Honest Opinions!
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Hello All!
I was curious to hear everyones opinion on keeping Hudsons original! I have a 52' Hudson Hornet and it seems to be 95% original. I am still in the early stages of bringing her back to life, but I cant seem to decide how original I want to keep everything...So I want to hear opinions on interier colors, paint colors, wheel colors and EVERYTHING else!
Thanks All! I look forward to hearing from you!
I was curious to hear everyones opinion on keeping Hudsons original! I have a 52' Hudson Hornet and it seems to be 95% original. I am still in the early stages of bringing her back to life, but I cant seem to decide how original I want to keep everything...So I want to hear opinions on interier colors, paint colors, wheel colors and EVERYTHING else!
Thanks All! I look forward to hearing from you!
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Comments
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Well let's look at it from the "bottom line" aspect. You are, for the time being, the owner & caretaker of a piece of automotive history, & at sometime in the future it will be turned over to another for keeping & tending.
There were a number of threads in here a week or so ago about a '53 Hornet sedan selling for over $30K, and why did it command that kind of money? Because it was an excellent original.
If you look at the prices of let's say "modified" Hudsons you'll notice the owners often put high reserves on them when they offer them in eBay, or high starting bids, and they either get no opening bid or no price near what they wanted because they've put more in it than it will bring.
A "case in point" from experience: I saw a guy advertise some '39 H8 parts, axles, brakes, other parts. I went to his home & bought them then called the hot rod shop in L.A. where he got the work done to see if they still had the engine & trans., which they didn't. I asked & they told me he had right at $100K in the '39 Hudson coupe. He was moving & wanted to sell it & asked $60 (a $40 K "bath") & he got no "bites", ended up taking the car with him when he moved out of state.
Here's the '39 CC8 cp. I restored - when I decided to sell it it sold immediately & made a profit.0 -
Its your car and your hard earned money building the car so do what you want. Never ask an old guy his oppinion lol, but here is mine. It depends on why you have the car in the first place. In the beginning of the club the members honestly believed that Hudsons were the best engineered cars for their time and wanted to preserve them in their orginal form. I am one of these guys. (50+yr.member) I have laid in the mud in the rain under cars just to remove a wiring harness for a overdrive so I could have the original wiring.As a kid I remeber laying in the back window looking at the stars before falling asleep on long family trips. Also, my daughter in later years coming home with wife asleep, and opening the 51 wide open at over 100 MPH and my daughter standing on the floor looking over the back of the front seat saying, faster daddy faster! For me it is a part of my family history. As one fellow said years ago, I would take my Hudsons out in a field and burn them if I knew someone was going to modifiy them. Im not there yet but I understand his reasoning. THATS SCARY. The other side of the story is for the younger generation to restore them to original, those of us that lived in a tim e when you could buy a whole car for 5 dollars, take off what you wanted and throw the rest away is long gone and those of us with sheds full of parts should be helping others with these parts at very reasonable prices so as to continue with the original intent of the club. I cant sell my parts because I may need them someday.lol. Back to your orginal question, I would try to stay original because the value will stay up as per other comments. But then what is the reason you own the car and what are you going to us it for. Best of Luck.0
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To be honest, you're gonna probably get a majority of "keep it original" opinions here on the "Hudson Forum." Go over to the "Hudson Street Rod Forum" and the opinions will be rather different. I guess if you're really undecided, it behooves you to make a list of arguments on both sides of the coin, before you decide!0
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Me, I'm a purest. The more original,.the better. Next I like restored as original. I also like well done modifieds and customs. What I hate is the porley done, crap people call modified or custom Which ever you choose, do it well. The second you start thinking cost is the reason to do a custom...you loose. It costs a lot of money to do a good custom: often more than a restoration. That said, if you want a different color...go ahead. Just keep the finished product in mind. A wild paint job on an otherwise stock car just looks stupid. In my humble opinion0
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STOCK??? Are you kidding me? I've never had an original vehicle in my life. That being said my 49 Commodore is as close as I've come AND I paid too much for a 30 Essex coupe just because it was super solid and original. The PO was going to do
irrepairable damage to it just to have a 'Rat rod' and I couldn't let that happen...
Back to the 49,yes I like my radial tires and driving at highway speeds,I really enjoy my 12 volt halogen headlights while driving at highway speeds in the dark.I'm sure my Clifford headed/headered Twin-H 308 runs like stink compared to the splasher 8 that was born there.I grew up with points ignitions and don't miss them at all,Crane Cams electronic conversion in the stock distributor.Dual exhaust? Well Hudson sure didn't make it easy on the stepdowns but its still doable.
