Xander Wildeisen

Sounds custom to me, tape measure, cutting tools, welder and beer should get the job done.

Here are a few shots of my 47 Hudson truck cab. I just finished painting it, and I am getting ready to start the wood grain on the dash and garnish rails. The colors started off as 46-47 Packard two tone colors. They were then tinted A little. The cab has been chopped three inches and stretched seven. You can see the pictures of the truck in another post to get an idea of what it will look like.

In your picture you will see the turn signal set up is also from a step down. That is used to work with the wheel. Not sure what you have in your truck, you might want to find a step down set up as well. You can also see in your picture, over the dash and out the window. The air deflector or shield on top of the radiator. And not sure if the picture is showing a truck, but the gauge clusters are from a car. Cars had the silver or gold fish lure back ground. Truck had just a plain bone colored back ground. You can also put some Commodore dash trim on your truck.

I think the steering wheel will fit. The 53 wheel will have turn signal pins in the back that would cancel the turn signals. Not sure if those need to be removed? I have seen the newer wheels in the trucks, not sure if they had to do some thing to get them to fit? If you are looking for a better wheel, the steering wheel out of the 46-47 Commodore looks nicer. I always thought the 51-54 wheels looked a little out of place in the older Hudsons. The 48-49 wheels would look good, But they are harder to find. I will see what wheels I have, and look at the radios.

Yes they came with a 212, I have not seen one in a long time. Very different looking then the 262. Forgot just how different they are. It will be tough to find a buyer for the motor. Even people who do a restoration throw in a newer step down engine, and get away from the splash style oiling system.

I would think if the right people from the AACA, CCCA, SEMA and the ISCA all sent some emails back and forth. You could make some thing happen. It is in the best interest of all. Street rods, hot rods and customs drive the other side of the industry. And as soon as cars were made, so were customs. The Pebble Beach winning Custom Bodied Packard At the very least should be sitting next to the Riddler Winning Olds From Texas. At the SEMA show, both Cars are the same thing. Custom Bodied cars 80 years apart. I just think it could open up some new areas in the restoration side and the custom side. And get more people crossing over to the different sides to at the least take a look. I can not stress to you enough about the gap between the great classic ear custom bodied cars, and the modern custom car world. A lot of young car builders just have never been around the cars you guys have. You would see it have an effect. In my opinion the AACA and the CCCA are far bigger players in the custom car world then you may think. You have about 100 years of history to prove it.

It is all just food for thought. I just do not see some kid named Preston on a golf course spending hundreds of hours pounding and grinding on a car to turn it into a modern custom. I just think that there is a opening to display the history of the custom side of cars. And that would high light this side of the car world and it's great classic era custom coach built cars. Pull in new people to the classic side, and breath new life in the modern custom side. And let the talent and innovation and creativity on both sides run with it. From time to time this Hobby/Industry can grow stale. And a new trend or fad comes along and breaths new life in it, to carry it forward. I do not want to see the greatest custom cars built from the classic era check them self in to the retirement home. With a move on the concourse side to show case newer classics, to be more in check with the age of people going to the shows. There is a wide open spot for the full senior custom bodied classics to move out in front and be seen on the other side. And what is funny, a new custom built car now, if done right. 50 years from now, will be restored.

great parts, or build/restore a truck. https://sandiego.craigslist.org/ssd/cto/5716842165.html

You would see a huge rise in people going to shows and swap meets. This side of the car world is sitting on the coolest customs ever made. But does not get them in front of the younger people that are the driving force on the other side. Exposing people to this side of the car world with your historic customs would have a big impact. But like stated above there is a big gap in the car world between customs and classics, and there should not be.

I am not trying to take anything down a path. Do not lose sight that some of the best cars ever built out of the classic era were built by "custom" coach builders. My job is building and restoring cars. If I post pictures of a custom car that I am working on. I would think that if a person was wanting to have a car restored, they would look at the pictures of cars being cut in half , stretched and customized. And they might think, that guy would be able to fix my fenders. I have gone back to Hershey twice, It was awesome to see the show field full of original cars. (breath of fresh air from the street rods) I wonder what would happen if the AACA rented a booth at SEMA, and stuffed it with high end full senior classics? My guess is you might start to see more interest in the restored side of the classics. What if concourse shows were advertise on the street rod side as well? I bet your show would have more people there. A lot of the younger people have no idea, and have never seen some of these great cars that never come out. There is a big gap in the car world between cutting edge customs, and the greatest customs ever built. You guys with the custom bodied classics would steal the show if put on display at a show like that. And would inspire a generation of future car builders. Call it a "throw back to the masters"

well said poci1957.

