50 Hudson trans service, NEED SOME ADVICE

i just read a great article in the current white triangle news (hudson club mag) about a low buck dragster that compeated in the unblown flathead class in 60 61 62 and 63. they used a hornet engine bored to 324 with gm pistons, a 40 ford front axle, the stock hudson rear and 3 speed tranny (with 1st and rev removed) and tractor retreads on rear. even starting in second he said it has no trouble burning rubber and acc up to and above 100 mph. he also said all he did to stock cork clutch was change hudsonite and did nothing else! and it preformed flawlessly! great article if any of you get a chance to read it.

 

DAMN Hudsons!why would anyone wanna work on one??

 

Jimi that is the same little can of Hudsonite the local dealer had.

Hudson used the wet clutch from 1909 right up to the end. If the dry plate was better or cheaper they would have used it.

In the factory service manual there are directions for relining your clutch. The dealer would get a kit of corks, the mechanic would stick the new corks in your old clutch plate then trim them to the right thickness. They had a special jig for this.

One trick was to stick every second cork in from the front, the others in from the back. That way they could not come loose.

There is no reason you could not use corks from the hardware store if you had some way to cut them to the right thickness and get them all even.

ATF should make a good substitute for Hudsonite. I used to use it in British motorcycles with wet clutches, they worked great and it cured the problem of clutch sticking when cold.