Hudsons & wifes
After years of wanting a Hudson I finally took the plunge. My first Hudson
was a basket case that I thought I could restore all by myself. Well lets just say that the wife was Not as impressed with my project as I was. Perhaps the fact that I parked it in her HORSE ARENA had something to do with her apprehension.
After a few months of tinkering with this car I decided it was beyond my capabilities and was fortunate enough to sell it for a small loss. Ahh I could see the relief in the Wifes eyes when it was loaded on the car trailer and pulled from her domain.
Well the bug had bitten.. I began a concentrated search for a Hudson that would require less attention and give me the pleasure of being able to drive it while I tinkered.. At long last I found my dream car a 54 Wasp 4 door and began the process of getting it from Detroit to our home in Washington..
The car arrived and I had to tell my wife that we would have to park HER truck outdoors because my INSURANCE required that the WASP be garaged.. Hmm she fell for it. That was easy or so I thought.
Ok honey the car is running lets go for a ride..I can't I have a headache ( where have I herd THAT before)..Aww come on it will be fun..We will just go for a short spin around the block. She relents and gets in the car...Progress
Where are the seatbelts? It dosent have any darling.. I can't ride in a car without seatbelts.. Grrrrrrrrrr humor me ok.. Does the radio work.. You betcha want to hear? How come it only has AM I hate AM radio..This is NOT going well..
Finally we are on the road so far so good.. Don't mind the door flying open I can adjust that when we get home. Isn't this fun? Silence..Well it's getting dark better head home... POOF the headlights go out and she screams.. We are gonna die..
A few weeks later and some adjustments to the car.. I get up my courage..Say why don't we take the car into town to do our shopping today.
Do we have to? Yah it will be fun and we can show it off..
Ok going well got a trunk full of groceries and ready to head home..WTF dead as a dornail..The Ice Cream is gonna melt and the meat will turn bad..
Grrrrrrr..not a problem it's a stick we can pop the clutch and start it right up.
You sit in the car put it in 2nd and POP the clutch when I say go..
POP the damn clutch.. I did.. Do it again I did.. You don't know what you are doing let me do it and you push the car pumpkin.. What are you doing on the cell phone.. I'm calling a cab you pop yer own damn clutch..
After a $100 tow home I get the car in the driveway and the Truck is back in the garage..Oh Oh.. The couch is not as uncomfortable as I thought it would be..
All and all I think things went pretty well for the first couple weeks..
was a basket case that I thought I could restore all by myself. Well lets just say that the wife was Not as impressed with my project as I was. Perhaps the fact that I parked it in her HORSE ARENA had something to do with her apprehension.
After a few months of tinkering with this car I decided it was beyond my capabilities and was fortunate enough to sell it for a small loss. Ahh I could see the relief in the Wifes eyes when it was loaded on the car trailer and pulled from her domain.
Well the bug had bitten.. I began a concentrated search for a Hudson that would require less attention and give me the pleasure of being able to drive it while I tinkered.. At long last I found my dream car a 54 Wasp 4 door and began the process of getting it from Detroit to our home in Washington..
The car arrived and I had to tell my wife that we would have to park HER truck outdoors because my INSURANCE required that the WASP be garaged.. Hmm she fell for it. That was easy or so I thought.
Ok honey the car is running lets go for a ride..I can't I have a headache ( where have I herd THAT before)..Aww come on it will be fun..We will just go for a short spin around the block. She relents and gets in the car...Progress
Where are the seatbelts? It dosent have any darling.. I can't ride in a car without seatbelts.. Grrrrrrrrrr humor me ok.. Does the radio work.. You betcha want to hear? How come it only has AM I hate AM radio..This is NOT going well..
Finally we are on the road so far so good.. Don't mind the door flying open I can adjust that when we get home. Isn't this fun? Silence..Well it's getting dark better head home... POOF the headlights go out and she screams.. We are gonna die..
A few weeks later and some adjustments to the car.. I get up my courage..Say why don't we take the car into town to do our shopping today.
Do we have to? Yah it will be fun and we can show it off..
Ok going well got a trunk full of groceries and ready to head home..WTF dead as a dornail..The Ice Cream is gonna melt and the meat will turn bad..
Grrrrrrr..not a problem it's a stick we can pop the clutch and start it right up.
You sit in the car put it in 2nd and POP the clutch when I say go..
POP the damn clutch.. I did.. Do it again I did.. You don't know what you are doing let me do it and you push the car pumpkin.. What are you doing on the cell phone.. I'm calling a cab you pop yer own damn clutch..
After a $100 tow home I get the car in the driveway and the Truck is back in the garage..Oh Oh.. The couch is not as uncomfortable as I thought it would be..
