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'40 Hudson

14K views 154 replies 15 participants last post by  35terraplane 
#1 ·
Trying to fined a car to make into a rod found a '40 Hudson for $900 just wondering if thats a good deal thanks

this site has helped me avoid a bad buy a 29 Chevy that had alot of dry rot in it.
 
#3 ·
Sounds darn cheap to me! ANY car is worth $900, heck a 1995 Honda that isn't running is probably worth that! So a vintage car be it any body style, four door, pickup, ANYTHING is going to be worth $900. Unless it is a rusted out hulk, it sounds good to me. But post a photo or at least more info on condition and body style.

Is it all original, has it been rodded already and it has no motor? It is some old parts car and all the hard to find mouldings and stuff are gone? Give us some more info, sounds interesting.

Brian
 
#5 ·
Yeow, that sucker is rusted BAD. Nope, I would stay a long way from that one. geeeeez, it is really rusted and that is just what I can see in these photos. The ENTIRE floor is gone in that car, from the fire wall to the rear body panel, I will bet a dollar on that. And what a shame, neat car. All original parts, it really is a shame.

And the thing you need to remember there is NOTHING made for that car. I mean NO-THING. No reproduction patch panels, no reproduction rubber, NO-THING.

Now, this is one of the cool things about it, IF it were in better condition. Being such an odd car is fun, it is more challenging to build, it is more interesting when you have it out on the road at a show, having something like this is very cool, but this one is REALLY rough.

Brian
 
#8 ·
Well it IS "restorable", I am just suggesting it is too far gone for YOU. If you are willing to put about fifty times more time than most of us are into a car it IS restorable. Some of use have done as much work but we didn't "choose" too going in.

Brian
 
#9 ·
Looks like a typical restorable "Michigan" car. You other guys are too spoiled by rustfree cars..

I have a 36 sedan and 47 coupe Hudson. The 36 was only rusted in the drivers floor. Easy fix. The 47 is floorless. I looked at several and they were all more or less the same.

There are complete floors available for early Hudsons. Fron the toe boards to the trunk. Tho, I have the skill and tools to do my own. The only thing I"ve purchased for the 47 is inner rocker panels. They are too long for my brake and I didn't want to piece them.

We live with rust in Michigan. But, like the man said. You gotta have the ability to work with it or the car will not get finished and end up costing more in the long run..
 
#10 ·
Just my 2 cents worth, you MIGHT be able to part it for 900 to a restorer.Then look for something needing less work.(IE time, parts&money) Dont know your location, but there are a lot of reasonably priced cars and projects in the Dakotas, Montana and Idaho, some dealers and some private. Good Luck. :evil:
 
#12 ·
BOBCRMAN@aol.com said:
Looks like a typical restorable "Michigan" car. You other guys are too spoiled by rustfree cars..

I have a 36 sedan and 47 coupe Hudson. The 36 was only rusted in the drivers floor. Easy fix. The 47 is floorless. I looked at several and they were all more or less the same.

There are complete floors available for early Hudsons. Fron the toe boards to the trunk. Tho, I have the skill and tools to do my own. The only thing I"ve purchased for the 47 is inner rocker panels. They are too long for my brake and I didn't want to piece them.

We live with rust in Michigan. But, like the man said. You gotta have the ability to work with it or the car will not get finished and end up costing more in the long run..
I have always been amazed at how much work someone will put into a car when a plane ride to check out a car with less rust and shipping it back is WAY cheaper!

A guy I know who deals with vintage Chryslers who cut up and threw away a bunch of bodies about as bad as that Hudson. There are stuff here, all over here that is so much nicer and doesn't cost a bit more. Buy one and ship it back. I know I have sold stuff to people all over and it sure seems to work. The last was my 65 Skylark that went to NY, super nice rust free car. The frame and underbody still had shiny paint from the factory, and the zinc plated body bolts could be turned with a ratchet and socket by hand.

The first time I did this it was a 65 Buick Sport Wagon. The guy was from Michigan. It's like I told him on the phone, come to the SF bay area for "vacation", don't come to buy this car, just come for "Vacation" and if you like the car drive it home. That is exactly what he did. The stuff here is so nice it would blow your mind!

Brian
 
#13 ·
[QUOTE='29chevy]no motor or transmission stored for 30 years wondering if its a reasonable deal[/QUOTE]


What scares me about that Cad is I DON'T see much rust. This could be good, or it could be covered up. It isn't original paint, at least on the hood, you can see some bondo chipped way to the right of the emblem in the photo. Was an engine swap started where the frame is all cut up? Seems like a LOT of money for that car.

It would take a bunch of work but much more doable than the Hudson, but for over five times as much money? I would keep looking. That hudson is a super cool car and with all the virgin stuff there never touched or hacked up, that is pretty priceless. If that is all cars look like up there, with a lot of rust, it may not be that bad of a car to work with.
But honestly, it is a HUGE project replacing all that metal. It would be apart for a LONG time. But damn it would be cool, very cool cars those Hudsons.

