Tracking Down an Old Hudson

KD4315 · March 2012

Hello All,
I'm new here and this is my first post. Has anyone here had any success in tracking down an old Hudson? My father had a 52 Hudson when I was a kid and there are a lot of great family memories in that car. Being a kid he didn't tell me why he sold it but I'm sure it was due to money issues. Since he passed away a few years ago I've been determined to find it. He owned it in the 80s and sold it in the early 90s. Can anyone give me some ideas on where to start?

[Deleted User] · March 2012

I would think if it was running that recently it is probably still around. The club does try to maintain registers of the surviving cars. If the owner has happened to reported it to the club.
Roger

hudsontech · March 2012

You might try your state registry - they might have records back to 1980. Especially if the car was sold at a later date. Drawback is you will need a serial number and the fortitude to overcome bureaucratic resistance to a request for a car with a serial/vin number of less than 16 characters.

Hudsonly,
Alex Burr
Memphis, TN

KD4315 · March 2012

hudsontech wrote:

You might try your state registry - they might have records back to 1980. Especially if the car was sold at a later date. Drawback is you will need a serial number and the fortitude to overcome bureaucratic resistance to a request for a car with a serial/vin number of less than 16 characters.

Hudsonly,
Alex Burr
Memphis, TN

That's my next step. I have an apponitment with the local DMV to try and get some info. The problem is I can't find anything that has the vin. I'm not sure if the DMV will release his vehicle records to me either so I can get the vin.

ski4life65 · March 2012

Do you have a description of the car....2 or 4 door, color, model, where it might have been sold, etc...

Jon B · March 2012

The serial number would be the only way to be sure whether it's your dad's car or not. Good luck with the DMV.

Another thought: was he ever a member of the Hudson-Essex-Terraplane Club? If so, the car may be listed under his name, in some old records, and the serial number would also be listed (if he bothered to list it on his membership application blank). I happen to have a list of about 5,000 Hudsons that were in the Club in the 1980s or 90s ---- what was his name? I could look it up.

Another idea: publish a photo of the car, from your old family photo album, here on the Forum. It might job someone's memory, especially if you say where your dad lived at the time he owned it. Generally, Hudson folks know about all the Hudsons in their area and someone living in that area might remember it.

Any quirks about the car that you can recall? Did it have a non-standard engine? Did you carve your name in the dashboard or stuff your pet rock in the front seat cushion? Did your dad have it painted a non-standard color? Was anything missing on it?

KD4315 · March 2012

Thanks for all the replies and help. This means a great deal to my family and I and I sincerely appreciate it. Here's a pic of the Hudson from 1980. It was repainted in mid 80's in a 3 tone where the sides/hood was white but the roof stayed that same maroon. His name was Dwight Dailey and went by Tubby. He was born and raised in San Francisco. I'm pretty sure it was a CA car it's whole life and . He sold it to someone locally. Where it went from there is anyone's guess. I'll get some more pics after the paint job and post them.

Jon B · March 2012

The list of 5,000 Hudsons (which were at one time in the Club) does not contain your dad's name in the 1952 section, so that's a dead end.

One other thing you can do is to contact the person who maintains the registry of all 1952's. The hope is, that this registry has been kept since the 1980's or early 90's, because then -- if your father was an H-E-T member and bothered to contact the registry keeper -- your family Hudson would at least be on the list. If so, you can determine the serial number, at least. At best, the registry keeper would show all the owners of the car since your dad. But this depends upon each succeeding owner taking the time to contact the registry keeper and giving his name and address, as the car's newest owner. The registry guy is Robert Iozia, and his e-mail address is XXXAhudsonman@aol.com -- delete the XXX before sending.

Possibly someone from California will see and recognize your car from the picture you've just posted.

KD4315 · March 2012

Ken U-Tx wrote:

Kevin, your mother's maiden name was Souza??? Maybe she is a relative of the Souza family in Illinois that are long time members of the Hudson Club?

My mother's maiden name is Flynn but my Grandmother (my dad's mom) did marry a Souza. Her name is Betty. Not sure if they're the same or if there's any connection to the Hudson there. Also, you're right it is a 51. For some reason I always think it's a 52.

akcoop · March 2012

I just checked the Club member database. I found your dad, but it doesn't look like he submitted any car records.

VicTor Z · March 2012

Hello KD, the Picture of your family Hudson looks like a CIC or SSC members Hudson, lives in Long Beach Ca. Can't remember his name, will check the members list when I get home. VicTor Z

KD4315 · March 2012

Thank you very much Victor. I would greatly appreciate that.