All and all I think things went pretty well for the first couple weeks..
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Comments
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I am lucky that my Wife knows that anything I do relating to cars is going to be a fiasco from the get go. When I arrived home with my 54 sedan in pieces on the trailer and I mean body only inside filled with doors and body panels. She just laughed her ass off. When I bought my first Hudson on the other side of the country and said I will just fly down and drive it home she packed my suitcase still laughing her ass off. When I got home no problems she wanted to go for a drive and she loved it. When I bought my 54 Hollywood and put it in storage until I could get to it she again laughed her ass off. She finds my antics amusing which is good I think. When I get them done she is behind me and likes to go for drives. Basically she could care less as she always knows where to find me. The fact the 54 sedan is in the garage and her car is out front does not seem to matter.0
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My 1st Hudson was my '36T. On my first trip to Bill Albright's, his 1st question was, "What does your wife think about your owning Hudsons?" He said that he had seen lots of car hobbies ruined because of wives disapproval. Lucky for me my wife had no problemo with my Hudson hobby. She also finds some of it amusing, but she can always find me, crawling around on the floor of the garage under the car.0
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Local member Al James got around this issue by simply making an agreement with his wife. Whatever he spent on those @#$%#Hudson's just tell her and she gets to spend the same amount shopping. He told me when she passed away some years back she left a closet full of clothes and jewelry with the tags still on them.
I've heard the woes of many a car hobbist of "the one that got away" because they were buying a house or some other such thing. For my own part I just tell my girlfriends "it's part of the deal don't ask me to change." If ever there should be some space issue in the future I'd just say she could have the house and paint the whole thing pink for all I care but the garage is MINE!!!! LOL0 -
My secret: Every time I sell a car I give her the money. Every time I go on a long hudson tour she agrees to go with me if she does not have to ride in the car (Maybe that is why I like pre-WWII cars?). I agree to buy her jewlry equal to the cost of each car. It all works out in the end...:p:p0
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Sheree stays away from the old cars, but she was the one who bought my '50 C6 for me.0
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One of the reasons I haven't had a Hudson for a long time is because my wife told me I'd have to sleep in it - and a 55-57 Hudson is more comfortable. However, in New England it wouldn't be prudent to sleep in a Hudson of any year in January!!
Well, I solved my Hudson problem - she's in Maine and I'm in Tennessee. However, I still don't have a Hudson. So I'll just keep scanning literature and put it on-line.
Hudsonly,
Alex Burr
Memphis, TN0 -
Oh, my,
I had no idea, that it could be like the above descriptions.
My wife buys her own collector cars, she has had two, buys the parts, insurance and gas with "Her $$", and I install the parts. If the repair is something I cannot do she pays for it to be done.
Some years ago her car needed to go to Virginia from Indiana for some repair work and at first she did not care that we would trailer it there on our honeymoon, but she became OK with that.
Her vacation the last three years was the HET national meet and she looks foward to going every year.
The only drawback is her choice of car is another make , not a Hudson.
Sorry, she is an only child, no sisters.0 -
I get a complete pass in that department- because the mrs. has horses- lots of horses (10 now, down from 14 a couple of years ago). She realizes that my Hudsons don't eat, and I'll never spend as much on them as she does on the oat burners.0
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For the past 40 years my wife has looked at vehicles as a means of transportation. If I have any that do not accomplish that chore she views them as unnnessary and knowing me immediatly ignores them. To say she cares not about Hudsons is an understatement... infact she cares not about any marque of automobile or truck. As long as her vehicle is running and the AC is working she and we are in sync in the automobile world. My cars occupy the garage. Not because they belong there but because the wifes choice of vehicle is a SUBURBAN and it will not clear the door way to enter the garage. So, the Hudson gets a pass on staying in the garage. Otherwise they would probably reside at my son's very large storage garage... thats another car story for another time. So, for those who have ladies who will hop in and ride along in your HET ... good for them. Mine rides everywhere in her Suburban... with or without the trailer behind.0
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The unwritten law is that for every $ spent on a Hudson product, an equivalent $ will be spent on some unnecessary thing for the house/kitchen/bathroom etc. If you keep this in mind when budgeting you will have no problems at all buying as many Hudsons as you want!0
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Oh, my. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones as well. Vicki wants 20 Hudsons, with garage space for more. She even named #2 son, Hudson. According to her, I can't get them done fast enough. If Hudsons were still available new, we'd probably own a dealership.0
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Hey Guys,
Just wait until yer kids start wanting to have their own Hudson product. Between me and my brother I got the Hudson bug...my mechanic/body man is my dad. I am picking up his teachings and his help with my cars is invaluable. Lisa G0 -
Right with you on that one Russell. My wife fully supports my working on the Hudson and is trying to get me to work faster on it so she can drive it. In fact when it was originally owned by my brother-in-law back in the '60s up in Oregon, she would take it out and drag race it any chance she got. I don't think Ralph knew she was doing that to his car. Now 40 years later she's a little old lady but keeps bringing up the subject of taking out to the drag strip and running it down the track. NOT me, HER!
