for Auto or Manual trans. Ran anywhere from mid to high 15"s in the quarter. Now he mainly takes it to local cruise-ins and an occasional trip to the local drag strip( Chandler, IN.) for some fun. He's a chaplan for RFC and on his cards he had made up it says "The Green Hornet doc hudson's cousin" , the kids really eat it up since the "Cars" movie. Well, I've taken enough of your time. Any questions just get in touch with one of us, we'll be glad to talk. Thanks again. Danny Ellard"
Boy is this thread is old but I had to chime in. My brother Ossie helped Gary develope the intake on the Hudson and he painted the car back in the day with a bug spray tank if memory serves me corret. I talk with Gary whenever I see him at the cruise-in's around Evansville.
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