Hi All, New Owner of a '49 Super Six

Unknown
Unknown
edited July 2011 in HUDSON
Hi everyone, I just wanted to introduce myself and my "new" car. After 20+ years of failed attempts my grandfather (Papa) has finally agreed to sell me his 1949 Hudson Commodore with -50k original miles. He's owned it for the past 25 years. The car is driven daily (though only 1 mile at a time) during the summers and has zero rust, so to say I lucked out is an understatement!!

At the ripe old age of 36 I'm sure compared to most I'm considered just a youngster but my love for Hudson's and classic cars in general goes back as long as I do.

While this is MY first classic, my father has had a '32 Roadster, '42 Nash, '56 Belair amongst many others. Though I didn't live with him, I spent every summer with my dad and my love of cars, old and new is ingrained and immeasurable.

My daily driver is a 415 all-wheel-drive hp 2003 Subaru WRX with a hybrid 2.5l block and 2.0l heads running 24lbs of boost I built myself in my garage. I understand it may not be everyone here's cup of tea but I am very proud of my accomplishments with the car and look forward to working on a car where ECU's and electronics don't play nearly as large a role in functionality.

I look forward to creating new friendships as well as contributing to the forum in any way I can.

My ultimate goal with this car is simply to leave it in as best condition as possible so my grandchildren will be able to experience the amazement that is a Hudson and the associated community of enthusiasts that make the lifestyle worth living.

Thanks for having me!!

Shane Fitzgerald

Comments

  • Marconi
    Marconi Senior Contributor
    Welcome aboard, Shane. Congrats on getting a nice low mileage car! The best thing you can do now, if you haven't already, is to join the H.E.T. club. A great group of people and a great resource for parts, information etc. What part of the country are you in? We're having our national meet in Oklahoma City in a couple of weeks, lots mof good times. In our club, there is no formal judging, every car's a winner, it was set up that way 52 years ago when the club was founded and it works. If you'd like a sample of our bi-monthly publication, The White Triangle News, go on the website for the club and ask for one. Sam Jackson's the editor and he does a great job with it. If you've got questions about your car, ask away, most everyone on here is more than willing to help out with problems.
  • Kdancy
    Kdancy Senior Contributor
    Welcome aboard!
    Not every day do we see a young man getting into Hudsons, especially this day and age.
    Tell us more about your car- standard shift or automatic? Brakes in good shape? Might be time for a brake line and gas line re-do after all these years. A lot of expert advice on this board- good people.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Like Marconi said Welcome to the Hudson world Shane. You will find this forum to be the most active of all the Classiccar forums. Most everyone on this forum will give any info you ask for as well as advice. Remember there are no dumb questions.
    Also you will find a lot of streetrodders and modifiers here. We all try to get along, and respect the likes of others. So don't be a stranger, come back often. Don't be dismayed if you ask a question and nobody answers right away, Sometimes it just takes the right person to get online with the correct answer.
    Bob Hickson
    PS Sounds like you got a great car!
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Welcome. I too am a new owner and joined a few weeks ago. Allready the info I have obtained from this site is invaluable. I look foward to getting on every day just to read everyone's posts and learn all I can about these truly awesome automobiles. I was always wanting to buy a Merc until I found my car on craigslist and my wife I just fell in love with it. It was allways hard to agree on the right car for us until the commodore came along. Enjoy your time in the site. Frank
  • bent metal
    bent metal Senior Contributor
    Welcome, please take pictures of whatever you do to the car and share with us.

    I like to see the pics.:)
  • hudsonguy
    hudsonguy Senior Contributor
    Shane,

    All good advice above. You won't find a better group of people....Hudson folk, that is. The money you spend to join the HET club is still the best value on the planet, in my opinion.

    I too am the proud caretaker of my grandfather's '49 Hudson, which came to me about 8 years ago. Whereas yours is mostly a clean, low mileage original, mine had been cosmetically restored when I got it, but virtually untouched mechanically. I was fortunate to be able to attend the 2003 HET Nationals, where I spent day after day learning about the cars, buying parts needed and meeting the owners. What most impressed me were that these stepdowns are fantastic road cars, even today. Although a few updates and modifications may be required to make it bullet-proof reliable, depending on how much or far you want to drive it, you can't find a better old car to be able to drive and enjoy. Welcome to the group!

    Yes, please post some pics!
  • Lee ODell
    Lee ODell Senior Contributor
    Welcome to the Forum Shane. You will get alot of help from the forum group. It is great news to hear about getting your grandfathers car. I encourage you to join the HET Club and a local Hudson club chapter. You will find some wonderful people and make new friendships. Not to mention the support if a problem happens and sources for needed parts.

