(first posted 6/27/2016) To varying degrees, all of us have likely contemplated having an older car as a daily driver. Whenever such discussions arise around here, there is always a degree of hesitancy due to the inherent downfalls that come with ownership. Like being a nudist or running for political office, having an older car is one of those things that simply isn’t for everybody.
However, Bob is swimming against the current of opinion by using this Hudson Pacemaker as a daily driver. For cars from this era, he picked a good one.
Hudson had had a long, colorful history by the beginning of World War II (here). Coming out of the war, Hudson, like everyone else, recycled their pre-war design to fully enjoy the buyer’s market while buying time to design a new car. People were clamoring to replace their old cars and the auto industry was happy to oblige.
Frank Spring is credited for the design of the unibody Hudson of 1948. Spring, the son of a wealthy west coast family, had earned a mechanical engineering degree from the Ecole Polytechnic in Paris in 1914. Coming to Hudson in 1931, Spring’s managerial methods have been likened to those of Harley Earl from GM as Spring rarely put pencil to paper. Strother McMinn, an employee in Hudson’s design department, has stated Spring gave assignments on design activity while supervising the undertaking, but he was generally more interested in gadgetry on the car.
The first sign of Spring’s on a Hudson appeared for 1932, in the guise of the v-shaped grille. Another potential sign of Spring’s involvement are the doors being hinged on the B-pillar, an element he frequently used during his tenure at the Walter Murphy coach building company; this is a design he modified from Swiss coach builder Gangloff.
One of the legends surrounding the Step Down models is the genesis of the design. A highly entertaining, yet totally bogus, version says Spring had constructed a prototype Step Down prior to United States involvement in World War II. The idea was nixed by one of his superiors at Hudson, who had a streak of Chrysler’s K.T. Keller in him, insisting cars have a roof tall enough to allow wearing a hat while driving. In turn, Spring had this prototype placed on the roof of a Hudson facility only to revive it after the war where it then went into production.
Great story, but it’s as mythological as can be.
The real story is Spring had benchmarked the 1942 Buick for the appearance of the new Hudson. Upon giving the assignment to surpass the Buick, the Step Down is what Hudson’s designers created with the first scale model being produced in 1943 with prototypes coming along after the war. According to others within Hudson’s design department, Spring announced success to the staff at the point he believed their design had surpassed that of the Buick.
While a visually pleasing car, the real story of the Step Down Hudson is in its being an engineering triumph with its unibody structure and floorpan being within the frame rails. This design provided the lowest center of gravity of any American car of the day; even the rear tires were within the unibody structure. The unibody allowed lowering the height of the car by around 12″ (30 cm), reducing the center of gravity, while still providing copious passenger space.
The British automotive magazine The Motor called the new Hudson “a daringly original innovation which enables an outstandingly low car to be roomy, strong and of normal weight.” One could effectively argue Hudson was far ahead of their time, as few cars today aren’t built using similar, although refined, construction techniques.
Lest anyone think having a car named Hudson Pacemaker is akin to having something contemporary named the Toyota Insulin Pump, don’t fret. The first implantable pacemaker was attached to Mr. Arne Larsson in 1958, a Swedish gentleman who outlived both his surgeon and the inventor of that particular type of pacemaker. Mr. Larsson died of melanoma in 2001.
The base trim Pacemaker seen here was introduced for 1950, well before Mr. Larsson helped change our perception of the word. “Pacemaker”, much like Chevrolet’s Fleetmaster, had an entirely different meaning back then.
When the 1948 Hudson was introduced there were four series of car, the Super Six, Commodore Six, Super Eight, and Commodore Eight. These cars helped propel Hudson into having its best post-war year in 1949 when it netted $13.2 million on sales of $274 million. For 1949, sales were just over 70% higher than they had been in 1947. It just didn’t last.
The addition of the Pacemaker and Pacemaker Deluxe series in 1950 expanded Hudson into having six models. All Pacemakers were planted on a 119″ wheelbase and were motivated by a destroked version of the Super Six, a 232 cubic inch (3.8 liter) version rated at 112 horsepower.
