Hey there HAMBers! I'm pretty new to the H.A.M.B., and just put a 1950 Hudson Pacemaker rolling project into the garage for a winter project. It's my first real project car, and I'm super stoked to get started. So... If there's any Hudson owners, or people that have any words of wisdom, out there that would like to share some knowledge, I'd love to hear from you. I'm going to keep a weekly update on the progress starting in January, so you'll see plenty of questions being posted. The Good: Body is really solid and straight. I've just started to clean out the years and years of debris in the car, but it's pretty clean. I pulled out everything in the trunk, and it only has one small area in need of patching. I'm going to start on the interior tonight (smells like it's been lived in for a while) and will see what the floor has in store for me. I fell in love with the old Merc's and fastback body style, so you can imagine how stoked I am to have the Hudson! There's no engine or tranny, so I'm not sure which direction to go: Look for an old Hudson engine, or drop something else in. I've never done any welding or replaced front clips, but I'm sure I could find the right people to help me. That's a "down the road" project, but any advice would be helpful. Glass is all there, with two-3 broken windows that are still solid and working. The Bad: I can't really think of any... besides my lack of knowledge! She's a beauty in my eyes (my Girlfriend actually see's my vision and love of the car)! My Plan of Attack: I'm planning on pulling out everything in the car and cleaning it up to start fresh. I've been considering priming the entire inside (trunk, interior, engine compartment) with POR-15, or Silver Bullet, but don't know a) which is better, or b) is it a mistake. So that's where it stands. Please feel free to chime in or drop me a line! Much appreciated!!! Woodie in SoCal ps. Huge thanks to oldskooljc for hooking me up with the Hudson!
Congrats Woodie, look forward to seeing the updates. Is it a four door or coupe? Love the old Hudsons
Thanks Chief! She's a beauty with 4 doors!!! Put her in the garage yesterday around noon, and sat in her for two hours wondering where to start... and picturing the first ride down the street. I'll keep you posted!!!
Hopefully, you'll put it back together as a Hudson and not take the easy way out by putting the cheapest available power train back in it. The proper Hudson stuff will provide an abundance of power as well as plenty of interest. Search here for Hudson threads-there's a recent tech thread on Hudson engines.
Thanks Dale. I'd love to get a Hudson engine back in to her, so that's my first choice! I'll definitely look into the thread on the Hudson engines. Would love to know more!!! Thanks!
Congrats bro, I really love the flow ofthe 4-door cars by Hudson. Don't let it overwhelm you, that is the hardest part. Do some things like the cleaning up inside and out. Depending on your budget, a original motor is not a good $ choice. You could have a sbc w/ automatic for ease, and get the suspension and brakes and the vitals working. Please dont sand or remove the paint at this state, start that when it is a start to finish part of the product, bare metal surface rusting ain't cute. I see these beauties as cruzers, retaining all stock exterior, as much orig interior, shined up patina may even be a money saver for the start. The entire car is a custom outta the box, please maintain all the orig dash, so no big ass stereo cut in etc., I can't imagine by your words about the ride that you would do that, your already under its spell I have super memories of one of these owning the dirt tracks when I was kid. That step down body is awesome. Ramblin a little but these cars are rare and a treat to be owning one. You are going to have a permenant smile first time you cruz this one .I know you already are cruzin it in your head. Enjoy man. ~sololobo~
I have a buddy that knows these inside out and backwards. PM me if you hit a snag and I'll get you his number.
Thanks Solo! You're reading my mind... I plan on cleaning her out, but couldn't imagine chopping her up. Seriously... how often do you see a "Hudson" radio in the dash! I may end up with a radio in the glove compartment, but she's going to be pretty stock from her on out. I think I even caught my Girlfriend checking out the back seat! Cleaned up and all the necessities addressed first! I'm telling you... if she ran today, I'd be crusin' the 101 now! Thanks for the kind words... and stay posted for updates on my progress.
If there is any rust it will usually be below the A-pillar, behind the rocker. Ask me how I know. Let's see more pics of the car.
Thanks Bent Metal... I'll check her out. I put together some pictures soon and get a album going! Thanks!!!
