Deryl, first off: you have placed this message under "Club and Forum Suggestions and Comments" -- I am going to move it into the "Hudson" general forum, where it will get a LOT more attention. ("Club and Forum" is for people to express their opinions on how the Club or Forum is run.)

Second, your old message is still there, on the "Hudson" forum. (Keep scrolling back to the month of April, you'll find it there. If you would like to keep your message current, so that it will be near the top of the list, merely do a "reply" and add some comment like "I'm bumping this up to the top of the list" or something. (Or you can add some new question, or piece of information, at that time.) The act of replying will automatically move your older message right back up to the top. Of course, as new messages are added, your message will gradually work its way down again, so then you do another "bump up".

One way to try to determine an asking price of your car, would be to go to Ebay, Hemmings Motor News on-line, and Craigslist, to see what others are asking for Hudsons in similar condition. Then, post a higher price than you think you'll get, and ass "or best offer". Then take the best offer. As I may have mentioned, the White Triangle News goes out to mayber 3,000 Hudson enthusiasts so that's an excellent way to advertise the car. And if you work through an existing Club member, you can do it for free.

I think many people are unwilling to stick their necks out by offering an estimate of a car's value. From your photos it seems to me that the car is in better than average condition for its age, though it does have some rust issues. The N.A.D.A. antique car guide gives the average price as $7200 but considering the condition, that might be a bit hopeful. (I am assuming that the car runs and drives, and that one could be driving and enjoying it while they were gradually restoring it.)

If the car is not presently garaged it would be helpful to get it under cover; that surface rust looks like it's getting aggressive. (You can purchase some temporary plastic "garages" fairly cheaply and might want to consider that. Merely throwing a tarp over the thing is going to aid in rusting, in my opinion.) Also, it's not clear from the photos, what the condition of the frame is in the area around the rear wheels. This is the critical location to consider in a StepDown Hudson; if there is bad rust-out here, the buying will have to sink a good deal of money into restoring just the frame, so it will lower the car's value proportionately.

With any luck someone will jump in here with an accurate estimate of the car's value. I would make a wild guess at $6500 "or best offer" and see what happens. But do get some other ideas on price before you make a decision.

Jon, appreciate you taking the time to steer me in the right direction (once again). As far as the car running & driving: When we originally stored the car 25 years ago in the garage it ran. When we attempted to start it in 2011 to vacate that same garage, it would not start. The father of who we rent from currently worked on the car & got it running, but the car will not stay running, he beleives the carb needs to be rebuilt. Additionally from sitting 25 years the brakes had locked up, the car would not roll & I was up against a deadline to get it out of my old garage in 2011. I sprayed oil through the adjustment holes in the drums to free up the wheels. So they will need to be attended to. Another issue is the insulation that is falling off the wires in the engine compartment. The car does go into gear, roll & steer... Point taken about someone sticking their neck out to give me a price. I have been looking on ebay & hemmings but there doesn't seem to be much to compare to, I will keep looking. I understand that I should get the car running & driving in order to make the car more sellable, it's jsut that when I had more time & had the car in a garage I still could not get it running, I kept wasting time & money & got no where. But at this point at least it will start...To be honest, the person whom I rent from is interested in buying the car, he mentioned this to me the last time I was there. He wants to do an "exterior restoration" may want to change the motor & suspension, asked me to name a price. I told him I couldn't at this point because I didn't know what it was worth. He made an offer of 2k. I told him I would get back to him. To me it's not the money, it's more of what would become of the car. I cringed when his dad reached for a pair pliers instead of a wrench when loosening a bolt when he was working on it, but then again he got it running & I couldn't... I'll try to see if I can get a rebuilt carb or kit. Maybe I could hit up the forum for some help in getting it running. Thanks again, Deryl

Deryl, you should definitely hit up the forum ([u]both[/u] of them) for suggestions in starting the car. This sort of thing is what the forum thrives on and it creates "buzz" about your car. It may even entice someone to come forward with a more generous offer than you've had so far. And if someone from the Forum does buy the car, you will know that your father's handiwork will probably receive more respect than it would if purchased by someone in the general public with little knowledge of Hudsons.