With the Pacemaker tipping the scales at around 3,500 pounds, it would seem like its 112 horsepower engine would be insufficient to ably move the car. When thinking of it in modern terms, that would indeed be the case. However, for those times, the performance of the Pacemaker was comparable to Nash’s Ambassador and was better than some competitors who were also in the just under $2000 range.
www.hemmings.com
That this Pacemaker doesn’t have the top engine offering, or the more readily remembered Twin-H power engine that came along later, is of no consequence to Bob, this Hudson’s current owner.
I had seen Bob’s Hudson parked in front of a house a week or so prior to getting these pictures. Seeing any Hudson outside of a museum is a rare treat and I was hopeful to learn more. As I was driving through Bob’s small town soon thereafter, I saw his Hudson parked in front of an auto parts store. This time I went back to look.
As I approached the Hudson parked by the front door, Bob walked out. I asked if this was his car; he said it was but he was more curious if I actually knew what it was. As I told him it was a Hudson from around 1950, give or take a year or two, he smiled and whipped a Hudson nameplate out of his pocket. Bob seemed happy to see somebody who actually knows what his car is and I figure the nameplate in his pocket is likely a habit from talking to the delighted yet uninformed crowd.
Bob and I had a nice, yet brief talk. He lives locally and, with where he lives being small town America, he was trying to determine what clan I was related to. There are a preponderance of Shafer’s in this area, but most are using more letters in their name. Further, there is also a small yet distinct number of Schaefferkoetter’s in Bob’s part of the world. My stock answer about being a transplant to central Missouri consistently throws people off although I do temper that by disclosing my great-grandfather was the 18th of 21 children and changed the spelling, so there could be some distant kinship.
When I told Bob about my involvement with CC, his face lit up. While he had not heard about us, he now has and immediately offered me a look inside his Hudson. I hated to be rude and refuse his offer.
Bob is rehabilitating the Hudson a bit, adding a heater and replacing some wear items. His only concession to modern times is adding the cupholder to place his ashtray. And, yes, the seats are quite comfortable with ingress and egress being a snap.
The car is going to remain stock. In fact, Bob is actually working backward as he is going to remove the side pipes. He told me they are dummies and just get in the way.
For using any old car as a daily driver, a big factor not often discussed is the environment where one resides. That does not mean weather so much as it does terrain and population. Bob lives near a town of 1,545 people, all the highways are two-lanes, traffic is relatively light, and he isn’t going to create an imposition for too many when climbing any hills. This is an environment in which this old Hudson will thrive.
Were Bob to live in any urban or suburban area, the age of his Hudson would likely be more apparent. I salute Bob for taking the plunge and realizing what is needed for the proper care and feeding of a vintage Hudson. He chose very well.
Found July 2016, Belle, Missouri
What a superb DD. I love these shapes, this one has firmed my opinion that the coupe is the nicest looking of the bunch. Happy travels Bob.
“Toyota Insulin Pump” is the line of the week! As for the “step down” going after the ’42 Buick was a surprise, But then, the ’42 was advanced enough styling to be still look “modern” immediately after the war. (being Y-job inspired helped). As far as using an old car for a DD, I’m seriously considering this as more and more non user serviceable crapola is put in cars now. My next vehicle (DD) might be a 1972 Chevy P.U. (base model) with a six and manual tranny. The only electronics I need is a radio!
I concur; there’s so much unnecessary ‘stuff’ in newer cars it boggles my mind. I can’t get my head around some of these things in late-model vehicles and I ask myself “Why is this here? Is this even necessary?” (Probably not). I found a way to get myself locked in a 2012 BMW recently. It’s my mother’s car. She got out and I failed to exit the passenger door before she locked it or it locked itself. I really don’t know. Anyway, it scared the hell out of me when I forgot how to open the door as it wouldn’t open when I pulled the handle. There’s this button you have to press on the center dashboard to unlock the doors . . . except since it’s not my car I forgot about that completely. But when I pulled the door handle to open said door and nothing happened that precipitated an ugly panic attack. Only took 30 seconds for me to have a freak-out party. Ugh! Made me more glad than ever I’ve kept my ’64 Falcon. At least I don’t have to depend on stupid automatic door locks to get in and out . . .
