Me and My Hudsons

I first became interested in Hudsons as a young teenager.  My grandfather had a 1947 Hudson Commodore 8 and a 1929 Ford Model A in his garage.  I asked him if there was anything I could help him with and he mentioned that I could help him fix up the '47.  I learned how to fix brakes and the basics of straight 8s.  We had it painted but the interior was still in need of salvation.  It was in pretty good shape, but needed a headliner and some cloth in different locations.

We found the 1950 Hudson Commodore 6 in Spicer, Minnesota. It had been sitting in a shed for 15 years and only had 32,000 miles on it.  A little old lady had driven it back and forth 10 miles to church for many years.  I love finding cars like that.  We hooked a triangular tow bar onto the bumper bolts and pulled it home.  I drove it mostly during the summers while I was in high school.  It was actually my first car.  I get a kick out of telling older salts that my first car was a 1950 Hudson. Of course the first car I ever owned was a 91 Mercury Sable, buts that’s not part of the story.

We also bought two Hudson Pickup trucks, a 1946 and a 1947(the black one pictured at the top).  They were pretty rough.  The '47 pickup had a large dent in the roof and the '46 had a Buick engine, but with the original engine in the back.  I was looking around in the glove box (amidst the mouse dung) of the '46 and found the original owner pamphlet. On it was the original owner's name and town.  I called him.  He was 95 years old (in 1988) and said he had pulled the engine because they didn't want to have to find parts for it.  He said that he bought it from a friend who owned a Hudson Dealership in Chicago.  Cars were hard to find after the war and he was happy to get it.

My Grandfather died in 1996. The '47 Commodore 8 went to my uncle who sold it.  The '50 Commodore 6 went to my aunt.  Her husband took an interest in Hudsons, which made me happy (Anytime a new Hudsonite comes into the fold, I'm happy.)  My father got the two pickups.  I chose to restore the '46 first, because the '47 was more complete.  I thought I could practice on the '46, besides, cutting that Buick engine out made me happy.  My progress on the '46 is chronicled in Truck Project.