H8 vs. 308 H6

50C8DAN
50C8DAN Senior Contributor
edited August 2017 in HUDSON
I have enjoyed driving my '54 Hornet coupe since March, however, I did get in the'50 C8 the other day and I have to say the smoothness of the H8 is remarkable in comparison.  The H8 is a very very quiet engine and still has a lot of power.  The H6 is obviously a great engine, the best flathead 6 ever, but it is just not as smooth and quiet.

Comments

  • Lance
    Lance Member
    Dan, I think Packard was the outfit that bragged about how quiet their engines were. I don't recall Hudson using that line in describing the 308 Hornet .Fast, yes, torquey yes' powerful yes, quiet no . :)
  • Geoff
    Geoff Senior Contributor
    Two engines stand out in my opinion, for the quietest Hudsons.   The 8 of course, as mentioned  but the '29 F-head Super 6 was superb. 
  • lostmind
    lostmind Expert Adviser
    Geoff C., N.Z. said:
    Two engines stand out in my opinion, for the quietest Hudsons.   The 8 of course, as mentioned  but the '29 F-head Super 6 was superb. 

    I had a 29 Hudson. I could idle it down to count the fan blades and still balance a well worn nickel on the valve cover. Got asked many times if it was running. 

    You could hear the air flow through the carb at idle.


    I also had a 47 Hudson with a step down 8 that I put together with scrounged parts.

    Very smooth , a little noisy in the valve area with hood open , but much smoother and quiter than any 308 I owned. More then enough power for any driving I did.
  • 37 CTS
    37 CTS Senior Contributor

    I just felt the need to comment as I have had a Hornet, and a 1929 Super Six and a 1937 Hudson Eight.        The Hornet makes the power and can run really nice,  but the Eight is so much smoother and makes good power.    The 1929 is like a big gas stationary engine, its runs smooth enough but the mass of the engine is so very excessive for what it does.   The shaft run water pump and generator are fun to watch.  After you use and understand the Hudson Eight it will become your favorite.


  • 50C8DAN
    50C8DAN Senior Contributor
    edited September 2017
    Some of you may remember that Bernie Siegfried wrote about Hudson experimenting with an I8 right as they were about to discontinue the long running great 8 engine.  The most successful was a 289 cu in job that was pressure lubed and produced 140 HP @ 4400 rpm, which was better than the 308 at the same RPM.  Alas, the management made the decision to drop the 8 altogether as the I8 was fading in popularity.  Too bad they did not move aggressively on putting their engineers into a V8.  Nonetheless a high performance I8 w/ Twin H (or maybe Triple H) would have been cool.  I remember that Pontiac setup their Bonneville show car with their elderly 268 cu in I8 w/ 4 side drafts and it put out 230 HP http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z11138/Pontiac-Bonneville-Special-Motorama.aspx, http://www.motortrend.com/news/c12-0606-1954-pontiac-bonneville-special-1953-buick-wildcat/)  So I8s can can run.  I have a '40 Buick with a '52 Roadmaster OHV I8 and it is a hell of a puller (not nearly as quiet as my Hudson however) and there are guys that still run the Buick on the salt flats.
  • terraplane8
    terraplane8 Senior Contributor
    Hudson Eights were quiet engines because the valve gear was buried in the block underneath the manifolds. Compared to a Chev or Buick with their complicated valve gear on top of the head rattling away with just a tin cover over it. In my Terraplane Eight the noise level at open road cruising speeds is very low, the engine doesn't appear to make any noise at all hardly and certainly no vibration. There's no doubt that this engine is one of the pre-war greats. Reid Railton was quoted as having a very high opinion of it and period English road tests of '33 to '37 Railtons were amazed by the performance and refinement of such a seemingly mundane side-valve. Even Rolls-Royce took a close look as mentioned in the booklet about the Terraplane by James Fack. I do think though that the stepdowns were too heavy for the engine compared to the pre-war cars with performance pretty modest as a result. The engine is at its best in a light body, like an early Railton or the Terraplane Eight. In the '34 Railton Light Sports Tourer it flew along, 0-60 in 8.8, could start in top and do circles in top on full lock with a 3.3 rear end without snatching and reach 107mph flat out.
  • KustomKreeps
    KustomKreeps Member
    Heck I removed my muffler and now run straight pipe son my Buick in hopes to make it louder and its still quiet. Hudson must be crazy quiet.

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