A very expensive '36

[Deleted User]
[Deleted User]
edited November -1 in HUDSON
Yeeeiiikes !! A beautiful 1936 Hudson Straight Eight Sports Special, but $182,261 US is sure out of my league !!



silverone



http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/classic-car-page.php/carno/28362

Comments

  • Jon B
    Jon B Administrator
    This would be a logical purchase for those modest people who are uncomfortable being seen in a new Rolls Royce or Lamborghini.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Jon B wrote:
    This would be a logical purchase for those modest people who are uncomfortable being seen in a new Rolls Royce or Lamborghini.



    definitely wouldn't have to worry about the neighbor having one...



    sure would be classier that a rolls, IMHO...
  • Jon B
    Jon B Administrator
    A bit off-subject, but...



    Speaking of British cars with a Hudson flavor, I cannot but wonder if the designer of this 1938 Triumph Dolomite hadn't been looking at a '36-7 Hudson or Terraplane before coming into work that morning...



    g05triumph1465hpdolo38.jpg
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    there is also a 37 coupe there, i do not think it is a t-plane, 17 tousand pounds/euro is how much u.s. , plus shipping. looks good {both} to me.:D
  • mars55
    mars55 Senior Contributor
    dermott wrote:
    there is also a 37 coupe there, i do not think it is a t-plane, 17 tousand pounds/euro is how much u.s. , plus shipping. looks good {both} to me.:D



    17 tousand pounds is approximately 34,520 dollars.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Jon B wrote:
    A bit off-subject, but...



    Speaking of British cars with a Hudson flavor, I cannot but wonder if the designer of this 1938 Triumph Dolomite hadn't been looking at a '36-7 Hudson or Terraplane before coming into work that morning...



    g05triumph1465hpdolo38.jpg



    You know --- I rather like the look of this triumph --- probably because it has those classic hudson lines !!



    There is something about this particullar '36 Hudson though, that makes it look rather "British", at least to my eye ! Is it the roofline ? Do all '36 sedans have this roofline ? Or is the steering wheel on the "wrong" side ? Can't quite put my finger on it - but it just dosen't look "American".



    Anyone else see this?
  • Jon B
    Jon B Administrator
    The body is by Coach Craft of London; not a Hudson body.



    I recall seeing one of these at the 1980 National meet in Baltimore, but I don't know who owned it at the time.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Jon B wrote:
    The body is by Coach Craft of London; not a Hudson body.



    I recall seeing one of these at the 1980 National meet in Baltimore, but I don't know who owned it at the time.



    Aha -- that explains it ! Odd that it wouldn't have been cheaper to just send a boatload of bodies already built over to England, than redesign the whole thing again, and build them locally. You'd think Hudson could have stamped them out by the thousands at a pretty economical rate by comparison !



    Maybe they looked too "American" for the average British buyer, or perhaps the US dimensions just didn't fit the British city roads and parking spaces.
  • sidevalve
    sidevalve Member
    Yes, I have been watching this one for a year or so (I am in England). They have been trying to sell it for a long time (not surprising in view of the price!). Even in British Pounds it is still a completely insane price (I would say about 4 times what they should be asking!). It is 80000 GBP, and I thought that they had 'got real' and come down about 67500 GBP - but apparently not. And even at that price it would be nuts! But I reckon the dash alone is worth about 5000 GBP - it's a real beauty!



    It has an absolutely beautiful interior - there are lots more pictures on the company website at:



    http://www.classiccarshop.co.uk/Cars/hudson_straight_8.htm



    The interior is a bit 'new' looking for me (I prefer patina - those carpets look very synthetic and modern), but it is still a fantastic job, and the dashboard is a work of art. It's an ideal mix of British and American, and there aren't many cars that can claim that!



    Cheers - Alan, in England
  • sidevalve
    sidevalve Member
    silverone wrote:
    Maybe they looked too "American" for the average British buyer, or perhaps the US dimensions just didn't fit the British city roads and parking spaces.



    No, it wasn't that - or only partly (see below). They were the high-dollar options at the time. You could get the regular body, which was built up from CKD kits at a factory in Chiswick, which is a suburb of London (I know this because my Dad went round the factory circa 1937 (the year my car was built!), and that was quite a cheap option (as with the BMWs, Mercedeses and Hondas they build in the USA now, it offers a way round import duty). However, if you were a well-heeled customer you could also buy a chassis and have a bespoke coachbuilt body fitted to it - we Brits are very snooty, and it was felt that the regular bodies were perhaps a little 'brash' for conservative British tastes!



    I have several 30s catalogues showing the British bodies that were available for the cars in 36 and 37, and I will scan and post them if you like. Does anyone have a site with scans of Hudson and Terraplane brochures posted on it (I used to have a Kaiser, and there are several good Kaiser sites like that)?



    To me, the funniest thing of all is that, although they are now rare and therefore interesting, in my opinion the British bodies are very dull, unimaginative and clunky-looking, and have none of the wonderful art deco appeal of the stock 36-39 bodies!



    Cheers



    Alan, in England
  • Jon B
    Jon B Administrator
    silverone wrote:
    Aha -- that explains it ! Odd that it wouldn't have been cheaper to just send a boatload of bodies already built over to England, than redesign the whole thing again, and build them locally. You'd think Hudson could have stamped them out by the thousands at a pretty economical rate by comparison !



    Maybe they looked too "American" for the average British buyer, or perhaps the US dimensions just didn't fit the British city roads and parking spaces.





    Actually, Hudson DID have an assembly plant in England at the time, on the outskirts of London I believe. Cars were shipped there "knocked down", in boxes, and assembled there. So the average Brit could go into his local Hudson dealer and buy something that strongly resembled the same product that came out of Jefferson Avenue (with minor exceptions of course, like the location of the steering wheel). It's just that in England there were a lot of small body companies, and wealthy folks were used to purchasing a chassis (usually British) and having it shipped to a body builder for a "look" that was rather unique. No doubt the English Hudson plant had an arrangement with one or more body companies, and each company had one or more designs on the boards which blended their coachwork with the latest Hudson design. I rather suspect that the car now being offered, was a "one-off". It was probably something you'd select in a catalog, and then they'd build one for you.



    Oops, I see that while I was drafting this message, Mr. Sidevalve beat me to the punch, LOL!
  • ESSX28-1
    ESSX28-1 Senior Contributor
    A 38 Hudson by Coachcraft in New Zealand



    Michael-Taylor-1938-Hudson-8.jpg
  • sidevalve
    sidevalve Member
    ESSX28-1 wrote:
    A 38 Hudson by Coachcraft in New Zealand

    Nice to see you have the same weather as us in NZ! I thought this must be in England at first...



    Cheers



    Alan
  • sidevalve
    sidevalve Member
    Jon B wrote:
    [British Hudsons and Terraplanes] strongly resembled the same product that came out of Jefferson Avenue (with minor exceptions of course, like the location of the steering wheel)



    Some of the things were disdtinct improvements, stemming from putting a lot of locally-sourced materials into the cars, so they had Dunlopillo cushions in the seats (good), leather upholstery (good), European tyres (sometimes good), 12V electrics (good)... but the electrics were supplied by The King Of Darkness :eek: (aka Lucas) - BAD!!!! :)



    Cheers



    Alan
  • Aaron D. IL
    Aaron D. IL Senior Contributor
    Sure wish new cars came as a Chassis and let the customer select a body they liked. They all go through a wind tunnel and come out dull.
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