Another '52 Convertible found ??
Comments
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Here is picture of rear floor that shows pump in place. Also note the supports under tray that top lowers onto. (ignore top cylinder on right side of picture)0
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I took me a bit longer than expected to get back to this thread. Several others have pointed out what appear to be differences in this car and what is expected from a Hudson Stepdown convertible. To show side-by-side comparisons I assembled a PDF sheet that compares the 53 SW convertibles with known Hudson Stepdown Convertible pictures taken during restoration. There are several very clear differences and some subtle things that bear further examination. The comparison sheet can be found at this link.
Convertible comparisons.
I have a guess and with out any malice, I believe this car was fabricated from a rusty convertible and a non-rusty 5C chassis. Without direct examination this is a guess. To me there are old and new things about this car in the area of aging a patina. Pure speculation on my behalf... but this has been done before where a convertible was resurrected from a hulk and a good donor. I know this is possible because I repaired my last convertible, a 50 Pmaker with a 53 Super wasp Sedan donor.
Cheers and good luck... the car is well worth saving and I for one would restore the car as a 53 SW convertible... BTW one of my dream cars would be a 54Wasp convertible.... ever seen one? They do not exist... because Hudson made Super Wasp Convertibles. So there are quirks and bends in all of the Stepdown history.
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I agree with those that think the car is legit. You got the most knowlegable people looking at this thing and it still can't be disproven. Hudson did so many things differently from other manufacturers and being small allowed them to do so. It's going to cost an arm and a leg to restore this car, but you'll have a rare car and something to enjoy.0
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Well, whether or not it's a legit convertible, I'm going to push to restore it like one. Like I told Russell, it's like the asterisk next to Roger Maris' 61 home runs, but a home run is still a home run.
My dad and I went out to see what could be salvaged from the parts car we had in storage, and it turns out that the parts car is a '52 Hornet 2dr Coupe. That must be where he got mixed up and thought that the convertible was a '52 Hornet. It's got a 308 engine that still has the dual carb setup with intact air cleaners, so we're happy about that.
My ideal plan is to 7X the engine and put that in the Wasp. I've read the description on Ken's site and have a reliable machine shop that can definitely do the work, but Russell also mentioned having to do something different with the dual carb setup to get it to fit in the smaller Wasp engine compartment. Anyone who's been through that and can sound off on it? I'd appreciate any tips.
Is there a good shop manual to pick up for this year and model? I'd like to study that before we start turning wrenches.
My Dad finally read through all the posts on this site regarding the car, and he really got a kick out of it. He thanks everyone for their enthusiasm. So do I.
Nick0 -
Nick, I think you should go forward with your restoration. You have your work cut out for you but you are going to be rewarded with a fine ride when you're done. Keep us updated on your progress with pictures please.
Harry0 -
Look like a nice solid body to do a restoration with. Was the seats with the car? The rear convertible seats are convert only. I also notice that it is missing the side metal that holds the semi curve metal (ashtray metal piece) to the frame. You can see the outline were it had rusted away but the rest of the car shows no sign of rust. So I say with about 100% accuracy it has been converted....but there is nothing wrong with that restore and enjoy
Russ Maas0 -
Not sure about the seats, actually. Like I said, my dad got the car couple years back and took a lot of stuff out of it. He may have them stuffed up in the rafters of his garage; we'll have to check and see.
Been looking through photos of some restorations to see what the process is. There are some really nice looking cars out there on the road that had people who genuinely loved them enough to bring them back to life. It's nice to see.
We've got her under roof now and took off the front clip. seems like the car is very solid, now that we can see more of the unibody I can see that there are no rusted through areas, which is a nice way to start. I'm eager to pull the engine out and test fit that 308. Once I've had the 308 block magnafluxed to make sure it's a good block, I want to start in on the 7X conversion.
While that's being done, it's off to the body and paint guy for soda blasting and body work. Does anyone have the stock Hudson paint codes for '53? Need to know what our options are.
Nick0 -
nellis003 wrote:Not sure about the seats, actually. Like I said, my dad got the car couple years back and took a lot of stuff out of it. He may have them stuffed up in the rafters of his garage; we'll have to check and see.
Been looking through photos of some restorations to see what the process is. There are some really nice looking cars out there on the road that had people who genuinely loved them enough to bring them back to life. It's nice to see.
We've got her under roof now and took off the front clip. seems like the car is very solid, now that we can see more of the unibody I can see that there are no rusted through areas, which is a nice way to start. I'm eager to pull the engine out and test fit that 308. Once I've had the 308 block magnafluxed to make sure it's a good block, I want to start in on the 7X conversion.
While that's being done, it's off to the body and paint guy for soda blasting and body work. Does anyone have the stock Hudson paint codes for '53? Need to know what our options are.