Brian
 
#18 ·
depends on how much fabrication skills are at hand... 4x8 sheets of 18-20 gauge cold rolled steel will be much cheaper than any patch panel made.. even if it was a '40 Chevy ( which has a good selection of parts avail )... theoreticly, the rust could be taken care of for a few hundred.. and it looks like floors and rockers are all that is really needed/ not diffacult to build with the right equipment...

costs will add up when you start finding the stuff not made.. Steele rubber could probably make glass and door gaskets but it'll cost..

$5-6k for a cheaper interior, $1k for a drivetrain out of a junkyard that comes with a warranty.... it could probably be done for less than $50k, but I doubt it could be done for less than $35-40k.. that would be looking 100%

also consider looking at simmilar cars that have parts availability.. I had a '65 Rambler American 4dr that needed rockers.. 2dr rockers are available at $100 each, so it would have taken $400 to do the car up+ some fabrication for the rear doors.. but looking and found that '66-'69 Ford Falcon rockers are just about the same shape and length as the Rambler.. and cost about half for 4dr rockers
 
#20 · (Edited)
You do not have to deal with that rusted out crap that you are finding around home. I assume that you have a truck that will make a cross-country trip. If you don't have a trailer, drive your truck to Phoenix, then rent a trailer at U-Haul. This old weapons hauler is street legal and has a clean title. You wouldn't need shiny paint on this one either. I came with flat paint. Hand this guy $1,800 and winch the Dodge up onto the trailer. Enjoy your trip back home.
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/cto/2013038315.html

I found this gem after looking for only about 10 minutes for you. It's about 4 miles from my house. If you don't like this one, tap into some of the craigslists around the country that are out of the road salt area and see what you can find. But please, in the name of common sense, do not settle for a money pit like the Hudson or another example that is as bad. Plan on making a trip to get a nicer piece to start with. That's my best advice after doing this stuff for 50 years. MARTINSR is trying to tell you the same thing.
 
#21 ·
[QUOTE='29chevy]Forgive me for sounding stupid but all the brown on the body is rust right :confused:[/QUOTE]
Yeah, it's rust. And no matter what Matt says, I don't see it as surface rust. That's rusted-through rust. We've got 'em with surface rust here in Arizona, where the desert sun has cut through the paint and the rain has "surface rusted" the panels. We scuff the rust off with sandpaper and prime the shiny steel underneath. With that Hudson, there is probably no shiny steel underneath. Or if there is, it's probably the thickness of aluminum foil.

The best use of that car, in my opinion, would be to offer patterns to make some real sheet metal parts from.
 
#22 ·
The Hudson is do able if you know how to do body work and have a welder. If not you will before your done.Would be a cool car done though.The extra $4000 buys a lot of tin and wire weld.I've done rougher car than that. All depends on how hard you want to work and how deep the pockets are.
 
#23 ·
Yeah, that is FAR from "surface rust". Along the body lines under the windows for instance is VERY pitted. And the holes all over the bottom of the doors, quarters and hood is certainly not "surface rust". :) I know you weren't referring to that but I want to be sure that the OP is clear. That car has a LOT of rust, if it is that visible there is three times as much that you don't see. The worse part is all the seams with a few panels welded together make layers of rusted metal all piled up and VERY difficult to correct. A simple hole can be welded up with a patch, even severe pitting on the body can be taken care of "relatively" easy. But when all the structure has pinch welds (layers spot welded together) that are full of rust to the point that you can stick a screw driver thru it with your bare hands (I don't know for sure, but I picture this car having a few spots like that) it is beyond just "cleaning up rust".

Brian
 
#24 ·
MARTINSR said:
Yeow, that sucker is rusted BAD. Nope, I would stay a long way from that one. geeeeez, it is really rusted and that is just what I can see in these photos. The ENTIRE floor is gone in that car, from the fire wall to the rear body panel, I will bet a dollar on that. And what a shame, neat car. All original parts, it really is a shame.

And the thing you need to remember there is NOTHING made for that car. I mean NO-THING. No reproduction patch panels, no reproduction rubber, NO-THING.

Now, this is one of the cool things about it, IF it were in better condition. Being such an odd car is fun, it is more challenging to build, it is more interesting when you have it out on the road at a show, having something like this is very cool, but this one is REALLY rough.

Brian

Pfffft, if it casts a shadow it's workable.

BTW, here's all the floor panels you'll need for it: http://c2cfabrication.com/store/index.php?cPath=138_143&osCsid=23t1mij6l0j44et178gu8tq7a1

Just don't be like everyone else and put an SBC in the thing, that shows lack of creativity.
 
#25 ·
LOLOL, it goes to show you how unless you are a part of the "community" of owners of a particular car you just don't know, I am blown away that there are repro parts for that car!

And when you buy any old car let alone an "odd" one you just don't know what is available until you "hang out" with some owners and become one of that community. More and more stuff starts to show up. If not repro, then NOS or even the used parts, you don't have a clue where to find a rare part until you become part of the community and then you are blown away by all that is available.

Cool, I am glad to see something is available for it.

Brian
 
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