If your innards are telling you to drive the ’72 pickup from Chevrolet you may as well heed their call! 😀
If a BMW door is locked, you can open it (from the inside) by pulling the door handle -twice-. The Germans don’t want you unlocking it by mistake you see, and besides it gives them a chance to make things more complicated. You didn’t actually need the central lock button on the dash….
Sorry to be too late to help you when you needed it though – it’s an ugly feeling when you feel trapped in a car.
“If a BMW door is locked, you can open it (from the inside) by pulling the door handle -twice-.”
The wife and I rented a new Beemer for our recent trip to Laguna Seca. She wanted to experience something fancy and more modern than our 2000 Accord with 387K on the clock.
Apparently, BMW is not the car for us. The most annoying feature..? Having to pull the door handle twice just to get out of the car. .
hehehehehehehehehehe
387K sure is a lot of miles
A great find, and a very interesting and informative post.
In those days “Pacemaker” was also the name of one of New York Centrals NY-Chicago passenger trains.
+1 – Fantastic piece, Jason.
Hey! Belle is where my grandma was born. I’ll bet Bob would find it easy to place the Ridenhour name. They used to be all over that county.
Love it and I now realise Ive only ever seen sedans maybe we never got the full model range here, still there are a couple of Hudsons locally one is a twin H model rego plate is DOCHUD, nice car and old cars are fine in reasonable traffic I drive mine fairly often though in slow traffic it gets warm with no fan other than that no problemo.
Jason, Great find. I agree that the lake pipes should go (even if they were real and they’re not) so it returns to its non-hot rod roots.
When I first entered the CC site I thought it was a Mercury lead sled (probably because of the pipes) but quickly realized my mistake.
I love the pop up center vent, split windshield, real hub caps, and the flat head six.
Good morning coffee material.
I was pretty juiced to find this car.
Sadly, Bob started talking to a friend or I would have been able to hear him start the old girl. Had he done so, there may have been video to accompany this article.
I do love a Hudson. Thanks for answering my question about those side pipes, which wondered how those were plumbed to an inline six.
While the custom paint and trim may not be to my taste, it sure is nice to see someone loving this car enough to drive it every day.
Re older cars: the more you use them, the more reliable they become. I figure my Skylark deteriorates sitting in the garage, it might as well deteriorate with me enjoying it!
Good on ya, Bob. Use it or loose it.
The actual stylists of these cars were William Kirby and Bob Andrews, who later went to work for Raymond Loewy and did several significant Studebaker designs, including the later Avanti. Andrews has spoken in detail about the development process, which is an entertaining story.
The Pacemaker is probably reasonably capable in traffic as long as you’re not in a hurry. It’s slower than modern A-segment cars — if memory serves, performance is comparable to a late Volkswagen Beetle 1500 or Karmann Ghia, which isn’t quick, but is better than some of the early diesel cars recently featured hereabouts. Does this car have overdrive? It was optional and would be a useful addition for modern use.
Thanks for elaborating on this. All I could find was about Spring and given his hands off nature, I knew others had to be involved.
Check out the Automotive Design Oral History Project at the Benson Ford Research Center.
http://www.autolife.umd.umich.edu/Oral_histories.htm
What a friendly-looking beastie of 66! While old cars make more demands of their drivers — like being patient in cold weather for the engine to warm up — the feeling of motoring around in a vintage car is more rewarding than helming any late-model vehicle that I know of. That said, Man and Machine must be ‘One’ for relatively stress-free driving.
I wonder if Bob has any friends or relatives that ask to borrow his Hudson for a quick drive down memory lane? 😀
Wow — great story and car! The thought of finding a Hudson daily driver is almost beyond comprehension. I have a revived appreciation for Hudsons having visited the Gilmore Car Museum in Michigan last month, which has a large Hudson display. You (and Bob) have made my day.
