HI, my brothers & I are selling my father's 54 Hudson Super Wasp. I believe my father belonged to this club as there was a bunch of periodicals from the HET club in the glove box. In Oct of 2011 I had to vacate a large garage I was renting, the Hudson basically sat in the corner, I intended to restore it but my intensions never became actual work. The Hudson ran 25 years ago when we originally stored it, however prior to that it sat a while in our yard after my father passed. We all could not get rid of it, as it was my dad's weekend car or "babydoll" as my mom called it. When we removed it from the garage in Oct 2011 it would not run. We transported to another storage location & adventually we got it to run. On a Hudson Forum I had reached out asking what it might be worth. One person said to take a look at the frame rails, I did & they are rusted, no doubt sitting on our lawn all those years did not help it much. I added recent pics of it (at least if they uploaded right). My intention is to get some feedback from some members as to what this car might be worth & some ideas on finding it a good home. Sorry for the big long sappy write up but there are a lot of memories wrapped up in this car.
You're in the right place to find out. The more information you can provide will help get a more accurate answer. It looks like a decent project car, but the extent of frame rot definitely hurts the value.
Can you post some interior shots?
Do you have a title / paperwork?
Any major body damage aside from the rust you showed?
Does the car have OD, radio, other options?
Where are you located?
54 was the last year a real "Hudson" was produced, and the Wasp is a Short Wheel base car which some people prefer. The wasp was a base model, so typically few or no options, small engine etc.
I have seen cars in this condition bring 1-3k, I would guess this is in lower to middle of that range, but Im sure you'll get some other opinions as well.
Good luck !
Matt
Thank you very much Matt for your reply. I will get some interior shots & others wehn I drive over to where the car is. I believe (in my opinion) the interior is pretty good for it's age, I believe it does have a radio as I remember. Not sure what you mean by an OD, it does have a climate control unit. I just went through the papers on it & I found the title in my fathers name & an odometer reading of 97,115 which is on an application my mother had filled out for cert of ownership, if this mileage is correct on this form then that would be the mileage. Car has a 262 for an engine, 3 spd (i believe it's a 3spd) on the column (they prob all do right?) & the VIN number of car is 5D5311858. We live in NJ, as far as major body damage there is none except driver's door was dented in & repaired some years ago, since then the bondo has came off & you can see the actual damage, i will snap some pics of this as well. Thanks again!
Deryl, how long did your dad own the car? When did you and your brother get the car? Any information on previous ownership would be appreciated. We try and capture as much information on Club vehicles as possible.
Hi Aaron, the title is in my father's name William Habib, date of issue 1972. So therefore he owned from 1972 to 1979 (when he passed). I found a signed note from previous owner saying that he is selling the car to my father, his name is Ignatius Giardina (think this car was bought in Brooklyn NY). My brother Bill used this car for transportation to college at one time. I am not sure if this was before my father had passed or not, I would have to ask him. My father allowed my brother Barry to borrow the Hudson for the prom, he sideswiped a parked car, Hudson got out of it with a small dent on the bumper, the other car did not fare so well... I was too little to drive but used to sleep on the back window shelf. My father & I went to the 1st annual Englishtown NJ swap meet/show I believe in 1978 & my father entered the Hudson. There is a small cheesy plastic plaque stuck to the heater in the car that says that. Thanks for your reply
A couple of thoughts.
First, when you finally arrive at an asking price, list this in the White Triangle News unless you just absolutely have to get rid of it immediately. The WTN (the national magazine of the H-E-T Club) is read by more people than this website (or the Classiccar Hudson website) and any current member of the H-E-T can act as a contact person to get this listed for free -- even if you are not a Club member. I would be happy to do so, you can contact me at XXXterraplane@verizon.net (drop the XXX before sending). As you probably know, if you decided to ask $3,000, then list it for $3500 and say "or best offer", then wait to see what you're bid.
Second, there is an active chapter of the Club in New Jersey, called the Garden State Chapter, and you should contact them immediately. I'm sure the newsletter editor will be happy to list your car for free. The contact person would be Ted Steinmetz at XXXwibbage@aol.com (once again, delete the XXX before sending).
Jon, really appeciate the help & information! It would make my brothers & I very happy if it turned out that my father's Hudson was sold to someone who appreciates these cars & would bring it back to it's lost glory.
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