Jon B · March 2012

I see that your family car was a '51, not a '52. In that case, the registry keeper is Charlie Woodruff at XXXcbwoodruff@hotmail.com (remove the XXX before sending). His registry has over 600 cars on it, possibly the best-kept one of all. You might shoot him a line.

The difference between the individual registries and the Club database, as I understand it, is that the registry keepers often keep the names of past owners on file (which would be of value, in your case). I believe (though I could be wrong) that the Club's database only "knows" who the current owner of a particular car is. So, it might be worth a shot contacting Charlie. However, if the registry began after your dad sold his car, it wouldn't help at all!

VicTor Z · March 2012

Hi KD, I talked to Ken from Long Beach Ca. He bought his '51 Hudson in +/- '69-70, in Lawndale Ca. L.A. County at a car lot. Email me for his phone # HETthez@verizon.net "remove the HET" He said that he would like to talk to you.
KD just reread your post, that your Dad sold it in the 80's.
Sorry

KD4315 · March 2012

Thanks for checking Victor.

SuperDave · March 2012

I know of a 51 Commoidore 6 four door here in Florida. It is now Toro Red,Been painted several times. and has a 53 262 with OD transmission. Do you know the vin number?

KD4315 · March 2012

SuperDave wrote:

I know of a 51 Commoidore 6 four door here in Florida. It is now Toro Red,Been painted several times. and has a 53 262 with OD transmission. Do you know the vin number?

No, I'm working on that right now. My mom accidentally threw out all of my dad's paperwork for his cars after he died.

[Deleted User] · March 2012

KD4315 wrote:

Thanks for all the replies and help. This means a great deal to my family and I and I sincerely appreciate it. Here's a pic of the Hudson from 1980. It was repainted in mid 80's in a 3 tone where the sides/hood was white but the roof stayed that same maroon. His name was Dwight Dailey and went by Tubby. He was born and raised in San Francisco. I'm pretty sure it was a CA car it's whole life and . He sold it to someone locally. Where it went from there is anyone's guess. I'll get some more pics after the paint job and post them.

First let me wish you success in finding your car.

Your Father's name appears in the 1989-1990 edition of the Hudson Essex Terraplane Club membership directory. The listing places your father @ Colma California then.

Knowing the Vehicle Identification Number will probably not help unless the current owner has registered the that car’s VIN with the National HET Club and therefore can be used to sort for the current owner’s name. If you find the VIN, post it here... or send it to Aaron Cooper the national HET president for this check. Aaron is a regular viewer here.
My recent and previous experience with State and local Department of Motor vehicle departments is they will NOT search for vehicles via VIN with the exception of a stolen car. The best advice I can offer is the following:

You Dad was a member of the national HET club... possibly he listed the VIN with the club during the years he was a member. It is possible your father was also a member of a local chapter serving the area where you were living in 1989-90 time frame. If the later is true, try to contact other members from that time... they would most likely know the disposition of the car. It is common practice to offer a Hudson for sale to chapter members before selling to the general public. Hopefully this is true and you can get a lead from some of those members.

There is light at the end of this path... After a decade of searching, I was able to locate two cars I formally owned and wanted to repurchase. One car is now in my possession 30 years after I sold it. Unfortunately I found the second car had become a parts car for another Hudson's restoration. Along the way I discovered the best information came from other HET owners. It was through HET club members that I found the aforementioned Hudsons.

Good Luck

KD4315 · March 2012

Thank you very much for that info. That would be him. I grew up in Colma and my mom still lives there. This is probably a very stupid question but is the serial number different from the vin number? Which would be more beneficial to finding the Hudson? Would the license plate number help at all?

[Deleted User] · March 2012

KD4315 wrote:

Thank you very much for that info. That would be him. I grew up in Colma and my mom still lives there. This is probably a very stupid question but is the serial number different from the vin number? Which would be more beneficial to finding the Hudson? Would the license plate number help at all?

For Hudsons, the VIN and serial number are one in the same. The license plate number would only be of help if that license plate stayed with the vehicle and the DMV was willing to provide you with the current owner of that plate number. As I previously posted, try to find out from your Mom if Dad belonged to a local HET chapter and if she remembers or knows any of those members. It is probable that members of a chapter would at least know who initially purchased the car from your Dad.

Good Luck

Tracking Down an Old Hudson

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