Well I took a good look yesturday

Unknown · May 2006

I took a look at the 52 Wasp yesturday and everything looks to be decent, not perfect but everything seems to be on the car. The car even has a cleanex box under the dash and a pic-nic table fold out thingy thats in the trunk, even the clock works. The radio just lights up when you turn it on no sound or nothing but it seems to be repairable.

There is a couple of tiny holes on the driver side floor nothing major and most likely repairable. The only problem I see right now is a gasket leak on the waterpump leaking coolant and the fuel line/gastank is all plugged. The body is really solid and there is only surface rust underneath pretty solid. The chrome is decent with some minor pitting.

I offered the guy 3500 CDN he was asking 5000 CDN and he said he will get back to me am I to low for price? The car seems to be in need of resteration and the interior definently needs something to fresh-up the smell of mice poop. The mice didnt get into the interior that bad, one small hole in the seat which I plan on re-upholestering any ways.

What do you guys think am I in the right ball park for price? Also I heard that these Wasps can be converted to disk brake and that certain years of brake pads in the drum for front and rear will interchange with the Wasp. How many parts are out there that will interchange with the Hudson?

Any help from you guys would be greatly appreciated

Thanks in advance, Brent

harry54 · May 2006

Brent,

Is it a coupe or a sedan ? If it's a coupe it's a steal. If it's a sedan it's a good price. Does it run ? Is it twin H ? Is it a stick with overdrive ? Is it a Hydromatic ? There are alot of things that go into the value of these cars. However a good rust free shell in and of itself is getting tougher and tougher to find...

Jon B · May 2006

At only about $3100 US, that would be an extremely good buy I would think. The body is the controlling factor here; whether there's even an engine in it is irrelevant. Surface rust and a minor hole in the floor or two is nothing. It's the condition of that all-important perimeter frame at the rear, which should guide your purchase. I would think your offer is at least in the ballpark as far as his asking price; he ought to at the least come back with a counter-offer. You didn't mention the condition of the paint in this post, but essentially if you have a car that can be made to run in a weekend or two, and shined up so it's a halfway decent looker, and the springs aren't coming out of the seats, you can probably even give him a bit more money and you'll still be ahead of the game. But I'll let some StepDown experts voice their opinions here.

There is a fellow in the Club who offers bolt-on disc brake kits for Hudsons but I've forgotten his name.

harry54 · May 2006

Stepdown brakes are great when they are set up properly. You don't need disc's. I would reccomend against it.

[Deleted User] · May 2006

Why would you recommend against Discs? a HET member Bill Labud makes a Disc conversion kit that works nicely on the Stepdown and works great with the Hudson braking system. Gives you that extra bit of braking that is needed in todays driving environment.

Unknown · May 2006

Thanks for replying guys, It is A Wasp 4-door with a 262 inline 6. Car starts when gas is dumped down carb or when fuel line from mechanical pump is run to a jerry can. The body is extremly strait with zero rust and the paint has be re-done many years ago Im sure there is some bondo in it but from what I can tell not much. All the doors open and shut like the day it was made, even the interior lights work when you open the door. I'am not sure what tranny is in it but I know for sure its column shift. The underside has rust but nothing that has penetrated the steal all the way through. The car sits level and is not sagging. Like I said before it will need a water pump gasket

I dont have any pictures but I did find one on the net that looks to be in similar shape here is the link

http://awesomecarauctions.com/uploaded_images/1952%20essex%20packard-727068.jpg

harry54 · May 2006

Sorry guys I didn't realize there was a quality conversion set up out there. I was thinking that this was a total fabrication. I should educate myself. I guess at heart I'm a purist but if it makes it my drivable it's worth looking at. Thanks

Unknown · May 2006

Hey, that's my car! That's kinda funny, the picture you posted of a similar car was the one I bought a few months back. The car is actually blue (royal and baby blue 2-tone), but showed up green because of the poor picture quality of the photos the seller posted. You can see better pictures of the car in its actual color at http://groups.msn.com/HudsonEssexTerraplaneBulletinBoard/forsalemy52twinhwasp.msnw?Page=Last&lc=1033

It's a great car, but I'm actually looking to sell it because I just bought a '51 4 door Hornet in nealy flawless shape. That being said, I'm not trying to steal the other guys sale and I wish you the best of luck in your pursuit of buying the car.

Aaron D. IL · May 2006

I talked to Dr Doug one time and he said something to the effect that he couldn't get that disc brake conversion kit to stop vibrating upon braking. There's no reason you can't get the old drum setup to stop if you have it set up properly and don't have weak knees. I'd think a brake booster would make more of a difference than simply converting it to discs alone. Don't tail people too close in your car that's all.

[Deleted User] · May 2006

Sounds to me like the residual valve was wrong or setup wrong. If you have a mixed braking system with front discs and rear drums you need a 10 Ib valve for the drums and a 2 Ib for the front. We have other HET members who have this setup running and have not complained of this problem.

Unknown · May 2006

Back to topic, If the car is in as good a shape as you describe, it's worth the 5KCN. But it doesn't hurt to try and get a better deal. The only caveat to that is that Hudsons are getting hot on the market and somebody may snag it out from under you!

[Deleted User] · May 2006

There is another person that has a disc brake conversion kit. I installed it in my 53 HH and it works great. The cost is about the same as the LaBud kit but it can be set up so you can add a dual master cylinder. The seller's name is Richard Pridemore (the chapter president of the Dogwood Chapter). His phone number is 336-427-4930 and the e-mail address is lbpatstokes@netzero.com

Well I took a good look yesturday

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