Hot Rods 308 Hudson 6 for Early RODS ???

Patrick: I know that the "Bonnie and Clyde" movie of '67 or '68 had it RIGHT, what with Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker (Warren Beatty/Faye Dunaway) making their escapes in a '34 V-8 Ford.

But, I'm wondering if the Warren Oates movie about Dillinger got HIS car right (?). Do you know? Have you seen that movie? (Came out a couple of years AFTER "Bonnie & Clyde.") ANY other HAMBers know the answer??? SHOULD be a Terraplane; DOES the Hollywood movie have it right???

 

I did a little checking, and Dillinger's '33 Terraplane is repotedly in the "Crime and Punishment Museum" in Washington, D.C. (of all places!). BTW, when Dillinger did a jail break, he was joined by Pretty Boy Floyd and Babyface Nelson!!! What a NICE bunch of boys!!! Yike.

[Note: Did anybody even KNOW there was a Crime & Punishment MUSEUM? LOL]

 

I'm diggin' the Aussie A model a'la HUDSON.

ALOT!

Hud

 

Hudsonator, I had a notion you'd follow the trail of "Hudsonite" to this thread! Nice ride, eh? AND a heck of a lot lighter than the Hudson it came out of. Very together car, and the building talent SHOWS!!!

 

Well Hudson fans, Loco Deano's car is a very refreshing Ford to see, great detail and talent. And, it has inspired more ideas in my head for my projects. That's a big part of what the HAMB's about for me. Now, I need to get my but to work on some 42's.

Hud, been meaning to ask you how the AACA show was in the Springs, was wishing I was there the whole weekend.

Rick

 

I was going to put a 308 in a '46 Chevy pickup a few years back. Had everything needed to do it...then I got a great offer on the truck and took it. The engine went in a '53 Wasp, instead. Boy, did that car haul!

 

Back in the 60's, some friends and I had a 52 2 dr hornet with the twin carb 308 and the factory alcohol/water injection system that plumbed into the intake ports under each carb. the ports are sealed by what looks like small freeze plugs. We ran low 15's with a 4000# plus car at odessa. It WAS fun, even if it was slower than our street cars. All you have to do is have the head milled .060 and get a decent cam. Problem is transmissions. Maybe now, you can get adapters. Then you had a choice of the old 4 speed hydro that made B&M famous or a stick whose clutch used cork facings running in a special hydralic fluid. Neither of these choices were very affordable to to maintain or modify to guys in college at the time. Now you can get a lot of the engine parts thru EGGE Machine. Good luck.

 

It was really good this year. Nice weather (not too hot!), I talked most of the day away to folks coming by the '49. Don Coatney and his lovely wife came by and parked their car right next to me - so I had the best of company all day long.

There was a gorgeous '35 Hudson 8 sedan there as well. I spent quite a bit of time with him looking at that car. The amount of detail Hudson put into their pre-war cars is amazing. He left the car stock, with the exception of '37 hubs on the front and rear with the respective brakes. The ironic thing is he was running Torque Thrust wheels, but everything else about the car was bone stock - right down to the big Hudson 8!

He said running 65mph down the interstate wasn't a problem, and that he'd never been into the engine mechanicly at all. Smoothest engine I believe I've ever heard run, if you didn't see the fan blade spinning - you wouldn't even have known it was cranked.

I'm not much of a shutter-bug - sadly no pics.

Hud

 

This may sound like a goofy question.....but, i have always loved the look of Hudsons, but been nervous to buy one out of a fear I wouldn't be able to find parts for one.
Are there any Hudson parts dealers around?

 

CSCl***ics, yo! See WildThang's post #247, and also PM Hudsonator RE parts. Hard, not impossible to find parts. (Also, the 308 isn't the only game in town. Hudsonator can tell you about the 262!)

 

You can always check out http://oldspokes.com/ too

 

Thanks!!

 

yeah, Blackie Hilliard. He used to own a junkyard about 10 minutes from where i live. My mom had a '65 Mustang way back when and used to go over there for parts. I just told her he's still kicking and she said she couldn't believe it since he was an old man even back then. Here's a picture of the car, sorry it's not good but it's the only one i have. No, i didn't take it.
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I was trying to keep my Irish mouth SHUT for a while . . .

BUT! I have to SAY, that's one bad ride there !!!

 

Hey Deano,
I saw your car a few months ago in a shop in Kalangur when I was visiting my parents who live there. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the Hudson engine. I asked the guy who was working on it if I could come in and look it over. What a nice job you have done on it, great to see something completely different. Nice job with the manifold, pity you were not around. Cheers Mike.

