1947 Hudson 212

huddywayne

Howdy,

This week I purchased my first Hudson. I've spent time observing for a few days, but now I am diagnosing my startup issues. What I have found is this:

-Lubrication is good
-Fuel/air delivery is good
-Compression is good 
-Starter engagement with flywheel is good

I've determined that the primary contributing factor to my no-start condition is lack of spark. The next few days, I will be diagnosing the ignition system. I will be researching proper diagnostics for the ignition system, but welcome any advice or lessons learned from similar issues you have had.

Here are some photos of the Hudson. It is 100% original minus one repaint approx. 20 yrs ago.

7XPacemaker

looks like the car is complete with pretty good bones. Dig into your spark issue and let us know if you run into trouble. There are lots of folks on here that are sharp as a tack and provide good information to get this thing resurrected!

Jon B

You might want to mention your approximate location.  There's a possibility that one or more of our forum members lives in your vicinity, and might be happy to lend you a hand or give you some advice, if they know you live in their area.  There' might even be a network of Hudson owners nearby, and it's always reassuring to know that expertise is nearby, when you're in a jam!

huddywayne

Thank you for that. I’m located in New Braunfels. 

I’m digging into the condenser, coil, distributor rotor, cap, and points tonight. Some I’ll be cleaning up, others I’ll be replacing. Will report back on any success I have!

huddywayne

I cleaned off the points with an ignition file and reset the gap with no spark. Then I replaced the condenser and coil, but again no spark. 

I have a new set of points that I’ll be installing next.

Jon B

1. Are you getting spark from the coil?

2. Check the wire that passes through the side of the distributor.  Make sure it's not shorting out there.  There should be a rubber bushing and also a cardboard insulator where the wire passes through.  At least there is, on my '37.

3. Could timing be an issue?  The fiber timing gears sometimes break.  Have you observed the rotor turning smoothly when you run the starter?

4. Try a different (new) condenser just for fun.  There have been reports that even the new ones sometimes fail.

5. Did this car ever run after you bought it?  Or was it a sudden starting problem?

huddywayne

Jon B said:

1. Are you getting spark from the coil?

2. Check the wire that passes through the side of the distributor.  Make sure it's not shorting out there.  There should be a rubber bushing and also a cardboard insulator where the wire passes through.  At least there is, on my '37.

3. Could timing be an issue?  The fiber timing gears sometimes break.  Have you observed the rotor turning smoothly when you run the starter?

4. Try a different (new) condenser just for fun.  There have been reports that even the new ones sometimes fail.

5. Did this car ever run after you bought it?  Or was it a sudden starting problem?

Jon,

1. Yes
2. All good, no shorting.
3. Rotor turns smoothly when turning over.
4. New condenser was installed.
5. Car was reported to have last ran in 2000 when it was parked in the barn. PO replaced the dist cap, plug wires and plugs, but root cause appears to be a bad condenser and gap not reset (points were burned).

I spent a few hours tonight running through the ignition again. After verifying I had a complete circuit to the points (6V shock isn't all that bad), I reset the point gaps to .17 and now I have spark at all cylinders (verified with visual spark plug wire tester). With approx. 2 fl oz of gas poured down the carb, the Power Dome will not fire up however. New battery probably needs a recharge with all the turning over I've been doing. My spark issue is now resolved, now it becomes a fuel/air problem. Will keep the group updated over the next week.

Jon B

Timing is okay?  Pointer indicates UDC when #1 piston is at top, at the end of the compression stroke?

Glad to hear you have good compression, because the valves in these old 3 x 5's tend to stick in the open position when the car sits for years on end.

By the way, you've checked the battery terminal height in relation to the hood position when closed, right?  Many people put too-high batteries in these cars, and when the hood closes it shorts on the terminals.  Hilarity ensues...

eddiehudson

Point gap on 6 cyl is 20 not 17.

huddywayne

All, I spent time this weekend testing compression on the cylinders. After all had satisfactory compression, I poured approx 1 cup of fresh gasoline down the carb. To summarize the Items replaced/repaired up until this point:

-new 6V Duralast battery
-new Echlin coil
-new Echlin condenser

-filed/reset point gaps (using existing points)
-new spark plugs/wires (installed by PO)

After pouring the larger amount of gas down the carb and giving it a few cranks, the old 212 came to life! The proof is in the soot/debris (video size is too large to attach):