Lord love those supportive wives!
Peace,
Chaz0 -
What I think is interesting: My husband's refered to the Jet as being my car the entire time we've owned it... and now that the restoration is just about complete, he's referred to it as our car several times now... hhmmm...0
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Sarah Young wrote:What I think is interesting: My husband's refered to the Jet as being my car the entire time we've owned it... and now that the restoration is just about complete, he's referred to it as our car several times now... hhmmm...
Just think of it this way Sarah - in the not to distant future the Jet will be done and your hubby will then say "When are we taking OUR Jet to the next National!!" LOL ROF LLAM
BTW - it was great putting a face with your name in Pontiac and getting to meet the author of a great web site!!
Hudsonly,
Alex Burr
Memphis, TN0 -
I think I'm pretty fortunate in this area too. I've known my wife since I was 14, and "cars" was always just my thing, part of the deal. It's caused trouble from time to time, and last go around she said that I could have another car for each additonal kid we have. We were dead even at four of each, but I assurred her that financially that plan will not work out
We still have four kids but I have five cars... She has never had her car parked in the garage but accepted it.
She basically just laughs at me now. In addition to Hudsons, I'm into VW vans. I had zero vans at the start of this year and now have four (one has become my daily driver, one running project, and two for parts).
She has forced some reason into my head though, now I have set a goal of only owning (4) Hudsons total.
One of the best things for us has been that my first Hudson is the Pacemaker that my Grandpa bought new. With relatively little work and maintenance, we've been able to drive it thousands of miles without a breakdown or roadside trouble. The kids love it, so its easy to convince everyone that we should take it for a drive.
My next problem is building a garage to house the Hudsons (and she's on board with that too). Tha vans are outside, and if things get too bad they are very comfortable to sleep in0 -
Heart_Of_Texas wrote:For the past 40 years my wife has looked at vehicles as a means of transportation. If I have any that do not accomplish that chore she views them as unnnessary and knowing me immediatly ignores them. To say she cares not about Hudsons is an understatement... infact she cares not about any marque of automobile or truck. As long as her vehicle is running and the AC is working she and we are in sync in the automobile world. My cars occupy the garage. Not because they belong there but because the wifes choice of vehicle is a SUBURBAN and it will not clear the door way to enter the garage. So, the Hudson gets a pass on staying in the garage. Otherwise they would probably reside at my son's very large storage garage... thats another car story for another time. So, for those who have ladies who will hop in and ride along in your HET ... good for them. Mine rides everywhere in her Suburban... with or without the trailer behind.
Your wife sounds like my wife they should get together, then they could NOT compare notes on cars.
Pat0 -
SARAH:
Was hoping I would see you today at the XXX in Issaquah, but no such luck.
If you get a chance drop me an E-Mail of call me:
I want to talk to you about something
TOM BARRETT
TOMBAT46@MSN.COM
206 361-26490 -
Two quotes from the wonderful Elma Marks:
"I asked a lot of Hudson wives if they knew their husbands collected cars before their wedding. They said, "yes, but I married him anyway."
"When the minister pronounced us "Hudson and wife," I knew I was in trouble..."0 -
Much like 51's wife, Amy spent a lot of time laughing at me when I first got into old cars. And it's a pretty easy thing to do.
Although she doesn't really understand the connection that a lot of us men have with cars, (poor gal, she sees them as transportation) she totally sees how happy they seem to make me.
And she's learned to "jump in, sit down, and hang on"...slim0 -
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My wife encouraged me to buy a red 37T (her favourite colour) because Im a bit slow doing a ground up restoration on a 36T. An understanding wife is very important when you are restoring a car. I wonder if there are any restorers who tell their partners all the expenses involved. I dont know any. Regards, Barry0
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barrysweet52 wrote:I wonder if there are any restorers who tell their partners all the expenses involved. I dont know any. Regards, Barry
Same question came up on a tractor restoration board I frequent. Nearly unanimous opinion- NO! Never leave a trail of incriminating evidence! Some also observed that not only did they not want her to know, they themselves didn't even want to know. "What a way to take the fun out of a perfectly good hobby."0 -
One sign says it all!0
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Simple solution - tell her "Honey, I could be out on the street chasing loose wimmen if I didn't have this Hudson hobby.
Might work, or you might be out on the street chasing loose wimmen.
Hudsonly,
Alex Burr
Memphis, TN0
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