Building a step-down pickup...
Greetings from Colorado!
Now that I have your attention, I'll ramble a bit.
Last week, not feeling well, I decided to go for a drive/walk. Drove out to the country to a friends property, locked the gate behind me and went for a walk through his collection of about 60 or so vehicles scattered in groups over many acres.
Stopped to look at a Wasp and a '53 Hornet. These cars have been sitting for 30+ years. Unfortunately, while sitting, most have been vandalized. Gear shift knobs taken, windows broken and Twin-H manifolds/carbs taken. Sigh...
Looking at the '53, I tried the hood pull under the dash. Frozen solid. Hmmmm? Snaked my arm up under the bumper [no radiator]. Got a hold of the mechanism and, click! got it to release. Light pressure, the hinges are frozen. Just enough space to see under the hood. An unmolested COMPLETE twin-H motor. Car has been hit hard in the left rear. Frame, fender, perimeter frame, rear body under trunk and trunk lid.
That night, back in town, I related my "find" to my buddy. He was elated as he thought that the vandals had gotten to all of the Hudsons. We discussed twin carbs on my '51 or Clifford intake w/ Edelbrock 500CFM 4 barrel. Long story short, I ordered the Clifford intake and shorty headers last week from Clifford.
Two days ago, my buddy comes up with this calender sporting a "1949 Hudson Prototype Pickup". Photo by Ozzie Sweet. Pickup owned by Sonny Glasbrenner. Not in the HET Club roster.
Now, my buddy is an old school mechanic in his late 60's. Bleeds oil and sweats antifreeze. Tell him "can't be done" and step back. He WILL make it happen. He now has it in his head to build a pickup out of this ailing '53. He just finished a '51 Chevrolet Special for his daughter. His comment: "It could have been better." . My comment, I would be proud to drive that car ANYWHERE.
My request to this group. Photos of ANY stepdown pickup that you wish to pass along towards this project. Good, bad or ugly. Successes or failures. Ideas, thoughts, advice on body, mechanical and design issues. I have already searched all of the posts on this board about stepdown pickups and filed away a good bit of information. How would YOU go about this transformation? We have a lot of talented people who contribute to this forum and I value your thoughts and knowledge.
A lot of thought, research and planning will go into this vehicle. His goal is to have it look the way Hudson would have built it. He is not after a show quailty vehicle, but yet a good solid vehicle that he can drive, use and have fun with, not pamper. But, he is not satisfied until something is done right and this should prove to be above average in execution.
Thanks!
George T.
Now that I have your attention, I'll ramble a bit.
Last week, not feeling well, I decided to go for a drive/walk. Drove out to the country to a friends property, locked the gate behind me and went for a walk through his collection of about 60 or so vehicles scattered in groups over many acres.
Stopped to look at a Wasp and a '53 Hornet. These cars have been sitting for 30+ years. Unfortunately, while sitting, most have been vandalized. Gear shift knobs taken, windows broken and Twin-H manifolds/carbs taken. Sigh...
Looking at the '53, I tried the hood pull under the dash. Frozen solid. Hmmmm? Snaked my arm up under the bumper [no radiator]. Got a hold of the mechanism and, click! got it to release. Light pressure, the hinges are frozen. Just enough space to see under the hood. An unmolested COMPLETE twin-H motor. Car has been hit hard in the left rear. Frame, fender, perimeter frame, rear body under trunk and trunk lid.
That night, back in town, I related my "find" to my buddy. He was elated as he thought that the vandals had gotten to all of the Hudsons. We discussed twin carbs on my '51 or Clifford intake w/ Edelbrock 500CFM 4 barrel. Long story short, I ordered the Clifford intake and shorty headers last week from Clifford.
Two days ago, my buddy comes up with this calender sporting a "1949 Hudson Prototype Pickup". Photo by Ozzie Sweet. Pickup owned by Sonny Glasbrenner. Not in the HET Club roster.
Now, my buddy is an old school mechanic in his late 60's. Bleeds oil and sweats antifreeze. Tell him "can't be done" and step back. He WILL make it happen. He now has it in his head to build a pickup out of this ailing '53. He just finished a '51 Chevrolet Special for his daughter. His comment: "It could have been better." . My comment, I would be proud to drive that car ANYWHERE.
My request to this group. Photos of ANY stepdown pickup that you wish to pass along towards this project. Good, bad or ugly. Successes or failures. Ideas, thoughts, advice on body, mechanical and design issues. I have already searched all of the posts on this board about stepdown pickups and filed away a good bit of information. How would YOU go about this transformation? We have a lot of talented people who contribute to this forum and I value your thoughts and knowledge.
A lot of thought, research and planning will go into this vehicle. His goal is to have it look the way Hudson would have built it. He is not after a show quailty vehicle, but yet a good solid vehicle that he can drive, use and have fun with, not pamper. But, he is not satisfied until something is done right and this should prove to be above average in execution.
Thanks!
George T.
0
Comments
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My biggest issue with the "stepdown" pickup conversions is that most of them just look chopped off behind the door. RE: the '53 Wasp above from the front looks a bit incomplete. If I were to build one, I would utilize the back of a pick up cab from the era and stretch it out to fit the Hudson body. This would give the lines needed to flow properly.
It seems to me that many years ago, I saw one that had been built with the back of a Chevrolet cab with the corner windows. It really looked good. Dodge, Ford, Studebaker all had good looking cabs in the time.
My 2 cents worth.0 -
Well there is lots of information on the INTERNET in the form of pictures and text... GOOGLE .. HUDSON Pickup and select images...
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think all of the cars pictured were converted from 4 doors- if done from a coupe with the longer door, I think the whole thing would look more balanced. Thats the same situation with the "real" Hudson pickups from the 40's- I think Glen Johnson in Utah was going to extend the body of one so as to use coupe doors, once upon a time- don't know if he ever did it.0
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Or you could use the brougham, which also had the longer door. One of our local chapter members cobbled together a pickup using a coach, and it not only gave him ample legroom, but room for the spare tire behind the seat as well!0
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