Rusty_OToole
-
Posts
13,984 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
7
Content Type
Forums
Gallery
Events
Posts posted by Rusty_OToole
-
-
If you mean what I think you mean there is no rear axle and driveshaft that will fit your car, and bolt up to a Chev engine and transmission.
Anything will have to be adapted and result in more or less butchery, at great expense, and reducing the value of the car to practically nothing.
Easiest solution would be to repair or rebuild the original engine. If it has gone missing, or the rod is sticking thru the block, next best would be to find another small Buick straight eight. I leave it to the experts what years and models will fit. Finally, it might be possible to adapt the Chevy six to the original transmission and this would probably result in a satisfactory driving car since the Chev engine is reasonably close to the original in size and HP. If you do this advise you to keep the hood closed when any old time Buick fans are around . This would be the worst solution but could be made to work if you were a good enough engineer and mechanic.
-
The same pagans are still around, ready to "sacrifice" their car.
-
I do recall seeing pics a long time ago. It was probably a one off show car or possibly the dream of someone with a Lincoln Log fetish.
-
6
-
-
Consult your wiring diagram. There should be several leads on the ignition switch but one will be switched power. There will also be a power source that is on all the time, as for headlights. Everything should be powered off one or the other, directly or indirectly.
-
2
-
-
Have you considered pistons made by a European company? If you replace a full set, and they are the correct diameter, pin height, and wrist pin size they should work perfectly well. I know there are companies in the US that will make custom pistons. It might even be possible to find stock pistons from some other car or truck that will fit. Off hand the only names that come to mind are Kohlbenschmidt and Mahle but there must be others. You might try emailing a few suppliers, giving dimensions, and see what they have.
-
The guy who made the Tucker replicas with Cadillac power train was Rob Ida. He also made the Tucker convertible that caused some talk a few years ago. Don't know how many were made or sold.
-
5
-
-
I wouldn't mind having one of the fakes since I will never have an original.
-
5
-
1
-
-
I heard the movie prop department made a number of running Tucker replicas. I think it was 4? They made a fibreglass body and mounted it on a Ford LTD chassis. The body had one working door, for the driver. They were made for driving scenes that were too risky to use an original car. The mold was taken off FF Coppola's own Tucker. Other scenes used his car, plus other original Tuckers borrowed or rented for the movie.
The race track scene with the damaged Tucker used a Studebaker sedan with aluminum Tucker fenders, suitably banged up.
-
6
-
-
1 hour ago, Terry Harper said:
As a rule we run non-ethanol. Since the tanks are large (60 gallons on the 10 ton tractor) and never anywhere near full and we have an unheated building combined with this time of year when the days can start in the single digits and climb to the high thirties or low forties within 12 hours, it’s been worth the extra cost.
Absolutely! The cost compared to the benefit of the experience, enjoyment and delight brought to our visitors is totally insignificant.
You should be able to get an oil supplier to put in a tank of untaxed, low cost, low octane tractor gas. That is, if you burn enough gas to make it worth while. If you only fire it up 2 or 3 times a year probably not worth it.
-
Your grandma may have been a great dancer in her youth but you can't expect her to jump up and do the boogaloo like she did when she was 18.
Likewise, if I had a pre 1952 Hudson with poured bearings long stroke and splash lubrication I would rather baby it than run the risk of an expensive rebuild. They may have been capable of great speed back when they were new but I wouldn't want to push one today.
-
1
-
-
No doubt it was built to run on the cheapest straight run gas of the day, about 50 or 55 octane. Would it be cheaper to use tractor gas or dilute the gas with kerosene?
-
Here is some in depth discussion of performance possibilities of the Hudson straight eight compared to the Hornet six. Much food for thought here. If you read to the bottom there is one comment that above 4000 RPM the oil can't run into the oil troughs fast enough for the dippers to lubricate the bearings. Max HP 4200 RPM.
https://openforum.hetclub.org/discussion/172581/hudson-straight-8
-
The Fabulous Hudson Hornet that set all the speed records and dominated NASCAR in the early days, was a completely different engine. It was a brand new, six cylinder of modern flathead design that owed nothing to the prewar models. The new engine debuted in 1951 and the old straight eight phased out in 1952.
-
1
-
-
My father drove a 1947 Hudson Commodore Eight when I was a kid and it was a late model car. He was a lead foot and routinely drove it at 70 MPH or more which was fast in those pre interstate days. The engine lasted about 5 years then it was shot. It was going to cost $320 for a rebuild, twice as much as a Ford or Chev. So he traded it in on a new Chevrolet.
On the way home he almost lost it and skidded into the ditch taking a curve at 50 that he routinely took at 70 in the Hudson. He took the car back to the dealer and had the mechanic check the steering and suspension. The mechanic could not find anything amiss, he asked what the trouble was, my father told him and the mechanic laughed "you can't expect a Chevy to handle like a Hudson".
