Hot Rods 308 Hudson 6 for Early RODS ???

By the way, guys, I don't have membership in ANY club, except the HAMB.

 

Man, you just don't get what I'm saying. I'm not bashing anyone. All I was trying to say is, that the older people get (such as myself) their memories are not as sharp as they once were back when they started hording all those parts. And after 30 yrs of hording, they may have 10 or more of them. It's good that you youngsters know your shit. I would not have read this thread had I not liked Hudsons. I'm not laughing my ass off. Hope you have a great weekend 'cause I sure as hell am at 71292!

I'm sure glad you are a member & I love the H.A.M.B. Now can we get back to 308 Hudson 6?

 

Here's a couple of those 'canoe' hoods-both '42 Hudsons though neither are mine, unfortunately.

 

I bought my first Hudson from a fella who bought and sold antique car projects. I first saw the car and just fell in love with it a first sight-a 1942 Commodore Eight Club Coupe. Well, I already had (and still have) too many projects so I tried to talk myself outta the car. Couldn't do it. The guy selling met my offer and delivered it my house. I stored it for years while collecting parts and spares and gettin' to know alot of great Hudson people all over the country! I knew being a '42 (war year) and Hudson there couldn't be too many of them. I knew I had never seen one before and since owning it I've only 'heard' of one other Commodore Eight Club Coupe that's located in Washington state. According to the club, there's actually more '42 convertibles existing than Eight cylinder coupes. There are more six ciylinder coupes, also. If you look at the pics I posted in my previous thread, the convertible is a Commodore Eight while the other pic is a Commodore Six. Differences in trim included headlight rings, trim piece under the headlight ring on Eight not on Six, hood ornament and front trim is different, and one that is really hard to notice-second grille bar from bottom is longer on Eight than it is on a six.

After buying my Eight coupe, I bought a Commodore Six sedan as a parts car as the six's trim was in better shape. Currently have the Coupe body off the frame, blasted and in epoxy primer. I'm having the eight cylinder machined and plan to run it mated with a GM 700R, custom built multicarb intake and headers. Won't be as strong as those 308's but should be a conversation piece and with that GM transmission and rear gears around 3:56 or 3:73, it should run ok on highway without compromising torque too much. I've talked with Hud before on this project and don't begin to possess the engine knowledge he has but as you've already figured out-he's a heck of a guy to listen and learn from! Plan to run a few ideas by him when I can get my project back up to speed again. Here's a pic of the coupe just after I purchased it.

 

Not sure if anyone cares or wants to know this "factoid" about the outside differece between a '48 and '49 Hudson... and you can always tell by the model number on the data plate on the passenger door hinge pillar anyhow that will start with 48.. or 49... BUT for all of the '48 model year the stainless reveal around the front door glass opening on all closed car models was butted above the vent window division bar. In production they found this was a hassle and too many were getting bent during installation. For '49 production they moved that junction to the middle over the door glass and had no more installation problems.

Talk about worthless trivia I will take to my grave..... So what did I win? :>)

 

Well it's not worthless trivia to me. And the glove boxes and different colored wood grain on the dashes for the inside...you win my respect. Back to early rods, a number of years ago Glen Johnson in Utah had an ugly T bucket with a 308 in it, dual carbs and a set of headers.

 

Thanks for the kind words. The RBS AACA show is next weekend - come on over and visit the skunkworks.

I think about your 8 alot. Hopefully we can get our projects back on the move. What machining operations have you laid out to do? Are you sticking with the stock oiling system? If a person spent a little more time, money, and detail there - I see no reason why it wouldn't be as good as anybody's flathead?

Hud

 

Guys, a little off the SUBJECT here, but with SO many hard-bitten Hudson devotees, I thought, why not?

Somebody asked on another thread if Hudson offered a CONVERTIBLE in the '48-'50 range. Seems to me I saw a nicely restored convertible (6 or 8-page color spread) years ago. It was meticulously restored, except the interior and cover had been redone in leather.

And, I remember the '54 in convertible -- but '48-'50??? Any help?