If I was to guess, a 41 front end might bolt on a post war truck. Not so sure on the 40 front end, do to the different body where the front sheet metal bolts up. I have never owned a 1940-41 Hudson.

Are you asking if a 46-47 front end can be put on a 40-41? Or the other way around? Hudson trucks for the most part are a car with a truck bed. 1940 body styles changed in 1941. And with some changes in 1942-47. Hudson had a habit of changing things in a way that they could still use up stuff. Truck doors are just the front door from a sedan with the 41 design. The doors on a 46-47 car just have a flare out on the bottom. Remove that and you have a 1941 door. If you cut a truck cab in half behind the door, move the cab back seven inches. And remove the rear door jam mounting bracket from the frame. And move it back seven inches, you will see a mounting spot for it on the frame. That spot is for the mounting of the rear pillar for a coupe. Add coupe doors, fill in the roof and floor. And you just stretched a truck. Putting a different front end on would be easy, if it fit or not, there are so many extra parts out there from different cars. Mixing front ends on trucks can really give some plain trucks a good look.

I am a member of the AACA, as well as a member of other clubs on the Street Rod/ Custom side. I do not look at SEMA or the AACA any different. Two groups doing the same thing, with the same goal, coming from different angles. The comment about the customs creeping in is a interesting one. Are some of the aftermarket/ reproduction parts made for restoration or the street rod side? Do people buy a reproduced steel 40 ford body to restore it? Most likely not, But that side sure helps restores get much needed reproduced parts. I have posted pictures of customs that I am working on. the Hudson truck seen on a different post came off of a hog farm. No restorer would have touched the car. A restorer will look at a project for a stand point of what is it missing, condition and so on. Form a custom side it is a clean slat. I build street rods and customs for the most part. But have a love for restored cars as well, here are some of the restored cars that I have been lucky to have owned. I think we should all thank any one who is willing to put in the time and the money to get a piece of history back on the road in any form.

The aluminum head was for the 308 (Hornet engine) got higher compression but could warp and cause a leaking head gasket. Cast iron ones are better in my opinion, I think the 500 pacemaker head will fit the 262. Some one else can chime in on that one. A stock 262 engine is a great motor. My first Hudson was a 1952 Wasp with a 262 and over drive. Great car, drove it every day. I will look at the radios that I have and get back to you. You can replace the sockets in your fender lights to a duel element bulb if you are going to have turn signals. That way they can light up with your park lights as well. Check out the upper and lower bolts that mount your spindle to the upper and lower A-arms. Every truck I have torn apart those bolts have been so badly worn out, they thread in through the spindle and really take a beating if it was used as a truck over the years.

Sorry, brain fart on the wheel base in my post. Stock wheel base 128 inches. Stretched seven inches, wheel base is now 135.