Nick
Go to Alex page for paint codes for all Hudson's
http://www.freewebs.com/hudsontech/hudsonditzlacpaintcodes.htm0 -
nellis003 wrote:
Not much need of a trial fit, the 308 will drop right in as they are essentially the same size use most of the same internal and external components, they use the same transmissions and mounts, the only issue is with the rear air filter on the twin-h but there are several ways around that and the least of concerns right now.We've got her under roof now and took off the front clip. seems like the car is very solid, now that we can see more of the unibody I can see that there are no rusted through areas, which is a nice way to start. I'm eager to pull the engine out and test fit that 308. Once I've had the 308 block magnafluxed to make sure it's a good block, I want to start in on the 7X conversion.
Nick0 -
For the twin " H " I ThInk you will have to go to the later model manifolds from the hashs, they are not as wide. I just sold one a couple wks ago. Gonna send you A PM and an Email. Bud0
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37 Terraplane#2 wrote:
Either the stepdown or hash manifold will ultimately work.For the twin " H " I ThInk you will have to go to the later model manifolds from the hashs, they are not as wide. I just sold one a couple wks ago. Gonna send you A PM and an Email. Bud
twin h was available for the short wheelbased cars, it just had smaller carbs for the 262 compared to the 308.0 -
Nick, somebody had told him he had to do something diff on the dual carb system from the Hornet to the Wasp. That's why I mentioned the later models, they go in anything. I'm sure no authority on it so if you know what it is maybe you could go into more detail for him. Thanks0
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The throttle operates differently on a Pacemaker/Wasp than on a Hornet. Can you use the Hornet linkage? Yes. You'll just have to mod it a little bit.0
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Nick,
How's this project going? We need pictures!
Tim:)0 -
I just e-mailed Nick . . . he'll probably chime in soon.0
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Ken, I think the car was originally a light color as evidenced by the firewall and front fender extensions. Also, you can see some of the black paint creeping into the picture of the i.d. tag.0
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Nellis003, wow, what a gem you have there, really great pics too. Without sounding too much as a salesman for my work I will let you know that I straighten and polish stainless steel professionally and would be happy to do your trim when you reach that point. I'm sure you will be getting help from all over the Hudson club as yours is quite a neat car. Good luck and have fun on your new Hudson adventure0
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Hi, all. Not much to report yet. We've removed the front clip of the car, but I don't have any pics yet.
We brought it by our paint and body man's shop to get his assessment of it, and he agrees that it's in much better shape than it appears. We discussed our options for the body work and decided that we'll have it blasted and painted on a rotissierie to ensure that we get it as clean as possible.
Right now it's been moved into indoor storage while we work on some other projects. My father has a couple other cars that are closer to completion, so once those have been finished and moved out of the shop, we'll be able to concentrate on the Hudson.
My father picked this up on eBay before we really had a chance to discuss it...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=023&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=360036621981&rd=1
But I'm not crazy about the idea of putting it on the car. Anyone interested in trading for some parts? We need almost all of the dashboard components, and a Super Wasp hood. I'm sure more will come to mind, but if anyone's interested in a swap I'm all ears. Even if you're not interested in a swap, I'd like to find the hood as soon as possible so we can have all the sheet metal together. Ditto for the dash components.
Got my first HET newsletter, and what's the featured article? "Rebuilding the Hudson Six." I love it.
I'll keep you guys posted, and put up some pics when I have them. Thanks for everything so far.
Nick0 -
Nick, that looks like a manifold for a 55/56 Twin H setup, I think the earlier manifolds had an external pipe on the manifold. I don't know if it will fit correctly on the 52 engine but someone who knows much more than me will have the answer.
Harry0 -
Well if nothing else that Twin H setup should be fairly east to trade for the parts you need being that it's in demand.
Does anyone out there know if Gene Eshleman is still in the parts business? I remember Gene and Myrna having a lot of sheetmetal parts????0 -
Yes, Gene and Myrna still have parts. Talk to them regularly.0
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RL Chilton wrote:Yes, Gene and Myrna still have parts. Talk to them regularly.
Thanks Russel --- Yeah I thought there was a chance they'd have a clean '53 Super Wasp (short wheelbase) Hood for Nick. Be nice to find out for sure.0 -
Jim Harmon has a hood0
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Nick
The Manifold your Father purchased is a modified set up created to function as the induction for a 308 Hudson engine powering a circle track racer. The manifold along with other Hudson parts were sold at an estate auction several weeks ago in Kansas. The modifications to the manifold are permanent. The intake to exhaust manifold is closed and the carburetor bases are now 2 BBL. At this time, another manifold from the same estate is being offered on eBay, The second manifold also has permanent modifications, but the carburetor mountings are for 1 BBL carburetors. The seller purchased several Hudson related parts at the estate auction is now selling them along with other parts procured there.0 -
RP
Interesting picture for your ATVAR. Looks to me like the Hudson that used to be infront of the old "jail?" that was a resturant along I35 just north of San Antonio. Same car? Good on U if you rescued that car!0 -
It surely is the one
A true San Antonio Icon0 -
bump for 53 discussion0
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I can confirm that this is the car currently for sale on eBay. My father and I haven't touched it since the original discussion, and don't figure on being able to do the restoration anytime soon. Figure it's best to let someone else take a shot at it.
Thanks so much for all the input, though. You guys are a great group.
Nick0
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