Oh, and I’ll be laughing about the Toyota Insulin Pump for quite a long time.
Interestingly, while the human heart pacemaker was still several years in the future when this car was built, experiments involving animal hearts began in 1950, and they were called pacemakers even then. So, maybe the heart pacemaker was named after the Hudson??
A bit of trivia of the time. In spite of being unibody, the bodies were built up from the firewall back at the Hudson body plant (on Conner between Harper and Gratiot, and still standing) then trucked to the assembly plant (corner of Conner and Jefferson, torn down years ago)
“Body drop” onto the rear axle and suspension.
The body was trimmed on the main line while the engine and trans were installed in the front subframe. The front subframe was welded onto the body late in the assembly process, point D in the diagram.
Hudson main plant on Jefferson. Inset on lower left is the body plant. The main plant site is now a parking lot. The present day Chrysler Jefferson North plant is located just out of the frame to the left.
How far down to you step down in a step down? Front seat footwell in one of the Hudsons at the Gilmore.
Back seat footwell in the same car. I wonder how much customer resistance there was to stepping over the sills as even the unibody Nashs of the time had flat floors.
The ability to do that was actually claimed as one of the advantages in Hudson’s patent for Mono-Bilt construction (U.S. 2,627,426A, if anybody’s curious — interesting reading if you can navigate the patent-ese).
Nice, love those simple lines and the upright flat dash.
Also great that Bob is able to use it for his DD. I’m in negotiations with my insurance company about getting the VW insured, not going real well, So far they have refused “normal” insurance for it. Obviously this is possible in MO.
You mean there are downsides to living in Canada? 🙂
I’ve never had the slightest issue getting insurance for my ’66 F100. Cheap too.
Yeah, there’s a few. Car insurance is one of them, we have expats from head office in Finland work at our location occasionally, and they are always shocked at the insurance rigmarole and cost.
The other one is storage of old cars. The engineers who work at our US branches seem to be able to afford houses with 3 car garages, whereas I get only one 🙁
So what’s the issue? Government insurance?
When I had the 85 Grand Marquis I was not going to insure it as a collector vehicle as I would have been restricted on how many kms I could drive every day. It was certainly not a number 1 car but looked good from 20 ft away and it was enjoyable to drive on a daily basis after a few minor issues were sorted out.
So I had it covered for PL/PD as well all hazards except glass coverage. I only paid around $80.00 a month about $20 more than the rusty Mazda Protege i’m now running around in.
Now my 78 Cordoba (which is for sale by the way) is under collector coverage with a limit of 5,000 miles a year. My annual fee is only $88.00 but without an appraisal I’m only covered for the purchase price of the car.
Late to the party, but it depends on the province. Here in British Columbia, the government run Insurance Corporation will insure anything. Doug is in Alberta, an area with plenty of claims. The private insurance companies there are tough cookies.
I’m in Ontario. I did eventually get liability only insurance although they suggested I get Hagerty classic insurance.
The Karmann Ghia was easy and cheap to insure on a regular policy in California. I used it as a DD, 15 mile each way commute, until we got the Fit.
I like the dash too, without overdone chrome. However it’s odd that the fuel/temp gauges are centered before the wheel, but the speedo isn’t. Symmetry with the clock trumped ergonomics. BTW it looks like Hudson anticipated the 85mph speedo by 30 yrs!
Forsaking symmetry, I had to install our front-door peephole offset from center, because a security-door rib would have blocked it otherwise.
I love step down Hudsons. Everytime I hear someone bitching about “gunslit” windows on modern cars, the step-down Hudson comes to mind, as they had them way back then.
I’m also amused every time I hear someone decry the windows on the current Camaro, but go on and on about how they love the step down Hudsons. Kind of a disconnect there.
From what I can gather from the advertising cutaway, it looks like it would be tougher to chop the top of an old Hudson than, say, a Mercury. How much tougher, I don’t know, but with a major part of the unibody structure going all the way up into the sides of the roof, well, just a whole lot more cutting and welding to get an already low top even lower.
