new kid

[Deleted User]

hello. my name is stuart, i live in melbourne aus and have a 51 pacemaker. its been butchered a bit fitted with a 250ci ford 6 and c4 trans. i plan on returning it to hudson power over the summer. no doubt ill have lots of questions when i get stuck into the swap.

[Deleted User]

Welcome Stuart, you came to the right place for help. Post some pics if you can.

SuperDave

Hey,

Welcome, I might not be much help but I am good at sympathyzing.. Can't spell either.

Dave w in Melbourne, Fl. USA

Jon B

Stuart, you're aware of the Australian Hudson club? http://www.hudson-amc.org.au/ (Not to suggest that you shouldn't come here to the Forum with your questions....but for parts and advice that are closer to home, you may also want to join them!)

Huddy42

G'day Stuart,



Yes mate get in touch with us per our site , we may be able to help, there is also a Hudson club in Melbourne.



Les. P. Sydney.

[Deleted User]

i have better pictures of it in print but not on computer and not having a scanner means i cant upload my prints.

harry54

Great Car.... Good luck

rambos_ride

The steering wheel is on the wrong side but looks like a great ride to start with!

I take it she's driveable right now? How long have you had the car?

ernie28

Dan, you have it wrong - it is on the RIGHT side!:o

Alistair, NZ

Huddy42

Another who says the wheel is on the RIGHT side.

and :



I have a 1942 Hudson with the wheel on the wrong side.LOL.



I am confused:



I have also noted some of the early Hudson's had the wheel on the RIGHT side.



Les P. Down Under.

SamJ

Huddy42 wrote:

Another who says the wheel is on the RIGHT side.

and :



I have a 1942 Hudson with the wheel on the wrong side.LOL.



I am confused:



I have also noted some of the early Hudson's had the wheel on the RIGHT side.



Les P. Down Under.

The steering wheel wasn't universally standardized on the left side in the States until the mid-teens. :cool:

[Deleted User]

SamJ wrote:

The steering wheel wasn't universally standardized on the left side in the States until the mid-teens. :cool:

I always wondered why the steering wheel is not in the middle of the car - seemed like a logical place for it.... maybe that WAS the reason: Too logical.

- Anyway, back to more counseling and therapy....

[Deleted User]

it was a runner when i got hold of it 6 months ago. but only barely! the wiring looks like someone tossed a bowl of spaghetti in the engine bay then spread the leftovers under the dash,its just rats*** so im savin for a rewire. the dash is out for painting got tomorrow off so its going back in the car so i can take it out of the factory after ive done some bits and pieces (finally got some time off to work on it!)

[Deleted User]

Stuart, I had the same problem with my '54 Hornet Special Coupe. The wiring was a mess, and I couldn't afford a new wiring harness, so I started on the engine compartment replacing 1 wire at a time, until all the wires in there were replaced. Then I did the under dash wiring, continueing in that manner until I had the entire car wired. It took a few months off and on to get it done, and the color code may not be entirely correct but it runs and everything works, right down to the turn signals, which were not wired when I bought the car.
Take your time and have fun with your car. It looks like you have a good starting point.
Bob Hickson

[Deleted User]

Welcome half baked! I have a '50 Pace as well. Post more pics and good luck with the project.

Jay

[Deleted User]

Anyone, what is the difference between the Pacemaker Deluxe and the standard Pace? Was there a Deluxe in the Club Coupe model as well? Just curious.

hudsontech

Aussies are marvelous people - not only do they have steering wheels on the wrong side, but they also drive "upside" down. If you don't beleive it, look at a globe!!! hehehehe

In any case, yes, welcome aboard Stuart. You've found one of the craziest, but best car clubs, I've ever been priviledged to belong to. Greatest bunch of blokes around. One big family affair.



Hudsonly,

Alex B

[Deleted User]

BJ__TN wrote:

Stuart, I had the same problem with my '54 Hornet Special Coupe. The wiring was a mess, and I couldn't afford a new wiring harness, so I started on the engine compartment replacing 1 wire at a time, until all the wires in there were replaced. Then I did the under dash wiring, continueing in that manner until I had the entire car wired. It took a few months off and on to get it done, and the color code may not be entirely correct but it runs and everything works, right down to the turn signals, which were not wired when I bought the car.

Take your time and have fun with your car. It looks like you have a good starting point.

Bob Hickson

thats where im lucky, one of our friends happens to be the best auto elec on our side of melbourne so i will be getting a damn good job for a decent price. i HATE electrical stuff so im not touching it!

jsrail, i dont have a scanner right now but if i ever end up getting one (likely since my interest in photgraphy is picking up) ill put some more up here

[Deleted User]

jsrail wrote:

Anyone, what is the difference between the Pacemaker Deluxe and the standard Pace? Was there a Deluxe in the Club Coupe model as well? Just curious.

