28 Roadster - Biddle and Smart?

Unknown

Chris commenting on the '28 Roadster:



<< I have not researched the Roadster yet and it did not come up in my

research of Murphy and Biddle. I believe it to have been built by Hudson but

this is a guess. All the other SWB cars for 28 were built by Hudson, and no

body tags showing otherwise have been forthcoming. Don Butler speeks of the

Roadster being built by B&S but I have found his book to be not completly

accurate. >>



This has certainly been the subject of a lot of speculation. Butler says

the body was designed by LeBarron but built by Biddle & Smart. He further

claims that the body is AL panels over a wooden frame. I can say for sure

that the body is steel. Jeff Gould and I have compared the rear sections of

my Roadster with those on his Coupe and found them to be identical.

The firewall and instrument panel are standard Hudson, but the cowl,

doors, windscreen, etc., are all unique to the Roadster, and all are of steel

over wood construction. A few talking points:



1. The '28 Roadster body is steel. Did B & S make ANY steel bodies?



2. This was probably a very low production car. Hudson was geared for

mass production. Would they have bothered with a car that would have been

used as a lure to get business into the showroom, but would still have sold

in very limited numbers? My guess is that Hudson shipped the chassis with

fenders and rear body section to some low production body specialist who

completed the car, a very common industry practice in the twenties.



3. We're all friends here so I'll say it straight out -- Hudson conceived

and built some STODGY body styles. It is almost inconceivable that they

designed the rakish '28 Roadster. Butler claims LeBarron -- does anybody know

the truth of it?



Somebody designed the '28 Roadster and somebody built it. It seems to me

that it was almost certainly not Hudson and possibly not Biddle and Smart.



Paul O'Neil, Hudson29@aol.com

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