Does anyone here have a Hudson pickup? Would love to see pics of Hudsons. I have a '46 pickup that has perfect patina for a nostalgia piece. Can't wait to get started building.
I realize you`re a newbie but I can`t believe someone thinking of joining wouldn`t take a little time to peruse the posts and see this is a fairly hardnosed traditional site. Clues are pretty much everywhere in the forum and easy to get the feel for what is accepted and also what is not entertained. Not trying to discourage you but others will cut you hard figuratively speaking... Not a good start so back up, edit your post and good luck with your very rare truck. Welcome aboard.
Meaning you're going to build a car that looks like it needs paint? .... A shame on something so rare. I have several Hudsons now, but no pickup.
Here's my buddy Hanks' Hudson - SBC motivated, next to his V8 60 powered Crosley - the Crosley would probably fit in the pickup bed of the Hudson - yep I guess size matters....
I don't own one but I like the looks of those year Hudson's. I think everything looks better with paint, and I think most here would agree. Tell us your plans for it.
Whoaa... wow. aerocolor, your right I didn't do a lot of preusing of the site, I joined because of the redirects to this site from other sites I frequent. I found good info and cars and lifestyle to my liking. So, I signed up. Now I agree with you about being traditional. I don't like "rat" rods that mix new and old and whatever just for effect. What I should say is I will be building a period perfect hot rod, with aged look. I like antiques, signs, speed equipment, etc, that show some age. I like all cars, trucks, etc, in all kinds of finish's. Weasel, that Crosley is awesome. My choice to do the Hudson this way is because there is no engine, no trans, no interior, nothing but a body and frame. To rare to find parts, but I won't cut it up because of its rarity.
P.S. Most original hot rods were rat rods because the veterans coming home from war were interested in going fast, not so hung up on looks. But I didn't come here to argue. I came here to learn, network, and share back and forth with "car guys". So, ranting over, I hope you'll except me as a mutual old car lover.
The beauty of the '46-'47 Hudsons is that there's no need to chop the top on one, because the glass area is already as short as most chop jobs. I always wanted to find a '46-'47 Hudson truck to build a rod. Instead, I have a '52 International...and my first customizing job will be to chop 3-1/2" to 4" [haven't decided if 4" is too much] from the top.
Paint is temporary. The more you drive it and the less you polish it, the better. I like weird trucks.
It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt. Mark Twain
I have detailed pics of this OT Hudson - PM and I can send a detailed picture album if your interested.... Just another one of those average joe everyday blown and injected Hudson pickups? -
I LOVE these Hudson pick ups - or utes to us in the Antipodes. I dream of having one as my work vehicle - who wouldn't notice it! However as they are as rare as the proverbial, I will just dream and look at pictures of them,...
I too have Hudsons but no pickups. However here are a few pics of some of my favorite Hudson/Terraplane pickups.
"What did he say that riled you?" Aerocolor isn't riled. He was real decent with him. I came in a little late, but I suspect that AF used the R*t R*d word and then respectfully edited his post after Aerocolor rightly suggested he do so. As far as being hardnosed, some here are, but most don't feel the need to actually be mean. It's just that the Hamb is fairly strict as far as keeping things traditional...what you'd see from the early '60s or earlier. And to Aaron. Your statement, "Most original hot rods were rat rods because the veterans coming home from war were interested in going fast, not so hung up on looks." is wrong for more than one reason. First of all, stop using that term...it's not accepted here. You'll definitely piss some people off here doing that...especially in reference to post-war hot rods. At the very least, you'll be ridiculed...because you're mistaken. Also, the term wasn't used in reference to hot rods until a couple of decades ago. It was a carryover term from the "rat bikes" (rough looking) motorcycles that some bikers had. I used to hear the term in reference to motorcycles in the '70s. Somewhere along the line...sometime after the nostalgic type rods began to become popular again...some people started calling them "r*t r*ds". The masses picked up on it, and unfortunately, it's been with us since. Most traditional hot rodders consider it to be a derogatory term, mostly because it conjures up images of slapped together, unsafe, goofy-lookin', gimic-laden pieces of junk that insult the long held traditions of hot rodding. Also, even though there were plenty of hot rods after the war that weren't what you'd consider show cars, very few if any were anything that resembled a r*t r*d. And most post-war