1938 Hudson 112

jbakers1

So i just acquired a 1938 Hudson 112, Has no motor or trans, Missing drivers window and the head lamp mounts which appear to be part of a trim piece for the head lamps. how difficult would it be to find those trim pieces? I'm thinking about turning it into a rat rod project but it is in decent shape. Also missing the front door handles. And help would be appreciated 

jbakers1

jbakers1

Pics of Some chrome pieces that do not go with the car, not sure what they are off of. Maybe some else knows.

BigSky

A friend has a 38 & from what he tells me finding parts is harder than finding Hen’s Teeth!

jbakers1

If i can not find the 2 parts missing then it will be ratted out.

barrysweet52

Motor and trans as well as the other parts you will find eventually. Consider starting the restoration and one by one you will find them. I assume you have an advert in the WTN and have also contacted the club Technical adviser.

jbakers1

barrysweet52 said:

Motor and trans as well as the other parts you will find eventually. Consider starting the restoration and one by one you will find them. I assume you have an advert in the WTN and have also contacted the club Technical adviser.

jbakers1

Barry, to me it is not worth restoring, I see a lot of the Hudsons on this site and they have chrome and an eye appeal this 112 has none of that. It is cool  but not worth spending the thousands of dollars that it takes to restore one.

Jon B

Well, here is what you would have if you restored it...



 Frankly, it would take a lot to restore it, given the present condition, and (as has been pointed out) the trim and sheet metal are not easy to find.  (1938 was a recession year, and ANY 1938 car will be harder to find parts for than a '37 or '39.)  Also, it was a base model so not as valuable as a "senior" 1938 Hudson.  A rather clean design, I think,  and would be a fun project but it would never return the amount of money you put into it, given its present condition.  (If you like this body design, you can find some much more solid, running and complete examples at reasonable prices, and then you won't have to scrounge parts or have extensive body work.)  If you DO decide to go ahead with it, I would recommend joining the Hudson club https://hetclub.org/

StepUp

As another point of reference you might take a look at the Classified For Sale ad I placed on this site yesterday for a 39' and 40' Hudson. From what I can tell the body lines seem very similar to the 38' above. His asking price is $3K and the cars are 99% complete. 

7XPacemaker

I think that this one should be deferred to “Rat Rod”. Judging by those pillars, it looks like a lot of work!