Well, it has been a few weeks now since I laid my hard earned money down on the table and bought a Hudson.
In those few short weeks I've experienced a wide range of emotions ranging from falling in love with a car, feeling taken, thinking I got a really nice car, realizing it isn't anything like it was represented, loving the long flowing lines, being frustrated with the car and having to spend way more after the sale than I should have had to and finally starting to feel better after gaining some ground with regard to getting the bugs worked out.
Whew!

I worked very hard at learning and researching so I could buy a decent well maintained car that didn't need a lot of repairs and re-do's, but in the end all I did was spend more than I should of up front in an effort to avoid spending both money and time after buying the car, which I'm having to do anyway. 😳

I think some owners just don't know what condition their car is really in.
Mix that with me having a little too much faith, and here we are!

Okay, with all the grumbling out of the way, I made some good headway today, and am smiling! 🙂

Since buying the car, it has seemed lacking in power. Everyone talks about the powerful Hornets, but mine seemed a little wimpy. I suspected the valves needed adjustment, as well as a few other things. I visited Randy Maas a few days ago, and he was kind enough to take several hours of his time to give the car a good once over. He found the timing chain/gear loose and worn as suspected, and will be helping me adjust the valves. While there he adjusted the timing, and the shift points, that really helped!

Today I tried my hand at syncing the carbs. I failed miserably, but after giving up on using the tool, I adjusted them by ear and got them reasonably close for now. I took it out for another test run and it was like a different engine! Step on the pedal and the car actually responds. I like it!
I'll bet once the valves are adjusted and the new timing chain and gear are installed, I'll have to be careful not to get a speeding ticket 😉

I got my accessory fuse panel installed today and then wired a power outlet. I connected my gps unit so I could verify speed.
To my pleasure, I discovered that the car's speedometer is running 5 miles an hour slow. What I thought was 75 mph was really 80! (just kidding...a little)
My next chore is to connect my multimeter tach and verify that the rpm and speed are where they should be for the tire size and rear end ratio.
If I have it figured right, with a 3.07 running 27.6" tires at 2615 rpm I'll be cruising comfortably at 70 mph.

So far I've got new tires installed, brakes adjusted, new master cylinder, new tie rod end, adjusted the steering components including the gearbox, front end alignment, toe in adjustment, installed a mechanical fuel pump with a backup electric pass through, changed the system from 6 to 12 volts (for radio and A/C) greased everything, oiled the springs, corrected the out of phase drive shaft, replaced the damaged and extremely loose front wheel bearings and a number of other pesky little things that distract from enjoyable driving.
The car wandered all over the road before, now it is pretty close to driving like a modern car. Once we replace the center steering pin it should be perfect.
With luck I'll get everything done in time to make Colorado.
Always wanted to drive an old car up Pikes peak...and if nothing else it is a great excuse for a road trip! 😉

Rob