6T-FinSeeker Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 (edited) For sale on Craigslist: 1951 Hudson Commodore 4-door Sedan in San Angelo, TX - $16,500 - Call: 325 374 45 nine zero Link: https://sanangelo.craigslist.org/cto/d/san-angelo-1951-hudson-commodore/7707333680.html Seller's Description: 1951 Hudson Commodore 4-door Sedan condition: good cylinders: 8 cylinders transmission: manual odometer: 85,000 paint color: black title status: clean 1951 Hudson Commodore. Brand new tires, brakes, rear end seals, starter and exhaust. Ready to cruise. Edited January 18 by 6T-FinSeeker (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6T-FinSeeker Posted January 18 Author Share Posted January 18 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6T-FinSeeker Posted January 18 Author Share Posted January 18 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plymouthcranbrook Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 A very nice looking car. I don’t know enough to speak about authenticity but looks are impressive. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumBob Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 Very nice car! I don't know about the originality either, but I think it looks great. Is there a reason why people take pictures of their cars wet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The 55er Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 A very non-authentic interior, seats & door panels should be more of a tan striped cloth material. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-mman Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 Pictures from https://www.lov2xlr8.no/hudson.html Lots to explore there 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusty Trucker Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 I have to chuckle at the factory brochure's representation of the back seat drive line hump. It iooks to be virtually flat. Quite a contrast to the rear compartment photos in the OP. Price wise, maybe $10k to somebody who really loves step-down Hudsons? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 Listing says 6 cylinder, looks like an 8. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
classiclines Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 Original listing has been fixed - it now says 8 cylinder 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC-car-guy Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 I really like these cars. they look like an airplane fuselage on wheels. Is this car a uni-body? Didn't realize there were cars without a full frame that early, but I've never had a Hudson either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The 55er Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 Hudson stepdowns are unibody. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plymouthcranbrook Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 15 hours ago, DrumBob said: Very nice car! I don't know about the originality either, but I think it looks great. Is there a reason why people take pictures of their cars wet? Wet cars shine better, especially if the paint is somewhat dull. And wetness can cover minor flaws. Of course if could be that the owner was so excited to take the pictures snd get it up for sale he couldn’t wait. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leif in Calif Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 7 minutes ago, plymouthcranbrook said: Wet cars shine better, especially if the paint is somewhat dull. And wetness can cover minor flaws. Of course if could be that the owner was so excited to take the pictures snd get it up for sale he couldn’t wait. I remember long ago someone said: "Never look a car for sale after dark or in the rain." 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 I like it, I would drive it. But when you look at purchasing a stepdown sedan. A person would be wise to put your money in a Hornet. Only reason to purchase a car like this would be for the 8 cylinder engine. Could not get that in a Hornet. But at 254ci, it has a smaller displacement than the standard Wasp 262. Once the 308ci engine was available, it was basically lights out for the straight 8, it only survived one more year, discontinued in 1952. My parts car was the end of the line for Commodores and the 8 cylinder. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-mman Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 20 minutes ago, Xander Wildeisen said: Once the 308ci engine was available, it was basically lights out for the straight 8 Well it was a splash lubricated engine from 1930, so by the start of postwar production it was way out of date. Hudson only used it because they had to. Hudson was very resistant to change Economically, for sure but also the culture in the corporation. Who else used a wet cork clutch from 1912? (to the end in 1954) Yes it worked, but I bet they could have bought dry clutch parts cheaper 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The 55er Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 When I bought my 1950 Super Six back in 1981, I replaced the clutch because the cork discs were stuck to the flywheel from the car sitting for 18 or so years inside a garage. 43 years later the wet clutch still going strong and I've had no issues with it whatsoever. Several old timers have told me if you maintain the oil level in that Hudson wet clutch it will last forever. So far it's worked for me. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 The Hudson wet clutch is very smooth. If maintained and adjusted properly, they will last a long time. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-mman Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 Nobody was more resistant to change than Henry Ford. BUT he was always ready for change if it made the cars cheaper and simpler. Yes the wet clutch works well (I have a 1942 Commodore 8). But what was the cost comparison between building your own components vs buying them from a (dry) clutch supplier? Same with the Hudson built single lever transmission. Again it works but others would have gone to B-W for the whole transmission. I have a hard time believing that building it themselves was really cheaper. Fitting the overdrive would have been easier too. Speaking of OD Hudson used 2-3 extra switches and relays in their OD that nobody else did. I see Hudson spending extra money in places that didn’t matter rather than cutting costs to make money to keep their products current. Not even cutting edge. Not talked about by collectors but critical to the corporation is their break even point based on production. No the independents were never going to outsell the majors, but can they profit from the volume that they are selling? The less efficient the plants and costs, the more you have to sell. The more spent on getting it out the door the less money available for improvements. Break even points is what brought down Packard and Studebaker. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 2 hours ago, Xander Wildeisen said: I like it, I would drive it. But when you look at purchasing a stepdown sedan. A person would be wise to put your money in a Hornet. Only reason to purchase a car like this would be for the 8 cylinder engine. Could not get that in a Hornet. But at 254ci, it has a smaller displacement than the standard Wasp 262. Once the 308ci engine was available, it was basically lights out for the straight 8, it only survived one more year, discontinued in 1952. My parts car was the end of the line for Commodores and the 8 cylinder. Sorry to hijack, but I had a Dodge dump truck just like the one in the background. Would be kinda cool to have today, but at the time I thought it was just about the ugliest thing on the road. I almost put a bag on my head to drive it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 1 hour ago, m-mman said: Nobody was more resistant to change than Henry Ford. BUT he was always ready for change if it made the cars cheaper and simpler. Yes the wet clutch works well (I have a 1942 Commodore 8). But what was the cost comparison between building your own components vs buying them from a (dry) clutch supplier? Same with the Hudson built single lever transmission. Again it works but others would have gone to B-W for the whole transmission. I have a hard time believing that building it themselves was really cheaper. Fitting the overdrive would have been easier too. Speaking of OD Hudson used 2-3 extra switches and relays in their OD that nobody else did. I see Hudson spending extra money in places that didn’t matter rather than cutting costs to make money to keep their products current. Not even cutting edge. Not talked about by collectors but critical to the corporation is their break even point based on production. No the independents were never going to outsell the majors, but can they profit from the volume that they are selling? The less efficient the plants and costs, the more you have to sell. The more spent on getting it out the door the less money available for improvements. Break even points is what brought down Packard and Studebaker. The more a manufacturer could do in house helped eliminate the problems that they could be handed by others trying to do their company harm. Industrial sabotage in automotive manufacturing is something that would go on. And could take out a smaller manufacturer. Tough to compete with larger companies, the more products you use from other companies. The more dependent you are on those products. And a break in those parts being available. Grinds your production to a stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Roth Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 6 hours ago, Leif in Calif said: I remember long ago someone said: "Never look a car for sale after dark or in the rain." 2 hours ago, m-mman said: Yes it worked, but I bet they could have bought dry clutch parts cheaper My father once left a down payment on a '52 DeSoto, viewed at night in the rain under the lights of a Used Car Lot. Went back the next day and saw the car was a Piece of $#!T - Had to bring a Lawyer friend to get his "refundable" deposit back Hudson's Cork clutch is Extremely smooth - even in my 1915 Hudson SIX-40, and could even be recorked in your own driveway (don't try that with asbestos !), and you could even vary the "grip/slip" by varying the percentage of Oil/Kerosene mixture 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-mman Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 The story is told in a book by an insider who was there in the Hudson testing lab. Hudson was using Spartan horns. Salesman drops by from Jubilee horn company. Says that he can supply horns that are half price from what Hudson is currently using. Lab guy says “No way, your horns wouldn’t last through one Polish wedding”. Guess Hudsons sold well in that area so Hudson catered to their audience instead of constantly looking to find money for keeping their products relevant. And when they had some money, they made the Jet. 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 The Jet and the Italia, were both Hail Mary passes. To a all ready dying company. The Spartan horns would have honked for the last time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudsy Wudsy Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 (edited) Hudson Eights had their own loyal following. Those who knew them truly loved them. Lots of nearly silent power, even though their displacement was only 254 (?) cubic inches. I'm including a photo of an original '51 interior that is in a gray '51 Hornet that only has 28K miles. It appears to be a bluish green stripe combined with a reddish-brown one on a cream background. Edited January 20 by Hudsy Wudsy (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudsy Wudsy Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 Sparton horns were made by the Sparks Withington Company, which some of you might recognize from their line of Sparton radios. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/d/knightsen-1951-hudson-hornet-door-clean/7703957797.html 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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