Restoring my 1946 Hudson pickup - lots of questions

Hudson pickup

My first post here. I have just started into the restoration of my 1946 Hudson pickup. I joined HET this month. My truck is complete and original but in need of a complete restoration. I plan to do a frame-off restoration to original condition.

I will have many questions but for tonight, just four:

(1) Sometime in the last 3-4 years there was a car magazine that had a good article on Hudson pickups. I managed to lose the magazine and I can not even remember what magazine it was. I do have the Nov, 2011 Hemmings Classic Car Magazine article, so that's not the one I am looking for. Anyone know of any other articles on Hudson pickups in the last few years?

(2) I have an old Hudson pamphlet that lists an overdrive option for '46-47 pickups. My truck does not have overdrive. If I could get an original Hudson pickup overdrive transmission that is the one thing that I would add to this truck that was not on it when new. Are they easy to find, and what modifications would be necessary to put it in my truck? I assume that shortening the drive line would be one.

(3) I have read that the wood in the bed was painted black. Was the wood ash or oak?

(4) Good sources for replica parts? I know about KGAP but every time I log onto their web site their on-line store is deactivated. Any other companies with a good selection of parts for these trucks?

Thanks!

essexcoupe3131

Welcome about to our madness, there is lots of people that will chime in
and be more than helpful to you
the guys are always keen to see photos of a new projects starting and keep the photo's coming as you go from stage to stage
there are re-pro parts and nos as far as rubbers, window channels, motor parts etc
and once again the guys will point you in the right direction
and give you reliable suppliers

Mike

RL Chilton

Hudson Pickup-

Can't help you with all of your questions, but:

1. Check here on the forum.

2. Don't know all the specifics, but, yes, you can put overdrive in it by shortening the driveline. Wildrick Restoration, who might have one on hand.

3. Oak.

4. KGap is gone. Wildrick Rubber Products is the new and best game in town: 317-398-4163

[Deleted User]

The truck rides on the long car chassis and yes the drive shaft is different. Simple thing to do is take all needed items from a car ,driveshaft ,cables ,kickdown switch ,relay ,etc. Then you wont have such a complicated job and if done right it would look original. However I was thinking the overdrive was not available in the truck . Not sure where I remember seeing that, may be wrong
Roger

bent metal

There are several threads on here about this subject. Some pretty good, thorough ones. Good luck finding them, the format here is very clumsy.

All of the truck beds were black, wall to wall. Meaning the strips too. Don't know for sure the species. But I would think it was either ash or oak, and I'm about 90% sure it was oak. As stated above. The bed strips availabe today are not exactly right. The new ones are a little too narrow and a little too tall. Same with the bolts, the heads on the new ones are a little too tall/round and a little too small of a diameter. The originals were pretty large and flat. But that's what is available, aside from making your own. Which would be cost prohibitive, I would think. Oh, and four of the head bolts should be different from all of the rest. Where the gas tank mounts to. Those bolts were longer and had a visably smaller diameter head. More similar to the new style of bolts. Like it or not, that's the way they were.

Just so you know. My dad does make the wood, if you need that done. He also supplies the bed strips and bolts. As close to original as is available.

Hudson pickup

Thanks for the replies and the welcome!

I've had my '46 pickup since the 1980s. I was going to restore it years ago but kept getting sidetracked by other old car restorations. Too bad to hear about KGAP going under. Around 1989 they were selling reproduction rubber for the running boards. Spendy at $200.00, and especially in 1989 dollars! Luckily I ordered a set and they are still in the box.

Bent metal: Good to know about the unique bed bolts. I will preserve and reuse mine. The bed strips are too far gone so when I get to that stage of the restoration I will see about getting some through your dad.

When I bought the truck, I actually got two complete '46 pickups and lots of spare parts such as the original hub caps. One of the trucks came from the Oregon coast and the body was rusted beyond restoration. I completely stripped that truck so I have an extra engine, tranny, suspension, brakes, gauges, etc, etc. When I finished stripping it there was literally nothing left but a rusty frame and body shell (I kept the doors).

