Hudson value in 1966 & 1972

hudsontech
hudsontech Senior Contributor
edited November -1 in HUDSON
I got an email from a fellow says he is writting a novel involving a 1954 Hudson, set in New England, in the 1966-1972 period. He asked:



"I'm writing a novel that is set in contemporary times but I have a character who owned a 1954 Hudson Sedan during the time period of 1966-1972. I wondered if you would be willing to answer the below shown questions:"



"+Questions+

1. How much did he pay for the car in 1966?

2. How much would he have gotten for the car in 1972?"



+Background+

1. The story is set in New England (specifically Mass).

2. The car needed body work - dings and full paint job, interior work in the form of tender loving care, and a new carburetor.

3. The character was 20 years old at the time of the purchase and able to do the work himself.

4. The car was purchased in New England and sold in New England - nothing fancy to the sale process.





That's basically it in a nut shell. IMHO I feel he would have paid between $200 and $300 for it, if that much, in 1966 - maybe re-sold for $1000-$1200 in 1972.



Anybody got any other ideas??



Hudsonly,

Alex Burr

PS For those wondering (if anybody) I made the trip to Memphis in 2 days - the first day, Wed., was hell on wheels getting out of New England. Heavy traffic, construction, accidents in CT. Took me 9½ hours to make the run to Carlisle, PA - usually takes me 8!!! Made it to Winchester, VA, in 11 hours. Thurs was better, lighter traffic, sunny day. Made it to Memphis in 12 hours with a 5½ hour run from Knoxville to Memphis, just cruising at 75 most of the way.

Comments

  • nick s
    nick s Senior Contributor
    Alex, to put it in perspective, the previous owner of my 50 C6 sedan bought the car in 72. A good origional car with a crease in the rear fender but all in all in good shape for a 22 year old driver. he paid $500.
  • hudsontech
    hudsontech Senior Contributor
    nick s wrote:
    Alex, to put it in perspective, the previous owner of my 50 C6 sedan bought the car in 72. A good origional car with a crease in the rear fender but all in all in good shape for a 22 year old driver. he paid $500.





    Thanks Nick - doesn't seem I was all that far off. I passsed the forum board on to Evan and told hime to check here for additional posts.



    Hudsonly,

    Alex Burr
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    was there any perimeter rust on the car?



    and was it twin H or was it a single carb?



    Was it a hydramatic car, stick, stick OD, or borg warner?



    It would really help me to know what model the 54 was. Are we talking about a hornet, a hornet special, a super wasp, a wasp? Heck, maybe this guy had a jet.....



    a color would be nice as well.



    What time of year did he sell it?



    How do we even know what kind of job this kid did on this car when he did the work on it. c'mon, maybe it was real bad, he did a hack job on the car, and made it worse...



    What was his motivation for selling the car?



    Did he need fast money, or did he want to buy a newer car?



    Did he belong to the hudson club?









    Okay... just kidding.... had to have some fun...



    anyway,



    I would think that in 1966, the value of ~$200 seems right for a hudson. Someone on here must have bought a 54 around that time, even likely in the same region, and I imagine that someone might have sold one in a similar scenario and time as well. I think the selling price of $1000 to $1200 seems a little high, I was thinking of $800-$900 was more in line, if the car was pretty decent after he was done. Of course, I wasn't around then, so I don't have much of a frame of reference.



    sounds like it might be an interesting character/book.
  • harry54
    harry54 Senior Contributor
    My dad sold his 54 hornet club coupe in Sept of 1971 for 500$ It was in very nice shape. I'd call it a solid # 2
  • Aaron D. IL
    Aaron D. IL Senior Contributor
    From what I've been told you almost couldn't give away a Hudson in the '60's. The people who drove them were like young families and others who wanted cheap transportation and kept em patched together and going since they were pretty decent road cars even by later standards. The rest of the public by in large had written them off as dead. Not sure how much of a following Merit Marks gained amongst owners in '68 since he started the club. Heard plenty of storied of guys hauling them out of Junkyards for next to nothing. So I'd say the value was in the $100's at least until the mid 1970's.
  • SuperDave
    SuperDave Senior Contributor
    Boy, That car would hardly bring more than $200 at the time. Somewhere around 75-76 $750 bought a absolutely stunning 51 Hornet four door needing nothing.. also in 75 $650 bought a running, decent 49 Commodore 8 Conv. I bought a brand new Plymouth Valiant with automatic transmission for $1,700 in 65 !

    Live in the Past, It's cheaper...

    Davew
  • frank spring
    frank spring Expert Adviser
    Try this one out, I remeber looking at a verynice 49 convertible with my dad in 1966. He didnt buy it because it was too much at $350. So he bought a 54 4 door instead for $150.



    In 1975 we bought a complete running, driving 54 Hudson Hornet Convertible for $750.
  • MikeWA
    MikeWA Senior Contributor
    frank spring wrote:
    Try this one out, I remeber looking at a verynice 49 convertible with my dad in 1966. He didnt buy it because it was too much at $350. So he bought a 54 4 door instead for $150.



    In 1975 we bought a complete running, driving 54 Hudson Hornet Convertible for $750.



    Then, in 1978, being smart enough not to buy one of those Hudsons that was going nowhere, I bought a nice Model A Ford coupe instead, for about 5 grand. Its now worth about 8, and your $750 Hornet is probably worth 40. Stock market hint- watch what I buy, and then go buy something else.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    I have a pretty good collection of old blue and black books, but not a heck of a lot in the late 60s unfortunately. But my instinct and historical frame of reference says $200 is nearly dead on to buy the thing in '66, and no more than about $750 to sell it in '72.... and that's a dog gone nice four-door at that price and time. In '72 it's still an 18-year old used car.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    I'd say about $150-175 would have been tops for the condition stated in 1966. 1972, maybe $500.
  • 37 CTS
    37 CTS Senior Contributor
    Back in 1971 for my first car I bought a 1952 Hornet sedan, Texas tan and cream top with 61K miles for $500. It had Hydramatic, Twin H, and Hudson wire wheel covers.

    It needed brakes and a valve job and was a stong #2 car

    That car took in a lot of Hudson meets in 20 yrs of ownership



    29 Vic
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Have consulted the classifieds in my dad's 1972 copies of the WTN which I "inherited" many years back. There is a good '54 that could do with a coat of paint and front carpet going for $750. Other drivers that needed 1-2 things were going for$75 to $450. Two running cars were offered free to a good home. A frame-off restoration had cost $3500 and vendor (in Connecticut ) was hinting at offers in that area including tons of parts. Another frame-off was $2500. Don't have 1966 WTNs so can't help there. I didn't phone the vendors to see if they were still available or whether they got the asking price!
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