My best guess, on why the car won't keep running, is the quality of the gasoline. Are you trying to run it on what's in the tank? 'Cause, that stuff has now turned to crap. Get a 5-gallon can of new gas and run a rubber hose from it, to the inlet fuel pump, bypassing the line back to the tank from the fuel pump. If the car runs successfully, you'll know that the problem lies in the bad gas in the tank, sediment in the lines (from possible corrosion in the tank), or an air hole somewhere in the line.

(Of course, this supposes that your fuel pump still works; disconnect the line from the pump at the carb, and hold a tin can under the outlet, then turn the engine over -- that way you'll soon determine if the pump is pumping.)

That would be my best guess as to why the car doesn't run. Other things to check: the points (still shiny? Gapped properly?) and the condenser (they're cheap and quickly installed; put a new one in anyway). After all, the car was "running when parked" so it's doubtful that the timing chain jumped a link -- or anything dramatic like that -- while the car just sat there all those years. However, the points MIGHT have degraded and the gasoline certainly DID go bad!

When the car was still in my garage I added new gas to the tank & attempted to start it. It would not start & I began troubleshooting gas/spark etc, this car uses an electric fuel pump, which when I tested was not pulling gas through. I replaced with a new unit that now was pulling gas. However the whole time I was pulling gas from the tank/through the lines. I may of killed the old pump this way & may of gunked up the carb as well, kinda bonehead thing to do, was not in correct mindset of what I was working on. When we did have it running it was as you suggested, we had fresh gas in a container & hooked up a hose directly to the container. I feel that the damage has already been done to the carb & it does need to be cleaned out....Car does have a history of carb problems: I remember as a kid being stuck with my dad in the Sears parking lot & holding my finger down on the butterfly on the carb while my dad cranked the engine which started the car. My older brother reminds me that the "Hudson" (as we call it) had an issue where when it got too hot it would stall & would not start again until it cooled, was thought to be vapor lock.

The vapor lock problem occurs with heat, it would not cause the car to stall as soon after starting as it does. In the same way, a coil problem would only occur after the engine had heated up. So we can discount those.
Sounds like you've pinpointed the carb itself as the problem and so I guess -- since we've tried all the ''simple and cheap'' solutions, you can now concentrate on that.

But frankly, you are trying to sell this car, not plow hundreds of dollars into it at this stage, so I'm wondering if you want to throw good money into having the carb rebuilt? If you know what you're doing you could buy a simple kit and rebuild it but of course the problem might be deeper than replacing those parts. After fooling around with my carb for the past 30 years I finally sent it down to Daytona Parts in Florida and for about $250 they sent me back what was essentially a brand new carb, right down to the plated metal surfaces. You can certainly rebuild for less, but when you entrust your carb to someone like them, you can be fairly sure that they'll do the job correctly, or advise you if they can't (because the casting is failing or something).

By the way, I forgot to relocate this discussion to the "Hudson" category as I said I would, so I will do that now. With any luck, more people will see it there and will offer you some good advice.

Hopefully I'm doing this correctly to try to "bump" this up to the top of the list by replying to a previous topic (as Jon mentioned)....Does anyone know the current telephone number for the Garden State HET club? I found contact name of Charlie Becht in Morristown NJ & Ted Steinmetz in Medford both with the same number of 973 539 3144 which is coming up invalid....My attempts at getting my fathers car running in order to sell have been not so good. I got the car to the point where it work start, you could keep the engine running by revving the engine, once you stopped it would stall. The person who helped me get it running suggested a carb rebuild, I did it myself & now the car will not start. When I push the pedal down (actually pull back the rod on the carb) I can see gas spraying into the carb. I am pulling gas from a can as opposed to the tank, new gas filter etc. I attempted to check the spark but found it difficult to confirm one way or another as I was working by myself & turning the engine over from the solenoid....any info or help would be much appreciated!

The WTN lists Richie Arnate @ (732) 245-8135 as person of contact for Garden State Chapter.

Hudsonly,
Alex Burr

Deryl, the phone number listed under "Chapters / Chapter Contacts" is for Richie Amate (a chapter member who is evidently the official "contact person"). The "wibbage" e-mail address is that of chapter president Ted Steinmetz. You might try e-mailing Ted if you have not done so already.

duly noted, I have emailed Ted....Thanks again