has anyone fitted a v12 jag motor to a hudson

Bairdy

hi everyone im Graham from New Zealand, i have a 1949 hudson super6 and a 52 pacemaker, I dont wish to offend anyone but i am going to fit a v12 jag motor to my super 6, i am looking for anybody who maybe has looked at this , i see in Austrailia there are several conversions with Holden (GM) subframes with v8s, any thoughts would be apprieciated thanks Graham

RL Chilton

Moved to Street Rods.  

bob ward

Early XJ6 front cross members/suspensions are a relatively simple swap into a stepdown, They are probably one of the least invasive methods of providing a stepdown with modern steering and brakes and have been done several times in Australia. Some also swap over the Jag IRS.

Is the black car in the photos the target of this swap?

Bairdy

thanks for your help, no the black 52 is there for its beauty only, the 49 is the one i will be working on,

Bairdy

thanks for your help , is it a big job to fit disc brakes to the 49?

bob ward

Disc brake conversion kits are available in the US, plenty of threads on here about them. I do have a US kit in Queensland that I'm unlikely to use, getting it to NZ cheaply is another story.

It is possible to DIY a stepdown disc conversion, I've done it in the past using XC Falcon discs and HQ Holden calipers.

If you do the XJ front crossmember swap, that automatically comes with disc brakes of course.

Bairdy

thanks Bob, still thinking on the jag frt end, i thought that would give me the mounts for the v12 and the brakes, but i like the idea of putting a whole subframe in like hq holden or such,i do have a set of xb falcon discs here left over from my plymouth conversion, what would you want for your us kit, I'm hearing that the frt ends on the hudsons give a great ride so maybe fit discs , need to see where v12 is going to sit, do you have any other parts ? I'm mainly after the gear change arm of the column, thanks Graham  

mrsbojigger

Hi Guys,

I know you are headed for the Jag thing and I like it but here is another alternative for you. The '80 Chevy Camaro front clip goes in perfectly with the exception of the place where the original Hudson bumpers need to be attached. You get all of the amenities such as the disk brakes which is less expensive. I think I paid $50 for the whole front clip. Don't know about the Jag engine but I love Jags.

Peace,

Chaz

Bairdy

thanks Chaz,looks good, hows did it line up further back? do you have pic,s cheers Graham

mrsbojigger

Hello Graham,

The Camaro clip rested in the same place at the rear cross member as did the original Hudson clip. That was great news. I did change out that rear cross member later when I was installing my LS1 engine with the 4L60E trans but it had nothing to do with the proper fit of the Camaro clip. It was due to the size of the engine and trans and nothing more.

On another note, here is a photo of the bird cage grid I made for future aligning of all the Hudson components such as bolt hole locations for front bumpers, radiator supports, etc. Once I built it, I took it off and set it aside until I installed the Camaro clip. From there it was re-installed to give me a starting point for front bumper mounting brackets. See my first post.

Hope that helps a little.

Peace,

Chaz

Kdancy

Chaz, that was a good idea. Probably quicker than working with hudson frame sheet.

Ol racer

FYI
There is a lot of room in the hudson engine compartment so almost anything will fit. Ive used the Camaro clip with whole suspension, sway bar, including Tilt Column. Suggest if go Jag Route install everything as well. Take all your orridginal measurements before removing, then try to get close to indentical by measuring diagonally as well as height & width. Ensure the overall  Track width will fit under the fenders.