Wife says the car stinks

JasonNC

I have been trying to convince my wife to let me drive the Hudson to Doc's Meet this year. I've never been even though it's just about 5 to 6 hours away. She doesn't like to ride in the car because it makes you smell "old" when you get out. The fumes from the engine leak into the seating compartment and attempts to stop it have failed. Any suggestions.

RL Chilton

Leave the wife at home.

kamzack

Amen.
Kim

[Deleted User]

Try spraying some Febreze on the upholstery. Cliff Minard

bent metal

I'd probably look and see if you could fix an obvious exhaust leak, if you have one. Maybe re-seal around the trans cover. Whatever you do, do it for a few days, and move a lot of big items around. Always good to remove the seat and leave it in the isle way, where she will have to step over it. Get your arms down in the grease there, get really dirty right before dinner. So you have to wash up where she will see. And don't mention it, she'll notice. Try to have a look of frustration or disgust when you come in to wash up. But say something possitive, like, "We're gettin there honey." Remember, your supposed to be a team, and your doing this for her comfort. This should take a good two days. Then declare it fixed. ...No test drives before the event. The day you head out to Doc's Meet keep the wind wings open a little bit. Stop at the gas station on the way out to top off, and get her whatever cold drink you know she likes, without asking her. Keep those wind wings open atleast until you get an hour or so down the road. By then you'll both be commited to the trip, no turning back.

Browniepetersen

Old cars smell. It is a simple fact that the old material in the car has aged and it is no longer fresh. So, if you tear everything apart, clean it, blast it and replace all the old stuff with new stuff--bumper to bumper--you get rid of the old smell. Oh yah, that is called a restoration. I sold a very nice and totally original 50 Hudson a few years back. It was one of those keepers (I wish I would have) that would last a life time. But, sixty plus years had caused there to be an old smell that would not go away. My current car is much older (70 plus years) and has that new car smell. We trailer the car because my wife does not want to "drive all that way in an old car?" Go figure....

I forgot to answer your question. If you tear your engine down and put new parts and seals/gaskets in it there will no longer be fumes to leak into your seating compartment.

bent metal

I second the 'fabreze' idea.

hudsonsplasher1

Russell, LOL.

[Deleted User]

Wives????. Tell her to get used to it because someday she will be old and smell just like the car. (just kidding)

[Deleted User]

If your engine has any "blowby" it is probably the vent tube exhaust off the valve cover..
I recall, in the old days, every flathead ford had that smell. Didnt bother too much with all the windows open. Is there any other way to GO???

Uncle Josh

Or ya could consume a good charge of bean soup before ya leave for the meet. The resulting blowby would make the old car smell good in comparison.

RonS

Bent Metal, you are more devious than I am. A wise Hudson guy here in Arizona once said, " you can always get a new wife, but you can never get a new Hudson". Remember that one Al?

JasonNC

Looks like I'll be staying at home....

Kdancy

upholstery rots and smells, carpets rots and smells, headliner rots and smells, croker sack material in seats rots and smells and rat and mice piss has it's own unique oder to go along with all the other.
chances are, most of this stuff needs addressing to get those smells out. Exhaust leaks are probably the easiest to fix, address the exhaust system itself, then any air leaks into the cowl area by sealing any leaks behind the firewall mat and floor pan, not hard to do, just takes a little time.

MikeWA

Seems like the one to stay at home should be the one who doesn't like riding in the car.

The "Little Tree" de-odorizers are worth a try. Also, an Ozone treatment will take out a lot of smells. I guess I wouldn't give up just yet.

JasonNC

Poll: How many of you guys that suggested leaving the wife at home are still married?

Fred

My wife always suggests I leave her at home and I do! We are still married after 46 years.
Fred

[Deleted User]

I have a wife that has traveled 67 years in a Hudson, and the last 12 years, ocean to ocean but had to miss last year as the doc said no long trips for the time being. I guess age has caught up to her, 90, but at 91 I'm still ready to travel but may have to slow down this year as I will have to have an operation on a bone in my left leg from an accident from my stock car driving days. Never a smell in any of our travels. Walt.

hudsonjeff

leave her home. you may have more fun without her and she will have some alone time as well. been married 27 years. you cant always do everything together. my wife likes the cars and the hobby but is more than happy so stay home,

Geoff

Try a aerosol or pump spray de-odoriser under the seats carpets.

RL Chilton

Wow. Seriously guys, that was off of the cuff and as I was literally walking out the door. For the most part, it was just a joke!

For the record, I've been married for 15 years and my wife has never complained about anything.

On a more serious side, there are two kinds of car smells when it comes right down to it: Mechanical and Interior.

