Hi Ebbe,

I forgot to mention that I have been using an old six volt VW beetle coil in my '35 Hudson since the coil which came with the car when I bought it many years ago (it wasn't original, it was a Mallory) failed. I also agree with Geoff that a proven good condenser (it hasn't burned out points prematurely) should be kept.

Per

Thanks a lot, Per!

I do think maybe I am running a bit too hot, the plugs are rather blackened with carbon deposits, however this could of course also be due to them not being compatible. But I think I will look for a hotter plug then, also since I don't plan to run the engine very hard.

I was just by the car yesterday (sadly I don't have room to store it at my home for the winter), and I had a look at the coil. I didn't bring a spanner, so I couldn't loosen the holding clamp, but it has some "modern" text on it, so I am guessing it is something unoriginal. Next time I go out there I will bring some tools so I can identify it. I haven't had a look at the condenser yet, although the dizzy does look either new or refurbished (or maybe just very well maintained).

I live in Svendborg, on the smaller island in the middle of the country. It's about a two hour drive from Copenhagen, maybe a bit more in a Hudson 😀

Hi Ebbe,

In addition to my '35 Hudson, I have a '49. It has six cylinder engine from a '51 Hudson Pacemaker, with overdrive. Together with a friend, I have driven across the US in this car. Since 2013 we have traveled about 24,000 kilometers. The spark plugs are Autolite number 425, and have been in the car the whole time.. They have the same electrode length I mentioned. For local use, I agree with you that a "hotter" plug would be best. I don't know the numbering system for Autolite plugs. It might be that the last digit of the number represents the heat range, so 424 or 426 might be the same plug, but with different heat range.

I first visited Denmark in 1967. At that time I talked with Henrik Schouw,, who was a student at that time, but I didn't have a chance to see his '35 Hudson 8 convertible. He described it in the Hudson club roster (1971) as a "convertible sport coupe special built by Asneas-Body Works". Do you know if Henrik still is interested in old cars, and whether that car is still in Denmark?

In 1992, I visited Erik Bjerring, in Helsinge. He had a 1938 Hudson 8 convertible, (serial number 858958 according to the 1992 roster). He was retired, and may not be alive now. The car had belonged to the king of Romania. It had taken Erik about three years to get the car through the iron curtain. At that time, it had its original engine, but a Russian transmission. Erik had bought a Hudson transmission for it. Is that car still around?

I hope to be able to visit Denmark, as I mentioned before. It would be fun to see your car and meet some of the other old car owners. I also have a Packard ('28) and a Citroen ID ('59).

Per

Hi Peer,

Wow, that must be amazing to do such a trip in a vintage car! In Denmark, of course, one would quickly go from one end of the country to the other, but a dream of mine is to tavel down through Europe in a historic vehicle.

I ran the chassis no. of Erik Bjerring's '38 Hudson 8 through the motor registry, and what do you know, it is still in the system! There is no model entered, just that it is a 38 Hudson. The last change in the registry was March 2012. It is not possible to see what type of change it was, but a safe bet would be a change of owner. It is still licensed and taxed, so I assume it is on the road somewhere.

As for Henrik Schouw's '35, there is no 35 Hudson in the registry at all. I don't know how far back they keep records, but that most likely means that it has not been licensed in Denmark for some years. It could still be here, but then it would have to be stored somewhere or sitting in a museum maybe. I am not familiar with Mr. Schouw myself, but I'll try to do a little research throug the vintage car clubs.

If you do plan to visit Denmark, be sure to let me know :cheer: could be fun to arrange a meet somewhere.

Hi Ebbe,

I just looked at the HET rosters I have. Hans Maersk Moller is in rosters from 1976 until 2002. In 1976, he listed his '35 Hudson Country Club 8 sedan, model HUL, serial number 58486. In 1999 and in 2002, he also listed a '35 Hudson Special 8 convertible, model HT, serial number 542034. I remember him mentioning that he could get a temporary registration when he wanted to drive a car to a meet. Could that mean his cars may never have been in the registry? It is possible that Hans's convertible is the car Henrik Schouw had. I only saw the sedan when I visited him, not the convertible.

In the 2002 roster, there is another '38 Hudson 8 convertible, serial number 8442510. Is this in the registry?

Per

Hi Per,

Neither of he '35s are in the registry, but as you said it was (previosly) possible to apply for temporary registration for just 1 day, or more, if you wanted to attend a meeting, and this has been used a lot in the vintage car scene here. The authorities have now tightened up the regulations a bit, so you can only obtain temporary registration for a few approved reasons, such as moving the car to a mechanic, or for mandatory inspection, or for demonstration to a potential buyer and a few others. It is however still seen every now and then. If a car has never been permanently registered, and only driven with temporary plates, then it would not be recorded in the registry, so that is most likely the scenario here. It could very well be that Hans' and Henrik's car is one and the same.

