New Hudson fan on the forum

Ghost Chaser

Hi Guys,

My name is Rich. I'm a car guy from New York, currently living in Switzerland. I've been looking to buy a Hudson for the fast several months and just came across this forum today. I thought I would post here and ask for your help and advice due to the wealth of experience, knowledge and passion you guys have for Hudsons.

Ideally I would like to buy a 1951-53 Hornet Club Coupe with Twin H Power and a Hydramatic. I am open to alternatives and would even consider a Hornet sedan, which is more spacious and would help me to better sell the idea of it being a family car to my wife.

My current daily driver is a 1958 356 Speedster which "safely" fits two up front, and I can still squeeze two more in the back. I feel the Hornet would be a great way to drive American over here in Europe, and would certainly be more safe than the Speedster. Originally I purchased a 57 Chevy 210 Townsman for the family, but then came to my senses and decided the Hornet's racing history and sleek lines would make a much cooler family car. I have now decided to pursue the Step Down dream instead. If anyone could help me find the next member of my family, or just point me in the right direction, I'd be mighty grateful.

Thanks for taking the time to read my long first post.

Rich

ski4life65

Welcome Rich

onerare39

Rich,

Make sure to find your way over to the offical Hudson Essex Terraplane Club web site http://www.hetclub.org/ . I would be glad to send you a couple of back issues of the White Triangle News, the official publication of the Hudson Essex Terraplane Club. You will find it a great resource for finding the car of your dreams, along with helpful information on where to find parts and service. Send me an email with your name and mailing address and I will get them in the mail to you.

HETForkner@aol.com (drop the HET)

John Forkner
New Membership Coordinator
Big Country Director
Hudson Essex Terraplane Club

See how cool Hudsons look in the snow!

Jon B

I don't want to dampen your enthusiasm, but finding parts (and even finding mechanics) for a Hudson ain't gonna be easy in Switzerland! Especially if this is going to be your only car.

I guess, if your present car is a '55 model, your wife is on board with your choice of an older car. But just make sure she is, before you buy that Hudson as a daily driver! Yes, it will certainly be a more practical family car than a 2-seater, but let's face it -- any 60-year-old vehicle is going to be at a decided disadvantage on a European motorway or secondary road! (Of course, these cars were all daily drivers 50 years ago, and were "driven hard" -- but that's when parts and service were easily available and the streets were ''kinder and gentler''.) Personally, I would be much more at ease knowing that my primary car was something built in the 2000's, and that my Hudson was for weekend or special weekday outings.

Consider all of this soberly before embarking on the journey. It might be that, upon reflection, you decided to buy a Hudson more as a ''recreational" car than as the one upon which you depend for primary transportation.

Ghost Chaser

Gentlemen thank you for the warm welcome.

Jon B you are spot on. Thank you for being the voice of reason and for taking the time to share your thoughts with me.

I agree completely with your line of reasoning. However, when it comes to cars, I'm missing the "reason" gene in my DNA. Also, I will confess that while I use my '58 Speedster as a daily driver during what have come to be known around the house as "the Speedster months," I still only cover 2,000 miles a year in it, as I have a rather small life and drive mostly short distances. I do have two other "normal" cars who do all the heavy lifting. My goal would be to move them to the back of the garage in the spring and summer, handing the daily driving duties over to the Speedster and the Hudson. As you can see, though I am 46, the 15 year old in me makes the car decisions.

Fortunately my wife is a car lover, and has always shared my passion and love for cars. But she's also practical (she's got 2 of those reason genes to my 0), and is somewhat hesitant about the Hudson for the very same reasons you listed above. The Hudson is a tough sell, and what makes it harder is that she was all for the 57 Chevy wagon. All of these elements will be carefully considered, but the true victor of emotion vs. reason will only emerge once I find "the one"... and it's time to pull the trigger.

John, I will do that today. Thank you very much.

Kenneth, I look forward to learning more about those lucky guys here in CH and seeking their counsel, and of course, being in touch with you. Let me know when you'll be here in Switzerland and I'll buy you a beer, and, weather permitting, maybe even treat you to a ride in the Speedster.

Ski4life65, thank you very much for the kind welcome.

Again, thank you guys. I appreciate your help.

Rich

Park_W

Rich, maybe you could persuade my friend Harry Wohlgroth in Horgen to sell his very nice '52 Hornet sedan to you. It was sold new by the Hudson dealer in Zuerich. You can contact me for more info. hetpwald@comporium.net. (remove the "het" for actual address)

The photo is from the Memorial Bergrennen in Steckborn, 2010. Harry has enjoyed driving his Hornet in this event .

