Projects 42 Hudson not sure what to do with it

I'm going for the look Pist-n-Broke posted with my 46. Not a fan of the original grill but love this custom grill work on this pickup

 

^^ Damn! I like that!

 

i cant see the pics :-(

 

Hey Lexi, I see you were last here in April.
How did you get on with this ol Hudson?

 

Since its set up for an inline engine . How about a non emission Cummins out of an early Dodge P.U.
with a big turbo with a 5 speed manual.
You would be different and haul ass and be able to tow anything you want with a suspension upgrade. Put the body back together stock.

 

OH man now I am missing our '47. Good score! Bodies were basically the same from 40-47. Grills and trim were the main differences one the exterior. Now being a Hudson maniac I would tell you not to modify the body but only change the stance. It likely has 4.10 gears in the rear. I you do any sort of modern 3-speed auto you'll have a 45-50 mph cruiser unless you change the rear. If you happen to find a later 52-54 Hudson rear from a hydra-matic car they typically have 3.08 gears. I did this swap on our '47. Keep in mind the later rear ends are 4" more narrow.

I think Hudson did well on these 40's cars. I love how they look fat. Before I die I would like a coupe of this vintage powered by a OHV inline 6 of some sort. Looking forward to seeing what you do with it.

 

My dad gave me a 47 when I was a kid. Not much power as I recall. We had to rebuild the clutch . Was a cork imbedded plate. Dad bought a box of corks and he drove them into the holes, He chucked it up in the lathe and faced it to the proper thickness. The clutch is also oil bathed and it took some to locate Hudson clutch oil. I really liked the front of the car, but thought the rear was ugly (Wheel openings) and still do, but over all they are cool. Maybe skirts or making the opening round would help.

 

Hi. Local friend here just bought a 37 Hudson pickup missing engine & tranny. He has a couple of the Chevy 261 inline 6 truck engines with transmissions he is considering putting one in it. Another option for his or yours is any flathead inline 6 engine would look period correct if installed and the general public would not know or care about it not being the original engine. It does not have to be a V8 to make it a good drivable car.
My avatar in my post is my engine if my 46 Chevy coupe and it gets more looks and talk at local car shows than the same age cars with tricked out V8 engines. The public loves this style.
Good luck with however you do it.

 

Back in 1965 at age 16 I bought a '47 Hudson coupe, already equipped with a strong running '56 Olds 'Rocket' 324 & hydromantic. (a Cadillac lower bellhousing swapped the starter to the passenger side) plenty of room for everything and everything fit and worked like this swap had been intended from day one. That thing was built like a tank and accelerated like a scalded cat.
Of course the '60s dangled a lot of automotive temptations before a young man's eyes, and I was finally seduced into a trade for a Chevy convertible ...which turned out to be an utterly total piece of crap that I dumped within a month. Have regretted letting that Hudson go ever since.
If I were to come across another one solid and affordable, even a 4 door, it would receive that '62 390 tri-power equipped Caddy engine that is now just taking up space in the garage.