I don't mean to be impertinent, but if you're considering removing the entire body from your chassis and then lifting another body onto it, might you not consider simply buying a solid but bedraggled 1946 4-door, and starting fresh with that? When you consider all the physical labor to transplant a body, the cost of a decent, driveable sedan might be a bargain. And for a couple thousand more you might be able to purchase something that looks and drives quite decently and requires only a cosmetic restoration.

Of course, possibly this car of yours is special (maybe it was in your family) and you want to keep as much of the original as you can. Or, maybe you are just looking forward to the adventure of a complete restoration.

Are you in the Hudson club? If so, you know that the White Triangle News is an excellent source of parts and parts cars. If not, you might want to consider joining, since the magazine is such an invaluable clearinghouse of information on Hudsons.

You are right. It was my father's and he never had the chance to restore it himself. I already have the car disassembled and have been doing a frame up restoration for some time now and I am now ready to look into body work. It has been a fun adventure and I have been told many times and know it would be much cheaper to go and buy a road ready car. But money will be no object when it comes to using as much of this car as I can 🙂

I am not a member yet and perhaps I should join to get that magazine. My father was a member long, long ago and I have some of the old literature from the HET club my father received.

Thank you

Well, that puts a whole different light on the subject! I would feel the same way as you, under similar circumstances. In fact, truth be told, I would obtain a separate body merely to surgically transplant dozens of "patch panels" in order to retain the original body as a whole, and wouldn't even consider swapping bodies. But, each to his own.

It's a shame, really; there was a Hudson collector in Nova Scotia (as I recall) years ago, whose property was full of Hudsons of your era, any which you could probably have picked up cheaply. His widow called in a junkyard and they crushed and removed all the cars. But fear not, there are still plenty '46-7 parts cars out there, and reasonably priced.

Check your local Craigslist, the H.A.M.B., and Ebay, of course. And (I'm biased of course) I'd say that a membership in the H-E-T would make a lot of sense (the $44 Canadian rate is not that bad). Also, as a member you'll get the worldwide roster, and you can begin to contact other '46-7 owners in Canada. (As you may know there is a local chapter in Ontario, and one in Quebec; optionally, you could join one of those as well.) Being part of the Hudson "network" will give you access to a lot of information on parts and parts cars that might be in your area.

Anyway, good luck! The body parts will be the hardest to find, but the "mechanicals" are fairly easily obtained, especially for a Hudson of that vintage, whose chassis parts really extend back to the late 30's (and so were produced for many years).

Thanks again for your reply. My car likely came from the property you speak of as my father bought it from a collect who had dozens in his field and I still live literally five minutes from there. The same situation with the junk yard coming in and crushing them happened there so I would say it is the same spot.

I am going to join the HET. Makes the most sense to build those connections. My body really only needs patch panels and only the floor and quarter panels need the most attention.

Here are a couple sedans, being sold as a lot. Seek, and ye shall find...

http://memphis.craigslist.org/cto/4638727674.html

I have seen patch panels for the front seat floor, being offered. I think the consensus is that they can be made to fit, but are not a perfect match. Still, it would be "new metal", you wouldn't have to go to the trouble of cutting it out of a donor car (if indeed the donor's floors were worth saving!), and of course most of the fitting is already done.

Here's a listing of some new and used Hudson sheet metal on Ebay. I think this company used to make the patch floor panels for the earlier Hudsons (they now only list the 1948 and up.) http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/351151690180?lpid=82

By the way, here is a webpage I maintain with listings of people who are making repro parts for Hudsons. (This is not an interchange listing, only a listing of repro parts.) http://www.detailedconcepts.net/Repro_Table.pdf

[quote="Jon Battle" post=6863]I have seen patch panels for the front seat floor, being offered. I think the consensus is that they can be made to fit, but are not a perfect match. Still, it would be "new metal", you wouldn't have to go to the trouble of cutting it out of a donor car (if indeed the donor's floors were worth saving!), and of course most of the fitting is already done. Maybe someone will jump in here to say who it is that offers these for sale.

http://c2cfabrication.com/index.html

That company also offers them on ebay, as well as rockauto.com