Right hand drive 1937 Teraplane
Hi Het members, I have just bought a 1937 Terraplane, and its a right hand drive car, which is helpful as I live in the United Kingdom and we drive on the left, my question is can anyone tell me where this car would have been built and how many right hand drives were build and still exits?? I would be also interested to know how many 37's were built altogether?
And last but not least does anyone have a clock for sale
thanks
And last but not least does anyone have a clock for sale
thanks
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It may have been shipped directly to England, or assembled at the Hudson plant in England from parts shipped from the U.S.Do you have the serial number? I'm not sure this will be helpful but it might.There may be some RHD cars in Australia and in some of the Commonwealth countries. I have personally seen only one, which is in the U.S. It was exported when new to somewhere in South or Central America, and is a convertible.According to Alex Burr's Hudson Handbook, 83,436 passenger cars, and 8,058 "commercial cars" including pickup trucks, taxicabs and bare chassis, were shipped. However, this may be the annual figure for all of 1937 (which would not include those 1937 models built in the fall of 1936 but would have included 1938 models built in the fall of 1937).Congratulations on your purchase. Feel free to bring all your questions to the Open Forum, as many of our members own 1937 Terraplanes and Hudsons. Incidentally, you may want to join the Hudson-Essex-Terraplane Club, which serves as an excellent clearinghouse of technical and historic information on Hudson-built vehicles and provides a home for over 2,500 Hudson enthusiasts worldwide.It would be helpful if you could get in touch with the registry-keeper for 1937 Hudsons and Terraplanes, Jacob Kiel, and give him the basic information on your car so he can add it to the Club registry. You could include the serial and engine number, a full description of the body (coupe, 4-door, convertible brougham, etc.), former owners if known, and any other unique information on the car (like the fact that it is right hand drive). In return he may be able to help you with the names of any Terraplane owners in the U.K., and other information on your car IF any of its former owners have bothered to give this information to the Club. His e-mail address is XXXjacobakiel@yahoo.com (remove the XXX before sending).
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There's another current thread on this subject.
I'm UK based - please private message me if you want more info on British Hudsons.
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Hi there car pictured is of my 37 Terraplane also right hand drive has been in NewZealand since new. There are quite a few right hand drive Hudsons in NewZealand not that uncommon. They came here fully built up
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If you post the serial number I can give you a rough estimate of how many are known in the UK as of a couple of years ago according to the DVLA0
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Hi thanks for your reply and advice, here are some numbers, Chassis number is 723045 engine number 265125, date of original registration 7th May 1937. originally black, now cream,0
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The serial number identifies this as a "Super Terraplane", the higher-priced version of the Terraplane (the other is the model 71, or "Deluxe"). This model would have come from the factory with the 2-barrel carburetor, making 101 horsepower. It would also have an automatic choke. There should be two taillights. There should be "winged", chrome ornaments on the front fenders. I think that disappearing (roll-down) vent windows were standard in the "Super". The steering wheel would have been of the "banjo" type, not the basic black wheel.
Of course some of these items may have been removed from your car over the years, or replaced with items from a non-Hudson automobile.
Factory options in 1937 included such things as a radio, heater, hill-holder, Electric Hand (vacuum gear shifter), vacuum-operated clutch, cigar lighter, electric clock, exterior chromed horns and fender lights. There were a number of additional optional items as well.0 -
Jon - please don't forget that British assembled Hudsons differed quite a lot in terms of equipment, etc, from US cars.
They had to use a statutory percentage of British manufactured items to avoid heavy British import taxes.0 -
Were trafficators mounted to all British-built Hudsons, when new?0
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My 1939 112 had them Jon so most likely it was an optionJon B said:Were trafficators mounted to all British-built Hudsons, when new?
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My Terraplane had trafficators when it was repatriated to the US, after spending its life in Denmark. Also had a "commercial" hood ornament instead of the standard "flying carrot". I wonder if European and U.K. safety regulations required turn signals in those days, as well as "non-lethal" hood ornaments.
Also, my taillights sit lower on the fenders than normal. Again: safety rules, maybe?
Ahh, but I am hijacking this thread. Off I go, then!
"As you were...."0 -
British Hudsons had to have indicators by law. In all the period photos I've seen, they were of swinging arm trafficator type fitted to British cars.
As far as 1934/5 cars are concerned, all the survivors I've looked at have sidemounts (I think that was standard) and leather upholstery. The headlights are standard UK made Lucas lights, not the weird rimless type on my US spec car. Some of the electrical equipment was British as well, to varying degrees.
I have the British 1934 Hudson/Terraplane catalogue and the illustrations show some of these differences.
I'll see if I can find some pics to show the differences. If I can, I'll post them on a new discussion thread.
