Projects I’m torn in more ways than one!!!... Traditional build 2nd guesses, Help me out fellas!!!

So as some may know I bought a 29 Oakland 3 window coupe. From there I started finding parts left and right. First I found 1960 Torqueflite 727 transmission that was in a 1960 Newport field car that the farmer let me have for free! I then bought a 1954 Hudson Hornet 308 with an attached 1949 Hudson Commodore transmission ( came out of a 49 Hudson Comm) the engine must have been an upgrade. NOW I’ve got the option to trade the Oakland for a 33 Chev master town sedan. (Note) the 33 does have hood sides, grille * no louvers* and lights ( not pictured) I also have a rear end out of the Newport for either car if they are worth using? The TQ flite trans does have a small hole from perhaps a rock please see all pics. The trans does have the bottom pan, I just removed it to see how clean it was.

Decision#1- Which car

#2 keep 49 trans (column shift) for easy swap since the bolt holes for 49 and 54 are the same or get an adapter plate and install push button 727.
#2a sell 727 since it seems they are popular and buy more shit
















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Both are cool with lots of potential...do you have family? What has more wood?
What has more rust perforation. Thats a Dodge and its chopped...but equally similar...for another twist on a similar coupe Rabid Whippet's got a unique one as well...

Chev looks stock but gives an idea of its class.

I love the coupe and that is a roomy coupe I'm sure and that would be my choice...watch Mopar Montana's cool video.
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Chevy no remember lots of wood and from pictures looks very rough , Oakland yes. as far as other stuff your just grasping at straws without a plan.

 

Chevy sure looks rough, probably fall apart before you get it out of that yard , just like the other one in the background. The owner should have sold it all 40 years ago. So i sense a little doubt about your love for the Oakland. Like 392 says , you need to start planning again. If you do indeed have no more love for the Oakland sell it and start again with something more solid or maybe even younger. Maybe a vacation and then take a new look at the Oakland , sometimes thats all it takes.

 

Keep the Oakland skip the Chevy.
Dump the Hudson and Mopar stuff and buy a running engine with trans.
In the end it's your ass that has to sit in the car.Which one do you want to work on?

 

This all seems like a personal choice. As @partsdawg said which one do you see working for you. I'd pick the Oakland with the Hudson motor personally. I like oddball stuff especially for cruiser type cars.

 

Door #3, sell the Oakland and buy something better. Bob

 

Oakland with a Hemi.

 

lots of free car parts are worth their weight as scrap. Think about it.

The Oakland is a neat car...but how is the wood? and how much bodywork skill do you have, or have the time and energy to learn?

 

The Chevy is gonna be full of wood too.

My thoughts are the hole in the torque flite won't be a problem and they are relatively cheap to rebuild if you want an automatic. But it will be costly to hook to the twin H. The twin H is going to cost a fortune to rebuild anyway. But is as a cool motor.

The 6 cylinder is a sort of a long engine as opposed to V8 options and if you use it with a stock frame the sedan is going to offer you a little more room for motor and legs.

I would be torn, both are actually going to be odd rods. The Oakland is the oddest of the two.

If I was set on using the Twin H I would stay with the Hudson tranny. It will be as costly to rebuild as the motor but it would simplify your build.

So there ya got it I just said absolutely nothing that will help you and have not even began to make a decision for you but that that.

 

I may be wrong, but the '33 Town Sedan (short body with add-on trunk) may be more rare than the Oakland- both are great finds!

 

After just finishing a 31 Chevrolet I can tell you that the wood kit alone is $4,400.00. Before making a decision on the Hudson check to see if you can even find the parts to rebuild / repair it.

 

Like others have said, what skills do you have, They both look like a lot of sheetmetal work but not too bad. Remember you can replace wood with box tube. I would skip the free transmission and try to find a motor/trans that go together. Spend a little money and get something that you know will work together, it will be money saved in the long run. I think you said you had a rear axle also, check how wide it is before you commit.
I thought the coupe was very cool at first but then the sedan really looks cool also. do yo need a back seat? if so go with the sedan.

 

what is your family situation ?
kids or grandkids that live close enough to ride around with you ?... sedan.
you and the mrs. ..... coupe.
ditto on replacing the wood, are both cars wooden ?
which needs less ?
from the looks of the background what other body options do you have ?
memory says Oakland merged with Pontiac, does ancestry dot com show American Indian in your past [mine does] ? if so go Oakland...

 

The coupe is very roomy the wood is a wash between which has more or better.... both being GM cars . I do have family but Have a 29 Hudson 3w with rumble that I’m working on for going family speed . Thank you for your input!


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Hey there squirrel! The wood is drivers side good passenger side very bad, I have no idea how that happened but it did ( damn GM cars ) The only reason I’ve had any doubts between cars now is because I keep getting chastised by local car guys and the peanut gallery because “the Oakland is so rare you should restore it” I respond with “do you want to buy it and restore it?” And of course there is no response..... as for time I’ve got quite a bit of that at 30 years old and 10 years in I was medically retired from the army ( now 32) so now I just get fat and bug you gents lol!