    It is alway good to see young men and women entering the HET world. I personally feel a little bit younger being around them. I know of 6 in their 20's and 30's that have joined the club in the last couple of months. And it is good to have their children participate in the club activites.

    Enjoy your new ride.
    Lee O'DEll
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Thank you everyone for the warm welcome!

    I just got the registration yesterday and I'm having the car transported from NY to FL in August so once it gets here there'll be pictures galore! :-) I've got some my mom took with her cell phone that are less than desirable but will be sure to upload them once I get back from vacation.

    The anticipation of getting my hands dirty under the hood is killing me but the wait should be well worth it. I'm glad to have found such a friendly supportive group and look forward to making friends with all of you!

    Have a great July 4th weekend!
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited July 2011
    Not the best quality as my mother is a bit photographically deficient...lol. But nonetheless, here she is:

    5911976499_b365098e42_b.jpg

    5911976207_2111f6ba2d.jpg

    5912535468_75d709a934.jpg

    I'll be taking many more pics with my pro camera once my Uncle trailers it down from New York so there are better images on their way. Looks like he should be coming down end of August, beginning of September...can't wait for it to get here!!

    Shane
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited July 2011
    ok, that's a little better with the image sizes :-)

    Also, thanks to everyone for the HET recommendation. I signed up and paid my membership fee and just received my Member number yesterday. WooHoo!!

    Are any of the back issues of WTN available in PDF or some other online format I could begin perusing while I wait for my new member packet to arrive?

    Thanks again!
  • hudsonguy
    hudsonguy Senior Contributor
    That looks like a nice solid Hudson, congratulations. The HET Club Store does sell back issues of the WTN. I'm not sure about the PDF format or not.
  • faustmb
    faustmb Senior Contributor
    Shane,

    Nice looking car. I also have my father/grandfathers 50 model. I too, had mine trailered from NY to FL when I was living there. It took a few weekends to get the brakes, tires, and general mechanics in order but it has been awesome to drive it around since. I'm 35 now, and this was not my first old car, but it's a keeper for sure. I hope my kids take intertest to take care of it when I'm done :)

    Good luck, looking forward to mnore details.

    Matt
  • 50C8DAN
    50C8DAN Senior Contributor
    Welcome to the wacky (no wonderful) world of Hudson and Hudson nuts. Glad to see another Subaru performance person along for the ride. I have am driving a 2008 STI and before that a 2006, then a ’94 SVX, and before that a ’84 BRAT Turbo (one of only 1,500 made!). It is great to play with both the old and new!

    Dan
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited July 2011
    Thanks, I'll check the HET store to see if I can get a few back issues shipped out. I'm anxious :)

    Matt,

    what part of Tennessee are you in now? My best friend lives in Nashville so I'm up that way once/twice a year to do a lot of hiking and brewery tours (sophisticated way to say pub crawling...lol ;-)). Mad River Brewing Co. is one of my favorites up there.

    I feel as though I've got a decent start with my kids so far, though time will tell. My 12 year old attends all the car shows with me...and actually asks to go, and my 6 yr old's favorite TV show is Overhauling, so I figure that's a start anyway.

    Dan,

    Nice list! I've always loved the SVX styling and its uniqueness. My Aunt had a Brat back in the 80's too (though not a turbo) and one of my favorite things was riding in the back in those hard plastic school chairs with no legs, bolted to the bed, and the emergency brake "oh #$%@" handles...haha. Awesome vehicles.

    Have you done anything to your STI? If I had half the money I've spent on my car back I could buy like 5 fully restored Hudsons...lol. Unfortunately all out of necessity. My first engine I spun a bearing due to a bad tune which in turn threw a rod, etc... I bought a used 2.0 longblock and me and two friends swapped it in my driveway in 9 hours! Definitely a record for me :-).

    That engine lasted only a year before I spun another bearing (well known issue with the 2.0L blocks), this time from oil starvation from a leak I had that was puddling up on the undercarriage and therefore I had no indication it was there since it wasn't spilling onto the driveway. After that I just said screw it and bought a brand new 2.5L '09 STI block and mated it with my 2.0L heads that I had ported, so now I have the hybrid engine.

    Sadly for me the story isn't over yet...haha. The year after that (June of 2010) I was getting on the interstate on my way to Captiva for vacation going 45, and my third gear completely shredded. I have my old gears and there is literally not one tooth left on it...lol. Looking back now it's pretty funny...then, not so much! So I got a new gearset (1-5) for 2008 Legacy GT's and had them cryoed. Currently running a PE1818 turbo and am enthralled with where the car's at now since I never envisioned having 415 to the wheels, but I'm glad I do! ;)

    With the Hudson, I'll just be happy to be able to fit my hand into the engine bay. :-)
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