new poll : did you get the hudson a present ?

Just got the Pridemore disc brake brackets and hubs. Now gathering all the essential calipers, rotors, Master cylinder and lines. Stuff isn't under the tree, they are on the work bench. just need the rigid lines and the residual valves ordered from Speedway mtrs. The rotors are in the machine shop to be modified. looks like a one day job after all the prelim. work is done. Then on to the power steering project. Still agonizing over how to do it.. so many choices.

Santa was/is good this year.

Where do I start... So far she has gotten a complete Rhode Island Wiring Harness, 4 new Coker Classics, All new weatherseals from Kgap, a paint job, and another few months of non stop dedication....Problem is, there's no money for anyone else this year!

Yes, Lola got her Christmas present a couple of days early. It's a nice shiney new 16 gage sheet metal floor.

My Jet has had a present, in the form of piston rings. Two sets of ordinary iron rings failed to curb excessive blow-by and oil consumption. Each time I fine-honed to remove glaze, and each time it consumed great quantities of oil. The only difference from original is that the pistons are not pinned ring type. The clearance is correct at .0015". Going against my own advice to Hudson owners over many years, not to fit chrome rings, that is exactly what I did. Problem solved. I saw in the '54 Mechanical procedures supplement that the top rings in the Hornet and Jet are chrome plated. So I rang the engine specialists, and got a set of rings that were designed for a Wisconsin air cooled motor. (6 sets actually, as the Wisconsin is 1 cylinder!). This comprises a taper-faced top chrome ring, a stepped iron second ring, and a CX3 spring type stainless rail third ring, with conventional iron ring below the piston pin. I didn't hone the bores, on the advice of the engine specialist. These have transformed the Jet. It now starts easier, runs quieter and easier , has more power, and burns no oil. So what gives? Did they lower the chrome alloy content in the Jet and Hornet castings for '54? I had a '39 H8 many years ago which was just the opposite - it had chrome rings and it was a dog - gutless, thirsty, and scoffed oil. Honed it out and fitted a set of plain cast-iron rings, and it was magic - powerful, smooth, and economical. I guess one of those funny idiosyncrasies the Hudson engineers continue to throw at us all these years on. Happy New Year everyone.

Geoff.

7XPacemaker,
If I remember correctly, (I can't believe I'm that old) Chevrolet had a lot of problems with their new V-8 back in 1955. Customers were returning their new '55 Chevys in droves with complaints of them burning oil. Chevrolet's solution was to have the dealers run some BonAmi thur the carburators. Don't know how much but it was enough to scuff the cylinder walls and seat the rings. Problem solved!
Peace,
Chaz