262 in a 54 HORNET

Unknown

A friend gave me a magazine which had a feature on a 54 Hornet Coupe and stated that the car was original. I was surprised to see that the engine was listed as 262 cubic inch as I thought that the Wasp was a 232 the Super Wasp 262 and the Hornets were all 308's. I guess I was wrong, please enlighten me on this. My Old girl is still going great and I am enjoying it in our hot Summer here this year (see attachment).

Lee ODell

Hudson dealers were very accomidating back then. If the customer wanted a 262 engine in his Hornet I'm sure he would get what he wanted. It would be interesting to know if the engine number matched the body vin number.

My Dad didn't like the interior in his new 51 Hornet so the dealer switched the interior with another Hornet on the lot.

Maybe the author of the article got his facts wrong. It wouldn't be the first or last time that happens. If it was a recent article and not a 1954 article it could be the owner had a 262 head on a 308.

It would be a rare bird (I mean Hornet) if it were true.

Have a good evening.
Lee O'Dell

Uncle Josh

And it's over 50 years later. Who knows what happened?

Fred

The "Shadow Knows"
When my son was about 12 a question came up that no one seemingly could answer. Michael said "ask Mrs. Murray, she's a school bus driver and they know everything". When he dies he will be the patron saint of school bus drivers.

[Deleted User]

If I were a betting man, most likely it is a 308 with the 262 head.

Unknown

The author of the article could have been persuaded to call out 262 cubic engine as the engine in the Hornet coupe. Owners and viewers of the engine bay would be unable to determine the cubic inch size of the motor without a prior knowledge.

More plausible to am experienced Hudson owner would be the Hornet engine had been equipped with a 262 head to mildly boost the compression ratio of the 308 engine. Of course the viewer would have to check the exterior clues... reinforcement rib at the bottom of the block would be the most obvious.

Or possibly one of the 1956 replacement 308s which came with a 262 head and 1/2 inch cap screws?

Perhaps the block included 1/2 inch studs with nuts instead of the more common cap screws. Possibly a 7X replacement motor ordered with a 262 head?

Mysteries abound.... sometimes they are created by the person(s) who do not have the sufficent experience to identify what they are viewing so they report only what they see.

Unknown

I will have a better look at the article and pics of the engine. The article was in the SIA Special Interest Autos from around 2000 I think. It features a beautiful green 54 Hornet with about 80,000 miles. Maybe the head was changed and that is what confused them.I know my 262 has the 232 head on it. Maybe someone else has that mag also.
Cheers Mike.

Aaron D. IL

technically speaking if it didn't have a 308 and appropriate badge work and trim it would cease to be a Hornet since all the senior models shared the same body shells and wheelbase. Changing the head to boost the compression was common though.

Nevada Hudson

That photo you show looks like a Wasp to me. The front turn signals, and side fender emblem give it away.

Unknown

Nevada Hudson wrote:

That photo you show looks like a Wasp to me. The front turn signals, and side fender emblem give it away.

Its a poor mans Hornet otherwise known as a Super Wasp.

Looking again at the magazine pics I am convinced that the magazine has screwed up as it looks like the photo of the engine has a 308 on the head.