50 Hudson Commodore

Unknown

Hello All,



I have a 50 model, that is for sale. The car once belonged to Al Saffrahn and his son Mike and later Dick Sheridan. I have talked to Al and Mike and have some history on the vehicle. Does anyone have any words of wisdom with regards to selling the car. Is eBay best or is there a better way to sell Hudsons?



I have been driving the car around and recently have completed the regular things to make it drivable, new radiator core, carb rebuild, flush and clean the fuel tank, new fuel pump, brake rehab, battery, and rebuild the water pump. It has a 56 Twin H 308 ci, with a 262 head, three speed w/overdrive and some other performance work by the Saffrahn's. The interior and paint are tired. I have not cleaned under the hood yet. The guages and wipers work properly.



In addition to anyones thoughts on the matter, how is the pricing on these in the market. Thanks Gary Gould

Spencer Yarrow

That exhaust looks interesting any more info. or pics?



Spencer.

Jon B

When you arrive at a price, you might want to advertise it in the White Triangle News, which goes out to about 3500 Hudson club members. Advertising is only open to members, but if a member will sponsor the ad as a "lead" you can put it in at no cost. Only downside is that the next newsletter comes out about July 15, but the upside is that it's free and is targeted to a larger number of enthusiasts than hang out at the Forum here.

[Deleted User]

Gary is this the same car that was advertised several times on Craigs List? The seller was son of long time Hudson Club member? Car was in Cedar Park Texas?

More important to me... why sell the car now that you have sorted it out?

Wondering

Thanks

[Deleted User]

Yes, I believe this was the car that was for sale. At that time it was offered at somewhere around $3750. A very good deal on a car with a history of being owned by a Hudson guru.

[Deleted User]

Looks like the engine has studded head bolts- nice addition. If the car really runs great and only needs paint and interior, I'd say worth 8-9K ish to me. I would spruce up the engine compartment prior to sale.



I'd put it in WTN, craigslist and E-bay it aswell.

Browniepetersen

Now is a good time for these cars in the market place. Where some of the collector cars have lost value or perhaps the public is not ready to purchase the high end vehicles these cars remain strong in the market. The value of this car is difficult to evaluate from the few photos that you have included. However, in the Hudson world what we have seen is a real plus. I would expect that now you have sorted out the mechancial problems it would be a car that you could drive anywhere? This saves the new owner a lot of trouble.



Paint, as you say, needs to be redone. I can see some rust problems (surface rust I would hope) but what I cannot see is the substructure areas and the areas in the unibody and floor/trunk area. If these are solid that would also be a big plus. Removing the bright work, sanding out and painting can be a "partial" rather than a "major" paint effort. Did not see any photos of the interior and that remains a big question. If it required a full restoring/replacement that would make it on the down side.



Restored examples of the sedan are, in my research, are selling for around 20K. Nice sedans that are turn-key cars are selling around 15K. The sad part about the issue of selling a car (especally a sedan) is those that require quite a bit of work are a good value in the marketplace and ones such as your are going for about 6K.



I do believe that painting your car and replacing the interior where needed would bring you better money in the long run. Something you should consider before you place it on eBay with no reserve. By the way, ownership by previous Hudson owners does not seem to bring much to the table when it comes to sales prices.



Hope this gives you some thoughts to ponder.....



Brownie

Edwin L. "Brownie" Petersen, CSHM, MA, ASA

Petersen Historical Automobile Appraisals

435-279-6930

Unknown

Spencer Yarrow wrote:

That exhaust looks interesting any more info. or pics?



Spencer.

Hello Spencer, Mike had told me he opened up the exhaust since he had other manifolds laying around. It is split into dual pipes at the block. He also had relieved and polished up the exhaust ports. I will add some photos as I get it further cleaned up. GG

Unknown

Heart_Of_Texas wrote:

Gary is this the same car that was advertised several times on Craigs List? The seller was son of long time Hudson Club member?



More important to me... why sell the car now that you have sorted it out?



Wondering

Hello Heart_of_Texas and 53Hudsonguy,



You are right on the car from Ceder Park. Someone sent the craigslist ad to me and I liked it. The guy also had two other cars so I fiqured why buy one one you can get all three and have triple the headache. I am sorry to admit that my passion for cars borders on being an addiction.



I thought the three cars were a good deal as a group. The Hudson was sold to me with the pretense that it was running when it had a problem with the carbs. Well....that has turned into a list of other items. I really did not want to just get it 'running', I preferred 'driving'. I like the car.



I have thought about the paint and interior and will finish to suit but not sure if I should just do it to my liking or back to original. I have a great painter and interior shop. I tend to lean to a custom look and might not be able to sell it. The drivetrain seems solid and to me it is fairly cool. I regard it as I do my 392 Hemi powered car. I like that it is different and not the typical old car with a small block chevy under the hood. I hate to admit, that the air cleaners and motor sold me on the car. The Hudson has every accessory I think available, it really has it all, and as Al said, 'He is glad it has not been scavenged' over the years.



As far as why sell it now, that reverts back to the addiction part I mentioned above. I have four cars in the back and they are all for sale. I am still young enough to act like a kid in a candy store, I would like to try one of each. I bet you know what I mean on this. I do like the Hudson and I am glad I am driving it around, I am even driving it to work in Houston traffic, but I do not have the financial means or space to keep it. I am not a collector just a hobbist with tools and friends doing the same.



Thanks for the inputs, I appreciate it. Gary Gould

Unknown

Hudson308 wrote:

Tough to get prices outta this bunch, GG.

Whaddya think, guys... somewhere around ten grand with the paint & interior, depending on how good that '56 308/3spd. really is?

Ha. . I like your approach.



For clarification, the '56 308/3spd and overdrive seem to work correctly and run well. The car does runs clean at the exhaust too.



I assume your valuation is 'as is' when you refer to the paint and interior. I can get the door jams and under the hood to come back to life, but for the resale I though most people might want to see what they are getting under the skin. I also though most of the Hudsonites might want to do the paint and interior themselves. The subframe and pan are nearly rust free. I have seen just a couple of dime size rust spots to the rear of the rear fenders by the bumper corners. Thanks for the inputs.



GG