"36 and '37 trunklids

37hudfan

As a true fan of Hudson's of both of these years, I have wondered about the trunk lids. I have seen in photos and films that some of these had a flat or slant back lid and others featured the extended lid. It appears that that is the difference in appearance rather than the integral extended trunks offered on some other makes of that era. My question is: could an extended lid be easily installed on a Hudson that originally came with the flat lid? I have been thinking about this and any info here would be great. I am glad that so many vintage Hudson's have survived all of these years.
John R

Jon B

Never tried it, but I'm pretty sure the flat and hump lids were interchangeable....within the same year, of course.

Park_W

Yes, the extended trunk lid bolts right up to a "flatback" car.  The sedans with flatback were called "town sedans," the extended trunk models were "touring sedans."  You've likely noted that the '37 trunk lid extends a bit further than the '38.  The '40's were different yet.  They ('37-'40) interchange easily.  In my youth I didn't like the "shallow" lid on my '38 sedan (photo) so swapped it out with a '37 lid.

37hudfan

Thanks guys for the responses. Great looking '38 and I agree about the lid enhancement.
John R

PaulButler

So does that mean Park that should such a beast appear on the great world wide web it'd bolt direct onto the back of my 112?

That's a look I could rock!

Park_W

Paul, I'd expect so.  The 112 shares the basic body shell, right?

Here's a (poor) shot of the '38 with the '37 trunk.  Taken after we'd made a few trips to the drag strip outside of Chicago  (I still have those trophies!)