1948 Hudson Custom Sled Rat Rod Hot Rod

[takza]

Now here's a SCAREY car....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1948-Hud ... dZViewItem

[ARCHINSTL]

Those Hudsons were quite a hot car in the day. The hottest had "Twin H-Power" on the Big Six - dual carbs. The Hudson also had the record for most NASCAR wins for many, many years, even after the company ceased to exist (Nash bought it). They just blew everything else away from about '48 until '53 or so, when Lincoln (yes, Lincoln) took over with its new V8.
They were also renowned for their roadholding, and featured a floor that was about 3 or so inches lower than the chassis (you stepped down into a Hudson floor). Truly, they could beat any other American car on the road for handling. Those Hudsons made even the '49-'51 Merc Coupes look like pussycats for some mean styling. Pre-WWII, the Hudson Big Six engine was used in a number of European small-production sportscars, most notably the Railton; it was renowned "over there" for strength and durability.
One of my uncles always had Hudsons, and I remember many fast rides with him - he was the bachelor uncle and didn't settle down for some years, but he did have some pretty cool toys.
Many of those independents - Hudson, Nash, Studebaker, and Packard - offered a lot of things the "Big Three" didn't. One very useful feature that Subaru alone offers today is the "Hillholder", wherein you can hold the car on an incline at a stop by just pushing in the clutch, and it gradually releases the brake as the clutch is slowly released - no backwards slippage. I can vouch for this feature, having learned to drive on a '49 Studie...
My Dad and his Dad were big Nash fans, and there were a number of the Nash "bathtubs" in our life back then. The Nash Ambassador Six was the engine used in the Nash-Healey, which ran at LeMans for a few years and even finshed 6th in'52, as I recall.
Tom M.

[takza]

Here's another scarey one....

http://www.fsoc.co.uk/models/100e.htm

I drove one of these for the first couple of years...not my own...just the one they'd let me drive by myself. All 36 HP and around 1600 lbs. Pedal to the metal.

[ARCHINSTL]

takza -
Boy, you started Memory Lane! One of my friends in college had one of these Anglias. Talk about a bare-bones car - I think it had more paint inside than upholstery. That was a noisy car - but simple to work on.

My own first import was a '52 Morris Minor MM, which also had a sidevalve engine. However, the Ford had the advantage on HP; 36 to the Morris' 27. But the Minor was a much nicer car than the Ford. It had real leather upholstery and was just finished much better than the Anglia - plus, it was much quieter (relatively) than the Ford. The latter car was like riding in an oil drum. And - the Morris had a 4-speed box, whereas I'm pretty sure the Ford had only 3-speeds forward. You really had to wind it out. The Minor was a much better road car as well. Its suspension was the equal of many sports cars of the day; it was much better than it had a right to be, and was frequently used in back-yard specials of the day.

One of the problems with the Fords was the horrible build quality. The Dagenham plant in England was renowned in both management and labor circles worldwide for having the worst strike record. The workers would strike over inconsequential items, and management was no help either. When I got out of Basic in '64, I ordered a (then newly-introduced) Mustang with the "big" 6 and a 4-speed. The 4-speed box was made only at Dagenham and then shipped here to Detroit. Well, after 4 months and 3 (!) strikes, the box still hadn't made it here, so I cancelled the order and bought a Volvo 122S.

Wonder what that particular Mustang would be worth today? Of course, the Volvos of that era are pretty desirable still, at least judging from eBay. That 122S was a very good car, and I think one of the most reliable cars ever made. Pretty hot, too, with 90 HP.
I digress, as is my wont...
Tom M.

[takza]

The car wasn't much...but what did I know. Guess it was British Ford's version of the VW? Spent a lot of time on the backroads learning to keep it on the road...didn't have much of a suspension....makes you learn to drive.

First car I owned was one of these:

http://www.hemmings.com/index.cfm/fusea ... id/226292/

It was 1952 TR2...painted with white house paint and not running. Local guy had modded the engine...putting big pistons in it and so forth....then it quit running. I then got some big ideas of doing a frame off restoration...and proceeded to disassemble it...it never ran again. Since it was a very early model...probably would be worth quite a bit today.

Later had a 1956 TR3 in British racing green...only option it didn't have was the wire wheels. Fun...noisy car...poor heat in the winter. Remember buying a plant for my mother at a town about 20 miles away 1 year...by the time I got back some of the leaves on it were frozen...real good heat....

Owned several TR3s and TR4s...and an Jag XK140 drophead coupe...probably worth 30-50K by now...some guy saved it from my kind of foolishness.

[ARCHINSTL]

takza -
Well, you had a lot more sports cars than did I. I was a Minor nut for many years (24), owning as many as 3 at one time, for a total of 5. Those guys taught me a lot.
My only true sports car was a '52 Singer Roadster 1.5, which I kept from '63 until the end of 2003, when I sold it to Kip Motors in Dallas, which restores orphan BritMobiles and makes parts for the same (they have a beautiful Jowett Jupiter-a very interesting flat-4 roadster). They are going to use it for patterns for parts, as it was time for a full restoration. I bought the Singer because I could not afford a TD, but it was pretty neat-cutaway doors, fold-down windscreen, aluminum body on ash framework, bigger OHC engine than a TD - and it was a 4-seater (but butt-ugly with the top up).

I remember R&T's test of the TR-2 - they called it the "Tiny Rapid 2". That 2 really had a sound; I can recall it to this day - I think R&T also called the sound "rorty"-only time I encountered that word... "Heat" was a nasty word to the Brits, I think. The Singer did not have a provision for heat at all; no fittings/outlets/hoses - but some did come through the scuttle, plus oil smells and fumes.
I remember reading somthing about buying a Jag in the old days; you never wanted to be the 3rd owner, because the 2nd was usually an impecunious young dreamer with a wife who screamed when she found out what parts cost - and that it took something like 7 quarts of oil per change and 7 1/2 quarts of cooling stuff - and that the baby was getting too big to be stowed behind the seats. So regular maintenance tended to suffer.
I can also remember drooling over an XK-120 FHC in the showroom whilst in HS - still one of the most beautiful cars ever, I believe.
As a parting shot - yet another memorable quote from the old R&T, on its first test of the sensuous XKE in '63 - Henry Manney's quote, as I recall: "The greatest crumpet collector known to man" (for you pups, "crumpet" was BritSlang for "girls").
Tom M.

[takza]

Got a brother who has a 63-64 E-Jag HT...out of California. Been repainted...basically just needs tires, tuneup, & some interior work to be in what I'd call really decent shape...but not concours.

Another brother has a Ferrari as an investment...worries about the t-belt on it...saying that it would cost the value of the car to fix the engine if the t-belt went. Sounds like my Tercel.....

As far as the cars I've owned...you really don't know what you had until you dont...so to speak.

Fondly remember the old Jag...that car would move...210 HP and fairly light. Big bias ply tires on it...with wires. Hard-ass leather seat in it...the Brits had solid butts. You could just about see over the hood. Style personified.

Have considered buying another Triumph...till I think about the wind noise, cramped legs under the steering wheel...poor heat.

[Eatpants]

i live in boise idaho, i want to see that hudson driving around, dammit

[takza]

Saw something really similar...it might have been a Hudson...cruising down the interstate around here one day. This one was a sort of medium electric blue....really a sight to remember.

Saw it...looked twice...couldn't really beleive what I was seeing....it made an impression.