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1942 Hudson Big Boy


NinaAdata

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1942 is a one year only front end. Hard to find grill parts. Same truck as a 1941 and 46-47. Just dressed out different, matching the styling of the passenger cars on the front end. And the dash on the inside. A 42 truck would be rare, 46-47 trucks are  medium  rare.:lol:

Edited by Xander Wildeisen (see edit history)
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I am no expert, so do not hammer me. I have heard over the years that 3000+ or- trucks were built in 46. And 3100 + or - trucks were built in 47. I know that a lot of them have survived. Maybe people hung onto them because they are so unique. You can always find a 46-47 truck for sale. (condition all over the map) They pop up all the time, most have had a hard life. Not sure what other commercial vehicles Hudson produced in 46-47? No panel wagons to my knowledge. Earlier Terraplane trucks are harder to find than the 46-47's. I got really spoiled getting involved with Hudson"s out here. A lot of Hudson"s are floating around the Pacific Northwest. Getting to know people like Jim Harmon, who knew where every Hudson ever built was hiding. A person could put the word out to a few big names in the Hudson stuff, and what you were looking for would surface. I am sure it is the same for other makes of cars, if you run in those circles. Maybe someone with production knowledge, and info from the HET Club can jump in. I can think of 11, 46-47 trucks that I have come across in my travels, that a person could have bought if you wanted to. I have owned four, been involved in building/restoring a few. Fun trucks, just different, but also good looking. The bed rail coming up to the body line is what makes them. 

 

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That does look like a good one for the money.  Important thing to make sure as well is that it has good trim (the diecast chrome stuff)  as it rarely turns up in good shape.  I searched Hershey for a few years and never found anything that was better than what I already had.  Plus religiously searched ebay daily even doing just a Hudson Search in general.  (Hubcaps are hard to find in decent shape as well)  Xander finally was the man to help me out with some nice pieces. Hey Xander,  you the man!  

 The fender lights are starting to get ridiculous if you can find them.  Even the hood surround piece and definitely Headlight bezels are rarely turning up in anything better than 5 or less condition on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being perfect.  All I have found and bought were pretty crappy,  finally turning up a pair of decent driver quality with some light pitting (each came in pairs but only one of each pair was decent) .  I swear Hudson must have used the worst pot metal to make their parts from. 

I did see one pair of Hudson NOS Headlight rings and they sold 2 years ago for $450

Still cool trucks especially when you park them next to a 47 Chevy or Ford.  No Comparison hands down factory hot rod look to a Hudson.  I swear in stock form the roof is atleast a foot lower.   Doesn't hurt they look stretched as well.  I think they must be a couple feet longer as well.  The almost 8 foot bed is better proportioned with the long front sheetmetal than a chevy. 

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4 hours ago, Xander Wildeisen said:

A better location for the speakers would help the sale of this one.  https://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/cto/d/west-46-hudson-pickup/6856328585.html

Goes to show it doesn't matter how much money you spend,  you can't buy taste.  

Looks like they probably aren't making any money on that one either. 

I don't care for the boat looking interior either. 

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I think this one was taken apart when it was around 35 years old, sat for 20 or so, and I bought it in pieces. I brought a handful of carriage bolts with me and the guy who took it apart helped me screw it together to get it home in one piece. Kind of ironic.

 

I sold it to a Hudson collector near Attica, New York and haven't seen it since. Anyone know where it is now?

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4 minutes ago, StillOutThere said:

Hudson offered Dover (Essex chassis) commercial vehicles in '29 and '31.  Terraplane commercials ran 33-38 and Hudson commercials available in '38-47.   Nothing built from '48 up stepdowns.   

Did the utility coupe skip the years 38 and 39? With 1940 being the last year?

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33 minutes ago, Xander Wildeisen said:

Did the utility coupe skip the years 38 and 39? With 1940 being the last year?

 

 

FWIW, Wikipedia (yeah, I know it's not always accurate) says the utility coupe was Terraplane in 37 and 38 and Hudson in 39 (when Terraplane was dropped) through 42 (when civilian production was suspended).  It was not produced after WWII.  It got independent front suspension in 40.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_Utility_Coupe

 

 

Edited by CHuDWah (see edit history)
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I have seen a 1940 utility coupe, never a 41-42. Our 37 utility coupes had a plain/smooth tail gate. Not sure what year had Hudson Terraplane stamped in it, must be 39? And then the Terraplane was dropped. And the rest just were stamp Hudson? We have a candy company in Boise that has been around for a long time. On their box lid, they have a few Terraplane panels. I have never heard anything about these panels. What happened to them? Where are they? 

1937 hudson coupe 088.JPG

Edited by Xander Wildeisen (see edit history)
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On 4/6/2019 at 10:52 AM, Xander Wildeisen said:

Hood looks the same.

 

That hood does make it look like it may be the truck I sold. The pictures in my garage look about 1995, about 25 years ago. A lot can happen. The other thing is the silver painted heater hose cap on the cylinder head. I can't recall specifically, but it sure has a familiar look to it.

The person I sold the truck to had a 1940 's Commodore with leather and a monogram of the original owner on the door. wouldn't mind tracking that one down again.

 

 

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I only just now recalled that French Lake Auto Parts in MN had very rusty '42 Custom Commodore 8, or maybe it was a Commodore Custom 8 (they flip-flopped on the name over the years) long wheelbase sedan about ten years ago. That model was the same wheelbase (129"? maybe) as the Big Boy pickup. I heard that they only built three of those sedans that year. You could tell that it was a classy looking sedan with that long wheelbase. They used the front half of a two door sedan up to the "B" pillar and the back half of a four door sedan on the rear. French Lake, like Windy Hills, is MNs other huge yard has enough room that they don't need to crush much. Some of the sedan may still be there for parts and a frame.

 

http://www.frenchlakeautoparts.com/

 

 

Edited by Hudsy Wudsy (see edit history)
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