Here are a couple of photos of my truck taken last week just before I started the restoration. The hole in the hood was caused by the battery foaming up and eating through the metal.

bent metal

That's a niiicce truck! Looks unaltered. Awesome. I'd like to see the bed, do you see evidence of it being black? If there is any wood left you should be able to sand it and see what species it is. Also, we had debated this before on here. I'll bet the windshield wiper bases are pot metal, never chromed, and because of that they are going to be in perfect condition. Originally they were black, the black goes away. The car bases have been chromed and will be pitted. These won't be. Looks like a truck bumper too. No extra car decorations on her either. Looks cool! I hope you do it back to as original as possible. I haven't seen a truck with a black bed in probably twenty years. The last one I can remember was one that Bill Albright had, everything stock.

How do you like your shrinker? Is it Baleigh?

Hudson pickup

I believe the truck is very original. According to the title, it was last registered and running in 1967; then it sat until I bought it in the 80s. I've seen photos of restored ones with all of the car trim added but my plan is to keep it completely original, including painting the bed wood black. The only reason I would add an overdrive is because it was an original option (if that's true).

The bed wood is pretty rotten but there's still enough wood there to determine the species. Somewhere I have a wood ID book from when I was in forestry college. We used to take a sharp exacto knife, slice a piece of wood and with a 10x lighted loupe and the wood ID key, it was possible to distinguish between species. If I can just find where I put those old school books...

The truck is dark blue. Inside the door jams the paint is still excellent; I waxed a portion and really like the color. I have an original Hudson Bulletin (Acme Proxlin) paint chip sheet for 1946 Hudsons. The paint code for my truck is "B", and the color of my truck listed on the bulletin is called "No. 6233 Bar Harbor Blue."

I will take some close up photos of the windshield wiper bases and post those too.

The shrinker/stretcher is the 8" jaw model from Harbor Freight. It was on sale, and also I had a 25% off coupon. I think it (as well as other items) are identical to those sold by Eastwood - I bet Eastwood and HF get them from the same supplier in China and then add their labels. Main difference is that Eastwood charges a lot more! I haven't used it yet but will be learning soon. I've found that some HF stuff is OK, but with things like my MIG welder and air compressor, I buy American.

RL Chilton

Just sand a piece of wood from the bed and post a good picture. It can then be easily identified.

Jon B

Hudson Pickup, in what part of the country are you located?

There are a good number of these pickups all over the place, and Hudson people are generally a friendly bunch, and happy to help others with their same "disease". Possibly, someone knowledgeable about pickups lives not far from you.

Of course, as a new Club member you should get, very soon, one of the new rosters showing all Club members and the cars they own. You can go through your state listing and find out if anyone with a pickup lives near you. But in the meantime, you may find someone here at the Forum with a truck you can measure, photograph and generally check out.

Hudson pickup

Jon B; I live in northwest Oregon, close to Mt. Hood and the little town of Zigzag. Just today I applied for membership in the NW chapter of HET. So hopefully soon I will meet someone near me who has a 46-47 pickup.

Hudson pickup

I have registered with HET and I will check out their forum. That magazine article that I lost had photos and a good history of the Hudson pickups. I think it was published in the last 3-5 years but I can't remember what magazine it was.

I will post some more photos this evening.

commodorecollector

Hudson Pickup welcome to HET and the NW Chapter!
I am also fairly new to HET, but it has grown on me (see my signature) and I have got a few Hudsons to restore. If you would like I could forward you the Jan/Feb and March/April Corked Clutch (NW Chapter Newsletter), I just need your email (please private message).
It will very nice to see your Hudson pickup on the road!

Christopher

Hudson pickup

Here are more photos (5) as some of you have requested.

Bent metal: The first photo is of one of the wiper bases. They are smooth and chalky, but as you said, not pitted. Good thing you said that they should be painted black - Now I won't send those to the chrome shop!

The second photos shows the bed. The photo makes the sides of the bed look pretty bad, but it's mainly surface rust, not deep rust. The gas tank is rusted out from the top side, but I have a good one from the truck that I parted out.

Third photo shows one of the rear wheel wells. Note the area on the wheel well that looks like a section of the sheet metal was patched in. Both sides are like that. Is that how they came from the factory or is this from a repair that the original owner did?