Glad to hear it is a bigger engine. The air cleaners you have are the later style that would go with a 1955 Twin-H set up. They are round in the body shape where they go on the carb, earlier ones had a square shape to the design. As stated before you can bump up the compression with a head swap. Also can not tell in the pictures if you have it, but there is a stock air deflector that goes around the radiator to help close off the big space under the hood. And force more air in the radiator when driving. If you run into cooling problems when driving. I have seen more radiators missing them then having them. I have lots of extra parts for 46-47 Hudsons if you ever need anything for yours. If you have any play in the steering it will most likely be the center pivot, it take the most abuse. Truck should have the larger brakes, same as the commodore when ordering parts. I also have stock radios in both silver and gold backgrounds, the difference in color was for 1946 or 1947 year. You can dress out the truck with some more car trim as well, you all ready have the best dress up items. The fender lights and front bumper, stock truck front bumpers were very plain. Looks like a fun driver, my new truck that I am building is in the painting process. Here is a picture of it before it was torn down to be painted. You can see some of the changes that I made. Chopped three inches, cab stretched seven inches, coupe doors, coupe roof for the curve of the door tops and the drip rail, frame cut in half and stretched seven inches, truck is about 142 inch wheel base now. I also made a new bed for it. removed wing windows, modified car rear fenders for the flat top wheel openings. That was done so I could run the car trim all the way down the side of the truck. Custom pieces were made to wrap the trim around the cab corners. Smooth running boards were made, 1967 fire bird tails, custom rear role pan with exhaust cut outs, smooth fire wall, 1953 modified Desoto dash, power windows, power steering and disk brakes, A/C. Has a fuel injected engine and over drive transmission and a 9 inch ford rear end as well. I am painting it a two tone in Packard colors from the forties, I did tint the paint colors a little to my liking. Will end up with a leather interior and wood grain dash and center console. Should turn out nice, will be a fun driver. Xander

Hello, looks like a fun truck to drive and enjoy. You state that the motor is a Wasp engine. That would be a 262 ci with twin-H, the twin-H being an option. Does the top of the head next to the thermostat housing say 262? At first glance it looks like a Hudson Jet engine with twin-H. Trucks came with a 212 engine.You can put a 232 head on a 262 engine for more compression. On the side of the engine in front of the first exhaust port, you will see a stamped number running up and down. That number would have matched the vin number on the car that the motor came out of. With that number you can figure out what year the engine is. Xander

This topic "Restoring cars for a living" was submitted to be a possible topic to be talked about by a panel of experts at the fall meet. I hope it will be considered to be discussed, and a honest conversation can be had, about some of the challenges that small companies involved in building/restoring classic cars are faced with.

Car has been sold.

Car has been sold.

Thank you for the replies and the paint color names. Found a great web site for old paint colors. http://paintref.com/paintref/index.shtml

I am wanting to know if any body happens to know the names of the two colors, and the paint codes? That are on this 1930 Packard 734 Speedster that just came up for sale on Hemmings. http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/packard/734/1849811.html

There are other guys in white hats that I would stand with long before the one shown above.

Not really sure what people are taking away from my post. I think my story is not much different then a lot of people in this hobby/industry, mine having a few more twists and turns. We have all seen the movie Tucker a man and his dreams. What happens in the movie is alive and well in this part of the country. If you are good at what you do, yes you can be a target by people wanting you to do their work. That is how it should be, do a good job and the word of mouth carries you. But the flip side of it is, do a good job and you can be seen as a threat to other shops, or people who want to lock you down and try and own you. And then you get into how far will people go? If in a big city people get harmed over a pair of tennis shoes. Is it a stretch to think that people will not jack with other peoples stuff? I am a legal tax paying shop, I am a dealer for aftermarket parts, I have built cars that have been in shows. And what I can tell you for a fact is that some people seem to know no limits in what they will do. And I think it is reflective of where we are at as a country. No matter what your own personal opinions are , I think we all agree that a free and fair market system that we can compete in, works best for us all as a whole. Great work, customer service, fair price. These are all things that made our automotive industry the envy of the world. But in my opinion we have been taken down a road that has turned the work environment for small businesses in to a battle ground. For a small business owner in any field, in this country you and your assets are viewed as fair game to a run away legal system, and people who actively set out to bring harm to companies. It is called predatory capitalism. I could not imagine how bad it would be on a large scale corporate level. People have put a lot of effort in to dividing shops around here by say one thing to one person and another to some one else just to create division, so shops do not talk to one another. That way people can get one shop to think this and another to think that. I am sure that what I am saying, people will just say. Well that is just hard ball business. I guess I understand that part??? But when people pull the rug out from under companies to try and take them out, and drive people into thinking harm will come to them if they do not drink the kool aid and play ball. Then we as a country have let things go to far. It appears to me that there are people who think that you can make good money with small businesses. But not from owning the Business, from owning the owner of the business. If our goal is to pass the torch on to the next generation of car builders and restorers. Then fixing the way some things are done in our "hobby" would be a good thing for us and for the youth wanting to get involved.