Has anyone ever seen a customized Hudson with a chopped top? Talk about gunslit windows…
I think I did see a photo of one once, before photoshop became common. I felt they ruined it.
To me, this coupe looks much better proportioned, compared to the stretched 4-door versions.
From the rear, it resembles the smaller mid-late ’50s Jaguar saloon.
With all that cast iron and minimal valve-train, those flathead engines were extremely quiet.
My daily-drivers are a ’90s Nissan and Toyota. They have just enough electronics to suit me, without going overboard like today’s cars. At least the power locks on both can still be worked manually by knobs on the doors.
No panic attack required!
If I need to go back to a pre-computer vehicle, I have a couple early ’80s W123 Mercedes diesels, with manual everything!
Happy Motoring, Mark
Remarkable! These days people seem much more aware of Hudson again, probably due to the “Cars” movies. My first date with my wife back in 1992 was at a place in San Luis Obispo, CA named “Hudson’s Grill”, stuffed to the gills with Hudson memorabilia, parts and even a sectioned Hudson on the wall.
Anyway, great story and thanks for the detailed history.
Flat tires were a lot more common back then. How was a rear wheel changed? Removable fender skirts were bad enough, but the frame rail in the way.
I always wondered about that, too. The 1948 owner’s manual is here; the tire change is described as a pretty routine operation, with the removable panel held by two clips (Fig. 14): http://www.hudsonterraplane.com/tech/1948/1948HudsonOwnerManual.pdf
So there is a minimal skirt, but how about trying to remove it after a year or more of road salt rust and mud buildup. There still is the frame rail in the way.
Unibody cars need special reinforced jacking points, something we take for granted today.
Beautiful two-tone and kudos to Bob.
I still have a great lust for a Hornet with Twin H-Power.
I DD my 77 Chevelle sedan for about a year after the transmission in my 95 Explorer started getting weak, then the Explorer went away from my life at 340,000 miles. The Chevy became my sole car, and it did its job admirably, just like it was designed to, save from a oil drinking problem it was pretty trouble free, even cracked 18mpg on my commute to work besting the Explorer by 1mpg.
It’s probably the oldest car I’d DD, since it has 3 point belts in the front and lap belts for everyone else, has HEI and the old Rochester 2GC is stone simple to keep adjusted. I even updated the circa 1980 Delco AM/FM/Cassette with a bluetooth tape adapter to have handsfree audio.
I quit DDing after inheriting mom’s 04 Buick Rendezvous. which beats the Chevelle on my commute by nearly 10 mpg.
I admire anyone who uses a 50 or 60 year old car as his/her daily driver. As much as I would like to be able to do that, I just can’t. My wife and I are both retired and last summer we decided that we needed (or at least wanted) another convertible. We had several in the past and enjoyed them, except for the having to drive them to work in the winter part of the deal. In our search for the appropriate vehicle we looked at various convertibles; a 1966 Cadillac, a 1968 Mustang, a 1971 Olds 98, and, finally, a 1966 Mustang. This particular vehicle had been fully restored, it had a new top, the seats had been recovered, it had new carpet, and the panels were perfectly straight; it was likely in better condition than when Ford slapped it together the first time.
In the end we just couldn’t pull the trigger on the older cars; the Cadillac and the Olds wouldn’t have fit in our garage, and the 1968 Mustang was rougher than I wanted to deal with. We discussed buying the ’66 Mustang a couple of times but in the end we passed. For the money they wanted for that one we could have purchased a new Mustang convertible.
I guess I’m just soft in my old age but I decided that I wanted things like A/C and satellite radio and other modern amenities. We ended up buying a used 2014 Mustang convertible and we are happy with the decision. As a relatively new car you don’t have to worry about it lying down on you on a road trip. If I had the garage space (and the extra money) I would definitely consider an older vehicle as a hobby car. One of the many things to do when I win the Powerball.
I heartily approve, in more ways than one.
