My '52 Wasp sedan adventure begins

[Hardluck1377]

  I brought home my Wasp late last night. Spent the day getting her legal, then stretching her legs a bit.

  Still so much for me to learn, luckily an original hard cover service manual came with this beauty.  

  I spent an hour or so figuring out if I was missing anything, and inspecting the wiring done for the 12 volt conversion.  Nothing shocking or worrying discovered there, thankfully.

  My girl only has two 'all the way through' rust spots, both below the headlights.  I can weld, but I don't have metal working equipment, so I'm probably going to have to find some donor pieces to make patches. Other than that, I'll be getting her up in the air at some point for surface rust chemical treatment.

  At some point in her life, a rocket surgeon put a modified 10 gallon jeep fuel tank with a 60's ford sending unit in.  So I think fixing that will be a priority.

  I've definitely got to get the steering box under control.  It makes for a pretty  interesting drive over 55mph. So steering and tie rods ends, bushings, etc, going to be priority one I think.

  Here's my girls meeting for the first time this morning.

Edited March 2, 2021 by Hardluck1377 (see edit history)

[Xander Wildeisen]

This might be the right place for this. But I think you should move it to the general discussion section. Will get more looks and comments. People will follow your Hudson adventure. This section is a lonely place.

Edited March 2, 2021 by Xander Wildeisen (see edit history)

[Hardluck1377]

Will do!

[Jon37]

You may also wish to open up a discussion over at the Hudson club's "Open Forum", at https://forum.hetclub.org/ .  The AACA forum is fantastic, but it pays to reach out to several forums when you have a Hudson!

 

The first place you should inspect, when you get under the car, is the perimeter frame in the rear wheel well area.  With any luck you won't have serious rust on the car but if you do, this is where it will happen.  The good news: if you DO find that the frame needs repair here, you need only unbolt and remove the rear quarters and you will have full and easy access to the frame.  

 

As to the gas tank: there is a company now reproducing authentic tanks for the 1948-53 models, though they are a bit more pricey than, for example, a Ford or Chevy. (I think it's about $500 but sometimes they sell cheaper on Ebay.)

 

There are still new sheet metal parts to be found but they are nowhere near as plentiful as the "wearing" parts, many of which are being reproduced.  If you are not yet a member of the Hudson-Essex-Terraplane Club you may wish to join; the magazine is worth the price of admission alone.  The biggest advantage is the network of enthusiasts, not to mention about 40 chapters (membership optional) which bring Hudson activities down to a local level.  https://hetclub.org/

[supercub]

If the tank retrofit doesnt look real ugly, I would leave as is and invest (dispose) of money on things that will make it a reliable and good looking car. I would stay away from any acid based bottom treatments.