Introducing....The Panty Dropper!!!

ha ha.

After owning this car for 9 long years, it is finally on the road.

1949 Hudson Super 6 Brougham
Full chassis swap on an 84 Grand Marquis chassis
Lowered 4" in front, 6" in rear, channelled 3"
460 block .60 over. C6 trans.
53 Olds dash, 65 Chev seats.

I found this car as I was looking for a shoebox Ford sedan. I'd seen Hudson 4-doors and coupes before, but never a sedan. When I stumbled across the car in the summer of 1998 in a Michigan garage with a dirt floor, I knew right away that this was the car for me.

I paid too much for the car, it had a early Camaro clip in it, and otherwise was bone stock. The fella I got it from was going to "pro-street" it. He had the clip welded in the car a full 3/4 of an inch out of square.

I was in college at the time, and living at my folks 'cause I couldn't afford to pay for college and pay for rent at the same time. I had just sold my '59 Beetle and had the cash to buy the car. I drug it to my folks place and stuck it in the garage. My Dad thought I was crazy for tackling such a huge project, and never really had much to say in the way of encouragement...(he's not even REMOTELY a car guy).

My little brother was in high school at the time, and was driving a 77 Lincoln Town Coupe. Being that it had been a Michigan car its whole life, the body was just rusted to shit. I paid him $50.00 for the car, pulled the 460/C6, the clip, and some miscellaneous other peices out and scrapped the rest.

I started building the 460 right away. Throughout the next year or so, when I had the $$, I would buy parts and get machine work done. I had the 460 fully assembled and ready to go in the car in Feb of '00.

In March of 00, my folks decided to move out to WA state, and my dad told me I had 1 month to get the car rolling and out of his garage or he was going to take it to the crusher! ha ha. I had cut out the camaro clip, and pulled the stock rear end out of the car earlier, so I had to scramble to get the thing moveable. I stuck the Lincoln clip in it, and an 8.8 rear end so I could roll it, and moved it to a friends house.

Over the course of the next year or so, I began dating the gal who turned out to be my wife, and she came with a couple of kids so I didn't really have too many chances to work on the car.

I got married in December 01, and had my daughter in September 02. I started a "career job" to support the family, and bought a house.

The Hudson followed me from place to place, and in June of 2003, my job promoted me, so I sold my house and moved out here to WA state. the car came with.

It sat in the driveway for a couple more years, until my divorce prompted a re-fi of the house to cash out the ex, and I built a garage last spring.

I really started working on the car again last October. I had decided that I wanted to do a full chassis swap on the car for a couple of reasons. The Lincoln clip I had stuck in the car was too wide, and the stock Hudson perimeter frame had some nasty rust that needed repair. I chose a Grand Marquis I had found on Craigslist for free and cut the cars up.

I pulled off the chassis swap by myself. I really had NO idea how much work it was, how many bottles of CO2 I'd go through, and how many rolls of mig wire I'd plow through. ha ha.

I went through the motor again a couple of months ago 'cause it had been sitting for 7 years and made sure everything was right. The trans turned out to be toast, even though I had it rebuilt, so I had to put another in this past wednesday.

Last night I spent time wiring the lights and making sure the charging system worked.

I've still got A LOT to do, body work, interior, paint, etc. but at least now, I can drive the car. I plan on adding 54 Ford fender flares in the front, 68+ VW Bus flares in the back, 54 Merc headlight rings, 51 Merc grill surround, and a top secret grill...That's all soming soon, I've got all the parts.

I pulled it into the yard and snapped these pics an hour ago.

The Swindlers here in Skagit County have taken to calling it "the Panty Dropper" or "the Jean Creamer"....

Don't give up on those projects. It may take you the better part of a decade, but at some point, you'll see why it was worth it.

 

i cant see the pictures now because i'm at work, but man what a story! i need to subscribe to this thread to check out the pics tonight. congrats, after all you've been thru!

 

wow what a story! cool ride.

 

the profile of the car in the first picture is sweet....clean lines on those cars....and even looked chopped....brandon

 

Love those Hudson bodies. Captain Beefheart had 2 49 4dr. Hudsons in his driveway. We were in high school then, we'd eat our lunch in the back seats of those things...tons of room for panty droppin'!
Great story, love the car...get to work!

 

Excellent story! I can hear those panties hitting the floor as we speak.

 

I Love This Car. I Have Always Wanted A Hudson...

 

Thats a nice looking car! You must feel great finally getting it done after so long. Keep us updated.

 

Good to see a Hudson. Don't see many and I would think they would be far more popular than they are.

My buddy is working on one that I hope doesn't take him as long to finish.

 

That is fuckin super sweet! The color is awesome on that too - I wouldn't change a thing about it (except the front fenders to match)

That's a great car, and I love those body lines. Bet the ex'll want to go for a ride in it now!

 

Thanks for all the kind words fellas.

I'll be working on those fender flares this weekend to give myself a little more tire clearance when I drive it. You wouldn't believe how good this car sounds...

460 bored .60 over, 268/268 cam (relatively mild) and 1.5:1 compression all through 2.5" straight pipes...no mufflers. Fucking insane!

 

cool hudson, one day id liek to have one especially since ill never be able to afford a decent merc.

 

friggen awesome man - I love stories of guys who are determined to get their dream on the road and stick with it through all the trials and tribulations by which most mortals would lose interest. That takes great passion & vision. Great looking car already and I like the sounds of the future mods.

Panty Dropper indeed - you'll be a regular Tom Jones!

 

Thanks. Your car has been one of my inspirations....Nothing is cooler than a tasteful custom.

I'll start work on the fender flares tomorrow.

Eventually, it will have a 1.75" chop and will be gloss black and pagan gold. I've also got a '57 lincoln Premier steering wheel to go in the car.

 

Great story man. Excellent work brother, drive it with pride!

 

Great thing about Hudsons is they don't even need a chopped top 'cause everybody thinks they already are!!

 

Capt. Beefheart as in Don Van Vylete who played with The Mothers of Invention?

 

That is one sweet ride. Cool car

 

I love a story with a happy ending

 

Those who are determined are rewarded. Congrats - it's looking good!

 

I love the lines on that car. Thanks for sharing your story. You dont usually hear stories about Michigan cars heading west.

 

that body is awesome, glad to hear its close!

 

KEITH,,,buddy good for you im super stoked for ya...cant wait to see it in person,,you should roll it up here a few times this summer!!!! good work...

 

Consider my panties dropped!

 

great looking ride man hope to see it around soon.

 

That is one cool car, I look forward to see it soon.

 

About fucking time~!
Looks real good, I miss you so fucking much, you know that?
I'm gonna come up there and darken your doorstep one day, give Dan a hug from me, be good.

 

like the style of those just never dug the grill... there is one sitting just down the street from me...

yours is sitting just right

 

it looks awesome! but i wish i never had to hear about the new shit its got in it....