Hugh's_Hornet
12-13-2008, 01:49 PM
Hey guys,
I joined the forum a few nights ago after being lead here by Google when I was searching for Hudson engine modifications.
I have a 1953 Hudson Hornet club coupe which is a LONG term resto/rod project. I purchased the car from a guy in Florida about 1985. It ran but was otherwise pretty trashed. Glass all broken, lots of rust, etc. I did enough to it to make it driveable for a while, then a nephew did a semi-decent paint job on it for me. I finally pulled the engine about 1992 (?) and completely rebuilt it- 0.060 overbore, Clifford headers, Twin-H intake, block reliefs, new valves and springs, cleaned up the ports, 56 mechanical cam, balanced and more-or-less blueprinted. Rebuilt the front suspension about the same time.
I drove the car pretty regularly for about 5 years afterwards, even commuting to work in it 3 or 4 days a week. It ran strong and was reliable. I took it to several in-state Hudson meets and once made a ~1000 mile round trip to a regional HET meet in Front Royal, VA. IIRC I put about 20,000 miles on the car during this time.
I drove the car less and less over the next few years (gas prices were going up) until finally I was only cranking it up every 3 or 4 months. The car of course got harder and harder to start, and started running worse and worse. Finally, in about 2001, I did a compression check and found no compression on two cylinders. I pulled the head and found one badly burned exhaust valve and a blown head gasket. I covered everything up and left it alone as I didn't have time or money at the time to fool with it. The next time I checked it a few weeks later, my cover had blown off the engine and the cylinders had flash-rusted. I totally gave up at that point. The car has sat parked in a driveway in my back yard ever since.
OK, now it's 7 years later- one kid is out and on her own, both my wife's and my parents have passed on. A couple of weeks ago it occurs to me I just MIGHT have some time and funds to devote to the Hudson again. I hate to see it sitting there going down, so I've finally started doing something about it.
I spent the morning wire-brushing the cylinders with my drill and applying a full can of PB Blaster to them. Got the shop vac out and cleaned out 5 years of rodent debris, acorns, and feces from the interior and trunk. Things actually don't look too bad apart from the trunk floor where moisture has eaten through in several spots. I'll get a new tarp to keep the weather out; next project is to prep a better place to pull and work on the engine.
I'm still undecided whether I plan to do a full restoration with a modded engine or more of a resto/rod. Looks like lots of good info at this site- I found the Hudson thread. Heck, the internet didn't even exist when I was originally working on this car. That's gonna be a BIG help. Speaking of which, there's a 56 Hudson 308 on ebay right now....
I'll be seeing you,
Hugh
I joined the forum a few nights ago after being lead here by Google when I was searching for Hudson engine modifications.
I have a 1953 Hudson Hornet club coupe which is a LONG term resto/rod project. I purchased the car from a guy in Florida about 1985. It ran but was otherwise pretty trashed. Glass all broken, lots of rust, etc. I did enough to it to make it driveable for a while, then a nephew did a semi-decent paint job on it for me. I finally pulled the engine about 1992 (?) and completely rebuilt it- 0.060 overbore, Clifford headers, Twin-H intake, block reliefs, new valves and springs, cleaned up the ports, 56 mechanical cam, balanced and more-or-less blueprinted. Rebuilt the front suspension about the same time.
I drove the car pretty regularly for about 5 years afterwards, even commuting to work in it 3 or 4 days a week. It ran strong and was reliable. I took it to several in-state Hudson meets and once made a ~1000 mile round trip to a regional HET meet in Front Royal, VA. IIRC I put about 20,000 miles on the car during this time.
I drove the car less and less over the next few years (gas prices were going up) until finally I was only cranking it up every 3 or 4 months. The car of course got harder and harder to start, and started running worse and worse. Finally, in about 2001, I did a compression check and found no compression on two cylinders. I pulled the head and found one badly burned exhaust valve and a blown head gasket. I covered everything up and left it alone as I didn't have time or money at the time to fool with it. The next time I checked it a few weeks later, my cover had blown off the engine and the cylinders had flash-rusted. I totally gave up at that point. The car has sat parked in a driveway in my back yard ever since.
OK, now it's 7 years later- one kid is out and on her own, both my wife's and my parents have passed on. A couple of weeks ago it occurs to me I just MIGHT have some time and funds to devote to the Hudson again. I hate to see it sitting there going down, so I've finally started doing something about it.
I spent the morning wire-brushing the cylinders with my drill and applying a full can of PB Blaster to them. Got the shop vac out and cleaned out 5 years of rodent debris, acorns, and feces from the interior and trunk. Things actually don't look too bad apart from the trunk floor where moisture has eaten through in several spots. I'll get a new tarp to keep the weather out; next project is to prep a better place to pull and work on the engine.
I'm still undecided whether I plan to do a full restoration with a modded engine or more of a resto/rod. Looks like lots of good info at this site- I found the Hudson thread. Heck, the internet didn't even exist when I was originally working on this car. That's gonna be a BIG help. Speaking of which, there's a 56 Hudson 308 on ebay right now....
I'll be seeing you,
Hugh