Projects Picked up a 1951 Hudson Pacemaker off CL

I just scored this 51 Hudson off of craigslist for $500 that I am picking up in the morning and was wondering if there is any place that makes aftermarket parts? It still has the original six cylinder and ******, I'm not sure if it is froze up or not. There's some rust on the car but nothing that bad, the drivers floor is the worst part. I was also wondering if anyone had put a v8 into one of these? I forgot to take pictures when I went to look at it, but will post some better pictures tomorrow when I get it. It has the grill and most of the other parts. the only thing I couldn't find where the turn signals and original fender skirts but I think the guy tookthem off before I got there.

 

I remember seeing a couple of them in the San Jose area 'way back with Oldses in them...
That would be 303 or 324 Oldses, I think they both had stock exhaust manifolds.
I also believe they were both adapted to stick shifts, (maybe Hudson boxes, but possibly Ford Borg-Warners, '49-'56; I guess this because of the availability of adaptors to Ford trannies back then. I don't remember ever seeing an engine adaptor to a Hudson box...)
BUT, when using Ford adaptors behind Oldses, there was also a starter changeover, to put the starter on the p***enger (right) side...This 'changeover' was cast from a lower Cadillac housing. Oldses had starters on the drivers side, right at the steering box)
Small Ford or Chevy would probably slip right in there.

 

Some reason the pictures wouldn't load I will try again.The car doesn't look good in the pictures but in person its a different story.

 

Thanks man for the info.

 

I downloaded a pic to my computer It looks pretty solid,Any front end parts ,grille ,ect

 

It has the grille and bumpers everything for the head lights. Its a pretty complete car. The gl*** is all good which is a major plus. The only thing I couldn't find were the turn signals.

 

Cool. I have the exact car. Mine still has the original drive train and runs great. I am thinking of going to a Chevy 250 6 cyl and 5 speed just so it would be more of a road car. I was going to go 455 Olds but the Chevy 6 will slide right in without any mods to the car. I don't have the O/D ****** so my highway speed is about 50, sometimes 55. There is a fellow in Cincinnati, OH that has alot of NOS parts for the car. Mainly engine, suspension and gaskets. If I remember right his name is Dale Cooper. Here's the link if it works right. www.hudsonmotorcarco.com/parts.htm. I definitely want to see some pics of this car. I love them Hudsons!

 

I saw your ad for the engine and ******, if I was closer I would buy it in a heartbeat.If I remember right I believe that this one has an overdrive but I'm not sure. I will post better pictures when I get it home tomorrow. Thanks for the link.

 

Nice car by the way

 

Nice, that will be a great build....

 

The one thing that is going to take some time will be cleaning ALL of the chrome. At one time some dumb*** painted all the chrome with red primer. But maybe the paint helped the chrome from rusting.

 

nice find. I've always been torn between the merc and hudsons as what looks cooler as a custom. I think i sway towards the hudson thou. Gonna be a cool ride.

 

Are you going to keep the ******. I might be interested if it is an O/D. My neighbor is in the process of moving to WA and could arrange a pickup with them possibly. That is of course if you want to part with it.

 

Yeah man it will be a fun build. I'm going to do what little body work needs to be done and shoot it in primer for now and start on the drivetrain. I'm going to start looking for some skirt and a visor.All of my buddys keep asking me are you going to make a "Rat Rod" out of it? I just keep telling them they're crazy.

 

I'm not sure yet if I can get it running I will just leave the engine and ****** in it but if not I will let you know. You said you were considering putting a Chevy in your Hudson, how easy is it to do?

 

I noticed how the suspention and steering colum hooked up to the frame. Would I just have to change engine and ****** mounts to bolt in? If so I would probably consider doing it. One of my buddy's have one that's just sitting for $300

 

here's a link to a thread that left a mile long post on..

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=668452

at the end i posted a link to mike's new reproduction site, welcome to Hudson land....

 

There is a social group called "Let's See Those Hudsons"- too lazy to find the link right now- lots of cool stuff. Those Step-downs make gorgeous customs!

 

Thanks man, I would kill to have a rhd Hudson. People would freak out over here in the states.

 

Mine had been sitting in a barn in MN since sometime in the 70's. It had last been registered in '58. Still had the '58 plates on it when I bought it. I pulled the plugs out and filled it full of Marvel Mystery Oil, Turned it over many times by hand, freed up sticky valves, replaced plugs, points/condenser, coil. I cleaned out the carb and put it back together with same parts. Didn't even get a rebuild kit. Hit the starter ****on and it fired. It's been running like this since '05. Just had it fired up today and it's 16 degrees out. If you have any particular questions feel free to shoot me a PM. I know mine inside and out may could help you out here and there.

 

Thanks cool you were able to get it running, I'm not so sure if I will be able to do the same.When I start working on it if I have any questions I will let you know.

 

Also I have been looking for fender skirts but can't find any. If anyone has a pair that they would like to get rid of send me a PM

 

Here are the pic's. It's hard to tell what is rust and what's moss on the car but it is super solid. I crawled all over the bottom of the car and there is zero rust on the frame and unibody. I just got home and figured I would put these pictures on before I started to tear into the car to find what parts/ living organisms may be dwelling in it.

 

Sweet deal! I love hudsons, great lines.

 

Try this site----

http://www.cl***iccar.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&func=showcat&catid=24&Itemid=152

Lots of cool information on the Rod/Custom Hudsons!

 

I plan on putting it on airbags, has anyone else done this?

 

After going through the whole car last night I found the original skirts under the back seat!!! The car was last on the road in 79. I found 63 Wa. plates with 79 tabs and a few insurance cards that were from late 78. I tried to brake the motor free with no luck.Plus the wiring under the hood was destroyed if I would've hooked a battery up the car would have caught on fire. I'm pulling the engine and ****** tonight.I'm going to put a small block in it.

 

nice merc.uuuhh i mean hudson!
looks to be pretty straight,got any real plans for it? i still have to decide what to for tail lights,i have a set of 50 pontiac's & smaller buick style,someone stole my stockers,
cool score never the less! hudson seem to picking up a good following now these days,

 

if you decide to sub it give a yell,i was gonna do mine but decided not to do ot,but i have some good reading material on another guy's swap,

 

Great find. There is absolutely NOTHING like this ever on our local Craig's Lists. All Jeep and tuner bits.