Just bought a 53 Hudson Super Wasp at a Kansas auction for 7500 bucks. 262 six. Early Hydramatic with no park, handbrake only. Slow as molasses in winter. Perfect for a scarab-beetle lookin' street rod sedan that looks chopped from the frickin' git-go. Somebody loved this bath tub and cared for it well. Gonna call her "Scooby Doo." Good frame, very little rust. Bumpers dented in five places. Presentable NOS original wool interior and worth keeping. Paint is faded and dry but looks like a poor man's 20-footer satin job done while high as a flippin' kite. I like the iffy chrome and dents and Im leaving it that way. Wife says "yes" to that economy option, shotgun in hand. A patina rod. Kool & rare color. This tub has four shades of funky green in & out and I dig that. Front bumper looks like boar tusks, a keeper. To save dough... Im thinking of putting in my recently-pulled 1963 caddy 390 and Hydramatic....a one year only engine. With that setup, a cut Ford 9-inch rear with posi seems a good choice and the Hudson guys say it'll fit swell. This is about 290 bhp and 375 ft. lbs. with a fresh go-thru, so it won't need any suspension mods (these cars handle well with the step-down feature!), just disc brakes, a re-cored rad & lake pipes. I like the wheels and hubcaps. A sleeper. I may have to go with steelies since putting on new whitewall radials will pitch the stock hubcaps off in a hard turn. Or should I stop being a candy-ass sissy and put in a new front end, 454 chevy, alum heads, and 5 speed? 409 triple deuce? Backdated Lokar orange block LS3? 440 with six Stroms? Cummins 6BT Twin turbo-Diesel? Blower flatty? Surface-to-air-missiles? This car was built during the Cold War ya know. Need input here, folks.
Theres no speed parts for a '63 caddy 390. If I was smart Id go with a 61-62 Cad 390 with the there deuces. Just bought an Eddy 3x2 manifold for such a mill just in case. Anyone have a Caddy 390 engine for sale?
I had one for a DD in early 60's, also a 4 dr and Hydramatic but with "Twin H Power" which was 2 1 bbl carbs. Bought it cheap during a time when I was hard up for money and it was cheap. Good car for what I paid for it, except if it got below approx. 25* no way in Hell could you get it to start! Late friend had a '53 Hornet coupe in which he installed a Caddy engine, and that was a helluva car for it's day on top end.
" I like the iffy chrome and dents and Im leaving it that way. Wife says "yes" to that economy option, shotgun in hand. A patina rod. Kool & rare color. " This right here says use the 390 you got, keep the hood shut, and drive the wheels off it....just sayen.... Check this out. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/index.php?threads/1037167/ Sent from my SM-G973U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I put several thousand miles on the 51 Hornet I had, it was sluggish with two carbs on the 308 and 4.56 gears behind the 3 speed overdrive. I totally get the need for hot rodding it
O/T ....4.6 inlinesix jeep stroker...kinda the grandson of what's in there now. H.a.m.b. friendly....327 "vette" engine (I was thinking the Caddy would make that car nose heavy)
Mike Browns dad Doctor Brown had a Hudson like this with a Cadillac in it when we were in high school. Way cool for the mid 50”s
Cool car you have there. 1960 model. 390 My son still has this. He will work with the price. Sent you a message in contact. He doesn’t monitor his messages. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1960-cadillac-390-rebuilt-and-powder-coated.1169923/
Those are really cool cars. I had one, only a 2 door. Had a 455 Buick in it with 2x4's, chopped, rounded hood, shaved, 56 Chevy headlights, 53 Pontiac grill. People always asked what year my Merc. was. Ended up with a license plate that read, 8NOMERC and ditched the 1HOTHUD that the previous owner had on there.
My buddy Dave Coleman here in VA has a 52 Hudson he turbocharged with a big SU carb. There is a Mculloch blower on eBay right now... https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-19...279773&hash=item3b5297100c:g:zNgAAOSwrNBfvXZt Thanks for the 390 engine tip!
No "frame" or chassis. They are unibody but still strong in original shape. Over here in Australia in the 1948-54 era they were sold as a luxury car to farmers and graziers. Consequently the "frame" or box sections filled up with dirt and soil dust and when it rained that got in there and turned it to mud and then rust. My first Hudson we cleaned out a whole paddock of top soil from the rails. My current one in the picture is on a Holden chassis.
i've seen 'em with the 455 buick swap, also 1st-gen hemi. the center steering link is the problem, which was solved by massaging the oil pan with a hammer.
Any of those engines besides the locker Ls sound great!! Cummins would be so cool, but OT probably most work and murder on front ends due to weight.
Just like in Driving miss Daisy! Watch that speed mister, you should only be driving 25 (I think that car only idled around in the movie) Boring! Dump that Caddy in there and call 'er The Green Hornet!
There’s a guy here advertising that he’s clearing out ‘53 Hudson parts in our little local California paper. If you need anything I could PM you his contact info. Hudson parts can’t be easy to find. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Got a friend selling a 52 Hudson super wasp here in Manitoba Canada - but that doesn't help any of our U.S. neighbors right now. But any Canadians who may be interested... great resto project and really cheap too!
A good source for parts is Vintage Coach. This was the business and collection owned by Bill Albright, now deceased and run by his grandson I think. I met Bill back in 2003 when I was building the 48 Hudson and before that I had him send me the 2 door doors and rear fenders to convert my 4 door to a two door. He was agrumpy old guy but man did he have some stuff. https://www.albrightcars.com/
Bought a '69 351 Windsor block. Going for a Ford 9 in rear with 3:90 LSD. Shelby aluminum heads. Ford AOD tranny
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