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Quite frankly I get a little bit tired of going to car shows and seeing the same damn thing you know SBC in Fords and flathead ford’s in Chevys etc. I think the Oakland with the 308 would be sort of a breath of fresh air imho A different type of hot rod with very different type of engine... As I told squirrel I’ve just been catching a lot of flak from locals and other people online about “destroying such a rare car”


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if you're up for a real challenge, the Oakland would be a neat rod.

The reason I didn't ask about the wood on the Chevy is that it's obvious that it's all going to need to be replaced.

do you know just how much work it will be to fix either body?

as for restoring them vs rodding them...you asked the right question, you got your answer. Let your conscience be clear now....

 

I’ve been wondering the same thing... it also has dual side mounts. I’m not too much on the up and up with Chevrolet but I think that this car is a “master town sedan” When I first saw the car I wanted to buy the front fenders and put them on the Oakland .


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Unfortunately the Oakland is a GM car and has lots of wood as well... so I’ll either have to attempt to redo the wood or put in tubing.


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Thank you for all of the thoughts and constructive criticism so far. Unfortunately both are GM cars with lots of wood.... As someone said the Hudson is a long engine but the Oakland is powered by a big straight six so that’ll be an easier fit than the Chevrolet, and as I mentioned in a couple replies I’ve just been catching a lot of flak from people because I wanted to hot rod such a “rare and complete car” I saw that a couple people mentioned a hemi but if I kept the Oakland I would definitely stick with the high compression 1954 twin-H 308 it was the biggest and best year ( not to mention the last) for the Hudson hornet 308ci @ 170hp ( prior years were 145hp) vs the same year Hemi at 331ci and 235hp. I don’t think bigger necessarily means better, surely there’s some power to weight ratio math to be had... but perhaps not... When stock car racing was actually *stock car* racing the from what I’ve read Hudson Hornet had an 80+% win rate, that straight 6 would literally and figuratively run circles around the more modern OHV eight’s. I do have cars that I am restoring but I’ve been looking for something where I can be creative! Though I would like to save them all I’m a realist and I know that you can’t ( Plus I hate dealing with Babbitt bearings) lol. With that all being saidI still feel a little bit guilty when I hear people say “oh that can be saved, when’s the last time you’ve seen one?!?” But as squirrel said I asked the right question and I got the answer so I should let my conscience be clear.


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Ignore said flak.
The world is full of experts.
Don't listen to the local guys telling you what to do.
Listen to the HAMB..... well, some of it.

 

Which ever one you choose, I would replace the wood with square/rectangular tubing.

 

How often do you let other people spend your money.
There's better examples to save, start there not from where you are.
At least one that has all the little nicki norck parts that are impossible to find.

The next A coupe I build, I'm starting with a restored car and cutting it up. I'm building a hot rod not hunting down car parts. Oh I could buy a derelict shell for 2-3000, weld up 1/2 of it and rebuild the bottom 8" then spend 8000 on all the missing parts and doodad hardware. What's building a hot rod the traditional way,,, start with a car that 20-30 years old and have at it. It's not my fault it's not 1961 anymore. For proper perspective, get yourself a 30 year old 1988 something and build fast car. Might have to move to 1987 and you'll find plenty 100% complete running vehicles to choose from. Would you go to the swamp and drag home a rotted 1987 that's missing 7/8 of its parts in order to have something to build? Kinda stupid

 

If I were going to keep everything Oakland as it sounds you would do with the Ford then perhaps that makes sense. I just like the body.. There’s also the issue of actually finding one of these that’s an older restoration...Fords are way more plentiful than any GM cars especially at shows, I’d rather something different and unique. I’m not sure where you’re buying your cars but the Oakland and a bunch of extra period parts cost me $500 going out to lunch with a really cool old timer talking about hotrods and trading war stories. so I’m Ahead the money if looking at it from the $2000-$3000 perspective.


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I totally agree with 'dawg on this one. That Chevy is a disaster and the Oakland looks way more solid to start with. If you buy the Oakland it will be your car. Being that it would then in fact be YOUR car, you get to decide what gets done with it. If you want to hot rod the crap out of it that is entirely your call. If people don't like it, that is one hundred percent their problem not yours - you don't owe them anything.

Good luck with your decision.

 

I need to start hanging around with you !!!
Have you see this guys thread?
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1930-pontiac-3w-rescue-sheetmetal-heavy.704547/page-3

 

Nice! I don’t believe I have thank you!


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These are just more examples to help you envision potential directions...these with the Mopar coupe are size wise and of similar shape and body style...Its alot of work as eluded but totally doable...I like all these styles...thats the other choice what to do...once you decide...again these are to inspire...









Hamber @The Rabid Whippet's Hotrod
He drives the heck out of this...

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1929-willys-3-window-hemi-powered-whippet.545908/page-4

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...hippet-coupe-drive-and-detailed-video.933887/







https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1931-chevy-5-window-coupe.680039/


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My first hot rod was a 33 Chevy 3 window coupe. No wood kits were available. Ended up welding in tubing to hold it together . Really helped me learn how to gas weld.
I like the idea of the Oakland with the Hudson.