New Hudson Owners

oldbullrider

Hi everyone,

My girlfriend and I just bought a 1941 Hudson 6 Deluxe 2 door sedan as a barn find. We came across this group when looking for information on the car. We plan to do most of the restoration ourselves so we'll be hitting you guys up for advice!

Thanks,

John & Rachel

oldbullrider

I meant to attach a picture. It's all complete, fenders, and bumper are in the back seat.

Jon B

Welcome to the Open Forum, John & Rachel!  A most interesting find, and I'm sure that you can find all your answers here.

Looks like a pretty ambitious project, though -- gauging from the rustout at the bottom of the door and rear quarter panels, and around the rear fenders.  Are you experienced in body repair?  If so, great, but if not, you will be spending a great deal of money just to get the body into shape, before you even consider the costs of painting, re-chroming, upholstery, wiring and drive train rebuilding. 

I don't mean to dampen your enthusiasm, and we love welcoming new people to the Hudson family, but I think it's only fair to warn you of possible pitfalls, before you embark on your journey.  Sometimes "newbies" will come onto these cars and vow to restore them, only to gradually realize that they've bitten off more than they can chew.

On the other hand, you may be experts at this sort of thing, who know exactly what you're doing and the car may be in much better condition than the photo would indicate.

As you may have already discovered, there is a club for this car: The Hudson-Essex-Terraplane Club.  If you're not already members you might want to join, because it's an excellent clearinghouse for information and parts, as well as the worldwide network of Hudson owners.  There may be a chapter near you and you might want to contact someone there to find out when the next meet is.  (You can find all of this out at the Club's website, http://www.hetclub.org/ .)  There is no substitute for having a nearby expert to consult with, when entering into a restoration!  Plus, local members may know of nearby sources for parts you may need.

Anyway, we're here.  Fire away with the questions!

ski4life65

Welcome! Looks like a fun project

oldbullrider

The photo is actually a bit deceptive, it had just rained and there was mud on the running boards, there is actually only a little bit of rust through the floor pans in front and the trunk. The rear fenders are actually off and in the back seat, so the photo doesn't really give a complete picture. We appreciate constructive advice and criticisms, I have actually done a few restorations, so if nothing else we can always turn it into a rat rod! Hate to do that, we've got a matching motor and serial number so we're going to try to keep it all original. We have been doing extensive research online and just sent in our membership to the national HET club and contacted our local Iowa chapter. We're on our way to a good start, now for the hard work.

Jon B

If you are in Iowa then you may have the pleasure of our former National president, Aaron Cooper, a great guy!  In addition to his many talents, he is the webmaster for the H-E-T website, and will certainly offer you valuable advice on your car, if you need it.