Always loved these Hudsons from the time I first discovered them after moving to the US in 1960. I had a thing about streamlined cars, and the Hudson was sort of the American Tatra. A schoolmate’s family in the neighborhood still had one as a DD, or scond car, and it was a real treat to get inside it. I remember asking her if it was ok for me to do so. She gave me a funny look; why would anyone want to sit in a parked car? I twas wonderful in there, and the back seat was was just huge.
I’ve wanted a Hudson ever since…
Hudson had been using a unibody structure since 1932
You may want to double check that, because I don’t think that’s the case.
I’m far away from the house right now, but I’ll double check in a few hours and revise as needed. Thinking about it, this may not have been a substantiated resource.
It’s also important not to prematurely conflate Hudson with Nash, which began using bridge-and-truss construction before WW2.
Nice to hear the owner is going to remove the side pipes. The car is tastefully done.
When my dad got his pacemaker in 2006, I found out the common name they are referred to nowadays is “Pacer”. Not sure if this was the case when AMC’s rolling aquarium was new.
In a small town with light traffic the Hudson should serve the owner well. I just hope he has a winter beater if the roads are salted.
Great find. Being a small town I doubt the owner would have to worry about theft or vandalism.
Bob sounds like a nice guy. Someone once wrote about how CC owners generally fell into three groups. The first was the genial type, more than happy to discuss his beloved ride and let the inquisitor snap away. The second was more wary, and although a few photos were allowed, the interlude was brief. The final CC owner was outright hostile, and was flat adamant about no photos, and either pointedly ‘asked’ the photographer to leave or drove away, post haste.
I hope Bob is able to visit the website, and maybe even log-on for a word or two about his car.
Lovely cars, but boy oh boy that paint job just is not my style. I always felt that Hudsons look better in darker colors.
Good points about needing the right environment for a classic DD. I used to live in Boston, and it was a struggle to live with my ’67 Monaco. Rain, snow/salt, and excessive heat (no a/c!) would keep it in the garage. In the end, it was probably drive-able for 33% of the year. And a Monaco is much more modern than this Hudson.
We now live in Oklahoma City (no snow, a lot less rain, light traffic, spacious and plentiful parking). I got rid of the Monaco in Boston and now drive a ’67 Imperial: it’s even bigger than the Monaco, though summer use is also easier because the Imperial has a/c. Anyway, the upshot is that I could drive it during at least 75% of the year.
Having said that, most DD duties have been shifted to an almost-but-not-really classic Cadillac Brougham. It doesn’t drive much better than the Imperial(!), but it’s a cinch to find parts and keep it running. God help me if I ever have to replace one of the Imperial’s cornering lights!
Memory Lane Collector Car Dismantlers, in Wilmington, CA.
Great story and good on the owner for picking such an interesting DD! Back when I was in high school (late 90’s), I used to see a 4-door step-down Hudson around the same shopping center on many different days, which led me to believe it was at least a part-time daily. Impressive back then, even more so now!
That’s a great DD! I’d consider something older for my (relatively) short commute if I had a garage. And a mechanic who knew how to work on what I couldn’t fix…
When I was living in Ohio in the 1970s, a neighbor of ours used a Hudson sedan as a daily driver. Even after he STOPPED driving it, he kept it parked outside of his barn. I guess he couldn’t bear to let it go.
It’s wonderful to see a great old car like that Hudson still being used for its original purpose…to be driven. However, I heartily agree with the person who says the Hudson looks better in a dark color. Baby blue just doesn’t work in my eyes. Black, or a dark blue or green would do it for me. Otherwise, a great ride.
Fine looking auto.
Thanks Jason
DougD;
you need to shop insurance companies. i believe we are both in Ontario and i never had a problem insuring older daily drivers. the only thing they asked was if i wanted collision or comp they wanted an appraisal.
my cousin currently has a 3 car fleet. a 56 ford, a 74 dart and a 2002 jaguar. all are insured as daily drivers and used that way.
my current daily is a 97 jeep grand Cherokee.
i have pl and pd, comp but no collision and rental car coverage for 60 bucks a month.
