To any Hudnut, ANY Hudson is worth having and driving. Most every Hudson Man I ever met either talked about what Hudson he had or what his next one was gonna be. I know at least 10 guys that own 20 or more of them. Probably 80% of all the Hudson people I know have multiple Hudsons.

Both the Hornet and the C6 are good drivers you could use "everyday", especially at 5000 miles or so a year (which is very minimal). The 262 and the 308 are both fantastic, iron-clad engines. Honestly, you can't hardly wear them out. A lot of this has to do with the block being a chromium alloy as opposed to cast iron. They're just twice as tough (and twice as hard, it seems).

One of your questions, was whether the Hornet was worth the extra $$. I looked back at your post and I didn't see if you said it was a 2DR or a 4DR. Makes a big difference. If it's a 4Dr, 30K is the upper limit of it's going rate these days (generally speaking). If it's a solid #2 car, 30K is a reasonable price, despite what some of the old timer's (which I am one of) will tell you. But, it truly needs to be a very nice example to command 30K on the whole. If it's a 2DR, no brainer, 30K is standard price for a #3 car. 2DR's can now get considerably more for really tight examples. So, back to your question, is it worth waiting on the Hornet? I'm probably not one to ask, as I tend to spend more than I should on my cars and I don't really care. I want what I want and if I can't afford it, I wait until I can. That said, I have two Hornets, a sedan and a convertible (in my Avatar). I love them both, but would one day like to have a Commodore and even would like to add a SusperWasp to the corral. Commorores and Hornets were the "Senior' cars, with the Longer Wheel Base and are considered the top of the line from Hudson. Can't go wrong with either one as far as enjoyability and re-sale value, although it seems these days, the Hornets are commanding more $$. The extra power you get from the 308 (in the Hornets), esp. with one equipped with Twin-H is nice as people drive differently now than we used to.

Both cars you are looking at are 51's so not much different as far as looks go, but have to point out that if gas mileage is important to you, the 262 will get considerably better than a Twin-H 308, which under the best of circumstances should get 15-16mpg if you keep your foot our of it. Others can tell you better, but the 262 with a single carb should get 18-20mpg if I remember right.

Without seeing pictures, that's about the most I can tell you. Glad you are considering of one the two best cars to ever come out of Detroit!

Are these the only two Hudsons you've looked at? I don't know where you're located, but chances are there is a Hudson of that vintage for sale not too far away. As we Hudson collectors age, there are going to be more and more of these available. I don't know if you're a member of the H-E-T, but the WTN is a good place to look. Craigslist, Ebay, Hemmings, too. And if you connect with local Hudson people (such as members of your local H-E-T chapter) you may find out about even more Hudsons available, which might not even be advertised to the public. (For example, if someone has just died and left his collection to his family, they may not yet have put the cars on sale...but he friends would know this, and could tell you.)

You may indeed have winnowed your search down from many Hudsons to these two cars. But if these are the only ones you know of, you owe it to yourself to look around a bit more!

Callan, ditto what Russ and Jon have said ! Something to add. You really need to have both cars checked out. If you can't properly do the inspection yourself, hire someone that would know. The lower priced car?, still could be a substantial project, needing basic,normal restoration items, such as the complete fuel system done, the complete brakes done, the complete cooling system rebuilt, belt, hoses, wiring,etc... and as we all know, just because something is priced high, doesn't guarantee it was done correctly and/or ready to go.
Rust is an issue on any car. When it comes to Hudsons, you really need someone that is familiar with this marque, and where they rust that causes concerns. I don't know where you are located, but we are in Shelbyville, IN. You can google us at Wildrick restoration , We have hundreds of pictures of Hudsons being restored and repaired. Contact us if we can help.

Hey everyone, thanks SO much for the input!

The Hornet is not Twin H but rather single dbl carb. It's a 4dr as well. He wanted 29.5 for it but wouldn't go lower than 28K. To me it seemed a little high for that car as it certainly wasn't in show car condition. There were certainly some dings and scratches to the paintwork that a discerning eye could pick out and it had definitely been driven on a fairly regular basis. I assume even with the 308 it would get as much fuel mileage as the 262 in the Commodore 6... or maybe not.

