On Saturday the old man and I sent out to pick up his Christmas present/new project, a 1949 Hudson Commodore! It all started a few weeks ago when we went to a fellow car guys house to pick up some fenders for his 55 merc. While we were there we spotted this 49 Hudson. We started talking about it and the guy said he was thinking about selling it. We were kind of just dreaming about it as both of us have plenty of other projects going right now. My father instantly fell in love with it and I could tell he would do almost anything to have it. Well the next day he calls me up and asked what I was doing on Saturday and if I could give him a hand. I tell him no problem, figuring he just needs help moving stuff around his house or something, and he tells me he bought the Hudson and needs me to help him load it. He sounded like a little kid all excited about getting the coolest toy in the world! So glad to see him so happy! Saturday morning rolls around, we hook up the trailer on my truck and take the 25 mile drive filled with smiles and hot rod talk. It was a freezing morning but the cold didnt bother us one bit as we were loading up pops dream! All loaded and heading back thinking about what might be in the trunk(the seller told us pretty much everything was in the trunk and it was packed to the brim). We get it home unload and start digging through the treasure. And what a treasure it was, everything was in there, some things double and triple, down to every nut and bolt that were all labeled in bags. Some fresh rechromed parts wrapped in bubble wrap, interior trim, exterior trim, grill parts, EVERYTHING!!! I didnt think dads smile could have gotten any bigger! Unfortunately someone took out the original motor and hacked in a 351w with an auto trans. The car is as solid as the day it rolled off the line, not one speck of rust ANYWHERE! It does have some dents on the drivers side but nothing that cant be fixed with a little work. Dads plans for it to loose the 351 and swap it for something older. He's thinking either hemi, nailhead, or caddy motor. He wants to lower it down a little with WWW's, Gloss black or dark red paint job, custom grille, shave emblems and door handles.
Yea, I'll have him send me all the progress pics so we can do a build thread. He needs to finish his merc before he starts this.
Sweet! Looks like a really solid project. be sure to check the inside edges of the perimeter frame around the back of the car for rust. If you're good there, you'll be good everywhere! What are the plans for the car?
Wow, does that bring back memories. My dad was a big Hudson fan (still going at 88) & taught me how to drive in a '49 Commodore (a tudor, not a club coupe like yours). You couldn't hurt that car. It was quite fast for the weight. You felt like you were driving down the road on your living room couch. What an excellent find your dad made! Tell him good luck from one real old Hudson guy & one old Hudson guy.
Although impossible to tell from the exterior photos because of all of the trim being removed, the dash and door panels are Super 6, not Commodore. Looks like a solid coupe. You've got a lot to work with.
The previous owner told us it was a Commodore. I dont really know the differences between the commodore and super 6, can you explain some ways to identify what it is? The car is very, very solid and it appears almost all the trim, bumpers, interior parts, ect are all in the trunk!
Note differences in dash trim and wide woodgrain panel at top of door extends length of door in Commodore photo below. This area is gray vinyl on Super 6. Deluxe steering wheel is standard on Commodore. Other differences in the exterior trim such as trunklid trim, taillights, rear window molding, etc. It's hard to say what's been changed out after all of these years but in the interior photos all indications look to be Super 6. Start of serial number: 491 Super 6 492 Commodore 6 493 Super 8 494 Commodore 8
Thanks for the help super-six! It definately appears to be a super 6 then. I'll varify it with the vin later today.