 

Of course they made convertibles every year they made Hudsons up until the merger with Nash (so there were no '55-57 Hudson converts). There were no Hudson Jet convertibles (other than one factory prototype). But Hudson convertibles were built every year just like about any other brand of car. They may not have built big numbers of them but they certainly built them. Just Google whatever year and "Hudson convertible" and click on "images" and you will get pictures. This ain't rocket science. Its simple research.

 

Oh heck, I wasn't going to do this but you want a picture of a Hudson convertible? HERE. Its a 1950.

 

Reckon its perimeter frame is shot?

I learned the hard way, Hudson's have much more to look at than the outward appearance.

 

StillOutThere, yer KILLIN' me here!

But thanks for the FACT that ALL (except the lil' Jet & after '54) years had Hudson converts!!!

BUT, I'm still open to any decent pic of a step-down ocnvertible, guys!!!

 

Jimi, I've several pics of '42-'47 Hudsons but these were the only two I could come up with quickly on a convertible stepdown. Help me on the year here guys-believe '50 or '51.

 

In addition to the '49 coupe and '48 sedan I have, I also have a '42 six coupe, the short wheelbase car. My book shows a couple of models or trim variations for the six cylinder cars, I'm not sure which it actually is. I'd love to know how many of those they think were made. I'd also love to know what the hood interchange is, it met with a minor accident after I got it home.

If I hadn't bought it, it would have been crushed, I saw the extra trim and stuff and realized it was a '42 and went to the trouble to move three other cars and cut trees to make about 100 feet of road to get it the hell out - figured it should be a priority to save it.

It's rough, but not terrible, the frame does have some rot in the front crossmember but the rest of the body isn't too bad - considering it's been sitting basically outside in what probably was a field when it was parked, and was woods by the time I got to it, most of the cars around it bearing mid-50s license plates at the newest.

And I thought the way the trim at the front of the hood lights up was pretty neat.

 

Hud, you probably know or at least run in the same circles as Danny Carroll. He's an antique engine enthusiust (tractors, hit-n-miss, etc). He also builds alot of obscure autombile engines-everything from 1909 Caddy, Buick nailheads, and inliners. He also builds modified engines for some of the modified tractor pullers around here. He has my engine and all we've talked about is rebabbitting and cleaning up the block/head etc.-Basically leaving everything stock. I'll be the first to tell you I've not been satisfied with this decision from day one but as I just don't have the know-how to do what I would like to do like machined bearings, pressurized oiling, compression work, etc. I want to drive the car alot when it's done thus looking for reliability as well as increased hp so I've talked myself into stock engine with bolt on goodies, but I know I'm limited even to how much carburetion I can add like it's designed. As we've discussed, money is a factor too but not as much as just not knowing what can be done. I feel Danny could make some needed modifications but I don't think he feels comfortible with the 'experimentation. He hasn't started on it just yet as I've had him on hold recently but I'm gonna have to decide to get going or go pick it up but I need to get going to get this project done. I think about it almost daily and I want to drive this Hudson!

I'm beatin' myself about this coming weekend. I would loooovvve to come up there to the Springs AACA-but, we're already booked at Pigeon Forge for Shades. Not that I'm in love with Shades but the boy is wound up tighter n spring about going to Dollywood to ride the choo choo. He's three.

Another shameless shot of the '42 Commodore Eight before tear down. I love the factory tilt hoods on these models.

Rick

 

RustyNewYorker,

Bless you for saving it. It may not be too pretty now but it was somebody's honey at one time! And, it probably could be again. From the trim and bumper guards, yes, it is the short wheel base Super Six. Don't know the build number's off hand although I've got tons of info I've collected and will dig it up around here soon.

Here's a pic of a Super Six convertible street rod that recently sold on eb__. I took this pic of it years ago at Louisville, KY. Not keen on the green but it still was a pretty thing!

Rick

 

Another favorite

 

I'm sure you folks have seen these..but..just love to see the Hudsons on the track

 

Buck Baker stands beside his B.A. Pless-owned #89 Hudson Hornet, which he drove to victory in the April 12 NASCAR Grand National race at Columbia Speedway in South Carolina. Pless entered a car in only 19 NASCAR races and won twice. Baker won one race in 10 starts in the Hornet, while Buddy Shuman won once in eight starts.