Aaron D. IL

A nice Hornet sedan would seat a family of 6 comfortably. Most people who drive them fairly regularly like Walt on the forum have converted them to 12 V and radial tires, added seat belts and electric windshield wipers and a few (you can argue whether this is needed or not) have converted the front brakes to disc. But otherwise driven their Hudson's as mostly stock original cars. It can be done, Jon is right these cars are getting up in age and when a car get to be 60 + years old it's not just tune up parts that go... more major things can go and some cars you might look at may actually be welding projects. Now Having said all that, I have actually had more problems with cars that have sat around for long periods of time. For me personally when I have my '50 Hudson running again I plan on driving it daily or at least regularly in warmer weather and I've made no modifications to my car.

Jon B

Oh, okay Rich. If you have zero reason genes, you'll fit right in with the rest of us!

Full speed ahead, then!

hudsontech

Welcome aboard Rich. By now you've probably figured out this is a great bunch of car nuts. It's way, way more than just a car club - it's a family that loves old Hudsons. I've been a member for over 40 years and thru most of those years have not had a Hudson - but I've never felt like an outsider any place I went to meets. I've made a lot of friends over the years and hope to make a few more.

Hudsonly,
Alex Burr
Memphis, TN

54SuperWasp

Go for the Hudson Rich! Go for the Hudson! And Go for the HET Club! Almost 21000 comments in this Forum! That should tell you something! Welcome! Michel

essexcoupe3131

Welcome aboard Rich,
we are at the other end of the world but are very fortunate to have 1 of the living gurus on these cars among us, all the way down under and if I remember correctly, 1 of his cars even way earlier in years has put over 600,000 miles on it, no wounder hes so good

Mike

Ghost Chaser

Aaron, Alex and Mike, thank you for the kind welcome. Michel I joined the HET club yesterday, following John's suggestion. I am looking forward to reading and learning about Hudsons from the guys on both forums. For many years I have been an active poster/member on of some of the vintage Porsche forums and am a frequent poster on Bring a Trailer, but here I sense the spirit is more convivial. I hope my dream of owning a Hudson will come true as it did for my old P-cars. Please feel free to send any leads my way. I am already quite happy and excited to see the black sedan is here in Switzerland, and am surprised to learn Hudson had a dealership here in the 50s. Great stuff. Thanks again.

Rich

[Deleted User]

Walt here. The people that talk about their Hudson's not for today's roads is because they do not repair them correctly. They use old NOS, new old stock parts, ans rebuild most of the old items. You can buy all new parts and do the job correctly. Now my 53 Club Coupe I found all the new parts I needed and rebuilt it as a driver. Since 1998 when I finished the rebuild, the car has been driven 142,000 miles, 11 times across America, ocean to ocean and has never been touched, and I can drive it over 100 miles per hour, that is in the state of Texas and I can get up to 22 miles per gallon. If you buy, just make sure it's not a rust bucket, and if you need parts I can give you all the info you need. WAlt

Park_W

Rich, Wo wohnen Sie im Schweiz?

onerare39

Rich,

I sent you two White Triangle News back issues in today's mail. I sent them International First Class and have no idea how long it will take for them to arrive from Kansas.

Thanks for joining the International Hudson Essex Terraplane Club. I hope that you can find a few club members over there... or now that the word is out, they will probably find you.

John Forkner

Ghost Chaser

Walt, thank you for the reassurance. My own experience with using a 1950s car on a daily basis, is the more you drive it, the better it runs, and I like to drive my cars as much as possible. Rust is my biggest concern, as here in Switzerland if your car has rust, they won't let it on the road. Period.

Park_W, we live on Lake Geneva, in a little town on the hill above Montreux and Vevey.

John, thank you very much, I can't wait to get them. I appreciate your hospitality and generosity and am really looking forward to posting over there.

Rich

Park_W

Rich, I envy you . . . that's a beautiful part of Switzerland. We spent several days exploring, operating from Montreaux, back in the early '90s when I was working in Regensdorf (ZH). Based on your location, I guess we should be conversing in Francais, nicht Deutsch!

Ghost Chaser

I must have been here when you were in the area. I studied here in 89 and then moved here in 92 following our wedding. She's Swiss and speaks Swiss-German (and five other languages), I speak English, French and Car. :-)

[Deleted User]

Welcome to the club Rich.
I'm in my first year as a member, not long but it's great. I went to Gettysburg National meet last summer and was blown away by the cars but mostly the great people. Good luck hunting, patiance will prevail.
Cheers Jake

Ghost Chaser

Thanks for the warm welcome Jake. I'm still hunting for that dream Hudson. If you hear of a Club Coupe for sale please do let me know.

Val

Welcome Rich, I hope that you can find your Hornet. And all the folks on here have been a great help to me and I know they will be to you as well. Keep us posted.

onerare39

Rich,

Did the two issues of the White Triangle News (WTN's) I sent you arrive yet??

John Forkner

Ghost Chaser

Hi John, please check your inbox. Thank you for the WTNs! :-)