New to Hudsons

KTRON

Hi, 
I am looking to meet fellow Hudson owners in the Long Island/New York region of the USA. I fell in love with the look of these cars a few years ago, and very much want to see a 1949-1954 Hudson Commodore 6/8/Hornet in the flesh. I have never seen a Hudson before, as they seem to be very transient in my area. I do not go to many car shows, so perhaps I am hitting up all of the wrong spots. I am moreso into medium duty and heavy duty vintage trucks. I am just about finished restoring my 79' GMC medium duty truck, a four year project removing every nut and bolt overlooking nothing. Engines really turn me on, I am 25 years old and have well over a hundred engines made between 1915 and 1980. I live in suburbia, have an Oliver farm tractor, a two cylinder Johnson motorwheel on my bicycle, a hit and miss engine on my reel mower, a couple 2 cycle screaming jimmies, and a couple two man chainsaws long enough to slay the largest redwood. I was pretty much born in the wrong century, and thoroughly enjoy restoring engines and machinery of the past. I have been looking at cars for years, and the only two which speak to me are the British Morgan three wheelers powered by J.A. Prestwich engines, or our beloved Hudson step downs. I hope to become an active member of your community. I have a lot of questions, so hopefully this is the place to find answers for them,

Thanks,
Christopher Kouttron

RL Chilton

Welcome the Hudson Open Forum.  I'm sure you will find answers to all of your questions relating to the products of the Hudson Motor Car Company.  I have updated your status to "Member".  You can now post questions or make comments in any of the available categories. 

Hope you enjoy your stay here and Welcome Aboard! 

46HudsonPU

Let me add my 'welcome' to you.  I've taken the liberty to move your discussion to the 'Hudson' area, so it can be seen by all of our membership.

Good to have you.  I'm sure you'll find a wealth of information here.

You may also want to visit the Hudson Essex Terraplane Club website, and consider joining that Club - Members come for the cars, and stick around because of the great folks there!

We hope you enjoy your time here at the Hudson Essex Terraplane 'Open Forum' -

Kdancy

Hi Christopher!
It's dangerous to catch the "Hudson" bug at your age!
If you get a chance to drive one you'll really fall In love!
welcome aboard------(:

Uncle Josh

Welcome from Upstate NY.  I'm 50 Mi N of Albany and driving a 49 Commadore, 47 Pickup, 40 Coupe and a 36 Terrraplane.  Mostly do car shows in the Saratoga/Albany area.  Howsomeever;

James and Pat have a 48 Commadore in Floral Park

Robert and Valerie have a 54 Hornet in Medford

Charlie Rivera has a 51 Pacemaker in Bayshore

Felix Smyth has a 49 Commadore in Woodside

Joe and Anetta also live in Woodside and have 2 pickups and 2 Hornets

Warning!  If you get a good look at a pickup, you'll get hooked on those things too.

Just noticed the Salvato's with a couple of Commadores in Holbrook

email me at HETcramerlp@roadrunner.com (drop the HET) and I'll give you contacts for these people.

there are quite a few of these around for sale also.  I know of one near here with standard shift that the owner can't drive any more 'cause his hind leg is screwed up.

Larry Cramer, aka Uncle Josh

Jon B

Christopher, I assume you're on Long Island (from what you say).  Charlie Salvato (in Holbrook) runs a restoration / repair shop and owns several Hudsons, including a nice '49 convertible, so you should definitely give him a call and scoot over there!  Uncle Josh will give you the contact info.
You mention you're into vintage trucks; did you know that Hudson made a line of light-duty pickups (based on the passenger car chassis) from the early 1930's through 1947?  You might want to check those out, though they are in the style that preceded the "StepDown" design of 1948-54 which you seem to like.  Still, they're very useful (Uncle Josh, in upstate NY, has one that he uses regularly to transport "stuff!").

onerare39

Christopher,

If you are interested in receiving a complimentary copy of the White Triangle News, the award winning publication of the Hudson Essex Terraplane Club, send me an email with your snail mail address and I will send you a recent copy.  It has lots great articles and the classifieds list a number of cars for sale.

Email me at HETForkner@aol.com (drop the HET), put HET in the subject line, and I will get a copy in the mail to you.

John Forkner

Hudson Essex Terraplane Club

Uncle Josh

OK, here are a couple of pics

KTRON

Wow, talk about a warm welcome! I am positively thrilled to hear that there are Hudsons roaming about not too far away. I live in Huntington, not too far from the Nassau/Suffolk border, and pass by Medford and Holbrook everyday for work. Owning a Hudson might be a year or so down the road, but that certainly gives me some time to learn all about them. Up until yesterday I was under the impression that parts for these were non existent, but just a few hours on this site has proven that new old stock, aftermarket parts and old school knowledge about these cars is still out there! I learned early on in my truck restoration process, that commonplace "bolt on" kits simply do not exist for what I am interested in, and that many hours will be spent in interchange books, picking the minds of mechanics who lived through the era; simply to figure out the best possible solution to a problem. If its not available, its time to make it! I stand accused of overly restoring engines and machinery, making this a little better, that a little nicer, and strive to make a really nice show quality piece with every project I take on. If the end product does not work 110%, its simply not good enough! That being said, I certainly wouldn't mind starting out with a grade "B" car and making it exactly what I want. I do not like to hang on to machinery I cannot use, so if I am going to set my eyes on a Hudson, it will have to be something I can make into an utterly reliable daily driver. I have worked on a few of our families modern cars, and it reminds me why I love older machinery. They are purely mechanical marvels, thoroughly designed to be as simple and reliable as one could possibly build. No computers, no cramped working areas, no plastic, all imperial tool sizes, all mechanical gauges and linkages, and no programmed obsolescence! If it wasn't functional, it wasn't added! I am not in any way undermining what goes into making these beasts go, I truly love the thought/engineering and design which went into making the end product look simple, perform reliably and able to be rebuilt when the time comes. I am an architect by trade, and think that these Hudsons are the pinnacle of aesthetic design. There is not a color combination out there that they look bad in. I thank you all for the warm welcome, and hope to start a few threads of my own as soon as I learn the Hudson jargon,