The deluxe Pacemaker appeared for one year only-1950. It had a few more items than the standard Pacemaker and was given the prefix'50A' whereas the standard Pacemaker had the '500' prefix. Hudson actually caused their own problems with the Pacemaker as it was brought out to gain Plymouth customers in the lower end of the price spectrum. That plan blew up when customers walked into a Hudson showroom to look at Commodores{later Hornets} and changed their minds about wanting to buy a Commodore . They saw the savings on what they preceived to be of about as good a value and bought Pacemakers. The sale of Commodores was lost to the sales of Pacemakers. If you look at the 1950 production run ,it looks great. So where are all the 1950 Commodores? There weren't that many since the majority of Hudson sales that year went to the model 50A and 500! Pacemaker came in all the body styles of the Commodores and additionally coming in a brougham style as well.In 1951 Hudson offered the Pacemaker only. No more Pacemaker Deluxe.

[Deleted User]

time for an update. forget what i said about not doing the wiring job myself. im on holidays and its too hot to go ride so rather than sit about and go stir crazy ive been busy working it out. after doing some research on calculating current draw and wire sizes, finding a few wiring diagrams (thankyou so much hudzilla and slowcoach!) and looking through electrical parts vendors websites im certain ive found most of what i need to know. if i get stuck i know help is a click away.

this is the wiring out on the ground, this pile is about 2 feet square. colour codes changed up to 4 times, frayed cloth and uninsulated joins everywhere.

[Deleted User]

this car is way too low and i'm going to get some springs wound once ive got it all tucked up nicely in my new workshop

[Deleted User]

that photo is not distorted, that is a little ginger beer bottle there. that frightful looking pipe was the lower radiator cross over to the waterpump and it doubled as a trans cooler! which would of been really helpful considering that it ran alongside the exhaust on the way to and from the trans

[Deleted User]

Well, I've got you all beat. my Grandfather said his Hudson had backseat drivers so it must have steared from the rear!

[Deleted User]

im chasing a type of conduit that mack use on their trucks, it seems to be a soft fiberglass woven mesh tube, it has some stretch to it and is a good compromise between classic looks and modern technology. ive seen it over and again while working on them. i asked the local truck parts supplier while i was ordering all the items for my loom but they didn't have it on record. i have to go out there tomorrow to collect the parts and the mack dealers are just up the road but i was hoping someone could put me out of my misery NOW!

Jon B

What sort of conduit do you seek? Metal electrical? Or do you mean the black asphalt-coated "wire loom" into which you place electric wires, such as is shown in this Ebay auction? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ASPHALT-CLOTH-WIRE-LOOM-3-8-x-10-ORIGINAL-RESTORATION_W0QQitemZ180067565707QQihZ008QQcategoryZ35558QQcmdZViewItem

faustmb

Stuart,

I have used some wire sleeving that sounds similar to what you described. It is woven fiberglass sleeve with decent abrasion and temperature properties. I have started replacing sections of my wiring using this to cover off the shelf wire.



http://cableorganizer.com/fiberglass/



Also, check out this company for your springs. They wind Hudson stepdown springs in stock height and less by 1/2" increments. The price was decent too.



http://www.eatonsprings.com/manufacturing.htm



Good luck with the task at hand, keep us posted.



Matt

Unknown

I don't think Eaton has front springs for Hudsons.

faustmb

I heard about Eaton from other members on this forum. I called them, and sure enough, they will make Stepdown front springs stock height and lower up to 2" in 1/2" increments. Cost is about $170.00 per pair plus shipping...



Matt

[Deleted User]

thats the stuff faust, though that price is scaring me, being cheap and all. i'll see what mack charge for it. what is the standard length for pacemaker springs? i'm using a local place that will roll springs for $120AU any temper i want. to get the car low again i will swap and flip the spindles, then i get the right geometry of the A arms and decent suspension travel

Unknown

faustmb wrote:

I heard about Eaton from other members on this forum. I called them, and sure enough, they will make Stepdown front springs stock height and lower up to 2" in 1/2" increments. Cost is about $170.00 per pair plus shipping...



Matt

That's good to know. Not very long ago, their Website pull-down (for selecting front springs) only went back to the early 1960's.

faustmb

half baked wrote:

thats the stuff faust, though that price is scaring me, being cheap and all. i'll see what mack charge for it. what is the standard length for pacemaker springs? i'm using a local place that will roll springs for $120AU any temper i want. to get the car low again i will swap and flip the spindles, then i get the right geometry of the A arms and decent suspension travel

I measured my OE springs while they were out, I have it written somewhere... It was around 14", anyone?



When I get back home I will see if I can find it.



The fiberglass stuff comes in large qty's. It's not too bad if you can split it with someone else. It goes quite a long way in the engine compartment.



Matt