1925 super six

Unknown

Hello,

I just picked up a '25 super six, it is a mess but has lots of potential(famous last words) it has been through a fire but most of the panels are pretty good just alot of rust. The engine is toast, frozen solid, so I was thinking of putting in a chev straight six and turbo 350, anybody done this?

Any suggestions would be fantastic.

Thanks

Paul

bent metal

Sounds interesting so far. So what is it? Two or four door, etc.? Also, where are you located.

Some pictures would be great too.:)

Unknown

Thanks for the reply,

It is a two door sedan I believe, sorry about the arrangement of the pics I suck at this sort of thing, as I said it was in a fire and most of the wood is burned , saves pulling all those nails, and I really wanna keep the original axles and wheels or at least find some period disk wheels. but as I said the motor and tranny are frozen pretty solid and it looks as though there is some melting of the dissy. A straight six chev or any straight six really seems to be a no brainer, I am hoping that somebody else has done it and is willing to share some knowledge.

Thanks

Paul

P.S. I am in Washington State

rambos_ride

Paul,

Hello!

I haven't done the swap - but there is nothing that cannot be fixed or changed! I like the look of the car, including the bumperetts and trunk!

I'm in Port Orchard WA - how close to Port Orchard are you?

The thing I'd be concerned about the most is the heat from the fire weakening the frame. Are there any indications as to hot hot the thing got - besides the rust

I hope you don't mind - I was getting dizzy trying to look at the pictures so I photoshopped them for you. You can right-mouse click and save them to your hardrive "Save Picture As"

ESSX28-1

Hi Paul

Even though the engine is 'toast' there are are probably folk who may want bits off it. A note to the main body of the Hudson forum or to the 1916-1929 group at:

http://autos.dir.groups.yahoo.com/group/HudsonSuperSix16-29/?v=1&t=directory&ch=web&pub=groups&sec=dir&slk=2

may find some interest.

Browniepetersen

I am guessing that you are considering what we call a "Resto Rod" with this project. The problem with cars that have been in a fire is the damage to the metal from heat shrinking and growth to the metal. Then the wood is a real issue. Since you will be doing a "Frame off" you have plenty of time to consider what will power it. Just some thoughts are (I am a chevy man in another life) a small block chevy (350cid) is a good way to go for a number of reasons. But if you went this way, I would also suggest new front end and rear end. I like the 700 R-4 tranny hooked up to a 9-bolt Ford or small chevy truck (S-10) rear end so you can have disc brakes to stop the car. Once you have the body off the frame you can check out the frame and box those areas of torque for support (I box the whole think because welding is cheep?)



Another thought is to go with a 308 Hudson engine with twin-H. This keeps everything Hudson and gets a bit more acceptance from the non-street rod Hudson folks. If the engine is properly built it will give you the same reliability as a chevy 350 (except you cannot get maintenance from your local chevy dealer). There are a lot of options and just as many ways to do it. This is a good forum to ask these questions because some of us have been very creative in this area. Good luck with the project--looks like a lot of fun. And just remember, if you do something on the car each day, you will not loose interest and it will be done before you know it!!! :)

Unknown

MY TAKE ON IT--you have a real historical car--looking at the pics, wood spokes still there, no visable sheet metal distortion, no burned tires, appears then that the fire was not really intense . I would try soaking that engine in deisel fuel a while and try to free it up . Any oil in the pan now ? I've seen egines go thru a fire and survive so that may not be the reason it's locked up . Many old Hudson engines have been done this way and purr again . You can allways rat-rod anything , once you toss out the original it's gone like yesterday . I'm not a purist by any means but some things need to be saved if possable, there's plenty of rat-rod material out there . BUD

bent metal

It looks pretty good for something that has been through a fire. The body looks gray where the black is rubbed off. Is it aluminum, or steel?



I always hear that fire damage will ruin the sheet metal. But this doesn't look too bad.:cool:

Unknown

Wow, Thanks for the great feedback,

Thanks alot Rambo for fixing my pics! I agree it looks pretty good for being burned, but there is damage to the spokes and the ties are burned, but I also agree that soaking the engine might be worth it since I have alot of cleanup to do and alot of carpentry to try my hand at. I have been doing some disassembly and found some sheet metal that is too far gone but not much and believe it or not the clutch seems to be free, I am going to POR 15 all the rust that won't see the sun and maybe try soda blasting the tar off that is where all the black is from the body is definately steel, and the pan has no oil in it but we will see.

Thanks again for the feed back, you all seem like a great group and I am looking forward to reading some of these threads and rest assured any parts I don't use I'll definately send out some notice .

P.S. I am in Bremerton Right down the road fron you Rambo.

Paul

Unknown

Well,

I've got her stripped down to the frame, great fun that. lotsa work but looks like it will be rewarding. also got the engine unstuck seemed like it was just the valves in their guides but I haven't taken the motor apart yet so we will see. I would like to keep the motor and tranny so I can drive it with the original wheels and axles(no front brakes) .

Paul

Unknown

you should be able to find some axles and wheels fairly easy, even if they are from another year or make. i have a 1930 front axle, 2 wheels, and some other parts lying around. there is always stuff popping up on ebay from guys hot rodding these old cars

Jon B

I guess my biggest fear is the wood framing of the body. By 1929 Hudson bodies were mostly welded steel, with the exception of the roof rails (they were among the early companies to drop wood framing) but in 1925, there may have been some wood in the frame. Which means you will either have to make some sort of steel framework to hold all that tin together, or you had better be a good woodworker!



Then too, as has been pointed out, heat will warp metal -- even if it isn't obvious at first.



So, be careful!



And for heaven sakes, if you modify it, don't throw away any original part, no matter how uninteresting it looks. There are always guys needing all sorts of things for their Hudsons (nuts, bolts, door strike plates, etc.). And you can use the extra money.



You may want to consider joining the H-E-T if you're not already a member. As active as the Hudson group is here on line, the Club is even bigger! http://www.hetclub.org/