Chris

RL Chilton

Chris-

Like your attitude and outlook!  You are right, there is not a 1-800-Send-me-a-Hudson-part number to call for all of your Hudson needs.  You have to know where to go and whom to know.  That's just one reason that we're a tight knit "family".  With the forums we have available, the bi-monthly magazine, club activities and general Hudson networking that you can start on your own, the resources for Detroit's greatest endeavor are plentiful.  No, it's not as easy as obtaining parts for a Chevy, but it's not difficult.  And really, at the end of the day, you will be prouder of your accomplishments, as will everyone else when they see your Hudson.  These cars generate an inordinate amount of interest among the G.P.

I took a basket-case Hudson and built up a sizable network relatively quickly for my last restoration, which we are in the process of finishing up (see avatar).  In the end, parts came from all 48 of the Continental U.S., and five different countries and probably 90% was done over the internet and telephone.  It CAN be done, I assure you, even with some of the obscure, truly rare parts that I needed.  

By all means, go and check out the Hudsons in your area.  Drive one if you can, or at least get a ride.  Once you do, there is no turning back.  I often tell people (biased opinion, I know) that the two greatest cars to ever come out of Detroit was just about any Hudson and a Continental Mark II, hands down.  You'll find out when you start wrenching on these fine automobiles.  

Nice to have the younger generation excited about the Hudsons!

hudsontech

And once you do get a Hudson in your garage you can access either the virtual club library maintained by John O'Halloran or even better access the online library (URL below) for manuals, technical bulletins, etc.
So let me add my welcome to you.  This is a great car club - I've been hanging around for 45 years now - you got to know to have that sort of connection it must be a pretty good club.  It is more a family club that likes Hudson, rather than just a car club.  The unofficial motto of the club really says it all - "Come for the cars - Stay for the people".

Hudsonly,
Alex Burr
Memphis, TN

54SuperWasp

Hi Christopher and Welcome in that Great HET Family. Bought my 54 around 5 years ago. Did not do a lot but

was able to find two parts car since then. I had to put a stop because of repairs to the house but in two months will be getting the garage ready ( another few months of work) for my project. I already met fabulous people from this forum at some Regional or International Meet. ( An International Meet will get you to see around 200 HET cars at the same time, and will give you the opportunity to meet as much people). Wish I had your background to do my project but I learned a lot already with this forum. Welcome again! Michel (Compton, Québec, Canada).

hudsonsplasher1

Welcome Chris, you'll get some great advise on this site.  It's all about fun.

Uncle Josh

Christopher emailed me and I linked him up with the people on Long Island.  Gave him info on the club and his chapter.  And maybe found him a car.

KTRON

Thanks Larry, I emailed a few of the folks you put me in contact with. I will start making calls tomorrow. I cant wait to see one in person!

Chris

Per

Chris,

     It will be interesting to see what car(s) you get.  You can set the car up for the kind of driving you want to do very easily, with the step-down cars.  With the Hudson built axle ratios that were available (4.10 most common, 4.56 usual with overdrive, 3.56 came in 1951 & early '52 with Hydramatic), you can make a car that is running at comfortable rpms on Interstate highways.

     For example, Dan McNichol and I drove his 1951 Pacemaker coupe 38,000 long distance miles with its original equipment 232 engine, overdrive, 4.56 axle and radial tires.  By my calculations, this setup was good for running continuously up to 70 mph.  We then put the same engine into a 1949 Commodore 4 door sedan, with overdrive, 4.10 axle, and bias tires, and have driven  the Commodore 12,000 miles.  By the same calculations, this setup was good for 81 mph.  This car feels weak however, due to a combination of additional weight, axle ratio and type of tires.  We did a valve job about 20,000 miles ago.  The engine runs properly and goes between oil changes without adding oil.

     With the late 1952 an on, there are many more axle ratios available.  These were no longer made by Hudson.

            Per

DavidC

Chris, welcome. I've only been a member for 5 years but already feel like part of a family. I grew up in Centereach, had my HS prom in Huntington, and still have family from New Hyde Park to Southold. Currently I live in VA. I hope the Holbrook guy works out, because nearby technical expertise is key. Yes, you can get any parts you need, especially for the 48-54s. Good luck and keep us posted.
Dave

Hienkel429

Welcome Chris!

Born and raised in Yaphank (exit 66 LIE) and left NY for grad school.  My dad taught at Huntington High School in the early 60's and he later owned the Shell station on 112 in Medford between the mid 60s and 70s.  Dave, my folks later moved to Centereach near the community college for a number of years after I left.  Now am in Louisville, KY.  

Chris, You will find your car but you might have to patiently look and/or travel up to the North East or upstate NY to find what you want.  Pickins for unmolested cars always seemed thin on the island, but who knows you might have better luck. 

It's nice to hear place names I haven't been back to in years,  

-Ray

Uncle Josh

Chris!  Where'ya go?  Still digging out from that Nor'Easter?

KTRON

Im still here! Im just trying to absorb some of the Hudson knowledge from this board. I have a million and a half projects to finish at this time, so I probably will not start actively looking for a Hudson for some time. I am still in the research phase. Lots of questions to answer before I dive in! 

I look forward to any upcoming Hudson get togethers in the North East. I cant wait to get a ride in one,

Chris