Xander Wildeisen Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 This 47 Hudson has a drive master in place. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 Tearing apart the convertible was the nasty part. The coupe is the fun part. I had another Hudson with a drive master. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted January 29, 2021 Author Share Posted January 29, 2021 With the convertible frame out of the way, coupe was placed on the lift. All body bolts, fender braces, wiring and cables removed/disconnected. Steering box unbolted and linkage disconnected. Front end and rear fenders removed. Stripped down to a complete body. You can see in the background how much of the shop is taken over by doing this. Truck cabs, truck beds, mountain of parts and customers cars. I can look at the date on the pictures and find out how much time it took to work through these parts cars. Got it done pretty fast. Date on last picture is 4/27/2012, just about one year away from the start of it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 (edited) Have you ever driven a Hudson equipped with Drive-Master? How did it work? Or, maybe, not work? Forgot to ask before, has or will the resurrected convertible become a Commodore Eight? Edited January 29, 2021 by 58L-Y8 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted January 29, 2021 Author Share Posted January 29, 2021 I have not driven one with drive master. This 47 convertible had the drive master. The 37 Terraplane utility coupe you see above had the electric hand on it. Never got to drive them with those set ups. The convertible is a commodore eight. Just has a different engine in it. A person could put an original eight engine back in it. Would like to finish out the car, and drive and enjoy it. 46-47 Hudson's are a good looking car, with a low production. It was worth saving in my opinion. Have the Jaguar that needs to finished as well. Those two projects will be enough to keep me busy on the side in my spare time. Just need to find a building/shop. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 When the convertible goes back together, is it going to get a Hornet 308 six with Twin-H Power? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 No, I do not have a Hornet motor any more. Sold all my extra engines. All my cars have a drive trains installed. Only extra motor I have now is in the parts car. It is very complete, missing the generator. Might run? Any original cars I had were sold, when everything turned to sh@t in Star. I did buy a nice original 34 Hudson. Was going to drive it back and forth to work. After being jacked around on a building. It was sold before I got it on the road, bought the 49. Did some fast wrenching, and left. I really liked that 34 Hudson. It found a good home in the Hudson club. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 (edited) That '34 Hudson does look like a very nice original, sorry you had to sell it. I doubt if they come up available very often. Being a Hudson man, I have to ask, have you ever come across any of the Commodore Eight Country Club sedans from the late '30's - early '40's? Edited January 30, 2021 by 58L-Y8 (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 This is a nice looking car. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/245882323425276/?ref=search&referral_code=undefined Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 I did not have to sell the 34 Hudson. It is a choice a person makes. Could have sold a different car. I have always put up for sale the car that is the most marketable. At that time it was the 34. My 47 convertible is a mixed bag. Some people might not like it, because of the repair. I have a complete photo album with the car showing everything. The Jaguar is still a project, a person would not get much for it, as it sits. But it has had thousands of dollars worth of work in it. Will be a good car to show for my business. So would the 47 Hudson when it is finished out. My whole life got impacted by other peoples bull sh#t. If there was a desire to put together something automotive related. People sure went about it in a bad way. This story out of Idaho stinks of fraud in every way. And it lands on the lap of the State. And that is why you hear nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 Pictures of the 34. That's pretty original. Beautiful car. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 Picking up the car in MN. New owner got a very nice, hard to find Hudson eight Victoria. He is active in the Hudson club, it will be seen. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 (edited) That '34 is a wonderful original! Hope it stays that way for years to come. The '40 Country Club for sale has to be one of the few survivors, what a shame it hasn't been better stored and maintained. In all the junkyards I walked around in in the 1960's-'70's, of all the Hudsons in those, never encountered a single Country Club. BTW, ever consider putting pop-up hidden headlights on your Jaguar custom? That smooth look without them is very racy-looking. Edited January 30, 2021 by 58L-Y8 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 New owner of the 34 has it driving. Will stay as you see it. The Country Club listed for sale would be a great car to clean up the best you can, and drive it as a original. Seller is just to high on his asking price. I thought about it, just bad timing for me. Very nice car, still would show well for what it is. If left sitting there for a few more years. It will turn that final corner down the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 (edited) With the coupe body up in the air. I could take a good look at the bottom. There is only one small spot of rust in the back trunk panel. I have a piece cut out of one of the parts cars, to replace this once it is sand blasted. Very nice body on this car/patch panel. People spend thousands on new reproduction parts to repair old cars. This was money well spent, all original Hudson parts/metal. Coupe frame is rolled away, and the back half of the convertible body is lifted off the frame. Convertible frame is rolled under the coupe body. Steering column and box unbolted from the frame. This column will be put back in later, with a better tube used from a different column set up. Body is lowered down and bolted on. Ready to start repairing a convertible. Very easy to do, any one could do this. Edited January 30, 2021 by Xander Wildeisen (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 2 hours ago, 58L-Y8 said: That '34 is a wonderful original! Hope it stays that way for years to come. The '40 Country Club for sale has to be one of the few survivors, what a shame it hasn't been better stored and maintained. In all the junkyards I walked around in in the 1960's-'70's, of all the Hudsons in those, never encountered a single Country Club. BTW, ever consider putting pop-up hidden headlights on your Jaguar custom? That smooth look without them is very racy-looking. Hidden headlights could look good. Going to keep it looking like a XK120 roadster, just bigger. And a few little changes. They are a very nice looking car. Glad I have it, their values have gone up a lot. Buy in price for a nice project has gotten to expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 What is the chassis, still Jaguar or? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 Still the Jaguar frame. Widened 9 inches, stretched 7 inches. Has a 89 XJS V12, the 89 independent rear suspension. And a after market independent front suspension. The 89 XJS front suspension was not a good fit. Caused a lot of problems in this car, using the 54 frame. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC38dls Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 The Jaguar and the hard top look good in the pics. I would love to own either one. Hopefully we will see finished pics of both in this thread at a later date. Even if it means this thread keeps going for a year or two it is one of the more interesting threads on the forum. As good as Ed's Great White thread. Keep it going. dave s 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John S. Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 Love the work on the Jag, very different. The Hemi in the Hudson looks like it was born there. Lot of interesting projects going on. Glad to see the '34 is going to a good home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 The Jaguar is a fun project. The Hemi was born there through in vitro fertilization/cross pollination. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 With the coupe body bolted down on the convertible frame. Windows are removed, braces welded in the body, and braces tacked on to the top/roof above where it will be cut off. These braces are not to hold the roof in any shape. Just to keep it from getting damaged. The coupe body bolts down to the frame with no problems, because it is the same as the convertible body. You can see marks on the windshield/door posts, and on the back of the body going through the rear window. Back window opening is not needed for anything. Doors are left alone for now, cutting into the doors right now does you no good. Wait until you are farther along with other steps. Roof is cut off leaving enough material on the windshield posts, door pillar, rear body and windshield divider bar. To be able to cut more off later. All of these cuts have nothing to do with the conversion yet, just removing what is not needed and leaving extra to work with. At this point on this project, you can see that anyone with basic tools could do what I have done. You do not need a lift, a few people could lift the bodies on and off. Anyone with basic skills can do this. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC38dls Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 “and off. Anyone with basic skills can do this.