 

got a friend racing a 1950 hornet, turning 9.90's in the 1/4 of course it's got a 440 stroker in it but he still has the old flathead he bought the car in colorado in the late 60's and drove it home to ga. after he got out of the army.look it up on youtube, 10 sec. hudson thanks capt bobby

 

Hi, CaptBobby! You mean maybe '51? Shoot me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there was a Hornet in '50, just Super, Pacemker, Commodore, etc. ANYwho, welcome to the Hudson thread!

 

got a friend that races a1950 hornet. it' got a 440 stroker now but he still has the original flathead , it' got 2 1 barrels and headers. he bought the car in colorado in the 60's and drove it to ga. after he got out of the army.

 

you're probably right , im new on this site but it's great you can see the left corner of the car in my avatar. thanks capt bobby

 

CaptBobby, any more pix of the Hornet? From the metal and chrome in your avatar, SURE looks like a fine machine!!!

 

OK, so I was digging for information and arrived HERE! I am in the process of rodding a 1930 Hupmobile model S coupe. I plan to use entire drivetrain from a 1956 Hudson Hornet with dual-carbed 308 inch 6 cyl. engine.

 

hey jimis hemi, i allways keep mt irish mouth shut, LOL.. i have a 212 6 cyl from my coupe, allways wondered to myself if and how to soup that motor up or is it not worth it... still on a stand waiting. dermott.

 

ive been catching up on this thread and much more that has gone on in the wide world of hudson since my computer gave up a year ago. ive been working on the recipe for making a T86 for stepdown run a larger input shaft, 55-56 crank and all (cos that is what i have to work with- raw materials are getting increasingly hard to come by in australia, even in the relatively short time ive been involved in hudsons). its not done, but the wide selection of T86 equipped cars makes it easier for us. im using a cut down and resplined 55 hudson input shaft with the 10" dry clutch disc and standard flywheel from a 55 with a wet clutch pressure plate ***embly, bellhousing and throwout ***embly. hudson soup if you will. some hash flywheels have half of the holes to suit 48-54 pressure plates drilled already. some dont. photos of what ive worked out so far to come.

 

the missing link for our cars isthe input shaft. but never fear, i have the answer. first photo is of the stock stepdown and hash trans input shafts side by side. the much larger one is the hash one. second is the 55 shaft machined to suit the length of a hash cranked engine in a standard stepdown bellhousing alongside the standard stepdown shaft again. photo 3 is the modified shaft in a 55 T86 OD box, complete with an R10 rear case i got from a studebaker to allow open drive where there was previously a torque tube. photo 4 is the clearance on the standard stepdown throwout sleeve. to make the 55 shaft work there is some modification required where the front seal runs. you will see in the first 2 photos what has been done there.second last photo is the throwout bearing ground to fit over the larger input shaft. mine is from a 34 because it has a wider shoulder and fits the throwout fingers in the pressure plate better, spreading the wear over a greater area. last is a stepdown 10" pressure plate bolted to a hash flywheel.

 

Stu, I'm wondering about the history of the T86, and I don't recall if it's actually been touched upon on this thread. Here's my question: Was the T86 package a special option? If so, what year did it become available, and did it remain available for '55 and '56 when the Twin-H 308 was still offered in the Hashes?

 

T86 was available from mid 1952 right through to the end of the big six in 1956. Identify the cars so equipped by the twin linkages running off the steering column rather than a cable and a linkage as per hudson gearboxes. In aus it was 54-59 (we took a few years more to stop making them than america so i guess you could say that hudson did make it to the 50 years of production milestone) but as long as you have the correct bellhousing and front seal housing any T86 with open drive will do the job.

 

I'm sorry to say that I did not read all posts but still want to say that I have at work how to make something like a 350"er or so Hudson 6-banger if anybody is interested if it hasn't already been posted before.

Just trying to help as always.

That and the big Packard straight-8 bangers are large by huge back then.

My Dad back then in the early to mid '50's would set our big Packard on 110 mph going across Il to our farm around Longview.

pdq67

 

Stu, I'm glad you pointed out that Hudson as a make was actually around for a half-century. The wasn't a thing wrong with Hudson, and in fact they introduced many automechanical innovations. I think Hudson's only essential problem -- like Packard, Nash and Studebaker -- was staying independent too long. If the smaller independents could have gone together right after the war, they might have lasted many more decades AND still been able to make cars under their original, traditional names. Good luck on your projects, man. You have obvious gifts in things mechanical!

 

jimi you're too kind. all im any good at is making stuff fit the hole it needs to go in, and even then i can only take credit for the measuring since i had to find someone that does edm machining to machine the shaft to what i needed. i still have to actually finish getting this ***embled too....

 

Stu, you're being too modest, man. It takes a good lathe man, but you still have to develop the concept of what you want the machine to do. I'd say you're pretty good at the brain work and the wrenching. Keep 'er up, mate!