Stepdown Spotter's Guide

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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    I have put a pdf version here. Have a look.



    http://www.owwzone.net/mobisodes/Hudson-Postwar-Identification-Guide.pdf
  • RL Chilton
    RL Chilton Administrator, Member
    That's great! Thank you, Sean!!
  • hudsontech
    hudsontech Senior Contributor
    Great job Sean. I love to see info from different publications put together all in one place.



    Next question - request permission to put this in the on-line library???



    Hudsonly,

    Alex Burr

    Memphis, TN
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Sure you can.
  • cpr3333
    cpr3333 Expert Adviser
    Thanks. This is awesome, but I spotted a discrepancy:



    On page 8, it shows the 1952 Pacemaker as being the same as the 1953 Wasp (no inverted V) and the 1952 Wasp, Hornet and Commodore as having the inverted V. On page 14, it seems to imply the same thing.



    On page 28, it shows the Hornet without the inverted V and the Commodore and the Pacemaker with it.



    I thought that all 1952’s had the inverted V but this seems to imply that some didn’t (but not consistently). :confused:



    Can anyone clarify?
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Yup on page 28 they mixed up the Pacemaker and Hornet pics.



    Actually the car they have marked as a Hornet is a Super Wasp and the Hornet would have the same grill as the Commodore.
  • cpr3333
    cpr3333 Expert Adviser
    51hornetA wrote:
    Yup on page 28 they mixed up the Pacemaker and Hornet pics.



    Actually the car they have marked as a Hornet is a Super Wasp and the Hornet would have the same grill as the Commodore.



    I was with you until you said the car they have marked as a Hornet is a Super Wasp. According to page 4 there was no Super Wasp in 1952.



    My best guess is that the picture labeled Hornet should be Pacemaker and the picture labeled Pacemaker should be Wasp. Is that right? Could the picture labeled Commodore be Commodore/Hornet?



    I never knew that 1952 Pacemakers were missing the inverted V. Odd that the bottom of the line look was copied for the 1953's.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Yeah I meant Wasp.



    Also remember in the wild you will see all combinations of grills and trim. I have see trim on cars that they did not come from the factory with it. Pacemakers with Hornet grill trim. Pacemakers with Hornet side spears.



    Always start identifying a car by checking the Serial number plate. Then look to the body and trim to make sure you are looking at the right model. Your serial plate might say one thing and the trim another. I know of a fellow who bought what he thought was a Hornet without looking at plate. He drove it 500 miles home and couple of days later checked the plate to find out he had bought a Pacemaker with Hornet trim.



    As to the inverted V you could buy this kit from Hudson and a lot of people did and added it to their Pacemakers. Heck you could buy complete trim kits from Hudson, further muddying identification.



    Generally speaking though you should be able to figure out what kind of Hudson you are looking at.
  • Browniepetersen
    Browniepetersen Senior Contributor
    Great work on this one...But I did end up with a few questions. I am looking at the 52 grill examples. Where it shows the grill only it shows the Hornet and Commodore with the dog collar chrome on the front bumper. Where it shows the complete car at the end of the guide it shows only the Commodore with the dog collar. It also shows the 51 with the dog collar. So, what cars actually had the dog collar.



    Do you have any that show the brightwork and tail lights of the various years and also the dash components from the various years. I think these items would help?
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    51 Had the dog collar I know my 51 does. I have gone in and corrected the image showing the 52 models on page 28. The OK Used Guide to cars obviously got that one wrong.



    Yeah I can start adding dashes and tail lights and side trim, but the doc might ballon to 100 or more pages. I do have the owners manuals and brochures for every Hudson from 30-54 so I can dig this info out and add it to a revised doc down the road.



    I am also working on the pre-war Hudsons.
  • 48super6
    48super6 Senior Contributor
    Help!

    When I click on the link, i get a download of a .pdf that is 18.9 MB. When I click to open it, all I see is a single blank page!

    I have an older imac and the .pdf opens with Preview, as it normally does. I usually have no problems with any links or downloads from the forum.

    Any suggestions to what I am doing wrong? Are there settings I need to change or is there another link or some other way to see it?

    Thanks!
  • cpr3333
    cpr3333 Expert Adviser
    51hornetA wrote:
    Yeah I meant Wasp.



    Thanks. I was a bit confused there.



