As OddBall stuff kind of allways finds me I stumbled upon this ad. hudson Hornet engine with alluminum head dual intake and 2 speed transmission. $200.00 So would this be something worth picking up, or is it too odd ball, and would cost a fortune to rebuild? I plan to build a small truck, and was thinking this might make a unusual engine choice. Thank you
If you can spare 200 jump on it. Even if you can't use it it would be worth it to save for a Hudson restorer.
Seems like that was a 306 inch motor, or something like that. Hudson owned Nascar for a while in the early 50's. I find that price exceedingly low, better jump on that!
Grab it! Build it later but build it. Ck out uncommonengineering.com. QUOTE=scannman;3948921]As OddBall stuff kind of allways finds me I stumbled upon this ad. hudson Hornet engine with alluminum head dual intake and 2 speed transmission. $200.00 So would this be something worth picking up, or is it too odd ball, and would cost a fortune to rebuild? I plan to build a small truck, and was thinking this might make a unusual engine choice. Thank you[/QUOTE]
That would be a 308 flat head six, the dual carb motors were called twin "H" power I think. I know a guy that had one in a big Hudson but the aluminum head was eaten out and leaked water, he replaced the head with a cast iron one. That motor held some land speed records.
Could be a Dual-Range Hydromatic, which was the four-speed GM automatic transmission. The Hudson engines came in 202, 232, 262, and 308 sizes, from 1948 until 1956. The "Twin-H" setup was the name of the factory two-carb induction system. Earleir (pre-'48) engine was a 212. All were Sixes. You can tell for sure if it is a 308, by a 1" thick raised ridge that runs along the length of the block, just above the oil pan rail. The 232 and 262 do NOT have this ridge. For $200, if you don't buy it, I will.
All the '48 to '54 full size Hudsons had Hydromatic 4 speeds. For $200 maybe only 2 of the speeds still work!
It holds a few current records at B'ville. Check out HudsonBoys.com. They run various combintions(classes) in a modified roadster or lakester. QUOTE=46international;3949145]That would be a 308 flat head six, the dual carb motors were called twin "H" power I think. I know a guy that had one in a big Hudson but the aluminum head was eaten out and leaked water, he replaced the head with a cast iron one. That motor held some land speed records.[/QUOTE]
What kind of "small pickup" are you talking about? If it's not a Hudson pickup, I'd buy the engine, then turn it to a Hudson guy who is looking for one. To rebuild a 308 properly, you are looking at anywhere from $3K to around $8K, depending on what it needs. You do NOT want to just drop off the block at your local machine shop, because chances are they know NOTHING about the Hudson engines. There are several top-quality Hudson guys around the country you would want to trust your block and such to. Parts for the 308 are relavtively easy to get, but they are not SBC cheap, by any means.
This is not only a very large motor (308) but a very well-developed motor with 12 ports (otherwise not seen until the Slant 6 in 1960) and factory valve reliefs. Stock 170 hp? Take it.
Factory aluminum heads are wallhangers unless your a glutton for punishment or plan to really baby it. Not trying to talk you out of it at all, just go in with both eyes open. Peruse the engine/trans threads over here http://www.classiccar.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=13 till your eyes bleed. That being said,I love my Twin-H power and am not afraid to drive it. Buy it! Build it! Run the balls off it!
carefull picking it up, you're looking at 800 lbs or more. So your little truck will need some stout underpinnings. If it doesn't need rebuilding itsa great buy.
dont know much about hudson motors except my 50 olds in high school (59) didnt beat very many of them if at all but they wernt popular either
Jean Shepherd once described his boss's Hudson as "so mean it sat in the driveway all night, burning rubber with the key off".
Is this a 308? http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/uu274/Skippysh/PA110125.jpg http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/uu274/Skippysh/PA110128.jpg I think it is a 1951 Hornet, 4 door. Model 7A, Serial # 85826. The head has 232 stamped on it, but it looks like it has the ridge mentioned above. Thanks for any help, it is greatly appriciated. Cheers
Yes, that is a 308. The tell-tale sign of a 308 is the cast reinforcement rib running along the block just above the oil pan rail. 262 and 232 engines do not have this rib. Hud
Thank you for the replys! I believe the cars are 1951. One is complete, and one is not quite. They belonged to my father, I remember he was very intriuged with them, but never got a chance to work on them, and unfortunatly he passed last year. This past week my father in-law and I moved them to his house, which is terriffic since he is very knowledgable and active in restoration projects. On the complete car's passenger door it has a stamp - model 7A and Serial # 85826. Is there any way to decipher the #'s? The head has 232 stamped on it, is there any benifit to this head/reason it was changed? Are the heads fairly similar? I know I'm jumping the gun, as there is plenty of other work to be focused on, but where do most people shop for gasket/rebuild kits? and finally - is it a 6 volt system? with a negative or positive ground? Thanks again for any help, Cheers
Yeah---Thjere were three different displacement engines in '51--232, 262, and 308. Putting a 232 head on a 308 engine raised the compression ratio approximately 1.0 points (ie. 7.4 to1 to 8.4 to 1.) Certain "Extreme Duty" Hornet engines, the 7X, was available as a dealer-option. The engine had over 175 hp, and was stock with a 232 head on it. This engine had a lot of development from the factory via one Smokey Yunick, in Florida. His mods made the Hudsons fly--Handling w/ the Stepdown frame arrangement made them the handlers that they were, so they RULED NASCAR in the early 50's. Try the Classiccar.com site, look for "Hudsons" and find huge amounts of information !!
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