Sorry..got carried away..

 

I've heard of Danny Carroll, but haven't met him nor worked with him. Living where you do, I thought you might have gone to Jim Simpkins of Springfield. I have worked with Jim before, although its been a while.

I will say this, an antique tractor engine builder is a good thing. We've usually gone places others have not.

If you're gonna stick with the babbit splashers, do try to get Ivan Zaremba to give you his recipe on the oiling. I went back and looked over the "Racing Pictures" thread on the HET forum (I finally have enough internet speed to see all those pics) and noticed Ivan's straight 8 racer. He's still splash oiled and has it working on high G turns and at higher rpms. If one can keep the trays full, I reckon it lives just fine at whatever you're doing. I have never worked on one of these first hand, but want to someday.

Ivan's Railton 8 Racer.







Hud

 

rarerodder has posted pics of a '51 Hud convertible. The dashboard was changed that year to the instrument cluster type shared '51-53 model years.

Stepdown year to year detail differences can be really difficult to memorize because the main body shell did not change from '48-53 and '54 just got the bit of a fin and lost its silver rocker panels for rolled sheet metal.

 

RareRodder, that is one BEAUTIFUL '51 Hudson!!! And, thanks OutThere for details; yeah, Hudson didn't "evolve" very quickly (or MUCH) in those years! Myself, I thought the '54 was a good effort at facelifting a '48 body ONE MORE TIME. But the writing was already on the wall for Hudson.

The so-called "Hashes" were novel to look at but kind of sad, too -- much like the sad "Packabakers of '57-'58, eh? (BUT, the Hashes DID have an interesting array of mills under the hoods!!! ONE saving grace???)

 

RareRodder, I liked what you said to RustyNY about saving "somebody's baby." The longer I'm on the HAMB, the more I realize guys feels the SAME way I do about these old cars. There's almost a feeling of reverence and resepct for those who designed & built them, as well as the real owners who mostly drove themselves & their families literally millions of miles.

So, even if a car is reduced to being merely a parts car, there's a complusion there to SAVE something useful and, hopefully, help get it back on the streets & highways again!

Gotta love the HAMB!

 

Dave (StudHud) posted this keen chop on 9/3 on another Hudson thread. Ya GOTTA love the beltline -- just FLOWS with the rest of the design lines, eh? Mercs of the era had/have NOTHING on Hudson, stylewise.

 

Hey Friends.
New to the Hamb.
Heres a couple of pics of my Hudson powered A model ford with hand made tri carb manifold. Goes hard and sounds awesome. Had lots of drama fitting it in but notice the shortened body to get the engine to fit. Why are ford flats so popular when hudson got it right....... The engine came from my 49. hudson super six.
My dad has a 34 hudson terraplane coupe with twin carbs on a 37 power dome engine which goes very nicely also.,
cheers
Deano

 

Deano, WELCOME to the HAMB. Sweet ride, mate, and are YOU on the right thread! I can't wait until Hudsonator, StudHud & some other HET nuts SEE your "Hudford" !!! BTW, the intake is SLICK, all the way! Loved your comment (and Hudsonator will, too!):

Loco Deano wrote: "Why are ford flats so popular when hudson got it right?"

 

It was Clyde Darrow that wrote that letter to Henry Ford, NOT Dillinger. Darrow was a huge fan of the V-8 Fords, while Dillinger always preferred a Terraplane. As mentioned before, the latest Dillinger movie has a buttload of Fords (based on the wrong info that Dillinger liked the Fords!), rather than Terraplanes, as it should have had.

 

loco Deano, Great to see a Hudson six powering an A Ford. Nice job showing Hudson pride with that trunk medallion on the intake and the tail lamps are a natural on the body. Well done new friend. Welcome from an old Hudson soul in Texas.

Now show us a pic of two of your Dad's '34 please!

 

Yeah, OutThere! And I'd bet Gigantor & Perley would love to see that Terraplane, too!!