Fourth photo: The original Hudson floor mat. It's brittle and falling apart, but at least it shows what it looked like. Thick jute padding was adhered to the bottom of the mat.

Fifth photo: Close up of the logo in the center of the floor mat. It reads: "Hudson Built Steel Body."

Are these floor mats being reproduced?

RL Chilton

That's a good-looking truck, Doc!

bent metal

I gotta' tell ya, this truck is pretty cool to me! You just don't see them this original anymore, without being restored, without being altered. This is the way you would find a truck thirty years ago! Not today. I think what wrote above here is right on the money. I second what he said. Your hood is right! With the hollow rivets, no writing on the side. That "patch" you refer to in the bed. That's the way they were, and it wasn't smoothed out, just painted over. The trailing edge where the back of the wheel well meets the bed is right too. The wood comes up and meets the wheel well. A lot of trucks have that area filled. Yours is unaltered, the way it was as new. As far as the floor mats, I could get them for you. Might take a few months, but I could get one. The running board mats. Originally they were vocanized on there. That's why all of the little holes. There are a few guys doing that. Also one or two that are volcanizing then CNCing the pattern. I don't really understand/know how to do it. I just know I've made the metal running boards and sent them out and other guys have made different patterns in the rubber, blah, blah, blah.
Back to your truck. One thing I'm wondering about is the antena. I've seen a factory one that mounts on the side of the cowl, with a little red ball on top. I know that's factory correct, but it's an extra, an upgrade. I don't know if your antena is "right" or not? Maybe it is, and it's just the standard type antena, I don't know. Anyone know for sure? The turn signals in the front splash apron should not be there either.
The door panels. They should be plain with only one horizontal stitch line. The escusions around the door handles were always a medium to dark blue color. No matter what color anything else was. ...Boy your going to hear some people disagree with my on that. But I think I'm right.

bent metal

Inside the grill opening. I can't see it in your photos. But I've seen people add blades in the grill. In the center there are four stainless trim pieces running horizontally. Behind them are sheet metal blades. Only the bottom three get the blades. The top one is the stainless only.

On the outside of the grill. Just inside of the headlights, under the grill bars is a small detail line that runs in a vertical sweeping line that mimmics the outside shape of the grill. It should be body color to the outside of the line, black to the inside of that line.

The recess in all of your diamonds/triangles should be painted bright red. The line in your bumperettes too.

Your truck looks to be missing the stainless connector in the center below the grill, where the bottom most stainless trim is. ...Start looking for that piece now. They are hard to find.

bent metal

Oh, don't throw those bed pieces away. Those are really good samples. Maybe not reusable? Notice how big the heads are on the bolts? Like a flat truss. The new ones are more like a low round head. Not the same. The old heads fill the flat on the bed strips completely. Plus, the bed strips are a little wider than what you can get now. Did you notice that four of the bolts are smaller?

bent metal

One more thing. The running boards. I wouldn't strip them down. I'd leave the rubber on there until you talked to someone who can revolcanize them. They will probably want to see the pattern that was on there, especially the ends of the ribs. Where they end, how they round over, etc. I would guess the running board guy would take them just as they are and straighten out the light dents you have and fix everything himself. Also, when the running boards are mounted on the truck they look short. They come up an inch, maybe a little less, or so short of the rear fender. That's the way they were. On cars too. There should be a gap at the back there, big enough you could slip you finger through.

I know this isn't your first restoration. But I hope your taking a lot of pictures of this truck though before you take it apart. There isn't going to be a better sample of "how it was".

Hudson pickup

What a great response from you guys!

Commodore Collector: That's quite a collection of Hudsons you have there! I will send you my email address in a private message.

Doc Hubler: Sarah Young of the NW chapter sent an application form to me yesterday. I will be filling it out and sending in the dues soon. Nice truck restoration you have going!

46 Hudson PU: Thanks for the additional information on the wiper bases, name plate rivets on hood, etc. All of that information helps!

Bent Metal: I can tell that you and 46 Hudson PU are both detail guys. I love that because I am the same way. I plan on restoring my truck as original as I possibly can. I will re-use every bolt and part that I can. In fact I plan on keeping the truck a 6-volt system. Good to hear that the rear wheel well patches are factory - that had me worried that it was an old repair.

