Welcome aboard, Ben. You will find that many of the brake and tune-up parts can be found at your local Napa.

You are welcome to use my HUDSON STEPDOWN RESTORATION website... it will provide repair information as well as contact information for vendors of parts. Check it out at: https://hudsonrestoration1948-54.com/

Welcome to the Club, and congratulations on your purchase! Bring all your questions to the Forum. We'll attempt to answer them, and to direct you to the resources that the Club has to offer, and to vendors who supply various Hudson components. You'll find there are lots of mechanical components still available, and indeed some of them can still be ordered through your local auto parts company. I like the idea of keeping the worn patina on the car, yet having it run like new; I'm all for understatement.

Welcome Ben, you are quite correct about the amount of information here, and Mr. Cates Website is terrific.
Dean Prodromos

Ben, that’s great looking patina. I also have a 1953 Hornet with 81Kmi, Twin-H Power, and hydramatic, but it had the interior restored and a driver-quality repaint before I bought it. Otherwise it appears original, with 1953- correct engine casting number and serial number. Do you know if your car has the original engine and tranny? Which tranny does it have, the 3-Speed OD or the Hydramatic? How is the interior? How many miles? Here are a few pics of mine.

Peter Kurzenhauser, I've known of that car for some time now. It changed hands about 2-3 times in the past few years. It was featured in this short video from 2017 with Ira Waldman doing a rendition of "A Horse With No Name" by "America" in American Sign Language. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp6fO4tKrMY
One of the previous owners had this car and a 1950 Tatra 87 on BAT. He is Peter Mullins, who is a well know collector in s. California. Nice guy too.

Ken,
I'd not realised how different American Sign Language.from the signing we use here in New Zealand. Does each country have it's own version?
Dave Young

Ken, thanks again for that background on my car. I would like to trace its provenance as much as practicable. Some of that is available on BaT in past auctions for the car. Some one also sent me that video, but I lost track of it. Thanks for forwarding it again.

I did buy it through BaT in January 2019. I made a bid that I thought was low, and I was sure would be outbid, but then no one outbid me! So I picked it up in LA from the owner, Patrick Quilter, and drove it up to the Portland area. Pat had bought it through BaT just one year prior, from a classic car dealer in Portland who does business as “Cascadia Motors” but decided to sell it when a Delahaye that he really wanted came up for sale. I ended up paying about $6500 less for it than he did! From what you wrote, it appears there was one more owner in between Pat Q and Tom Mullins. I recall from the first BaT auction discussion that it had belonged to a local racer of some note in California near Sacramento, then was bought by a collector and taken up to Seattle area for some renovations. I think that was around 2014, but don’t quote me on that date. Anyway, it ended up with Cascadia Motors for the first auction on BaT in early 2018.

Anyway, I’m the latest caretaker, and if you search my posts on HET Club forum, you can see that I’m doing things to improve it functionally and to make it a reliable driver. I drive my cars, they’re not museum pieces. As my byline says in another car forum, “Cars are for driving. If you want art, get something you can hang on the wall!”

Thanks Ken, I had actually already found your site and have been learning a ton. I think my favorite document so for is the one outlining stage 1-stage 3 engine builds. It is crazy to see how much Hudson was supporting racing and modification of their vehicles. It seems like they were way ahead of there time when it comes to that, but it could be I just don't know enough about how manufactures supported racing in the 1950s.

[quote="Ben Lamberson" post=26903]Thanks Ken, I had actually already found your site and have been learning a ton. I think my favorite document so for is the one outlining stage 1-stage 3 engine builds. It is crazy to see how much Hudson was supporting racing and modification of their vehicles. It seems like they were way ahead of there time when it comes to that, but it could be I just don't know enough about how manufactures supported racing in the 1950s.

Hello Ben, you are referring to the website of Ken Cates. I am Kenneth Ufheil, totally different Ken.

Ken,
I was trying to reply to Ken Cates from the previous comment he made on page one of this thread.

Regardless, that is some great history on Peter's car.

Peter, your Hornet is beautiful! I'll have to follow your thread and see the things you have done to help keep it a solid driver. I really agree with your mindset of driving these beautiful machines. It appears you have do the 12volt swap and added some gauges to better monitor the engine.

As far as my Hornet, it is all original from what I can tell. 69k miles, has never been painted and the interior is original and in surprisingly good condition. The b-pillar and rear interior lights even still work! The headliner is in great condition, seats are a bit sunfaded but no tears. Radio powers up but no sound, could be bad tubes. The worst part of the interior is the missing front carpet and the rear shelf material is in bad shape. It has the Twin-H rear badge but currently has a single Carter 2-brl carb. The casting number on the block is correct for a 1953, but I haven't found the serial number for the engine yet. It has the Dual Range Hydramatic transmission. It came with a bunch of spares, from a complete 1955 308 engine with Clifford intake and Holley 4-brl, to spare bellhousings(manual and Hydramatic), extra heads (one being a aluminum super power dome),Twin-H carbs and two Twin-H Intakes, etc. I'm trying to inventory and identify all the spares it came with so I can ask the club more about them. I'll try and get some more pictures of the inside and outside of the car soon.

If your interior lights work, you’re a step ahead of me! That’s on my list of things to fix.

Yes, mine was converted partially to 12V by a previous owner, who also installed the extra 3-gauge panel under the left dash. I say partially, because the battery was switched, the generator was replaced with a 12V alternator, and light bulbs changed, but the starter was not replaced. Instead the PO kept using the 6V starter. A lot of people in the old car hobby think you can use a 6V starter in a 12v system, and you can get away with it for awhile, but it puts a lot more force on the starter motor, Bendix pinion, and flywheel ring gear, and eventually you WILL break parts. I did, and then I found other people who had the same problems. If you want the details, go to my thread on 12 Volt Starters. I also changed the points inside the distributor to the Pertronix electronic ignition (Pertronix also makes a 6V igniter, if you want to stay with a 6V electrical system).

If I had a car as original as yours, I’d try to preserve its patina, equipment, and interior as much as possible. If the seats aren’t torn, I’d put some old-style seat covers on them. And then I’d enter it in some concours car shows in the “preservation” class.

It sounds like you got some good spares and extras too. The 1955 engine had improved head bolts and larger ports (and valves?) and hydraulic lifters. If you ever have to, or just want to, swap engines, the 1955 is a better engine. I’d certainly put the Twin-H intake and carbs back on it. But I would not put the aluminum head on it. Aluminum heads are notorious for causing head gasket leaks on straight-6 engines. This happens because of the differential thermal expansion rates of aluminum (head) and iron (the block).

Since you just got the car, you should check and adjust the valve clearances soon. The engine serial number is on the block on the right front upper corner.

I’d love to see some more pictures of your car, especially the interior and engine compartment.