About 15-20 yrs ago there were 2 late 20's Hudson Specials built here in Oz in the style of the late 20's Blower Bentleys, both had front mounted, crank driven blowers with short alloy open bodies......I saw them in Oz's Restored Cars Magazine around that time and a year or two later in the flesh here in Grafton as they were on a rally somewhere........amazing cars............however a few mths ago I saw a TV show on pay TV and there was a pic of at least one of them in the background........the show was US based, not sure what it was, maybe Chasing Cl***ic cars, or something similar, it was RHD....so anyway at least one ended up over there......dunno if this helps......andyd
Just did a quick search under "Supercharged Hudson Super Six" and a few references to at least one of these cars came up and some nice pics....including that fact that it was sold for $198k at the Amelia Island RM Auctions in 2009......magic car, a nice civilized hot rod, perfect instrument for giving Bentleys an enema...........lol.......andyd
Hey Jeff, if you want a boat tail rear, look seriously at a Ford prefect hood. Absolutely the perfect shape.
Andyd, i have the complete story and build up of these two cars in 3 old copies of 'The NZ Triangle'. Thanks for bringing them up, they are amazing. I dont have the megabucks required to build a crank blown motor, but if some rich old relative that i dont know about, kicks off and leaves me a fortune, i will build one. Damn, 198k is a tidy sum. Clive, i will look into that. Im now leaning toward an inline two seater, so the boattail section would be short. Yourll like my new old seats, theyre from a Moggy. (Morris Minor)
Spring time here, and its raining. No surprises there. Haha. Heres a couple of pics. The engine has penitrating fluid in the bores, but i think maybe the water pump drive may be the problem. Other pic is the rear springs in place.
Ive not been able to find any good wheels for the 28, so i havnt touched it for some time. Today i stripped it down, so i can striaghten the ch***is, get it blasted, then paint it. The engine was pretty easy to get out, considering its size. My 34 Chev project now resides where the 28 has spent the last 12 months
man your busy!!! what about a baffle plate for the sump, that always makes a big difference, hang on a second that may not be good thing IF its splash feed bearings.
The sumps have a factory baffel, and they are splash feed. The 29 sumps are a little better, and a have one on the spare 29 SS.
I'm very late to this discussion. I owned a 29 Hudson sedan, restored. It had Accessory wire wheels on it. It was our family tour car for many years. We went anywhere the guys with the Hornets went. I will tell you that it would go faster then I had the nerve to drive it, even with the wire wheels. We p***ed many stepdowns , just for the bragging rights. There are several different rear axle ratios available. I'm willing to bet if you find the right ratio , you will have all the speed you can handle , without a hop up. These engines are torque monsters , not high revving engines I've never heard of any one ever having a bottom end problem. Valves and timing chains , water pump shafts , but no bearings if done right. There are several guys running Ford 300 cu in Carbs , mounted on top of the manifold as a down draft. More power , more dependable , and much better mileage. Good luck with your build.
Thanks Hoggyrubber. I've started on painting some smaller engine parts, and i will post pics when the whole engine painted.
Still have generator, starter, side plates and dizzy left to clean up and paint, but couldnt resist posting a couple of pics.
wow I really dig old engines they are such mechanical works of art , very nice job , id have to run it hoodless just so folks could admire it
Thanks Captainjunk#2. Im ichin to get it finished, and start on the ch***is. If/when i ever get this thing done, im with you on running it without a hood. I dont have one for it anyway, so id be savin a few dollars All i got done today, was paint inlet manifold, and install it up, (or down really) the correct way.
This is a 1935 Hudson 'special' on display at the Buderim Ginger Factory on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. If you're over for a visit maybe you could check it out for ideas! I couldn't get any closer for pics, it's behind a picket display fence, but if you told them you were 'restoring' one maybe they'd let you have a closer look. Cheers, Glen.
I've just skimmed through the thread and, as regards the original question, I'm surprised so little mention was made of compression ratios. We all complain about the quality of fuel available today, after the rather nasty heavily-leaded stuff of some decades ago, but the worst we have now is better than the best to be had in 1928. The Hudson would run what? 6:1? The IOE head will give a nice, compact chamber with good quench characteristics, especially if given a slight cut. I'd expect it to handle 9.5:1+ without detonation on modern fuel. (In practice that would mean raising the piston crown by 0.6" or about 15mm relative to the top of the combustion chamber. I'd think that more easily achieved by longer rods than taller pistons: a mix-and-match exercise.) Of course other modifications would be necessary to handle the resulting increase in output, not to mention the tendency to spin faster. All the ingredients for a 200-odd bhp engine are there, if the physical structure is up to it. I like the fabric-bodied special idea. Railtons were basically Hudson specials, though a very few years later than your era. See https://www.google.co.za/search?hl=...1.0....0...1ac.1.35.img..3.8.1183.cmG8w-EI4Dk
Don't know how I missed this thread. I love unusual motors and that Hudson 6 is beautiful. There has been a collection of Hudson parts for sale down here recently - I must have a second look at them after seeing your project. I look forward to seeing to your speedster come together.
Glen, thanks, i have some good friends on the Gold Coast, and would like to get over and see them. Id like to grab a set of wire wheels from over there too. If i havnt already mentioned it in this thread, the Australians had to use wire wheels on their Hudsons, as the wooden spoke wheels would be eatin by Termites Ned, thanks for the info, and pics. 25mercury, these engines sure polish up nice. Kume, Hudson stuff aint cheap, but it is excellant quality. I keep an eye on Trade me, and have had one great score, the 50 dollar trailer mentioned earlier in this thread, where i got hub caps and rear leaf springs. I also have spare Hudson parts, that i dont need.
More specific , Ford truck 300 Cubic inch 6 cyl. . I would think the 240 ci six carb would work if it was rejetted. Probably the GMC 292 CI six carb would work , but a little harder to come by. Enjoying your post. Good luck.
The paint used on the engine is VHT Racing Green engine paint, in case anyones keen to use it themselves
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