I will keep in mind your advice on the running boards and volcanizing - let me know if you find out more about how to get it done. I do have a set of the reproduction mats (still new in the box) that I bought from KGAP in the 1980s. The running boards have remnants of the original rubber on them but it's in poor shape. I will send you a private message about getting a floor mat through you.

The door panels are just as you described. I am pretty sure they are original. Very ratty and not restorable, but of course when I took the doors apart last week I saved them for replication. The plastic door handle (and window handle) escusions are blue just as you described. The seat upholstery is a dark blue, non-pleated "leatherette" material. Original and complete but brittle so it will need to be replicated.

I am attaching a close up photo of my grille. Seeing this photo, do you still think there is a missing piece? Do you have photos that you could post to show what it should be like? If it is missing, I could probably replicate it myself out of stainless if I had a template or good photos/dimensions to go by. I have some good resources here in Oregon. One guy I know teaches blacksmithing, and another guy I know teaches metal forming at a local community college. And a good friend of mine is a master machinist who can make just about anything on his lathes or milling machine.

I take dozens of photos and notes when I disassemble stuff - and label all the nuts, bolts, parts, etc into separate zip-lock sandwich bags. I know from past experience that a year or two later, it takes all of the puzzlement out of it!

One other photo for you detail guys: As we know, the pickups had rivets on the hood where the emblems on a car would be. On both sides of my truck's hood, the rearward rivet hole is empty. A coincidence? Or should those holes have rivets too?

Courtesy Man

Something I learned from Glen Johnson who is very familiar with these trucks is the "battery problem". The original batteries were evidently much less tall and made no contact with the hood closed.
Today it is common to see a hood with contact burns from the tall battery posts. If you want to keep it original you need a battery that will clear. On my truck which is 6 volt but not original (1956 308 w/ overdrive and 9 inch Ford rear axle.) Glen helped me lower the battery box for added clearance. Has someone found a 6 v battery that will work w/o altering the battery box ? Gert Kristiansen

bent metal

I second what is said above about the battery being too tall. Places that supply batteries for tractors will have a good selection of 6 volt batteries.

The missing rivet on the hood is just a coincidence that they are both missing from the same spot. You just need another rivet or two to replace the missing ones. ...As pictured above.

The grill, your looks right. I can't see the upper center grill bars. But since you are familiar with restoring but not with the Hudson truck. I wanted to point out that the upper stainless bar there does not get a blade behind it. I've seen people, who didn't know, add a blade to the spot. I just wanted to let you know that. Your is probably already right. I'll point it out in a picture below. This might seem like an obveous thing. But after the truck is all apart and in pieces on a shelf, it will look like your missing a blade. Because everything else is in groups of four.

In the center of the grill is a small piece of sheet metal. Which is almost always messed up, as yours is. They made it out of real thin steel, about 22gage. You'll probably have to remake that. It gets painted body color, as does the surrounding steel sheet metal. The missing piece of stainless I was refering to earlier is the connector just above that. I'll point it out in the picture.

Maybe I'll show the paint color details too...

bent metal

The colors. The black behind the grill is divided at the detail line. You'll see the raised line if you look at the part. It should be shiny black, the support brackets that hold the grill bars in place should be shiny black too.

The red should be a bright red, not dark. But not so bright that it looks orange. More like a Ferarri red.

Still not diggin' the turn signal lights, or the antena.

bent metal

I'm pretty excited about your truck. Not too many people even remember the beds being black anymore! The history/originality of these trucks is being lost to old memories and owners wanting to dress them up. Not that I have a problem with that. I don't. But I'd love to see one out there completely like an original truck was, straight off the assembly line. No dress up stuff, no extra chrome or script.

...I think you might have the best reference matterial right there in front of you. Lots and lots of pictures, as you know. Save everything, as you know. Post lots of pictures for us too.

Oh, did you look at the back of the running board where it meets the rear fender? It should come up short by about an inch. That's the way they were. I've seen people "fix" that too.