These are not the only two Hudsons I've considered, however I can't seem to find any in my area... but my area's not known for vintage car haven let's just say. I do see the occasional one on the road, but nowhere near as much as I saw back on the East Coast. I'm in Denver currently. I've looked at several Hudson... I drove the Hornet myself and it seemed in close to excellent condition. the Commodore I had inspected by a guy who was really good. he said I'd need to sink about a grand into the car to get it up and running (tune up and new tires) but other than that, it was pretty much good to go. He sounded pretty knowledgeable and like he knew what he was doing. I asked him some tough questions but he had answers for all of it.

Yeah maybe some pictures of the restorations would be nice. I could share photos as well of the cars I'm considering.

In my experience you should be able to get a decent Hudson for $10-12,000, one that would run and look fairly good from 20 feet away. Minor dents, minor rust in floors, rips and tears in upholstery, paint scratched or worn through in areas -- in other words, plenty to do, but you wouldn't be embarrassed to drive it and you COULD drive it while you gradually improved its appearance and handling.

Here's another "aid" to finding one on the internet or on Craigslist: [url= http://www.jaxed.com/search/?cat=cp&q=hudson&loc= ]http://www.jaxed.com/search/?cat=cp&q=hudson&loc=[/url]

Biggest warning , like Doug says, check for rust out -- especially in the perimeter frame fails from the rear wheels back. You do NOT want to have to tackle repairing that, in addition to everything else!

You've mentioned 1951's -- is this your favorite year? There are plenty of StepDowns for sale out there, 1948-54. If you like '51's the best, fine. But if you're flexible, it helps!

I'll ask the inspector again but he said no rust in the rear wheel wells or trunk. Rust is of course a concern of mine as well. If it's surface I suppose it's not such a big deal as there are some preventative measures to take to ward that off.

1951-53 are my favorite years for Hudsons. It's really what I'm set on for my "next car" so to speak, and while I'm a little flexible, I'm really interested in those years. Still I mean, I don't mind looking elsewhere, but I think I'm fairly set on a 51-53.

Callan If the cars have been rewired during restoration that is a BIG PLUS. Rewiring is expensive. For a daily driver I would stick with two barrel carburetor. I lost 4 mpg switching from single carb to Twin-H on my 52 Hornet. As mentioned there are a lot of Hudson's out there for sale. There has been suggested a lot of good helpful information to help you. Sometimes the price or what someone says gets in the way of what car you really want, Chose the car you really want to spend the rest of your life with. I chose a car to be a daily driver that looks good (20 footer) that has some imperfections and not be worried if it gets a door ding. From day one people have been asking if they can take pictures of it and give thumbs up on the road. Makes you feel real good inside. Pick the car that makes you feel good inside. Lee O'Dell

Lee,

That is EXACTLY why I'm going for this car! I want to feel great about it and I know I will with this. I'm gonna love it forever, take care of it, have a blast driving it, and love the looks I'll get too inside it and outside it! It's something I think about every single day I'm driving my normal blah car to work and I just can't, and usually, that's my gut telling me I'll regret it if I don't. I hardly make split second decisions when it comes to big ideas like this, and will sit on it for weeks at a time to sort it out. It's been weeks and I still really really want this car so yeah. Guess that's my sign!

Jon is right on the prices

Callan

I also live in Denver. I bought my first Hudson 36 years ago and have had many since then. If you want me to take a look at the cars and give my opinion, let me know. I may even be familiar with the cars already. We have a very active club in town, and get together at least once a month. It might be a good idea to join us and talk with other Hudson owners. There may be many more cars available within the group if you start asking. A few of us will be at the Havana Cruise on Saturday, and also getting together Sunday in Ft. Collins.

Don

Hi Don!

The two cars in question are in California and Massachusetts respectively. I personally inspected and drove the California one, the Hornet, though I think right now I'm not gonna drop the money on it. I'm getting married later this year and want some funds for that of course. Still the Commodore is a very reasonable price and the inspector I had look at it is pretty good. I'd love to join up with the club and attend the meetups. I'll be looking to head out to the Havana Cruise (sans nice car of course) and meeting up with some of you out there and getting my feet wet so to speak.

Cal

We will be at 111 N Havana around 10am. Not sure how many will show but at least a few

I aim to be there!

[quote="Callan Braman" post=17023]I aim to be there!

One of the best things you can do!