Need advice, where do you start with an old rust bucket?

Unknown
edited November -1 in HUDSON
I have two old Hudson's and a Buick that my kids want to restore. We know it will not be cheap, and we know it will take years, but is there such a thing as too far gone? The Buick Eight is in bad shape, but the two Hudson's are nothing but rust. These were family cars that we want to keep. We would like to do it ourselves and learn in the process, (ignorance is bliss!) What would you folks advise? Right now they are sitting in a timber, deep in the brush.

Thanks in Advance!

Comments

  • farmgirl wrote:
    I have two old Hudson's and a Buick that my kids want to restore. We know it will not be cheap, and we know it will take years, but is there such a thing as too far gone? The Buick Eight is in bad shape, but the two Hudson's are nothing but rust. These were family cars that we want to keep. We would like to do it ourselves and learn in the process, (ignorance is bliss!) What would you folks advise? Right now they are sitting in a timber, deep in the brush.

    Thanks in Advance!



    Welcome. To get an intelligent answer, one would need to know more detail in the condition of the cars. Therefore any digital pictures would be nice as well as what year and model cars they are (the pic's would show this). More desirable models make for reason to restore.
  • Jon B
    Jon B Administrator
    If the Hudsons are standard four-door sedans, just be aware that you will never sell them for anywhere near what you invest in them (in terms of time and money). And that probably goes for the Buick as well. If any of the cars were unusual (such as convertibles or station wagons) that would be another story.



    That said, you can still have a lot of fun fixing them up, and of course the fact that they are part of your family's history makes them priceless.



    If the Hudsons are 1948 or newer cars, then they will be of the mono-built design and the rear frames are probably badly rusted from sitting out in the elements. (Previous Hudsons have the standard heavy-gauge frames and this is not a problem.) So before you even start to tackle the sheet metal and rusted-out floors, you will have to engage in frame repair.



    Should you decide to tackle one or both of the Hudsons, I heartily suggest you join the Hudson-Essex-Terraplane Club, for the benefits it will bring you. Go to http://www.classiccar.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=13 for more information. And if you want to fix up the Buick you'd be well-advised to join the Buick Club of America http://www.buickclub.org/
  • SamJ
    SamJ Senior Contributor
    Where do you start with an old rust bucket? Divorce her? :D
  • decide which model you like and buy a rust free car. use yours for parts and sell parts off the rust bucket to those that need them and you will be way ahead of the game.
  • i would like to build a house. houses have been in my family forever, where do i start? (ignorance is bliss) i know it will take years and we can learn as we go. not to be a jerk but this makes about as much sense. most of us have been doing this all our lives and it still is a learning process.restoring a car isn't something that simple. first you need big garage, lots of tools, lots of money, plenty of time and skill learned from years of hard work. just go buy a car.
  • lol, i would love to see pics of these cars in the woods. i live to find cars abandoned. look as you walk down old farm lanes where only the tractor went, the farmers would pile cars/junk as a wind break and let the brush grow over it for years. you could walk by and not even see the old cab of a truck or parts, found one like this a 48 gmc cab only w/hornet nest inside the p-up bed was far down the lane upside down. the drive train in the barn, when it stopped running the farmer stripped it down to the frame, scattered pieces and that frame hauls his hay still. lol thanks, dermott.
  • rambos_ride
    rambos_ride Senior Contributor
    farmgirl wrote:
    I have two old Hudson's and a Buick that my kids want to restore. We know it will not be cheap, and we know it will take years, but is there such a thing as too far gone? The Buick Eight is in bad shape, but the two Hudson's are nothing but rust. These were family cars that we want to keep. We would like to do it ourselves and learn in the process, (ignorance is bliss!) What would you folks advise? Right now they are sitting in a timber, deep in the brush.
    Thanks in Advance!

    Hi Farmgirl! Welcome to the forum!

    Any car can be brought back from certain death - given enough time and money.

    The first thing is to get the cars outta the weeds and give them a deep and thorough inspection - this means poking around with a pick and hammer as well.

    If the rust is mostly surface rust then this is much easier to deal with than areas that are rusted out completely.

    If there is a ton of rust through you really should think about a donor car for either replacement parts or to move any good parts over to.

    My 49 had much more extensive rust than I thought - but I was too far into it to get a donor and had to do a ton of fabrication to fix the rear trunk area.

    Check my website out there are a lot of pictures to give you an idea of the extent of rust I had to deal with.

    Good Luck - and keep asking lots of questions - its the best way to learn!
  • Uncle Josh
    Uncle Josh Senior Contributor
    OK Farmgirl, Go for it.



    1. Go for the Hudsons. Get em both out of the brush. Select the one that doesn't pull apart on the way out of the woods. If it casts a decent shadow, it's rebuildable. The other one is your parts car, assuming that they are from the same era. Do make sure there is something to put the drive train in to when it's done.



    2. Join the Hudson Essex Terraplane (HET)club



    2. Begin with the drive train. You'll get the most results the quickest. No sense in having a pretty body if you can't drive it. A ratty looking body gets lots of attention at a car show if you drove it there.