Courtesy Man

If overdrive was an option for the trucks I recommend it - otherwise in my opinion the truck is only driveable at parade speeds - stay off the freeway. Gert

[Deleted User]

You can redo the seat back to make it thinner. Original.seat back was very thick.
Roger

[Deleted User]

bent metal:
"Shiny black behind the grill."

Are you sure about that Bent? I have never seen that before.

Ric West IN

Yes, "Bent" is right. Same gloss finish used on inner fenders and grill louvers on 48-49's.

Wouldn't swear as to finish on 50 and up.

"Ric"

Hudson pickup

Bent metal: Thanks for more details! What program on your computer do you use to add arrows and text to photos? I need to learn how to do that.

I don't think that the antenna is correct either, but it will be easy to undo. The truck does have the (I assume) original Hudson radio, so there must be a way to install an antenna correctly. The turn signal lights on the front aren't stock either. The former owner installed one of those old universal turn signal devices on the steering column. This brings up a dilemma: I want to keep the truck original but to drive it legally (and safely), I should add turn signals and brake lights (there is one round red lens light on the back, below the tailgate - I assume this is a brake/tail light).

Here are some photos of the running boards, where they meet the rear fenders. The first photo is of the driver side. Lots of the original running board rubber still remains on this side. Note that the gap between the end of the running board and the fender is only 1/4". Then I looked at the passenger side (second photo). For some reason all of the rubber on that side is gone. As you said, there is a large gap between the end of the running board and the rear fender. That made me wonder: why is the gap on the driver side much narrower? So I took a closer look at the driver side. What I first thought was steel, is actually part of the running board rubber. I pushed down on it with my finger and it cracked (third photo). If all of that rubber was gone, there would be a wide gap just like on the passenger side. You would think that the factory would have cut off the rubber at the end of the running board; or folded it down. But instead, the rubber was stiff enough to go straight off the end of the running board until it almost touches the rear fender. Maybe this explains why there is such a wide gap between the end of the steel running board and the rear fenders once the original running board rubber has been removed.

Fourth photo: The seat, which I removed from the cab last week. I believe the upholstery is original. Factory brochures call it a "leatherette" material. Some kind of early vinyl I suppose. Looking at the material up close shows a very fine leather-like texture. Overall the seat material is in pretty good shape, with only a few holes or splits. But it's so brittle that I will have to replace it. Anyone know of a source for a material that is close to the original?

As some of you noted, the inside of the cab is pretty small. I am 6' 3", so I am going to section in a 12 inch section to the cab and raise the roof by 5 inches. For a seat I will install the front seat from a 1975 Cadillac El Dorado.

I would like to get more details about '46/47 pickups that had an original overdrive. Installed by a Hudson dealer, not the factory, right? How do those overdrives engage; with a manual lever or an electrical switch? I would like to drive the truck at highway speeds (at least 55 mph), so if I can add an overdrive and do it as original, I will.

Bent Metal: Just kidding about stretching the cab and adding a Cadillac seat - bet that got your attention!

bent metal

Good lord! Yes that got a look of disgust and disapointment out of me. I'm really thinking this is going to be a "the way it was", like it or not type build. Then stretch the cab and raise the roof!?! Haha.
Not that I have a problem with stretching the cab, or any other custom stuff on a truck. But not on this one.
That gap will be a little smaller with the rubber on, but still a gap there. Notice no bolt holes connecting the fender and running board. But there is on the front. Don't know why they did it like that, it's just the way it was.

Not to high-jack your thread. But here is one I stretched the cab on. My Dad made the wood for the bed and I finished/painted it. Notice I made the back doors so you could put factory role up and down window. Although the owner decided to make them stationary, they could role up and down if he wanted to do that. So yeah, I'm cool with the custom stuff, but just not on your truck.

bent metal

Hey Roy Chapin, I know you don't see the black in the grills much anymore. But it should be there. Here's a factory photo of a car coming off the assembly line at Hudson. Notice too the black is shiny, and you can see the support brackets for the grill bars are black and shiny too. Also notice the antena mounts on the side of the cab. I don't know if there are any other antena options. But the one in the photo is what I would expect to see and what I'm used to.