    51hornetA wrote:
    Also remember in the wild you will see all combinations of grills and trim. I have see trim on cars that they did not come from the factory with it. Pacemakers with Hornet grill trim. Pacemakers with Hornet side spears.



    Yeah, and even crazier things when you get into the custom world - Cadillac taillights, Pontiac grilles, the sky is the limit.



    51hornetA wrote:
    Always start identifying a car by checking the Serial number plate. Then look to the body and trim to make sure you are looking at the right model. Your serial plate might say one thing and the trim another. I know of a fellow who bought what he thought was a Hornet without looking at plate. He drove it 500 miles home and couple of days later checked the plate to find out he had bought a Pacemaker with Hornet trim.



    Agreed. Purchasing a car always requires some in depth research. Sometimes the previous owner is devious and sometimes just ignorant so you have to check out the facts for yourself. As to the Hornet vs. Pacemaker, wouldn't you notice the extra length on regardless of trim?



    51hornetA wrote:
    As to the inverted V you could buy this kit from Hudson and a lot of people did and added it to their Pacemakers. Heck you could buy complete trim kits from Hudson, further muddying identification.



    Exactly. Like your scans show, everything was available. I just wish the prices stated were still valid. I can't imagine how much I'd be able to save if I could get a whole '50 Pacemaker bumper and grille assembly for $135.35. I'd settle for just the bumper at $43.35! :D



    51hornetA wrote:
    Generally speaking though you should be able to figure out what kind of Hudson you are looking at.



    That's what I'm looking for - a 90% or so probability that I can identify a car at a show or going down the road without needing to examine the VIN.



    Thanks again for all of the time you put into this.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    The guy with the Pacemaker dressed up as a Hornet contacted me and asked me if there was a short wheel base Hornet. I said no. He sent me a pic and I saw right away the mixture of trim. He had not found the vehicle tag on the passenger side yet. When I asked him to look and when he sent me the number I knew what was wrong. It was his first Hudson so he did not know what to look for. Wheel base meant nothing to him. When he got home he started the research. In hind sight he should have done the research first. The old adage of fill your bookshelf before you fill your garage holds true.



    It was still a fine car but he was pissed and got rid of it. Wanted a true Hornet.
  • 48super6
    48super6 Senior Contributor
    I' d love to see the spotter's guide but I still get a blank page when I try to open the document via the link (see earlier post).

    Any suggestions? Can someone please send it to me through email?

    Thanks!
  • onerare39
    onerare39 Expert Adviser, Member
    48super6 wrote:
    I' d love to see the spotter's guide but I still get a blank page when I try to open the document via the link (see earlier post).

    Any suggestions? Can someone please send it to me through email?

    Thanks!



    Be patient... it may take 3-5 min for the "Spotters Guide" PDF to load.

    Good things are worth waiting for!
  • hudsontech
    hudsontech Senior Contributor
    51hornetA wrote:



    Yeah I can start adding dashes and tail lights and side trim, but the doc might ballon to 100 or more pages. I do have the owners manuals and brochures for every Hudson from 30-54 so I can dig this info out and add it to a revised doc down the road.



    I am also working on the pre-war Hudsons.



    Oh, yeah - they can get "fat" in a hurry. I have a copy of the General Information Handbook from 1984. It ran to around 170, 175 pages. Latest revision - June 2010 - runs 302 pages.

    Of course if computers hadn't come along the book probably wouldn't be a whole lot bigger!!! The old adage is computers save work - that's BS. It just makes it easier to make more work!!!! :D



    Hudsonly,

    Alex Burr

    Memphis, TN
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    51hornetA wrote:
    I have put a pdf version here. Have a look.

    http://www.owwzone.net/mobisodes/Hudson-Postwar-Identification-Guide.pdf


    Sean... Tip of the hat and Thank you for the guide! :):):)
  • Lee ODell
    Lee ODell Senior Contributor
    Thanks Sean for a great job. I made a copy to add it into my Hudson library. Thanks again. Lee
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Just to confuse matters worse, the 1952 Commodore 6 had the thin side trim and rear tail lamps like the Wasp but had the front parking lamps like the Hornet. The 1952 Commodore 8 had the wide side trim and tail lamps like the Hornet. My first Hudson was a 1952 C6 sedan back in 1973. Wish I still had it.
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