    3. Take the motor and clutch apart, clean the tranny, check U-joints, center bearing and rear end. Parts are available. These units are pretty simple and replacement parts are available. You will need a Hudson Mechanical Procedures manual from the club store.



    4. Get it running and driving, so you can have some fun, then deal with the body. Strip, wire brush, derust, repaint, re-upholster.



    If you do most of the work yourself, you will learn a lot, and can have a nice looking, driving car for about $5,000. If you rechrome everything, the bill will be another $3,000 or so.
  • Thanks for all the great input! I'll get some pictures taken in the next couple of days. At least one is a Commodore, but we haven't figured out the other one. Oh, and "Frankmn", once you give birth a couple of times, everythings downhill from there, but thanks for your concern.
  • Aaron D. IL
    Aaron D. IL Senior Contributor
    All of the others have given good advice. Just make sure if you take on the project that you are committed to it. It would be a good project for the kids and maybe keep them out of trouble. My Hudson's have been a father-son project. The main thing is that you enjoy the process and much as the destination. Most importantly don't get into them unless you don't mind getting stuck with the cars and can't sell them because there's always a chance of that. You can learn a lot along the way I started with my first Hudson when I was 19 and it had a bad frame and I did 2 things....got the 3 existing books on Hudsons out of the library reading them cover to cover, and joined the HET club. If it turns out the rust is too serious you can look for an affordable donor car with a solid frame....even if nothing else on the donor car is good. A solid Super 8 got away from me a few months ago in Kansas for only $400. Hudsons are out there and they need good homes.
  • frankmn wrote:
    i would like to build a house. houses have been in my family forever, where do i start? (ignorance is bliss) i know it will take years and we can learn as we go. not to be a jerk but this makes about as much sense. most of us have been doing this all our lives and it still is a learning process.restoring a car isn't something that simple. first you need big garage, lots of tools, lots of money, plenty of time and skill learned from years of hard work. just go buy a car.



    way to discourage anyone from getting involved in the hobby or trying to save another hudson.... :mad:
  • Farmgirl,



    I say get the chain saw and brush wacker and haul those cars out. If you find that they will exceed the time and money you wish to invest, sell them as parts cars or part them out. Better to do something than let those parts of our history fade away.



    As I say about parts cars, "Some must die so that others may live."



    Dave
  • There is a ton of good advice in this forum. (And one bad one.) Having a family project like this will build much more than a car. Kids need to know that it takes more than money to aquire some things in life. (Time, effort, tears, etc.) Of course, you will need money to buy parts!



    Drag those cars out of the woods, hose them down, and see what you have. Even if the cars are too far gone for your abilities and goals there are going to be some good parts that other collectors will buy. Sell 'em on e-bay, or some other place and then you will have money to possibly buy a project car that you can start on. Hopefully, a Hudson.



    Don't worry about being in over your head, we all were at one point, and I still am! You will have gained "tons" of experience just disassembling the cars.



    You are already way ahead of the game just by asking for advice first.



    Terry
  • hudsonkid wrote:
    way to discourage anyone from getting involved in the hobby or trying to save another hudson.... :mad:



    I agree, Half of the fun of owning a classic is redoing it unlike some people where i live(and most anywhere) i paid for it and help design it but no i cant change the oil:rolleyes: have fun redoing these and enjoy :cool: its not like they are rooling off the line today
  • SamJ
    SamJ Senior Contributor
    Uncle Josh's posting earlier is right on. I still don't know if your cars are stepdowns, fatfenders or square cars, and a stepdown might be more problematic from a rust standpoint. But definitely pick the better car of the two, or the one you like most, and fix it up enough to drive. This means, engine, transmission, brakes, cooling system,whees and tires, and wiring. All are doable and may not require enormous amounts of cash. Nobody in the Hudson world cares if your work-in-progress is rusty, has no headliner, has blankets where the seat covers should be, has chrome that's more pitted than the dark side of the moon. You will enjoy the process more if you can drive the car, you will save money as you work on the rest of the car because you can drive it to uphostery shops, etc. (and more importantly to the home shops of Hudson Club members who will be glad to help you). As you drive the car around you will discover what else needs done by trial and error. When my kids were small and money was tight, I plated one or two pieces of my car's chrome every year for about 8 years. Don't listen to any naysayers...this is a fun process, much of the mechanical stuff is fairly easy to learn, and a car that has been in the family means a lot. Antiques Roadshow calls it "provenance." Enjoy!!
  • Geoff
    Geoff Senior Contributor
    The object of the exercise should never be "How much is it worth when I have finished". I have restored three cars now for owners who did not have the time or expertise to do the jobs themselves. A 1922 Essex tourer, a 1928 Essex coupe, and '54 Jet. In each case the cost was far more than they could ever sell the finished car for. In the case of the '22 Essex, it was a matter of "You will never be able to put that heap of rotted out junk together". But I did. And the owner gets serious motoring pleasure out of it, even though he knows he will never recoup the cost. A piece of motoring history has been salvaged, and gives the owner much satisfaction, much more than can be counted in dollar terms. A short course in welding technique, panel building, and woodwork can be valuable, as such skills will serve you well in other areas as well. Go for it.

    Geoff.
This discussion has been closed.