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What a nice car !
It looks like a 1938 rather than 1937.
What's the background to its history - has it always been in the UK or has it been imported more recently from South Africa, Australia or New Zealand ?
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Trevor J said:you can see the trafficator just behind the door
Sorry, I've boobed ! I mistakenly thought your posting came from the fellow in the UK who has just bought a Terraplane.
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Trevor, your Trafficator looks built-in. The one that was on my '37, was mounted on a "stalk", perpendicular to the cowl. I suppose that would have been the easiest way for someone to install one on a car that was never designed for them. The non-lethal "commercial" hood ornament, however, would have probably been installed in Detroit, as its installation is rather complicated. So Hudson must have planned ahead for all the safety requirements imposed upon imported cars by the various countries to which Hudson shipped cars.0
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The trafficator in my '39 was also built in as well Jon. It nestled quite nicely between the pillar between front and rear doors0
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On the earlier cars the trafficators were mounted externally on the windshield pillars.
I've been told by people who were around back in the day that a nickname for them was "cut throat razors " because of the way they looked and operated.0 -
Here in N.Z. where most of the roads were gravel the trafficators stopped working regularly due to being clogged up with dust. They would only go out very slowly, and then only go back in half way. My Dad used to call them "donkey's diddles". Oiling them only exacerbated the problem, as the dust then formed a sticky mess and totally clogged them up.0
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my car has non working traffickers on the centre pillar behind from door, do these numbers indicate wether the car is a New Zealand or British built car?? it has the electric hand gears as well as a traditional 3 speed gear stick.
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Yours will be British built I assume. The fact that they aren't working is no surprise
Having electric hand is a pleasant surprise however!0 -
And , if it's the car I think it is, I nearly bought it 40 years ago I was driving back with my 1939 Hudson on the back of a truck and called into a scrap yard to have a natter with a friend. One of his colleagues was there and asked me if I wanted to but his Hudson as well. Could have had it for (from memory) about £800.
I declined at the time as I'd got my '59 Thunderbird , '49 Hudson , ' 46 Chrysler and now my '39.
If I look back at the cars I passed on and the cars I passed on I'd be a rich person today or , more likely, a happier person because of the cars I had to play with!0 -
PaulButler said:
Back in the early 1970s, I had the chance to buy a right hand drive Auburn Speedster for 1700 Pounds but as a poor university student that was way beyond me. Admittedly, it was in pretty rough shape but even in that condition just think what it would be worth today...And , if it's the car I think it is, I nearly bought it 40 years ago I was driving back with my 1939 Hudson on the back of a truck and called into a scrap yard to have a natter with a friend. One of his colleagues was there and asked me if I wanted to but his Hudson as well. Could have had it for (from memory) about £800.
I declined at the time as I'd got my '59 Thunderbird , '49 Hudson , ' 46 Chrysler and now my '39.
If I look back at the cars I passed on and the cars I passed on I'd be a rich person today or , more likely, a happier person because of the cars I had to play with!0 -
In the mid 60's I went to look at a 30's SS Drophead Coupe an acquaintance was selling for £45.0.0. I took along a guy from the local gas station whom I thought knew more than me. As we left after seeing the car, the gas station guy asked me what I thought? I replied that I figured that the car was a fair buy but that I'd go back in a week's time & offer £40.00 That I figured would clinch the deal. When I went back to make my offer, I herd that the gas station guy had returned & bought the car for the asking £45.0.0Turn out that the car was the original Earls Court Car Show car & he sold it for a reputed £1200.0.0 It was a salutary lesson I've never forgotten.0
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Its interesting you say that Dave Ive always found that if the price is fair its best to make a decision there and then and at least hand over some dosh as a deposit to seal the deal I have found to my detriment in the past that owners talk to other people who put silly ideas in their head about values and the vehicle is gone
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so how many different countries produced right hand drive terra planes, I have heard UK, New Zealand, Canada and pos Oz, I have the buff log book going back to the 40's so I know the car has been here quite a while.
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India, Japan, South Africa, New Zealand, U.K., Ireland, Australia were all r.h.d. countries. Australia was probably the most innovative in that they made their own bodies from a very early era, and U.K. sold factory bodies plus a variety of bespoke bodies from various suppliers.0
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Most of the rhd Hudson and Terraplane variants are illustrated in the old book by Don Butler but he doesn't go into very much detail about them.
The ROC archives contain more about them including photographs of inside the British assembly plant.0 -
How about posting some pics of your car ?marekia said:so how many different countries produced right hand drive terra planes, I have heard UK, New Zealand, Canada and pos Oz, I have the buff log book going back to the 40's so I know the car has been here quite a while.0
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