I actually think that the cheapest way to go will be an original Hudson drive train. Yours would have been an inline 6, 232, but the larger 262 and 308 will fit (but more expensive). There are quite a few around from people that have pulled the stock drivetrains for newer stuff. If you avoid heavy mods for now, you can get it in driver condition with assembly/ repair work. The original suspension, steering, and brakes on these cars are really quite decent. You can always change it later on... The brakes etc should be pretty inexpensive to get going again, and then you can drive and really enjoy the beauty of these cars. Here's a pic of my original 50 Pacemaker...
if the glass that is broken is flat safety glass, I have had Safelite cut windows for stuff, as long as you have a pattern, can be a piece of cardboard cut to exact size of the original, probably even local shops can do the same...Looks like a cool ride to work on.
Orphanautomill... That's a sweet ride. I'll keep an eye out for a Hudson power plant, and would love to find a 308 to drop in her. I'm just starting to look around and figure I have a few months of cleaning and basic maintenance (brakes, suspension, wiring, interior, etc.,) before I'll even need an engine, but I'll keep checking around and hopefully one will pop up. I'm shooting to have it up and running by summer, so we'll see how that goes! Thanks for the photo... it gives me inspiration! Willy301- Thanks for the info!!!
dude keep it all Hudson... Contact Wildrick Restoration in Indiana about a Hudson engine and transmission. Finding a good engine and transmission is not cheep but it will be better than putting some bent 8 in there. PaceRacer50
Scout Craigslist, Ebay, and the HET forum http://www.classiccar.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&func=showcat&catid=13&Itemid=152 something will turn up... I've located a few engines on CL, but most have been through HET members. I have quite a few manual transmissions and rebuildable blocks on the east coast, but shipping is $$$ and you can probably find something running local if you take your time.
I have a 50 Commodore moredoor and found this site useful. Save and print it... http://home.earthlink.net/~dsollon/public.htm/tips.htm
Congrats Woodie, Welkom to the Hudson world!! I also own a Huds (hornet)'53 hollywood hardtop. Try to restore/kustomize it for a couple of years now. Only modified some small things like the driprails, head- and taillights... (will post some pics after the weekend) Lucky for me the car was complete when i bought it (with the 308 engine) If i can help you with something just let me know, i live maybe far away but i sandblasted the body and have pics from everything i have done!! good luck and sure its a good score!! Chico
i put a temp chevy inline six in mine. but i have a 262 and a 308 to go in, haven't decided which yet. i have done the brakes and several other things to get it going. i actually drove it down the street a couple of times. i say do waht you need to get it on the road and then a little at a time to not get overwhelmed and loose steam. good luck!
[FONT="]Let the games begin! After 6 hours of cleaning yesterday, I've successfully emptied the trunk and rear section of the Hudson. I pulled out the rear seat, removed all the rotted material and padding (rats had made a few nice nests), and cleaned out the floorboards. My initial intention was to remove all of the interior and coat with Silver Bullet (anyone have experience using this material?). I purchased 6 quarts in hopes of sealing the interior from roof to floorboards, and from trunk to engine compartment. BUT... I ran into my first glitch yesterday: the floors seem to be sealed with a tar/tar paper combination! About 60% is still attached, but there are large patches of surface rust where it's come loose. I wire brushed most out to remove the loose debris, and it's looking pretty nice. Which brings me to these questions: QUESTION #1: Do I need to remove all the tar (or whatever it is) before sealing with Rust Bullet? I want to do it right the first time. QUESTION #2: Now that the rear seat is bare, should I coat everything in Rust Bullet, or just use a rust paint. ALSO, is it preferred to have new springs installed, or have a new seat fabricated? QUESTION #3: I've thought that once I have the interior gutted and cleaned that maybe I should pull off the fenders and also clean the interior side and seal with Silver Bullet, and then a undercoating material. Thoughts? So that's where is stands today. My plan is to complete the front floorboards and seat today and pull off what's left of the door panels (there's not much left). I'll start posting pictures tonight and you can let me know how the progress is looking. I'd truly welcome your suggestions, thoughts, and words of wisdom! Thanks everyone!!! Woodie[/FONT]
Congrats on your Hudson! Don't even THINK about changing the front suspension. These cars won in NASCAR because of their outstanding handling for the day; they drove around the other brands in the corners up high on the race tracks. Rebuild the center point steering - that's critical. Add some KYBs if you can find to fit. Brakes are quite adequate so long as you are not over 300HP or convert to front discs only. Put in a LATE 262 or a 308. Pic attached of friend's Hudson racing team (orig. cork clutch) and my very mild custom '53 Super Wasp brougham back in about 1990.
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