Looking for a 50's Hudson Hornet

Greenwood65 wrote:

That's what i figured, even if it has some rust. 1,500 with an engine and transmission included is almost a steel. Though he's in north carolina and me in New Hampshire is a bit far. What would you think it would cost to ship that thing to New Hampshire just curious.?

IMHO - keep looking.

1500 is too much given the rust issues and that it's a non-running car.

I can gaurantee you by looking at the pictures this car is WORSE than the 49 I bought ~ this car is going to be better off a parts car ~ trust me I have some experience with this - just check my website out!

My 49 was also complete - frozen motor - no huge rust holes visible like in yours and I paid 1600 and change on ebay.

I was lucky and the owner agreed to haul it to Kirkland Washington from Palm Springs CA for 500.00 - professional quotes I got at the time ranged from 750-1600.00

Out the gate I had 2100 into the 49 then when I got into it the rust was much more extensive than it looked like.

Stepdown Hudsons are unibody constructed so rust issues in the perimeter frame and other structural areas can really be a big problem.

Wait, save a little more and buy one that runs or doesn't have the extensive rust issues.

Greenwood65 wrote:

Thanks for the advice rambos_ride !!!. and your website is great learned alot from it. You wouldn't happen to know of any places other than craigslist and ebay to find some would you?? just wondering.

I gave up on ebay for anything but some parts and manuals. By the time you pay for shipping and fees and then deal with the scammers it wasn't worth it to me.

You can always try other local car clubs - someone might know someone...
maybe old wrecking yards - who knows maybe there's some near you?

Craigslist is my current choice - buy locally and then you can get an eyeball or 2 on it. The 49 is the first and last car I'll ever buy again without looking at it first!

My best advice - Just be patient, save more money and the right car will come along.

Greenwood65 wrote:

Thanks!! I'm glad there's soo many people like you on this forum that will take their time and explain to some 16 year old kid whats good and whats not and what i should and shouldn't do, thanks a bunch!!!! Really respect all of you and i agree, waiting a bit longer would probably be the smart idea. Thanks again!!!!-lucas!!

Lucas -

Poke around links under the Restoration section on my site - there's a lot of pics of typical rust-problem-areas and they can give you a good idea of what to zero in on when looking at one of these cars and what it might take to fix it.

What kind of auto repair work are you going to - or be willing to - do yourself? Do you have help, space and tools? Those answers will dictate more what kind of condition of car you might actually need to look for.

Besides working with my grandpa on his cars, I took auto shop classes in High School and got an apprentice job in a local bodyshop shortly after I graduated and did that for 8 years.

I am a computer programmer now, but I have always been able to fall back on my early auto repair experience for extra cash when needed and to feed my love of cars!

Also try random searches on this forum - like turbo charger, super charger, chopped top, etc...you'll find lots of Kool stuff to sift thru.

Keep your eyes open Hudsons are rare - but they pop-up for sale more often than one might think.

PS. I wish I'd bought a Hudson when I was that young! What a great car to discover life in!

:)Hi Lucas, welcome to the forum, I would shy away from that Hudson on ebay that is in Mo. It has been sitting on the ground probably for a long time, guanteed rust issues. A friend of mine bought two '50 Hudson Pacemaker sedans in Alabama and had them shipped here to Nevada, one looked to be a parts car only, the other one looked pretty good untill we started poking holes in the body due to unseen rust. The parts car was then rebuilt into a rat rod. I have bought a few cars sight unseen and after the last one, no more. Pictures hide a lot. There are still a number of good solid Hudsons out there, take your time, look at the car in person, top, bottom, underneath, in and out. Take someone with you if possible. There are many Hudsons from the southwest that have found there way to the east coast. Many of the Hudsons that are found out here have surface rust, rotton rubber and interiors, plus an occaisional varmit. Be carefull where you put your hands or fingers, spiders, scorpians, and an occaisional snake, besides the mice. There will be a National Hudson car Club meet in Detroit this July, you may find your dream there. Take care and have a great day. Arnie in Nevada