37 Terraplane 72 Brougham

Unknown

Hello, I'm conemplating restoring my grandfather's 1937 Terraplane 72 brougham. He purrchased the car new in 1937 & the car has been outside & not run since 1958. That being said it's in pretty good shape. My question is how available are parts, ie. floor pans, door panels, windows. Also mechanical parts, ie. brakes etc. Any advice would be appreciated.

Aaron D. IL

Parts are more available than you think. You just need to connect the dots to the right network of people who have and work on '37 Terraplanes and the best way to do that is to join the Hudson Essex Terraplane Club. (HET) Some brake parts you may still be able to scare up at your local NAPA too believe it or not. If you're in a region of the country where leaving a car outside is a bad idea you might have a big project ahead of you. Still anything can be fixed if you have the motivation.

hudsonsplasher1

What part of the country are you located? There are many local chapters of the HET, maybe we can hook you up with local members that may have needed parts. Dale Cooper in Cincinnati is a large mechanical parts dealer. His Phone # is 513-821-6200 I'm sure he will be able to help.Ask for a catalog. Also we have a 37 Guru, Robbie Williams in Michigan. His Phone # is 810-686-9548, he has parts and information. Surprisingly, there are many 37's still around. Our national meet is in Kearney Nebraska this year on Aug. 22-25. With lots of cars and parts vendors. Best bet is to join the HET club. A great source of info, and a great publication.

barrysweet52

Good luck with your restoration project. Hope you enjoy the journey, make some new friends and take advantage of the sugestions and experiences people will share with you. When I did my 36 Terra I jacked up the body on supports, rolled the chassis out and had it sandblasted. The sandblasters may be able to offer a painting service as well. You can also make or borrow a frame to bolt on each end of the car so that you can rotate the car body. This will make it easy to repair or treat rust under the car.



I have a 37 Terra older resto by someone else. I bought another 37 Terra yesterday. Not sure if its a parts car or a resto project. I have 8 Hudsons now, with my eye on number 9. My wife would like someone to tell me how many is enough, cause I dont know yet. Im just gathering them, saving them from going to China as scrap metal, and putting them undercover out of the rain. They will keep me busy when I retire. Anyway, good luck with yours. Barry

Unknown

Make a list of what you will need to get you started. Folks here on the forum are a great source for parts and technical information. I spent almost 4 years restoring my 37' Model 71 and was almost finished when, damned if I did'nt find an entire car not 1 1/2 hours from my house. Get yourself a mechanical procedures manual first thing. I winged it in the dark the first couple years and the book made resto alot faster. Take some pictures of your ride and let us see them. Good luck!