Projects Project "Flatline" 51 Hudson build

Started banging out the dents should be in primer within the next couple weeks.

 

Full speed ahead!

 

Heart Of Texas is right! 'cause Alex is the MAN!

 

Go to a fedex store and they can print it all off for about $10. Thats what I'm doing.

 

join the club.

find your local Hudson-Essex-Terraplane chapter and join.

I did, and I have access to more cars & parts than I'll ever need.

sure, there's a lot of cranky old guys, but they're pretty good people once you get to know'em.

 

Keep plugging away. I can't wait to see her in primer!

 

I looked and couldn't find any kind of a Hudson club or anything like it. I dont ever remember even seeing a stepdown at any carshows around where I live.

 

I set the engine and transmisson in the car and started to get everything mocked up.The tranny is sitting low right now, but I think that it will work out with no problems.The tranny mount will be super easy, once I get the engine mounted in everything will fall together. Does anyone know what the gear ratio is in this car?

 

sweet

 

those alex burr manual online manuals will help with rear end ratio. i just ended looking up the one i have a on my 53 and 2 52's. mine were all the bolt on rear cover type that i think started in '52. i don't have a 51 manual but it lists 3-7/12, 4-1/10, and 4-5/9 for last year of welded on back covers. all mine had a aluminum tag that told gear and pinion tooth could and you can figure it from there. mt gear ratio on my 52's were 3.07, my 53 was 4.09.

 

If your rear axle has the removable cover on the rear of the axle it is a Spicer unit. Gear sets are readily available in just about any ratio you would want. If the rear axle has a removable pumpkin (similar to a Ford 8" or 9" it is a Hudson rear axle and you will be limited to the 2 or three ratios originally offered by Hudson. Did your car have a manual or auto transmission originally? If standard the ratio was probably around a 4.40, if auto ratio was probably around 3.50.

You will need a special puller to remove the rear drums as they mount on tapered axle shafts. Use plenty of anti-seize when reassembling.

Look over the perimeter frame on the rear of the car as these were notorious for rotting out. Would hate to have the rear collapse on you after getting it on the road.

Search the web for the HET (Hudson, Essex, Terraplane) club and join. Lots of great guys who will be happy to answer questions.

 

There is a '52 (I think) here in my town that has the flat head 307 bored out to 320 and an HEI plus a redo of the carburetion and it likes to digest small block V-8's for dessert.
Normbc9

 

I'm looking at a steering wheel as mine is toast and was wondering if a 1950 Hudson steering wheels would fit on my car? I would assume it would but I just want to make sure.

 

I have attached a picture of a friend's 49 Hudson which has a strong mouse motor installed. The picture is meant to show how he accomplished the transmission mounting for that installation. The 49 and 53 Hudson undersides are essentially identical in stock from.

Hope this provides some ideas.

 

The steering wheels for all Stepdowns share the same center shaft size. Therefore you can mix and match the wheels among the Hudson Stepdowns. Several less than perfect wheels are on eBay at this time. A bit of patience and some epoxy filler will fix most of the separation and/or cracked surfaces on a Hudson steering wheel. Filing, sanding and priming will bring the wheel back to usable surfaces. Prime and repaint your color of choice and you will have a steering wheel which will last you a lifetime

Cheers from Texas

 

Mr Cates, which epoxy filler works best for you? my wheel is in pretty good condition but has a couple of splits i want to take care of some day.

 

in a custom steering wheel thread,a few guys said PC7 for epoxy.--chuck

 

They are there, I bought my '48 in Washington. Made a weekend out of it, drove up from California and picked her up!

 

thank you for the info on the wheel chuck. i don't have a chance to look at a lot of the threads.

 

i remember seeing this car(Or one like it) on the Seattle CL back in Feb. I showed it to my wife, and she said to go for it. I sat on it because I thought it was too much work for me at the moment. I really dig the gauges. Glad I can at least follow it on here!

 

Yeah man it's probably the same car. Right about the time I picked it up. The CL pictures made it look a lot worse then it really was.

 

Right on. Looking forward to seeing what you do with it.

In the end it worked out for me. I picked up my Stude for a buck a couple weeks later

 

Here is a picture I did a really quick photo chop. The car is going to look very similar to the one in the picture. Once again I did this one quick.

 

What'd you do with the original tranny? I would be interested in it if it has O/D. I'm still running the 232 flattie w/3 speed no O/D and I need some more highway speed. On the steering wheel, mine was toast also. Pretty much just a steel ring with a few pieces of the "plastic" left. A fellow gave me a old blue metal flake Challenger 500 steering wheel at a swap meet and i just cut the center out the the factory wheel and welded it to the 500. Works perfect.

 

I had someone check out the transmission and they said it was just a 3 speed. I ended up selling the engine and tranny a couple of days ago.

 

Just for interest sake heres a pic of a hudson commodore with a 50 buick grill.

 

That was done by LDI Kustoms,here's a couple more shots of it.

 

Here is an update on the Hudson. Started doing the body work knocking out the dents.The roof was horrible and still not perfect. There is dents all along the outside of the roof but the middle is untouched. Had to use a light coat of bondo after pounding out the dents. The car will be in primer soon. I ended up painting the chrome. These pictures are from two weeks ago.

 

Once you have one youll see them all over. and they multiply in the yard like rabbits

BTW you mentioned one of the quarter panels had rust. Make sure you check the rear subframes thats right theres two! One set is inboard and the springs mount to them the other are outside of the tires and the quarter panels screw to them they are know to trap dirt and rot out. I got a 51 parts car here at the house if you need stuff let me know
Dave Hitch
FBBF

 

Dave,
There is a 51 Hornet that is complete for $700 that I am considering buying. I have looked all over the car and do not see any rust in the frame. The only thing I am missing for the car is the front turn signals and the chrome piece's for the fenders. If you have them let me know.

Thanks, Ace