California Here I come--and a New Car

Cool. Nothing like a road trip to pick up a new toy.

Dad and I did a 17 hr turn-n-burn from Denver to just outside Salt Lake City to pick up my Hornet. Hit pea-soup fog in the dark just outside Cheyenne going both ways. Fun fun.

there used to be a fantastic huge junkyard south of Cheyenne off the old road - I have photos of several very desirable pre-war Hudsons in it; any of you been there, explored that area?
as for SLC have a photo of a '29 Dover mail truck in a junkyard there

Glen - well nice to know it didn't get junked!

To get Brownies car out, three trees had to be cut down to make a exit path. Then five of use moved his car back to get it ready to push it around the right side of the palm tree when Brownie gets here Sat.. It will have to be pushed up hill to thread it between a sedan behind the palm tree and 2 sedans on the right. Then a sharp left U turn behind the sedans and miss a Hudson PU behind where the white PU is. Then a right turn between the shed and house to load it onto a trailer. I hope Brownie will be able to manuver his truck around to the Coupe to pull it out. Because Brownie, his helper and I will not be able to push it up hill in the soft dirt with one flat tire. Two trees were removed to get a couple 40 Fords out first and it was a tight manuver. But with the third tree out of the way it allows a little more room to make the 3 point U turn with Brownies car. Brownie said he had no sprare tires to bring with him but will bring an air tank. The tire did hold air long enough to push it backwards before it went flat by the end of the day.
The reason we can't move his car forward is because the sedan in front of it is missing tires and there are no more tires that will hold air to install and back it out of the way, and there still would not have been enough room to manuver the 40 Fords and Hudsons out that direction. The guys picking up the 40 Fords helped push the Hudson coupe and sedans around to make the path to get the 40s out. It took from 8am until 7pm to mount tires with air and move 4 54 Hudsons to clear a path and get the 2 Forties out from behind the Hudson Hornet Special sedan you see in the posted picture behind the left rear quarter of Brownies car. That car belongs to my son Rick. In the background behind the shed you can barely see the roof of a 47 PU cab my son bought.
Saturday will be interesting. I'm sure Brownie will share the continuing adventure with you all.
Lee O'Dell

Wow, that Hudson has such a story behind it. Since I am new to HET, could you enlighten me who Ike Smith is?
Nice picture too of the exact same 54 which is amazing. I really look forward to seeing the finished restoration Brownie of that 54.

Ike Smith was sort of a legend in the L. A. area. As I recall his specialty was modifying Hydros for max. performance = bone shaking shifts!
There were several guys in the Valley who had Hornets set up for street-racing, drag racing, George Hoody & Bill Rankin. Either one or both had traction bars on the rear ends, one of Ike's trannies or a B & M Hydro. There was a Hudson mechanic still in business in Van Nuys name Phil Arana where a bunch of us almost always went on Sat. mornings (this is in the '60s). He always had several parts cars in the back & kept those who hadn't the time, or facilities, or knowledge to do our own work on our Hudsons up & running.
Jack Clifford was the most famous Hudson-ite then, due to his NHRA drag racing successes, but he lived down in Orange County area so never saw him out in the Valley.
George Lauder was a mortician for the County & worked a LOT of overtime. He only occasionally came to local meets in the Valley.
I bought Hoody's stuff, must have gotten at least 6 Hornet blocks + one of his racing Hornet coupes.
All a "long time ago in a galaxy far away" ~

very good article, well worth the read even for for a guy like me
and what I am into

Mike

found it, interesting but I would assume dated.
Knew Clifford quite well, don't ever recall meeting Ike Smith or Parcell.

I wonder if Parcell's car was Clifford's old car as that is the way Jack had his painted?