Well snapped my 1st bolt today lucky it was just for the hood hinge lol so easy change . Also poured atf down the cylinders and cleaned the plugs. Also figured out that the cranks spins but it's seems that my water pump is seized ...took the generator off to make sure...gen spins nicely ...soaked the water pump bolts and gonna wait awhile until I take the pump off Sent from my SM-G903W using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Hopefully I can get the water pump off and bring it to work and let it sit in our drum of varsol till it frees up Sent from my SM-G903W using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Original Hudson rims are a tube type rim, and take a 7.10 -15 inch tire, a 215/75 -15 would be the same size. The 225/75-15 will work on the front, but will rub a little on hard turns, it will be too wide to go on the rear because of the perimeter frame that is on the outside of the tire. Mixing radial and bias tires is usually not recommended. I think you would need to use a radial tube in the radial tires to keep them aired up. I am using 7.50-15 tires on my Hornet, I have to jack the rear up real high to get them between the frames though. The old girl cleaned real nice, good job, please keep us updated.
Huston we have a problem lol......well the water pump is definitely seized ...both rusted solid in pump and in water jackets and looks like mice may have been living in the rad ......I think there is a shop in town that will tank my rad for me and I'm sure I can clean the water pump and un seize it if not get a new one...but what about my water passages ??? Can I clean these without pulling the motor ? At least I was able to turn the crank over by hand today to very it's not seized ....any advice would be great Sent from my SM-G903W using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Sounds silly but buy some Molasses and mix with water and pour in block. Do a search on Molasses rust removal, stuff really works and is non-hazardous. Some people use white Vinegar.
I have used white vinegar but not internally,except some heads.I filled a plastic tub with white vinegar and submerged them.They came out looking real good.I was happy they were usable.
I had an old international that I filled the whole cooling system with phosphoric acid. I think it was concrete cleaner. Not to be confused with muriatic acid. Ay any rate, I filled the cooling system and let it set over night. The next day I flushed it at least 3 times before filling with antifreeze. Another thing to try that is less caustic is vinegar.
Just saw the reply before me. ^^^^ I think vinegar is the way to get if you don't have prior experience. It's much more mild. Be sure to flush everything afterwards. Like stick the garden hose in the t-stat neck and forcibly flush everything til it runs clear. Fill with water and repeat flushing it the next day til it runs clear. I think you should be ok after that to fill with antifreeze.
Can I take the head off the clean the passages and assemble it back together with the old head gasket or does it need a new one like today's car ?? I thought I remember my dad saying old cars had better gaskets in the sense that in some instances you could reuse them Sent from my SM-G903W using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
And as for the rad I might try and shop vacation everything out then fill it up with clr for awhile Sent from my SM-G903W using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Well I got the head off today and was quite impressed....water jackets seemed less plugged then I thought... should be able to run a coat hanger down then wire brush then flush.....cylinders look really nice and ring Ridge is not bad at all ....one valve looks like it had quite a bit of carbon around it but I think I dodged a bullet.....gonna clean the head and water passages. Clean the cylinders and maybe even bottle hone them then button it back up...geuss I got to look for a head gasket now lol Sent from my SM-G903W using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
After 2 days of soaking in varsol and wire wheeling and sanding ...she finally broke free from the rust then soaked her again until she spun with ease !!! Now time to get a roll of gasket material Sent from my SM-G903W using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Yeah a good friend of mine pointed out that cleaning in with varsol was good to get all the crude out and free it up but probably killed the seal so I'll press it out and replace it ...then it should really be good Sent from my SM-G903W using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Wow man, great car! Good luck getting it going. Keep us posted. Neat to see a fresh project. Hudson are bad ass. I MUST own one . . .someday
Be sure you clean out the water distribution tube in the block, you can see it behind the water pump. It makes the water go to the back of the block so you don't have any hot spots. Is that a 262 or 308? Frank
Found some rear trunk rot and some rear frame rot will vacuuming out the rat turds on the hornet today ....anyone ever patched a frame?? Sent from my SM-G903W using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Just a little FYI.Have a good face mask before vacuuming the rat turds just in case some dust is generated.That RT dust can carry some nasty stuff that can potentially put you in a grave. Good luck.Have fun.Be safe. Leo
Never been a fan of the visor my 51 hornet came with so I have the chance to straight trade a fellow hornet owner for a dual carb 308 intake 2 carbs and the linkage .....my only concern is a repair that was made at the bottom of the intake ??? Do weld or braise jobs hold up well on cast intakes??? Sent from my SM-G903W using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
That weld doesn't look good. It's on top of the base metal. That may not matter tho, as there's not much the weld has to do but prevent a vacuum leak. Oh,and I dig the visor. It's one of the things that draws me into the Hornet.
Looks like you are having a blast with this car. @Racer29 is a Hudson fan. you may give him a PM with any questions.
Hudson Hornets ruled NASCAR in early '50s. Herb Thomas, the Flock brothers Tim and Fonty, and Marshall Teague were among those who raced them.
Welcome...I agree with Tony Martino.....get this thing running, lower it and drive it...try not to disassemble the whole car with the, albeit good intentions, of restoring....leave as is, drive it and upgrade as time goes on...you will not get overwhelmed or frustrated with the whole project. Drive it and work on it as you please.......good luck, keep us all posted R