Hollywood Hardtop rarity

Jim Kilday
Jim Kilday Expert Adviser
edited November -1 in HUDSON
What years were the Hollywood body style offered and how rare, if they are, in fact, rare, are these cars?



Was the Hollywood body style the only hardtop convertible style offered or was there another hardtop convertible model?



Would the Hollywood body style be more or less desireable than a coupe?



Thanks.



Jim Kilday

Comments

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    The stepdown Hollywoods were offered 1951 - 1954. That was the only hardtop convertible style. There were fewer made than the club coupes.

    Desirability is ofcourse in the eye of the beholder and values fairly similar, but from what I have seen, the club coupes definately get the nod for higher demand and value due to their racing provenance.
  • Aaron D. IL
    Aaron D. IL Senior Contributor
    Hollywoods were offered '51-'57 Hard to say exactly how rare they are but not as rare as convertibles. It was Hudson's only hardtop convertible style there never was a removable hardtop or anything like that.

    Whether they are more or less desireable than coupes is a matter for debate. It depends on one's taste but having said that among the hudnuts I've known many would choose a Hollywood over a Coupe.

    I've heard of Hollywoods being cannibalized for parts either to restore a convertible or to make one from a Hollywood.
  • PAULARGETYPE
    PAULARGETYPE Senior Contributor
    Jim first off the Hollywood was not a convertible is was a hardtop first out in 1951 and all the way to the end with 1957 in my mind yes they are more desireable than a coupe.I DON'T KNOW THE #S FOR 51,2,3,4 BUT THE #S FOR



    55

    WASP 1,640

    HORNET 6 1,554

    HORNET V8 1770



    56

    WASP 0

    HORNET SPECIAL 229

    HORNET 6 358

    HORNET V8 1053



    57

    HORNET V8 SUPER 266

    HORNET CUSTOM 483
  • Aaron D. IL
    Aaron D. IL Senior Contributor
    My educated guess of sirviving Hollywoods in the HET Club based on the old 2005-2007 Roster for 1951-1954 is about 200 cars. Not plentiful but not super rare either. There was a white '51 Hornet Hollywood I saw for sale on the web recently.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    My parents own a '52 wasp hollywood, they have had it since the mid eighties...i have lots of fond memories riding in that car. even tho it wasn't weather tight and you could hear the wind noise with the windows up it was coool...i loved getting picked up from high school in it. I loved the way the rear windows roll backward and not straight down into the car and the great big pocket on the backs of eack front seat..my side still hold some of my stuff in it. some day i hope to inherit the car,but not for a good long while.

    Lisa G
  • Jim Kilday
    Jim Kilday Expert Adviser
    Well, I guess it is a matter of semantics. When I was a boy, we called any car that was open front to back when the windows were rolled down a hardtop convertible. I guess it was a pillerless hardtop.



    My ride in high school was a 1953 Mercury Monterey Hardtop Convertible.



    jim kilday
  • RL Chilton
    RL Chilton Administrator, Member
    Jim-



    Other manufacturers did indeed use the term "hardtop convertible", although all the literature I've seen, Hudson did not. They did, however use the term "convertible brougham" off and on, probably due to what the marketing dept. determined was going to sell more efficiently.



    Rarity goes (meaning orig. prod. and current selection): Convertible, HLWYD, Club Coupe, Sedan (I've intentionally left out the 2-dr Sedan models).



    Value (or "worth", if we must), runs Convertible, Coupe, Hlwyd, Sedan. Oddly, as Niels pointed out, this has only been in the last 18 months or so, with the coupe really jumping in prices and surpassing the HLWYD. Probably due to the exposure of the movie, "Cars" and more of the general public knowledge of Hudson's racing heritage combined. Previously, the HLWYD ranked above the coupe in desirability and price (even though it remains more scarce than coupes). All else being equal, without mass exposure, the HLWYD eventually will once again surpass the coupe, simply due to the # of examples out there.



    In general, all prices have risen more (%-wise) in the last 3 or 4 years than they did the 20 years prior. It's down slightly right now due to the economy, but it will come back around, I guarantee it, it always does.
  • Aaron D. IL
    Aaron D. IL Senior Contributor
    RL Chilton wrote:
    Jim-



    Other manufacturers did indeed use the term "hardtop convertible", although all the literature I've seen, Hudson did not. They did, however use the term "convertible brougham" off and on, probably due to what the marketing dept. determined was going to sell more efficiently.



    Rarity goes (meaning orig. prod. and current selection): Convertible, HLWYD, Club Coupe, Sedan (I've intentionally left out the 2-dr Sedan models).



    Value (or "worth", if we must), runs Convertible, Coupe, Hlwyd, Sedan. Oddly, as Niels pointed out, this has only been in the last 18 months or so, with the coupe really jumping in prices and surpassing the HLWYD. Probably due to the exposure of the movie, "Cars" and more of the general public knowledge of Hudson's racing heritage combined. Previously, the HLWYD ranked above the coupe in desirability and price (even though it remains more scarce than coupes). All else being equal, without mass exposure, the HLWYD eventually will once again surpass the coupe, simply due to the # of examples out there.



    In general, all prices have risen more (%-wise) in the last 3 or 4 years than they did the 20 years prior. It's down slightly right now due to the economy, but it will come back around, I guarantee it, it always does.



    Yep Hudson's have historically not kept up value or price with the big 3 classics but for some models that is definitely changing. A fact which many veteran Hudnuts are not exactly happy about.... unless they happen to be selling one. There's a good percentage of the club that remembers when Hudson's couldn't barely be given away.
  • oldhudsons
    oldhudsons Senior Contributor
    The Hollywoods are not only rarer than a coupe they were FAR more expensive than a coupe originally.

    I've always liked them as they were built on the conv. frame so a heavier car than a coupe thus a better ride & "road feel" for me. They would not have the structural integrity of a coupe as windows have less channeling.

    With the windows down I feel they're a better looking car than the coupe but "different strokes for different folks".
  • RL Chilton
    RL Chilton Administrator, Member
    OldHudsons-



    I don't disagree with you at all. As a matter of fact, after the 'vert is done, I wouldn't mind adding a HLWYD as my next project.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories

In this Discussion