“ says the man with talent beyond the basic skill level. Your thought is appreciated but someone with my ordinary skill level would not end up with the results you have shown us. Rejoice and be proud of the level of skill and craftsmanship you have. I certainly am enjoying it and your sharing this thread. I am a fan of your work! dave s 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 I think you would be surprised at what can be done when you enter into something with the right frame of mind. And how you approach a situation. The comments in this post about what happened in Idaho are a very good example. I got on a committee not knowing anything, just being a beer drinking car guy. While on this committee I was surrounded by, attorneys, elected officials, retired law enforcement, retired military, leaders of political parties and business owners. As things moved forward, it became clear the different outlook, or approach that people take in dealing with an issue or problem. Being a little Forest Gumpish, I had no idea what was going on. Just there seemed to be a problem buried in an issue that others could not see, or would not see. Most of these people took the approach of wait and see what happens, or wait and see how it plays out. That is a very strange outlook/view in my opinion. It basically says to me, let someone else determine the outcome. Attorneys said there is nothing/not much you can do. Others said we have no choice but to work with the developer. Retired military and law enforcement said let it go. My outlook/approach, being the ignorant beer drinking car guy. Was, cut the roof off, and see what we are dealing with. That approach does not jive well with the system. I knew the whole thing stunk. I was able in 5 months to piece together State fraud and racketeering. Ignoring what others were saying. And refusing to look at it from their prospective. Going through this it makes a person realize the level that people orchestrate and cover up crimes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT1NJwEi6nw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted February 1, 2021 Author Share Posted February 1, 2021 Roof cut off and set aside. First thing to do is the front windshield frame. Here you can see the top part of the convertible cowl. It was stripped of bolt on parts. Measured out and marked where to be cut. Coupe body was cut leaving extra material on the windshield frames. Measuring and marking out that windshield pillar to match the convertible marks. Should make for a easy replacement. Because the cowls are the same. Points inside and on the outside are the same. So very easy to make cuts in the same place on both pieces. Measuring windshield opening in between the pinch welds. A person can get it spot on to what the factory did on this convertible. Tack weld the windshield frame on the car. Make sure the windshield divider bar has the hole set up for the convertible windshield trim. This is different because the trim is shorter, for the lower windshield height on the convertibles. Leave it tack welded for now, in case anything needs to be shifted. The doors are the next thing to be addressed. Because of the difference in windshield pillars. The doors can not be closed right now. Outer door frame and interior garnish rail, must pass/travel under the windshield pillar. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted February 1, 2021 Author Share Posted February 1, 2021 So in order to close the doors. The door tops/frames need to be cut off. Strip the doors of windows and run channels. And mark the frame right below the windshield frame where it travels under the pillar. And cut the back off above where you need it to be. Again leaving extra material on the door. You just want to be able to close the doors, and come back to them later. The shape needed on these door tops, are sitting on the old convertible doors. As you have seen, the coupe roof was used on my old truck. And the cut off door tops from the coupe, were used for fill in pieces to stretch the door frames on my truck. By chopping the top, as the door frames come down, they need to be stretched to fit. You can see the filler piece in the middle. Still have the extra door frame chunks. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted February 2, 2021 Author Share Posted February 2, 2021 With the windshield frame cut off of the convertible cowl. It can be picked clean of any usable parts and scrapped. Nothing else is needed off of it. The coupe cowl, is now a correct convertible cowl. With out having to replace the entire bottom, and about 10 inches up the sides. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted February 3, 2021 Author Share Posted February 3, 2021 I am going to have to bounce around with some pictures. I did not photograph this for a step by step story. Having to go through pictures to find some that shows what needs to be explained. If someone else wants to do this, might help showing some of this stuff. With the doors closing, nothing more should be done until the back of the body is done. In order to line up the door top with the rear tub. In these pictures you will see the braces that form the trunk wall, and that support the rear body. They come down and mount to the floor, and onto the rear wheel well. These tie into a brace that supports the trunk braces/hinges. And ties into the outside skin of the car at the pinch weld on the rear body tub. You can see the structure/brace that ties into the rear wheel wells, and the door pillar. This is the mounting structure for the convertible top. Where this is located (the pivot points) determines where and how the convertible top will fold up and down. And how it will fit the windows, windshield frame and how it will fold down in the well. It is hard to see at this point, but in the front of the rear wheel well. Is a recessed half circle. This is for clearance on the convertible top frame as it folds down. That is the only difference in the wheel wells, from the coupe, to the convertible. This circle will be cut out, and welded into the new body. Looking all of this over, it is clear that removing