Bill Shields, Your insurance costs are a bargain . . . compared to the People’s Republic of TAXachusetts, where car insurance is very expensive and very much tied into state politics.
My record isn’t bad; but it costs me $100 per month PER CAR…. just for liability!!! I’d move.. but the wife won’t go.
Wow…$100/month per car for liability is pretty bad. Before I recently switched insurers, I thought mine was high at $120/month for 2 drivers, 2 cars (’12 Kia Forte with full collision/comprehensive, liability only on a ’97 Crown Vic). Then I ended up switching companies and my bill went down by half. Much happier now. (Virginia here.)
The Hudson is awesome but how do you do without a right hand side mirror
When I was a kid you did not even get a left mirror unless you paid extra!
Someone had to finally have the idea to make the right side mirror convex to make them work. Weird it took so long. And in the olden days backup lights were optional and rare, usually separate lights. An even more obvious basic need.
There were cars with no right side mirror into the 90s.
These are really cool cars, and very advanced for their day. Just the unit body would have been a strong selling point for this car, as I am the exact intended buyer in 1950, and Hudson knew there was a market for a sophisticated product. From what I have read, the body cost so much to develop that there was nothing left in the kitty for new engines.
Would I have bought one? Probably not; in 1950, I would probably go for a Dodge with Fluid Drive, as I like the simplicity. I also like the full pressure lubrication, which disqualifies the Chevrolet, and the Ford Flathead had a terrible rep in my family.
It would be fun to tool around in a car like this, and Bob lives in the perfect place for it. Here you’d be run over the first day.
I’ll bet the centrally mounted speedo on his Hudson didn’t start people running around with their hair on fire like the 03 ION did. Many makes did this over the years. It was nothing new in 03.
Beautiful car. And great write up Jason.
Rather strange to see centrally-mounted instruments in a 1950 American car. Sort of a carryover from the mid-thirties.
I just came across this post. The Bob that was in the story has passed away. I now own the car and the pipes were removed. The car is going to be used in my son and future daughter in laws wedding. The car needs some love but it’s going to get what it needs. I love the lines on the Pacemaker.
The two-tone looks homemade, but I think it was a factory option. Here’s the same pattern on an upscale model, maybe a Hornet.
https://www.facebook.com/Enidpostcards/photos/a.181285695391574/1812929455560515/
One mistake with the design was the inside the frame rail back wheels. This made them keep totally skirted rear wheels long after that was fashionable (well, the whole thing was clearly out of date by then), and limited the rear track width.
Actually I don’t understand the relatively narrow rear tracks on most cars until Pontiac finally went Wide Track. It’s not like those rear wheels needed to turn for curves like the fronts or anything. Even one of my favorite cars of all time, the 1961 Lincoln, would benefit visually from a few inches wider rear track.
I actually own this car and I’ve done some work on it. It has an over heating problem right now. I think it’s the radiator. We love driving it but it’s like driving a tank with the old technology.
I applaud your daily driving the Hudson, I daily drive my old stuff, or more accurately, three season drive them. Once I see a TV reporter standing in front of the salt barn in anticipation of the first big snow, in the garage they stay until the salt is gone.
Looking over those 1942 Buicks, it’s amazing how much automotive styling changed in the decade preceding them. Nowadays you could fool many people into thinking a freshly-washed 2012 car is new, but a 1932 car would look nothing like a 1942 version. That would, for obvious reasons, not be as much the case comparing 1942 with 1952.
This Hudson probably looked fresh when it was new but even with the step-down body it would have been way too tall to look fresh into 1955.“`
The headline caught my eye. I had a pacemaker put in last month!
Jason – if you are monitoring comments on this older article, I just want to add my thinking on the perception of the word “pacemaker”.
As an aviation buff also, I know the word from the great (and former) Piedmont Airlines. Their airliners were called “Pacemakers” and each one had an interesting geographical name – like “Cumberland Pacemaker” or “Shenandoah Pacemaker”.
Pacemaker is a proud word.