47 Hudson, negative or positive ground?

Unknown

A few months back I bought a 47 Hudson Commodore 6. What a find, at a car lot 5 miles from my house. It is completely original, runs like a sewing machine, even the clock works. Well I'd like to find an original Hudson radio, but the other day I purchased a period accesory radio off eBay(nobody else will know). Anyway the radio states it is for use with a positive ground system or the vibrator must be reversed. My shop manual says the positive terminal is grounded, but my negative post is grounded. Is that wrong? I had a 47 International truck which was positive ground, another 49 converted to 12 volts(already when I bought it) which was negative ground, with the original starter. Seems like something somewhere, at the coil perhaps?, would have to be reversed, or any terminal could be grounded. I don't know if the radio works or not, but I don't want to damage my clock or anything else by fooling with the ground. What can/should I do? Also if anyone knows where I can get an original Hudson radio, also I need an antenna I'd be interested. I don't want to just drill a hole somewhere in my car and put an incorrect antenna. Sure need some help on this. This is my first Hudson. Thanks.

Aaron D. IL

Hudson's were 6V postive ground and when you install a new battery you have to reverse the polarity. The shop manual tells you how to do this. Also the original Hudson radio was a Zenith radio with a foot control that mounts on the floor for turning it on and rasiing and lowering the volume (if memory serves me correcctly). On my '47 Commodore 8 sedan the antenna is located on the driver's side, on the side of the car, just forward of the driver's door in that little section of metal between the front door and where the front fender starts. I need a replacement antenna too myself as the one I got is busted.... but at any rate I'm sure there's someone in the HET club who has a ready to plug in Hudson Zenith radio setup.

Congrats on your find!

Park_W

Corey, for an original radio you might try the club's "radio guy," Steve Engel, in Calif. He restores them and may have one in stock. Phone

(951) 332-1863. As Aaron says above, to change back to positive ground you just have to change the connections on the battery, then re-polarize the generator before starting the engine again. Does the generator and voltage regulator look original? If so, polarize by briefly "jumpering" the BAT and ARM (or GEN) terminals together on the VR. If you make the conversion and find the generator isn't charging properly, someone may have installed a VR that's made for negative ground. If so, you'll have to swap it out for one made for positive ground.

Unknown

Corey is your Hudson still 6 volt or has it been changed to 12 volt. Usually when changed to 12 they are put neg ground. If you are not in the HET club it will be a big help to you to join up. The 46 47 Hudson radios did not all have the foot control. That was a extra option.