I wouldn't mind having a good Hudson today but in view of the babbit bearings, long stroke design, splash lubrication, and advanced age I would rather drive at 50 for ten years than drive at 70 for one day. The same thing goes for many other cars of the time, such as Chevrolet.
The point is, they were a good car within their limits and if you baby it, may still last you a long time.
-
3
-
-
Hudson had their own unique approach to building cars and engines. The engine was extremely simple, light and small for its power. They used splash lubrication with a low pressure pump and a small bore, long stroke design. The piston rings were pinned in place. They had a unique oil bath clutch lined with corks. Transmission was also small and simple, not much bigger than a grapefruit. They were the first car to feature idiot lights in place of gauges. I believe this was because with the splash lubrication oil pressure was practically meaningless.
In spite of all this they seemed to stand up as well as most other makes. They had a good reputation for speed, performance and handling thanks to light weight and good chassis and supension design. I would not want to drive one over 50 MPH for more than a very short time because the long stroke design and lubrication system is not suited to high speed use. This was not a big deal when the car was new but times have changed and so has the demand for speed.
Engineers at a well known English luxury car maker analysed the Hudson and found the Hudson 4.2 liter straight eight was shorter and lighter than their 3.5 liter six and produced more power.
Hope this gives you some ideas. They are a good car but a little off beat. Some people, such as myself, like that. While others don't.
-
1
-
-
The term prewar was applied to other goods than automobiles. During the war there were shortages, rationing, many things were not available or were restricted in quantity or quality. After the war inflation caused prices to double. Especially in the UK if you could find a tailor with a stock of prewar cloth you were practically guaranteed a suit of higher quality, and prewar liquor was much prized. No doubt there were other articles where quality slipped quite a few notches, not just cars.
-
1
-
-
Fuel injection 1957 Corvette. Solid state ignition 1962 Studebaker Avanti. Build frame, who knows what that means, but on the whole I agree with the OP. Even though there are exceptions.
One objection to modifying an old car is it gets obsolete a lot faster. Example a teal Model A roadster with a pink smear down the side, crate 350 Chev V8 and Turbo 350 automatic, billet wheels and accessories and gray tweed interior was quite in fashion in the early 80s. No doubt the guy who built it thought he was quite the trend setter compared to the square who restored his Model A exactly to stock specs. Which is more desirable and valuable now? Which is laughably obsolete? You will be able to say the same thing about every LS swap and electric conversion in a few years.
-
6
-
-
Looks like they are getting at the same thing in a different way. The Egge method works the same but saves a bit of wire.
-
2
-
-
I believe the 115 had a shorter wheelbase and shorter front fenders and hood. A comparison of photos should tell the tale.
-
Car production was halted and all unsold new cars were put into bonded warehouses in April 1942. No new cars were sold until the first 1946 models. So, in the late forties, there was a definite difference between a prewar used car with several years of use, and a brand new car. Even though they might look very much the same. I believe this is when the prewar/postwar distinction was made in car sales.
These days if I hear prewar vs postwar, I think of thirties cars with chubby fenders and flathead engines vs postwar cars with tail fins, 2 tone paint and V8 engines.
It is not a hard and fast rule, just a quick way of making a broad distinction.
-
3
-
-
16 hours ago, Littlestown Mike said:
My machine shop expenses which included the rebuild kit with .040 pistons ran just over $2000. The head required all new valves and most of the vale guides, all of which was included in that cost. I saved time and money by doing the disassembly and reassembly myself.
These days that is a very reasonable cost for a rebuilt engine, that will probably be good for 100,000 miles if well taken care of.
-
1
-
-
Try Mike and Neil Butters in Cobourg Ontario. They specialize in one off, small castings especially Graham products but do other makes as well.
https://www.grahamownersclub.com/uploads/1/9/1/5/19154273/grahampartslist.pdf
These are only a few of the more common parts that people inquire about. If you do not see the part
you are looking for, there is a good change that we have it. By chance that we do not have a part and
you have your old original part, even BROKEN, we will invariably be able to make an excellent
reproduction. All of the parts are individually custom cast so please allow 8 to 10 weeks for delivery. For
price information or other information please contact us:
Michael or Neil Butters
1063 Ontario St
Cobourg, ON K9A 3C8
Canada
(905) 372-6926
e-mail:
nbutters@eagle.ca -
There should be a switch on the door post or maybe in the headlight switch.
-
1
-
-
Connect up a test light or ammeter as described above. Then, remove the fuses one at a time and see which one stops the draw. That is the circuit that has the short or whatever it is. Shut off the dome light first.
1956 Lincoln Capri Sportsman. Anyone seen one of these?
in General Discussion
Posted
Cars like this are sometimes called phantoms. They represent someone's idea of a car the company could have made but never did. Sometimes they are based on drawings or prototypes that were announced or shown but never built. As long as they are not misrepresented as something they are not, no harm is done. Even if they are, this shades into the realm of hoaxes or practical jokes as long as they don't attempt to make money off it. If they did you would have a case of fraud.