More on possible 29 Hudson purchase

Unknown

Greetings. I've finally gotten to the used car dealer and gotten a

look at the car up close and inside. I posted some additional photos

toward the bottom of the page at

http://homepage.mac.com/lewphelps/PhotoAlbum.html



Here's what I learned from inspecting the car and talking to the car

lot owner.



1. He says he is the "past owner" of the car, and that he had it for

about 10 years but didn't drive it much. The odometer says 63,000

miles. He drove it about 20 miles from Santa Monica to his car lot,

about 18 months ago, and it worked fine then. But he can't get it

started now.



2. The battery was dead so he tried to start it with a 12V battery.

Not smart. Like I said in a prior post, this dealership has no

experience with old cars. Would this burn anything out, like the

coil, by doubling the voltage? Would it burn out the starter motor?

Are either fused? If damaged by the overvoltage, how hard are those

items to replace?



3. He says the only known mechanical problem is a leak in the water

pump (except for whatever is causing the non-start condition).



4. The roof is new material, a dark grey plastic, with a leather

grain. Not authentic, but it keeps the water out. No signs of leakage

inside the car, where the roof liner is old, probably original (tan,

"mouse fur"). A few small holes in the liner, possibly moths?

Cosmetic issue only.



5. The upholstery appears old, and in decent shape. Maybe original.



6. All the interior appears intact and original, except there is a

modern leather "cuff" around the base of the shift lever. Is this a

replacement for the bell-shaped thingy that's been discussed recently

on the list?



7. The exterior paint is mostly in decent shape, but chipped in a few

places (shiny metal under) and blistered along the bottom of the

driver door (rust under, presumably). There's a big rusted area along

the hood hinge line(right side) and there is rust along the turned

bottom edge of the hood on both sides. That looks like a real water

trap. Both running boards are bare metal, slightly rusted, but

structurally sound.



8. the wheels don't seem damaged. There has been mention of cracks. I

didn't see anything ominous. The spokes are all weathered, need

sanding and varnish, and the rims are superficially rusted.



9. The radiator cap is missing, and there is a small rectangular hole

at the bottom of the radiator, where something (the badge?) was

mounted.



10. The engine compartment looks clean. No big oil stains, no

indication of anything wrong. Wiring is mostly old and original, but

there are a couple of modern crimp-connector patches.



11. No signs of rust on either bumper, the headlights, or other

chromed items.



General impressions: the car needs quite a bit of cosmetic work, but

if you are to believe the lot owner not anything serious

mechanically.



I was really knocked over by the Art Deco instrument panel and

interior fittings. A nice surprise. Are these standard items?



I've told the dealer he has to come down a ways further to sell it;

I'm thinking of bargaining with a goal of about $5K purchase price.

Does anyone think that's nuts, given what I've been able to

communicate about the car?



Lastly, please excuse the uncertainty of a newcomer, but am I dealing

here with a steel-body SuperSix made in the Hudson plant, or a

Standard Sedan? I infer from what I've read that the Standard was a

lower-cost model, nearly identical to the Essex car and not quite as

big or fancy as the SuperSix. Do I have this straight?



I appreciate all the helpful feedback I've gotten so far, and look

forward to reading more.



Lew Phelps

Pasadena, CA

'29 wannabee owner