By all means, mechanical smells should be addressed. The exhaust doesn't need to be so bad inside the car that everyone has to have their head hanging outside. That would make a car trip no fun for anyone. If getting there is more than half the fun, having an exhaust leak just about eliminated any fun out of the trip! Best solution is to fix the exhaust leak. If it leaks at the manifold, fix the manifold or put new gaskets on it. If the exhaust pipe or muffler has holes in them, then replace those parts. Same goes for gas leaks, or burning oil smells, etc. Best to address the problem.

Shy of tearing out the upholstery, and re-doing every bit of seam sealers, the only way to eliminate the mechanical smells is fix the problem.

As far as interior smells go, it's already been stated earlier, about rotting upholstery, mold, mildew, mice, etc. Personally, I like the smell of an old Hudson. Hudson's had their own unique aroma as far as original upholstery goes. I even considered having it duplicated so that I could incorporate it into the convertible, but that's another story. By all means, FeBreeze goes a long way, as do the smell-good ornaments that hang from your rearview mirror. There's also this gel stuff that comes in a plastic container that absorbs smells . . . works like baking soda. By the way, spreading baking soda on your carpets, letting them sit and then vacuuming away works well. So does airing out the interior of your car periodically.

And in the end, if fixing the mechanical issues and sprucing up the inside of the car doesn't work . . . you should probably just leave the wife at home and head on down the road.

bent metal

Hahaha! Best thread in a while.

I was only about half kidding earlier. I would check for an exhaust leak, maybe reseal around the trans, spray around the inside with some fabreze. Make a noticable effort. Keep the wind wings cracked open, ...and enjoy the trip. I'm pretty lucky though, my little family loves to travel, they like the Hudsons too, and the Hudson people even more. So I wouldn't have much of a fight to head out to a meet. I bet if you make a little bit of an effort to meet her needs you'll be just fine, and so will she.

PAULARGETYPE

I USE FRABIC SOFTNER SHEETS UNDER THE SEATS IT DOES A FEW GOOD THING IT MAKES THE CAR SMELL NICE 2 MICE AND BUGS HATE THEM AS FOR THE OTHER SMELLS I WOULD SEAL UP THE FLOOR AND FIRE WALL SO NO FUEMS GET IN AND A FEW TRANQULIZERS AND YOU ALL GOOD TO GO

[Deleted User]

Suggestions mentioned above will work. You might try wading up a lot of newspapers and quarter some apples and put them in the car. Shut all the windows and let it set in the hot sun for acouple of days and it should take alot of the smell out. I bought a 54 Hornet years ago and I dont know what the previous owner did but it just plan stunk. It helped about 90 percent. You do need to fix the blowby because it could make you sick.

Geoff

Seriously, any exhaust leak can be fatal. Blow-by fumes are not so bad healthwise, just unpleasant. I took my sister to town in the Jet when visiting her last year, and she said when she got in "Now why can't they make new cars smell like this?". All three of my cars smell different, but never unpleasant. Best smelling car I ever had though was the second '29 Hudson Super Six 7 passenger sedan I rebuilt, which I upholstered in genuine leather, with wool broadcloth headlining. The Hornet has genuine leather too, but smells nothing near as nice as that '29.

ernie28

I have a '28 Essex with upholstery over 40 years old. It has an old smell to it, not unpleasant, and to me smells of character - she is my favourite!

SuperDave

I have found that a small leak around the trunk gasket or the filler neck (through the floor) can act as a vacume and suck in all the junk thats in the air behind the car. Driving with an open window makes it worse. Try driving with just the cowl vent open and all windows closed to see it that helps.( If you don't expire from heat stroke first! LOL.)_ If it improves.. then look for small leaks. The convertible body styles are less prone due to the solid steel bulkhead back there. The vacume created inside due to an open window is present in all vehicles. Thats why i NEVER had the back window open on my pickup.
That "old smell" from the upholstery is kinda nostalgic to me.. maybe because i'm older than the car?

TwinH

Yes,my 49 sedan does have a vintage 'funk' to it that my better half does not truly appreciate.
I have used dryer sheets,bars of Irish spring soap,febreze,etc. with limited success. I may have to
give this stuff a try...
baconaddicts.com/products/bacon-car-air-freshener-auto-home-room-fragrance-spray-combo

RL Chilton

TwinH-

Yes, but then you can't get the dogs out of the car . . . :O

JasonNC

I don't think I have an exhaust leak, she just hates the smell of the car. She will ride in the Kaiser because it doesn't make her clothes "smell". Ken, I had the headliner replaced years ago and cleaned the rat crap out of the carpet, etc. way back then. The door panels are original so I'm going to replace the old cloth on them and remove the rat crap in the doors. By the way, the wife doesn't appreciate any of your comments about leaving her at home.

Nevada Hudson

Have her drive her own car.