The '38 Hudson 8 conv. is still in the registry 🙂 Licensed and everything. Last change in the registry was year 2000, so it is most likely still with the same owner as on your 2002 roster.

Regards,

Ebbe

In addition to previous post:

I managed to find some info on Mr. Schouw and his '35 Special 8 through some googling. This article http://dvk-database.dk/bht/bht_1978/bht_1978_54/bht54_1978_26.htm (in Danish), is a transcript of the spring 1978 issue of a Danish car club magazine. It has a short notice under the title "Bagsiden" (=back page) which translates to "Hans Mærsk-Møller has bought the convertible 1935 Hudson Special 8 that Henrik Schouw owned for many years". The article then lines up the car's history as discovered by Mr. Schouw. I can translate the whole thing if you like? If you click on the yellow arrow right-button in the top right, the next page shows a picture of it, presumably before restoration.

But I guess that clears it up 🙂 Hans bought the car from Henrik in 1978. Would have been great if the car was in the motor registry, but unfortunately not. Hans is listed on the yellow pages, so I'll assume he is still going strong.

- Ebbe

Hi Ebbe,

Thank you for doing the research. I'll send a Christmas card to Hans!

In case you are interested, here is the information about the '38 convertible from the 2002 roster.

Arno and Gitte Andersen, Stensgaardsvej 65, 7000 Fredericia. Phone 45 75 94 00 37

I have just looked at the Autolite website. For information go to www.autolitecatalog.com. Then put 425 into "Quick Part Search".
If you scroll down the applications list, you will find Hudson.

If you scroll down the whole page, you will come to cross-references with brands such as Bosch, Champion, Denso, NGK.

I also found an article on the Autolite website which explains their numbering system. According to that, 424 would be colder, 426 would be hotter. But when I try those in the Quick Part Search, there is nothing listed, so they only make this style as medium heat range.

By looking at the cross-references, you can find some spark plug numbers in other brands that look like several heat ranges are available.

Yes, I would appreciate it if you could translate the parts of that article which would interest me. I took a look at it, but I cannot read Danish, so this would be nice.

Per

Thanks Per, that should keep me occupied for a cold winter day or two, looking for new plugs 🙂

The back page article reads as follows (a few less interesting details removed):
"Hans Maersk Moller has bought the convertible 1935 Hudson Special 8 that Henrik Schouw owned for many years.[...]The car was originally sold as new by the importer/dealer "Skandinavisk Motor Co." and registered April 17, 1935 to a Mr. Georg Rauh under registration no. K483. Already the following year Mr. Rauh sold the car to Erik Castenskjold who at the time was a salesman for Skandinavisk Motor Co.. He had the new electric gear changer fitted to the car, but later had it removed again, because the gear changes were too slow for sports use and it managed to destroy a couple of gear wheels (apparently Mr. Castenskjold was an amateur racing enthusiast, and used the car for amateur races around the country). Erik Castenskjold's son told Henrik Schouw in 1967 that the family called the car "The Banana" because it's color was similar to an over-ripe banana with a black horisontal stripe. The car's color was changed to a metallic chocolate brown that matched the leather interior. Later the cas was painted black. It was also fitted with an aluminum cylinder head.

There are no original documents on the car, but Henrik Schouw performed a huge detective's work and discovered that the car had been sold by Castenskjold in 1937, after which it changed owner a few times, mostly staying in the greater Copenhagen area. In 1953 it surfaces in the registry again, registered to an unknown owner. In 1959 it was sold to a car recycler, but luckily it was saved from the crusher by two brothers who bought it from him in 1961. In 1962 Henrik Schouw bough it (he was 17 at the time) for 800 Danish Kroner. Price as new was 26000. Schouw had it for 11 years, then sold it to a Mr. Jacobsen before Hans Maersk Moller obtained it in the fall of 1977. Mr. Maersk-Moller already had a 1935 4 Door Custom 8 Sedan.

Henrik Schouw performed a thorough restoration on the car (with external help), using original parts from a donor car imported from USA. Only the paintjob and interior was not done.

The body is originally a Briggs Convertible Coupe, but with lowered windshield, windows and convertible top. The car was fitted with radio and telephone(!), as well as a long-haul gas tank with a special anti-theft device. Oldtimers at Skandinavisk Motor Co. say that these customisations were carried out by Asnaes Body Works, a company that Skandinavisk Motor Co. used a lot for modifications, especially to Hudsons. However it has never been fully confirmed, and there must excist about 4-500 alternatives."

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Interesting stuff. So naturally the car has been registered at some stage, but the records don't date that far back nowadays.

Regards,

Ebbe