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This
project arrived at our shop recently. The famed Hudson Hornet
featured in the recent Disney movie, Cars. This is Doc Hudson,
the crusty old retired race car in the movie. Doc was a 2 door
and this one has 4 doors but if you don’t know, a large number
of the personalities of the various cars in the movie have a
basis in fact. |
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| Hudson’s
were a champion on the NASCAR circuit in the very early years of
racing. Due largely to the engine available as an option at that
time. The famous Twin H power was quite an engine in its day. It
had 308 cubic inches and 240 horsepower. Amazing for the period
as it is still a flathead straight six when many competitors had
switched to overhead valve V8 engines. |
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A very well
appointed car for it’s time, shortly after WWII. Shown here is
the dash with its huge amount of chrome. The Hudson was one of
the early cars to try a unit body design so commonly used
today. They called it an under slung chassis as it sat much
lower than competitors offerings of the same period. Another
reason for it’s popularity as a racecar, lower center of
gravity equals better handling. |
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| On the
road until 2002, holes like this in the trunk prompted the owner
to start a rebuild. What seemed like a very solid car turned out
to need more TLC [tender loving cash] than first thought. |
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| This is
the trunk and spare tire area after the repairs. A lot of sheet
metal work was needed after dismantling. |
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| Small
patches were needed on 2 of the doors. All pieces were made here
in the shop as no aftermarket panels are available. Some of the
new old stock parts we purchased were sourced in California and
many here in London Ontario. |
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| One of
the inner fenders needed some attention after we got them back
from the strippers. Chemical stripping not only removes paint
but the right kind will attack the rust as well. A nice surface
to work with is created by the chemicals used. |
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| The
repair panel we fabricated in our shop duplicates the original
shapes and will blend in nicely once installed. |
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| The
engine runs nicely for an untouched original showing 110,000
miles. We drained the gas tank, cleaned the carbs and reset the
points and timing to get it purring like a kitten. |
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| A little
elbow grease and some paint have the old girl looking as good as
it sounds. Care must be taken when the engine is running as it
is so quiet it is easy to try to start it again. Older engines
used more metal in their construction making them quieter than
modern thin wall castings. |
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| Brake
cylinders were rebuilt and new fuel lines were installed but
otherwise the car is very solid. A little wire brush work and
some Por15 paint have everything looking good. This is to be a
driver so underneath was made functional instead of show worthy. |
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| All
inside areas and hard to reach parts are painted before assembly
to get to the stage shown here. The car is in primer with a
guide coat to assist in finding high and low spots when block
sanding before final paint. |
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The
roof is already painted in the brown colour seen in earlier
photos. The car will be painted as available from the factory
with the brown roof and cream body. The earlier paint job with
the brown sides is not factory correct. |
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| Here is
a little teaser shot before returning to the owner. Lots of
colour sanding and polishing has already been done. . The owner
will be taking the car home to complete the tons of chrome and
stainless trim. Stay tuned for finished photos when they are
available. |
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