Still like the owners before me I'm just a caretaker for a while, 99 out of a 100
see it as being bone stock and that suits me just fine.Enjoy your Hornet!
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I always thought the reason for owning an antique car was to be able to experience what it was like to drive them when they were new or fairly new. If someone restores one and decides to change the color, or some of the original accessories on them, that's fine,I could even live with an engine swap, if done properly. It's when these 'shadetree engineers' start butchering frames so they can say they've got disc brakes or rack & pinion steering or otherwise butchering the cars is when I walk away. BTW Pete, your 39 was one of the prettiest cars I've ever seen! Just my 2 cents worth!0
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hotrodwench wrote:Hello All!
I was curious to hear everyones opinion on keeping Hudsons original! I have a 52' Hudson Hornet and it seems to be 95% original. I am still in the early stages of bringing her back to life, but I cant seem to decide how original I want to keep everything...So I want to hear opinions on interier colors, paint colors, wheel colors and EVERYTHING else!
Thanks All! I look forward to hearing from you!
Not enough info?
Is it a driver?
How about some pics?
Dan0 -
I love reading everyones opinions!! Thanks!
And to clarify a little bit, when I said 95% original, I was more refering to the the fact that she has not been modified on the body, interior or under the hood! I even got my hands on some oil bath air cleaners!! Ill work on getting some pics up right now...
Also, I am wanting to leave the body original and everything under the hood! I might go a little crazy with fabric for the seats and the wheel color, but other then that I am definitly thinking original.0 -
I Keep mine as original as I can . I also keep in mind that the Hudson folks would have been the first to offer improvments like radials were they available.
So if it is in the interest of safety like tires I dont mind they are not "Original"
I drive my Hudsons like they were meant to be - a car rather than a trophy. And so I dont want my two modern cars to have radials and the Hudson bias.
I'll jump in the Hudson on a rain slick road and run it right in the ditch,
Roger0 -
Pretty much anything that will bolt on or off is reasonable as far as originality goes, particularly if you want a practical driver. Anything that involves the gas cutter or hacksaw I would draw the line at. I have my Essex geared up 20% to give lower engine revs, and made certain improvements to the engine as far as compression ratio and cam profiles are concerned in the interests of performance and particularly economy. My Jet has electric windshield wipers, otherwise strictly original, and my Hornet is 100% original.
So again, it depends on what you want - a piece of history, or a bitza. I have no time for different engines or drive trains. It robs the character of a vehicle, but that of course is my extremely biased opinion.
Geoff0 -
Marconi - TY & by the way it's a business coupe.0
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The user and all related content has been deleted.0
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HI I WOULD SAY KEEP IT ORIGNAL IF YOU PLAN ON FIXING IT UP AND SELLING IT THESE SUPER SLEEK STREET RODS NEVER BRING IN THE $ INVESTED BUT IT'S YOUR CAR AND I HAVE A CUSTOM HUDSON THAT WAS DONE IN THE EARLY 50'S I'M NOT CUTTING UP A GOOD HUDSON ALSO IF IT'S DRIVE TRAIN YOU TALKING ABOUT A NICE TWIN H ALWAYS DRAWS A CROWD0
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I think that you have to have both. One car is never going to keep a car nut happy all the time. Most of our Hudson family, after they finish their first Hudson, look for another project. Some even have a herd of Hudsons. I have one Hudson that I have tried to keep as stock as possible (my avtar). I am in the process today of building a 28 Essex Roadster Pick up. The fact that Essex did not have such a vehicle here in the USA back in 1928 does not seem to matter to me. When you take your car to a Hudson meet you will see that the better part of those who visit with you can appreciate what you have done with your car. Well restored or well rodded bring the same flavor of respect and actual return on investment. Building a basket case into a hot rod is more favored than taking a very nice complete original and chopping it up. By the way, the yound lady in your avtar looks like she has had some work "enhanced" with the pen......
By the way, I did a real nice job on a 52 Hudson. It looked well restored--then I went nutz on the interior. BIG, STUPID thing to do. Drove it for two years then changed the interior back to original look.0 -
Hudson club is a driver's club. We don't judge for trophies. I would say consider your usage of the vehicle. If you are really going to drive it frequently most Hudson folks would never fault you for adding 12V, seat belts, electronic ignition,radial tires, a decent radio or radio conversion, turn signals if it doesn't have them, electric wipers, perhaps a third brake light and an AC. All of which can be done without discarding the engine and drive train. Even to some extent paint and interior colors done on the original seats. All of which is not irreversible if someone you sold it to was really nuts about the car looking like it was factory.