all of these braces/supports as one piece is what has to happen. By removing all of this structure in one piece. It will make for a very easy swap into the new body. And there will be no risk of changing the pivot points/location for the top. And all of the locations for braces/mounting points from the factory will stay the same. The rear door pillar bolts/welds to the floor and frame. The rear body braces weld to the rear wheel wells. Just buy setting those pillars and braces in the new body. Will line everything up where it needs to be. If everything is still one piece. Leaving enough outer body skin on the rear tub. And cutting away the top of the coupe body so the convertible tub can be set over the top of it. Then the two outside skins will over lap. Cutting out the coupe rear door pillar, and leaving the edge of the fold in the side of the body will make sure the rear door gap stays the same. You will see in coming pictures. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 These pictures of how the convertible body was built are very instructive. The build details look very similar to other 1930's-'40's convertibles I used to see in junkyards decades ago. By the 1960's-'70's, there were still convertibles in those yards with many sedans but because the tops weathered and failed, the interiors deteriorated very quickly exposing the structural parts. Although most were Big Three convertibles, the bracing and mountings look very similar, probably just standard industry practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted February 3, 2021 Author Share Posted February 3, 2021 I would guess most 1930's-40's convertibles would share a lot in common with coupes of the same make. I have seen a lot of convertible projects that are in bad shape. They can be saved, it is just expensive to pay someone to do the work. I had fun doing the conversion. You will see how easy it really was. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 "I would guess most 1930's-40's convertibles would share a lot in common with coupes of the same make." Indeed they did, in fact, looking over various pre-war convertibles in weathered states of condition, the amount of handwork to change the coupe stampings into the convertible was obvious. This was especially true for lower production models and independent makes. Pre-war Hudsons especially exhibited evidence of the handwork. Sometimes the detail lead work didn't quite match side for side. But, convertibles were generally the lowest production models and since labor was cheap, it made little sense to invest in costly tooling dies for the volume use they might get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted February 4, 2021 Author Share Posted February 4, 2021 Some hand work on this one, and beer. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC38dls Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 If I was doing this I would need a lot of beer! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted February 4, 2021 Author Share Posted February 4, 2021 Call me when you get a car and the beer. I will run right over. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted February 4, 2021 Author Share Posted February 4, 2021 I hope that I have shown the braces/supports in the convertible. And explained it good enough to follow what is going on. And how this is going to be done.Will show the coupe body next. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted February 4, 2021 Author Share Posted February 4, 2021 Here you can see what the coupe body had for braces. In the first picture only the roof has been cut off. The next pictures show the braces for the shelf/package tray. They also mount to the rear wheel well. I have removed the braces that go to the rear door pillar, in order to weld in the recessed half circle. You can see it on the front of the rear wheel wells. That is needed for the top frame to clear when it is lowered down. That was cut out of the old convertible wheel wells. Measured out and put in the same place in the coupe body. Now the only difference is the door pillars, braces/supports and the top of the convertible tub. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted February 4, 2021 Author Share Posted February 4, 2021 Next would be to cut up the rear convertible tub. And cut up the coupe body in a way that the rear convertible tub can be set right on top of this body. Will talk about the lay out for the cuts in next set of pictures. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 This is a great tutorial! Maybe not quite the process Hudson employed at the factory to build convertibles but also maybe not too far different either. Thanks for taking us along, its fascinating! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC5 Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 Wow I think most of us would have felt a little queasy if we started the convertible build with what you did. You really have to have vision to see beyond the rust... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted February 5, 2021 Author Share Posted February 5, 2021 No different than making a sedan roof fit a convertible. I have seen people restore/build cars in worse condition. It is fun to do. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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