1923 Hudson Pickup?

[Deleted User]

Hi, all:

     55 years ago I had my first Hudson, a 1949 commodore coupe. It was a beauty. Actually it was my father and mother's first new car, which they drove until 1957 when too many kids and a brand new Ford station wagon caught their eye! But this car, after I applied a new paint job and went through the process of adding J.C. Whitney seatcovers (the old ones were pretty tattered), it became the car everyone I went to high school depended on getting them to and from. What a magnificent machine it was! Since then I've had a similar car but a 1951 Commodore, which was also a great driving car.

     That was a long time ago. Now I'm getting the itch to try another Hudson. I've been very interested in the old Hudson pickups. My brother recently texted me that he is seeing a 1923 Hudson pickup for sale. I can"t find anything about this as being a vehicle that came out of the factory in that package. Owner claims this vehicle has the 1924 engine in it, but other details are murky. I'm in Texas and the vehicle advertised is in Valparaiso, IN. Before getting too carried away with finding out more, I thought I'd check with the 'experts' as to whether there actually is such an animal or is it possible the owner might not know what he's got.

     Appreciate any input you may have.

Jon B

Welcome, Donone 101!

If this 1923 Hudson pickup came from the factory, it must have come from the "prototypes and special models" department!  Or it might have been built by the factory for the purpose of running errands around Detroit.  In either case, I would demand to see proof from the seller!

 Hudson's first official pickup was, I believe, the 1929 "Dover", a one-year-only pickup version of the Essex brand.  The next true factory pickup was 1932 or 1933 (marketed under the Terraplane nameplate), and pickups were then built (variously called "Hudsons" or "Terraplanes" through 1947).

Often, in the 1920's and 1930's, people would convert wrecked passenger cars into pickup trucks, so this particular '23 might have been converted into a truck early in its life.  But it is definitely not an authentic Hudson pickup.

But -- hey! -- if this '23 tickles your fancy, by all means buy it. There are a number of trucks owned by Hudson club members which are not authentic factory-built vehicles but which were built "in the day", such as pickup trucks, fire engines and special-bodied vehicles.  We value them all as Hudsons!

You are now a member of this forum, and can post a message under any forum category you like.  Perhaps at some point you might want to consider joining the Hudson-Essex-Terraplane Club as well (see the drop-down menus at the top of the screen for additional info on the Club.

Uncle Josh

The club has no record of a 23 Hudson pickup.  That doesn't mean there isn't one.  Just not listed by an HET member.  There are 2 23 Essex pickups listed, one in NY and the other in CA.  The earliest Hudson pickup listed is a 27.  So buy it and send me the particulars, ie

Serial No. Cylinders etc and your name and address.  I'll add it to the roster.

HETcramerlp@roadrunner.com  and drop the HET

Larry Cramer

HET Commercial Registrar