hot rods were actually quite nicely finished...many, extremely so. As far as "arguing" here, feel free to disagree with anybody at any time. All of us are capable of being wrong from time to time, but I'd suggest that you better be pretty sure of what you're talking about, and at least be willing to be corrected, as there are some highly knowlegeable hot rodders here...lots of 'em. I'm not being hardnosed. Just sharing what's what...for your benefit. Welcome to the Hamb, and good luck with your Hudson Big Boy pickup. Yes, they are fairly rare. But the cars of the same era ('46 and '47) used most of the same parts...almost everthing forward of the bed. So if you look around, you can find parts. You could probably find a cheap 4dr as a donor if you needed to. A heads-up if you plan on installing a V8. If you retain the original steering box, you'll find it basically impossible to install any V8 with a driver-side starter. Notice that the snout of your steering box extends a ways toward the centerline of the vehicle. That's why. But the cove in the firewall offers nice clearance for a rear-mounted distributor. Other than that, it's a fairly good-sized engine bay, with enough room for many V8s...though a later inline six would fit like a dream. Does your truck have a 3spd column shifter? If it's the same as the cars, it's kind of different. It doesn't use 2 rods as most others did. It uses 1 rod. And it uses a cable to change between reverse/low and 2nd/3rd. So it can't be used to shift a typical 3spd trans...though it could be used to shift an automatic. If you did want to install a 3spd and have a column shifter, many of the other makes of cars had the same diameter steering column (early Chevy trucks for one) and since many are bolt-on/clamp-on units, it's possible to mount them to the Hudson column.
Dennis Varni's '47 Hudson Pickup: At Speed Nymph Garage 2008 (by @A32Flathead) At Speed Nymph Garage 2006 (photographer unknown) Rolling Bones Hood Ornament (by Kim Barnes) Varni's Hudson appears a couple times in VELOCITY's Chasing Classic Cars season 5 episode entitled "California Dreaming"... it first appears towing Dennis' record holding #909 E/BGS Bonneville 'liner ... and then again at the beginning of this visit to the SPEED NYMPH GARAGE: <IFRAME id=dit-video-embed height=360 src="http://static.discoverymedia.com/vi...e73c71ddfa022c690/snag-it-player.html?auto=no" frameBorder=0 width=640 allowTransparency scrolling=no></IFRAME>
Well I thought I was being very nice and informative to a new guy without busting his balls. It`s a shame that when guiding someone and not scaring him off I become the target for the remarks. Guess I`ll keep my F*#%king mouth shut next time and let him get what coming. Sorry Aaron. If this helps you feel better,I don`t paint all of my shit either. But it is NOT a r*trod.
aerocolor, I was not offended, I did not feel you were busting mt balls, I'm fine. Rickybop, I stand corrected. I was not viewing the term the same way the guys here do. I to despise "slapped together, unsafe, goofy-lookin', gimic-laden pieces of junk that insult the long held traditions of hot rodding." Rest assured, whatever I build will be period correct, with attention to detail and respect to whatever chandra. sp? HEMI32, sweet link. Thanks. sgtlethargic, thanks for the link, good info. Thanks guys for the pics, keep 'em coming, good stuff.
I have always loved them. There was one in a junk yard in Oxnard Ca in 1968. One behind the Gulf station where we turned to go water skiing in Md.. There was one on rt 100 on the way to Macungie Pa. both of the east coast ones disappeared. I particularly love the deep dash board top.
There were two of them in Abilene forever, sitting beside a building on Treadway forever in the 70's and eighties. Then they were gone. I always regretted not trying to snag one. Really cool trucks.
Back to the original subject. A buddy that owns a restoration shop had a Hudson pickup as his shop truck for years. If I remember correctly it had a dual carbed Hornet engine and ran very well. Unfortunately he bought a 1950 Ford coupe used in the China/Russian crosscountry ralley race and needed to sell the Hudson. I really liked that truck. It was huge compared to my `51 F-1 and he used it for hauling parts or mulch. Cool truck. I wish I had bought it.
belair, my truck has 1957 Texas plates on it. With a address of "222 N. Stanton" but no city.(see photo) I've tried to figure out where its from but to no avail. aerocolor, the dual carbed Hudson, known as the twin-h a flathead six, ran 145hp to 160hp all the way up to 220hp in the X7 option race engine. And the beds on the trucks are a full 8'. If I were going to customize my truck, I would shorten the bed for sure. The body style I have was produced in '42, '46, and '47 with total production of trucks being about 6600. They're fairly rare.
I would LOVE to see this one on airbags. Damn it'd look so custom! Realize though that it wouldn't be "traditional"... TRADITION NEVER DIES!
The Jalopy Journal
