This discussion has been moved to the "Hudson" forum category.

If you would mention your approximate location, maybe one of our Forum members who lives near you could offer to help with some hands-on advice.

Charles, Have you had this engine running?. Have you removed the fuel tank and restored it?. Was the engine stuck when you got it?. There are so many questions that need to be answered. What is the mileage on the car.?. At the very least, you need to drop the oil pans. This will allow you to do a little preliminary inspection and was something the factory recommended periodically. That procedure is described in your Hudson Shop manual.. It is a relatively easy job, but can be messy . If your car is somewhat original, it should have all the shields that surround the oil pan. These can sometimes be a real challenge, as they did do their job and protect things from coming into the engine compartment, rocks, and everything else. It also allowed oil leaking from the engine, a place to pool or lay, which drew dust. We have removed these before and they weight 10 pounds or more !!!

I live in Forest Lake, MN just north of minneapolis/st paul. Joined the club in nov but have not gotten any newsletters or member registry.

Doug,
Thanks for the reply. When I got the car it was not running but would turn over and had no compression as 5 of the 6 exhaust valves were stuck open, additionally the clutch was stuck to the flywheel. The car has 32,491 miles on the odometer. I got 4 of the 5 exhaust valves free. I rebuilt the fuel pump, put on new wires, plugs, points, condenser, inline fuel filter, put 2 gallons of non-ethanol gas in the tank ( I have not had the gas tank out) and got the car started, hoping as the block warmed it might free up the last stuck exhaust valve. When started the oil pressure light goes out quickly and it does not appear to overheat. I have a 160 thermostat in it and it runs at a steady 160 to 170 degrees measured at the housing on the head. Alas no luck with the valve and after running 3 or 4 times over the summer I started to get what looks like water in the oil. So with the sticking exhaust valves and possible leaking head gasket it might be time to go through the motor. I have not dropped the oil pan as yet. The car is very complete and literally rust free, it is only missing a door lock and shift knob. The rear brake wheel cylinders are frozen and I have rebuilt the master cylinder and front wheel cylinders. I also got the clutch unstuck. Trying to develop a plan to get this baby back on the road. Thanks for your thoughts.
Charles

try lowell schow in minneapolis He has 1940 and 1941 cars 612-721-3623 hope he can help you Ron

[quote="Doug Wildrick" post=18863]Charles, Have you had this engine running?. Have you removed the fuel tank and restored it?. Was the engine stuck when you got it?. There are so many questions that need to be answered. What is the mileage on the car.?. At the very least, you need to drop the oil pans. This will allow you to do a little preliminary inspection and was something the factory recommended periodically. That procedure is described in your Hudson Shop manual.. It is a relatively easy job, but can be messy . If your car is somewhat original, it should have all the shields that surround the oil pan. These can sometimes be a real challenge, as they did do their job and protect things from coming into the engine compartment, rocks, and everything else. It also allowed oil leaking from the engine, a place to pool or lay, which drew dust. We have removed these before and they weight 10 pounds or more !!!
What Doug said.....I had to deal with those shields to drop the oilpan, replace a brake line, to drain, flush, and refill the clutch on Sheldon's 1941 Super Six. The one on the right (passenger) side even has the exhaust going through a hole in it, ditto for pitman arm & drag link on driver's side.....LOL

Thanks Ron I'll give him a call.

Charles, that seems a long time (from November) not to receive anything from the Club, after joining. Why not shoot an e-mail to our membership chairman to verify that they did get your money and that you are signed up? I believe this is his correct address: [url=membership@hetclub.org]membership@hetclub.org[/url]

Charles,

It's great that you have done everything to get the engine running. Taking the oil pans off to clean things out is a good thing to do. However, if your engine sounds quiet mechanically, I would recommend not taking the bearings apart. These engines are very forgiving, since they are totally splash fed. Even if there is a little bit looseness in the main bearings , the supply of oil to the connecting rod bearings and all the other bearings will be normal.

If you clean around the valve springs, be sure to plug the holes that lead into the crankcase. This is advisable because gunk might fall into the tubes leading to the main bearings. Since there is only gravity moving oil down these tubes, they could get plugged enough that oil wouldn't flow.

Sometimes it is possible to twist the bottom tip of the exhaust valve with a needle nose vice grip and get it to turn slightly, and then get it working.

Per

Charles,

I have the same car with original engine and had pretty much the same problems. Didn't take the engine apart, yet. Did get it to run and drove it around a fair amount (town that is). The head gasket has gone bad on mine and needs replacing as it is overheating the cooling water after coming to a stop on hot days. THe clutch was stuck, but managed to take care of that and there's some life left in it. Eventually it will go to Doug Wildrick for rebuild as it chatters at times on take off. Can pass off some more notes if you're interested.

Thanks for the reply Tim. Will be in touch soon as I get a game plan together. Nice looking car.

Tim,

You could check up on the water passages in your engine by removing the side plate. This allows seeing the whole set of water passages in the block. The side plate has an inner panel with holes of various size in it. If this plate has larger holes, due to rusting, near where the water enters, then insufficient water is directed to the rear of the engine, and it tends to run hot. It may boil near the back of the engine when the engine is shut off in hot weather. Since you don't mention leakage of the head gasket, doing this may make removal of the head unnecessary.

Per

Thanks Per!

Eventually, that's in the plans -- will rebuild the engine. But I'm pretty sure the head gasket is gone. Getting some leakage of hot exhaust gas into the coolant. That's what is causing the issue, pretty sure.