To me original to Rodded is not one or the other but on a spectrum. On one end you have people who would not restore anything in its' current state other than to get it running. On the other end you have people who value nothing about the car except its' body shape and they're trying to build a brand new car in their vision.
I personally believe in restoring a car close to original but making it a solid reliable driver. I would not go to the point of making it so perfect that I don't get it done for 20 years and it's a trailer queen. Most people loose interest long before they finish if a project takes too long. Many are the garages throughout the USA with unfinished projects sitting in them. Get it running, enjoy it, fix it cosmetically along the way. My .020 -
Very well put Aaron . . .
Roger0 -
I am in favor of keeping it as Original as possible. I dont see any purpose in buying a HUDSON if all you want is a VERY expensive Hot Rod that will quickly turn into an impossible MONEY PIT...NO ONE BUYS HOT ROD HUDSONS.....
A perfect example of a Nice Hudson custom that will NEVER SELL at the asking price is here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Other-Makes-1954-HUDSON-HORNET-TWIN-H-STREET-ROD-HOT-ROD-CUSTOM-NASH-/280847373796?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item4163ced5e40 -
I guess I'm on the other end of the spectrum when it comes to modifications (I wonder if it's age related?), however there is a limit to what I will do. Something cheap/common I don't worry about, but something rare/valuable is a different story and any mods done are bolt-on only, or I'll save original parts on a shelf and make something to fit in its place that I can then modify.
I've got a '36 Terry truck that will be my long-term project. When I bought it it was complete surface rust, missing rear fenders, missing all the interior, did have the entire original drivetrain, but body was solid. I will leave the exterior alone but will replace the drivetrain because I want something that can cruise on the highway without worry (well, mechanical worries). Also parts availability plays a big role in this decision as well (which is why I'll be replacing the rear axle - the scarcity of the axle bearings). I was wanting to go with a 262 or 308 to keep it in the family, but right now it looks like LS1 with a manual trans since I've got everything to do it. That is as long as it fits without cutting - I am not willing to modify the body to get it to fit. Interior is going to be done in black & white scheme, but done to fit like stock (so no fancy fiberglass console, trick lights, etc). I will need new gauges, however I can use the old, broken cluster as a base so that anything I do can be installed in the stock location.
Will I get flak for it? Sure as a bear craps in the woods judging by what's already been posted. I don't really care if I do or not cause I'm building the truck for me to drive and enjoy. I don't plan on selling it so that aspect doesn't factor into my plans, though I will be saving all the original parts I pull just in case I need/desire to return it to stock-ish configuration.0 -
It's your car, your money and your time spent. So do what makes you happy with it. Me, well I like all original and that is what I am doing with my 39. But to each his own. Good luck with which ever way you decide to go.0
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TOM-WA- wrote:I am in favor of keeping it as Original as possible. I dont see any purpose in buying a HUDSON if all you want is a VERY expensive Hot Rod that will quickly turn into an impossible MONEY PIT...NO ONE BUYS HOT ROD HUDSONS.....
A perfect example of a Nice Hudson custom that will NEVER SELL at the asking price is here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Other-Makes-1954-HUDSON-HORNET-TWIN-H-STREET-ROD-HOT-ROD-CUSTOM-NASH-/280847373796?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item4163ced5e4
That's one thing I'll say about customs Tom... what you as a builder think is cool or looks good may not find a buyer that agrees with you. Or maybe no one wants a purple car. LOL They're so individualized that's the thing. And that one looks like a nice one. But would a buyer agree it's 18000 worth of nice ? There's some colors on these cars that look stunning and some that make them look like cartoon cars.0 -
Both ways is just fine with me.
My ’40 Super Six is a daily driver. Added seat belts, radials, good brake material and electronic ignition. Other than that it is stock. I like 40’s cars and 50’s motorcycles for the same reason. That was when great technical advances took place and the looks are great. Along with my Hudson I have a ’56 Matchless and a four wheeled appliance, a Honda Minivan.
I know of a ’47 Big Boy with a Caddy motor in it that is wicked, a ’47 Super Six that was sectioned that looks like the stuff of legend, and the Crew Cab that Bent Metal made which is a work of art. None of these are mine but I see nothing wrong with any of those modified Hudsons.
As to being able to sell them for what we have in to them I don’t get it. My other hobby is cooking. I have never once though “Man I am not going to grill those burgers. No one is going to give me what I have in them.” It is a car not an investment.0 -
Over the years I've modified the '54 Hornet my wife drives daily. All changes have left the look and feel of the Hudson as original to the casual looker. Any Hudsonut would look under the hood and instantly know the radiator, engine, transmission, disc brakes, air conditioning are not original to the car.
