Just joined HET. Darren Lee from NW Arkansas. New owner of a tragically neglected 1950 Commodore 6.
Welcome! Tell us more about your Hudson--
About ten years ago, a friend of mine got this from a neighbor lady whose husband had passed away. It had been parked in his barn for many years and she was going to crush it, so Bob took it and parked it in his barn. He passed away a couple of years ago and his wife, knowing of my old car disease, offered it to me. Since I am kind of stupid that way, I took her up on it. If they get all the junk around it moved this weekend, I will bring it home and begin my latest "just this last time" project.
It's a 50 Commodore 6 (legion blue, I think) and has all the parts with it, including a rather active rodent community which will be evicted forthwith. It even has some fun options, like bumper over-riders, sun shade and a compass. Also overdrive.
It has probably not been started since 1970 or so. My plan is to get it running, mechanically stable and at least somewhat livable in the near term, then decide to what degree it deserves money and time spent on it.
I have posted pics on the free side under "worth a shot" if you want to take a look.
Welcome aboard, Darren! I think you should be able to get all questions answered here, and together we can get that Commodore back on the road. In the process (if you get out and about to local, regional and national meets of the Hudson club) you will meet some knowledgeable and fun people.
One word of warning, before you start to delve into this car. Step-Down Hudsons have an Achilles heel: the perimeter frame in the area of the rear wheels. If Hudsons have spent their lives in snowy climates with lots of salt in the road -- or in dirt-floor garages -- there is the possibility of heavy rust in the aforementioned part of the car. The tragedy would be to sink all kinds of time and money into re-chroming, new paint and upholstery, and an engine rebuild -- only to discover that thousands of dollars worth of frame repair awaits you. So, as soon as you get that car home, jack it up and get under it, and check out the undersides back by the wheels. If you DO encounter rust, and know how to weld (or know someone who does), the frame is very accessible. Merely unbolt and remove the rear fenders and you will have a see-through car, with the frame being front-and-center.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. You may have no rust at all down below! And your car is not fated to rust, so long as you keep it garaged properly.
Best of luck, and DO join your local Hudson chapter, because these people have a lot of technical info to share. And often, they'll have just the hard-to-find part that you need!
Agree with Jon. Very easy to get overwelmed if you dont have experience restoring a stepdown Hudson.
Dont hesitate to ask questions and be open to learning.
Well, Jr. didn't get all the junk out of the way this weekend, but I was able to get a better view of some areas of concern. I was a welder early in life, so I now have an excuse to go get some updated equipment. Front floorboards have some holes, and there is some tinworm along the rockers, but not as bad as my old '49 GMC or most any Jeep I have dealt with. Front of hood may be a problem and I haven't decided how to address it, but it will be a while before I have to. All the trim is accounted for. Even found a set of front seat belts with "retract-o-matic" open spring loaded dohickeys bolted to the floors ( I remember seeing those way back when). Was that an option for 1950? J.C. Whitney?
I did download the shop manual to familiarize myself with the various systems. No big surprises there, but I wondered if any of you have made the switch to negative ground, just for consistency sake or if it is really a non issue. I'm inclined to leave things as designed, but I can also see myself zoning out and causing a problem. More later. Thanks.
Finally got her out of the barn, and of course, it has been raining ever since. I sold my wrecker service last year, so am now at the mercy of one of my former competitors. Anyway, looks a lot better in the daylight. Presumably, will land in my driveway today sometime and weather permitting, I can start sorting things out and have a go no-go answer by the weekend. Didn't realize it was two tone before. Heh.
Will be interesting to see after you clean it up. Just looking at that shot it looks like a very restorable Stepdown !
Question. Having been fooled before (I'm looking at you IHC) are there any backwards, i.e. right hand threaded fasteners I need to be aware of on this model? Have not seen anything specific in the shop manual. Thanks.
None that I can think of.
I believe that there are right threaded wheel bolts on one side, but I might be misremembering...
Darren, welcome. Re turn direction on fasteners, right-hand thread (“righty-righty”) is the normal standard. Left-hand thread is the odd convention. I don’t specifically recall whether my 1953 Hornet has left hand thread on the wheel lugs on the left side of the car. Some of my olde cars did, so check before you apply 150’ft-lbs in the wrong direction. Everything else is right-hand thread.
Re 12V conversion: we just had a discussion about that. Here’s the link: https://hetclub.org/index.php?option=com_kunena&view=topic&catid=18&id=6190&Itemid=1367
Like a lot of things, it depends on what you plan to do with the car. If you just want to drive it on sunny days and to/from local car shows, 6V is adequate (IMO, barely). Of you plan to drive it more frequently, or at night or in rain, I think 12V is better. Read the link for a more extended discussion.
I once broke a large 4-way trying to loosen a driver side wheel on an old Metro before I figured it out. Thanks for the clarification
My plan is to make things work as designed as much as possible. If 6v works for me then I'll keep it. If not, then I'll make appropriate changes. It's not going in a museum, after all.
By the way, the Metro ended up in a museum, in spite of me. 🙂
The lug bolts are all right hand thread on Hudsons. (righty tighty)
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