The most original 1954 Hornet

Unknown
Unknown
edited November -1 in HUDSON
In the March 2010 issue of Hemmings Classic Car there's 20+ pages of unrestored originals from the author who wrote "They're only original once". There's 2 pages on the most original 54 Hudson Hornet in existence (That's what is says?). It a Medium green Convertible with "original" white top, factory paint, red leather and 15K miles. Anyone know the car?? It looks extremely nice for not having any cosmetic restoration.

Comments

  • nick s
    nick s Senior Contributor
    it has had some paintwork touched up but is nearly origonal. owned by peter brown an AACA director and HET member. spent most of the last 50 years walled in a basement. It's been on display at Hershey in recent years and was at Pontiac. The near zero mile 54 sedan Herbert Bell sold a few years ago would edge it out for most origonal but i doubt many if any others.
  • harry54
    harry54 Senior Contributor
    I've seen the car a few times.... It's a fantastic original car... Came from Long Island.... Was in someone's basement for 30+ years... It was also at the national in Pontiac.... Now residing in Rye New York....
  • RL Chilton
    RL Chilton Administrator, Member
    Yep, saw it at the National, think I got a pic, I'll look. I thought it was funny, every time a cloud formed in the sky, that car made it's trip back to the trailer.

    Story I got from the owner was that the original owner's wife scratched the quarter on one side when backing out of the garage. It made the owner so mad, he walled it up inside the back of the garage and it stayed there until '08, or so. Nick's right: new owner had quarter panel repaired and re-painted. Painter did a nice job, you can't tell that there was ever a repair job on the quarter. After the original owner's passing, his children ended up selling it off. Nice car, I'll look for that picture.

    thumb_f6632d2e86e476cb8d5a5112.jpg
  • RL Chilton
    RL Chilton Administrator, Member
    Looks like it's been a while since I posted a pic . . . LOL!
  • RL Chilton
    RL Chilton Administrator, Member
    That's better!

    index.php?option=com_community&view=photos&task=showimage&tmpl=component&imgid=2101&maxW=726&maxH=435
  • onerare39
    onerare39 Expert Adviser, Member
    I'm jealous :(
  • RL Chilton
    RL Chilton Administrator, Member
    onerare39 wrote:
    I'm jealous :(

    Ha! YOU have got nothing to be jealous about!
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    onerare39: No intent to make an argument, but having owned both convertibles and sedans, I like your car better!:):):)
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    We spent 3 days at Pontiac and I don't recall the car. I'll have to check the 1000+ pictures we took. Sounds like a great car, Maybe it's the color that doesn't have the impact on my memory (or my age!)
  • RL Chilton
    RL Chilton Administrator, Member
    hudsondad wrote:
    We spent 3 days at Pontiac and I don't recall the car. I'll have to check the 1000+ pictures we took. Sounds like a great car, Maybe it's the color that doesn't have the impact on my memory (or my age!)


    Hudsondad-

    It was in the stepdown section, on the first row on your left coming from the hotel front door, about half-way down. But, as I said before, it seemed about half of the time, it wasn't there if there was a cloud in the sky.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    That very car (I think) is in the March 2010 Hemmings Classic Car, page 28
  • onerare39
    onerare39 Expert Adviser, Member
    Dave,

    your post and the one that started this thread are nearly identical! LOL



    John
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    onerare39 wrote:
    Dave,

    your post and the one that started this thread are nearly identical! LOL



    John



    OMG how did I miss that? I must have started reading at page 2 or something.
  • 50C8DAN
    50C8DAN Senior Contributor
    I just got my March Hemmings Classic Car mag. w/ the '54 Hudson in it. It reminds me of a trip I made with several Hudsonites back in the early 90s to downtown Baltimore. Bob Russel from NJ called me and said there were some Hudson's in storage in an old dealership building in Baltimore. We headed down there on a Sunday afternoon. Met an old fellow, and his "broker" at this building. It had been one of those dealerships where the cars were taken up and down an elevator due to not much parking space. The place was dark and smelled of cat urine. For good reason, there were many many many cats in the building and all of them were obviously related since all of them were gray and white, the guy kept them to keep rats out, and fed them in a horse trough. But I digress. The place had been used as a body shop by the older guy, who according to him had been a Hudson racer in his early days and also worked for a local Hudson dealership. There were 3 or 4 Hudsons in the building, 2 in painting booths where they had been for many years (or so it appeared). He took us up to the 2nd or 3rd floor, can't remember which and there sat a '54 Hornet Hollywood with a crunched driver's front fender and frame. If I remember right it had less than 100 miles on the clock. He said it had been a dealer demo and one of the salesmen had it out and someone ran a light and smashed into him. They sold it to the guy for salvage money since the frame was damaged. It was like a time capsule except for the fender damage. However, cats had peed all over the inside and it stunk to high heaven. I can't remember what he was asking but it was clear it would need a complete interior due to the cat damage, not to mention straightening the frame. He had a bunch of speed parts etc., all too much for my taste. I heard he sold the Hollywood to someone in the midwest. It looked just like the one in the '54 advertisement, tan with red interior, I believe the couple are camping????



    Some of you long time MD folks probably know this old guy. I would assume he is passed by now. His broker friend I did not trust at all.
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