The modifications I've made are related to the term "drives daily". I very much appreciate and salivate over correct cars, restored and original. However, in my area I was unable to quickly get parts or repair support necessary to keep it completely original, despite my desire to do so. Thus the changes to have a car that could reliably maintain highway speeds in excess of 80mph for hours on end in 110 degree heat while keeping the passengers cool and comfortable and stopping the car quickly and safely if necessary.
The beauty and comfort of the original Hudson is what I maintain. I'm willing to alter the mechanicals of the car in order to keep my Hudson on the road daily as the Hudson was meant to be.
I'm noticing as time goes by and parts become ever more scarce that retrofits of later engines, especially V8s, and disc brakes and air conditioning is becoming more popular and accepted. I personally do not care for the "la vida loco" top chops, candy pearl paint, fuzzy interiors, donks, and lowrider butcher jobs I occasionally (but rarely, thankfully) see. Fortunately, the vato loco and thug life crowds seem to prefer Brand X's for their exercises in poor taste.
That's my opinion, anyway: mechanical and comfort modifications you may feel are necessary to keep your Hudson on the road can be justified. Modifications that ruin her looks aren't.0 -
Walt here; AS all know, I drive my Hudson all over this country and Canada. In 14 years I've driven it 139 thousand miles and have never had any road problems. Body, suspension, brakes,
transmission, rear axle and motor is still what came with the car. Now this is what I changed or added on to make it a driver. 4 core radiator, air condition, radial tires, 215x75R 15, 2:73 rear axle ratio, original Dana 44 part, electric windshield wipers, 12 volts with a one wire alternator, 1983 AMC electronic ignition, and a modern gear reduction starter. Going to Oklahoma City last year in that 113 degree weather, never had any problems. I made it a driver but still Hudson. Walt.0 -
I am the one trying to get the 1935 Terraplane pickup truck running. All the numbers match, the 6 cylinder purs like a kitten, the clutch is loose and it drove around the block the other day--that was exciting as it comes. I have spent probably 500 hours in labor on her getting her to this point. The down side is with eBay and everyone thinks they are holding a piece of NOS gold. I bet I spent 40 of those hours repackaging these things and sending them back, oh did I mention $460 dollars for the hood ornament-small kings ransom if you ask me. The up side is all the genuine help you get here and the Hudson Terraplane people I have met. My reasons are because I was with my Dad when he bought it in 1990 (he was going to hotrod it) and I am being told it is 1 of 4 or 5 known to still be out there. I am at the least get her road worthy and go from there.0
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walts garage-53 wrote:Walt here; AS all know, I drive my Hudson all over this country and Canada. In 14 years I've driven it 139 thousand miles and have never had any road problems. Body, suspension, brakes,
transmission, rear axle and motor is still what came with the car. Now this is what I changed or added on to make it a driver. 4 core radiator, air condition, radial tires, 215x75R 15, 2:73 rear axle ratio, original Dana 44 part, electric windshield wipers, 12 volts with a one wire alternator, 1983 AMC electronic ignition, and a modern gear reduction starter. Going to Oklahoma City last year in that 113 degree weather, never had any problems. I made it a driver but still Hudson. Walt.
Yay, Walt! You're in the same category I'm in: you modified your Hudson as you found necessary to use it as a regular driver. I suspect if my wife only drove our Hornet 10K miles annually we might have had better luck with the original drivetrain and brakes, too. That was certainly my hope when we started out with it in 1991, anyway. Unfortunately, I have two badly cracked 308 blocks and 3 warped aluminum heads to convince me that nearly 60 years after it rolled off the assembly line a heavily loaded original Hornet drivetrain regularly going 80-90+ mph for hours on end in the west Texas heat won't last forever. And isn't a full emergency stop from 80 to zero a huge thrill when you pop over a hill and find a healthy 18 point buck in the road? Been there, done that. Two choices: drive slow or have good brakes. The Hornet voted for speed and requested Mr. Labud's disc brake kit for Christmas that year. With Mr. Labud's kit installed, the Hornet will just sit down and stop NOW. I highly recommend it if you drive a non-show car in mountains or at high speeds frequently.
While you were not able to keep your driver factory original either, I'm guessing you've kept the original appearance, just as I did. I'm always glad to hear of another correct appearance on-the-road Hudson no matter how much modification the driver finds necessary for the driver, those driven, and the overall conditions encountered. Keep on driving!
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I still have the original Hudson drum brakes and can stop just as quick as any new car. Ken in Texas can back this up. Jump in Ken. Walt.0
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