This ad just popped up on CL; someone in Ogdensburg, NJ (about 30 miles from me) is selling this heavily worn but original Hudson Terraplane. I have heard of Terraplanes; never saw one. Apparently in the 1930s they were kind of a big deal–but now, almost 90 years later, virtually no one recognizes the name. More evidence that mankind suffers from a kind of collective amnesia . . .
The seller’s description tells the story best:
Ready for restoration , You are looking at a very rare 1934 Hudson Terraplane 4 door sedan. This car has been sitting for years, but I was able to get it running I did drive the car in my yard. The engine sounds good No knocks or noise. The brakes do stop and the clutch did grab. All the tires are holding air , side glass is all good. The body on this car is very solid, very little rust on bottom of doors. the floor, roof and trunk will need some work. The interior is in poor condition but complete. This is a project car , but you just don’t see Hudson Terraplanes any more. This car is available and recommended for for inspection please call 973-823-0228.
How about those pointy aerodynamic fenders that seem to flow so beautifully!
I first heard the name “Terraplane” watching this now-forgotten film which shows what I believe is a 1933 Terraplane convertible. We meet reporter Billy Repaid, who makes history by perhaps being the first TV commercial pitchman ever broadcast! That’s right–it’s 1933 and they used the word “television”. An actual “Mechanical TV” studio was set up at the Chicago World’s Fair. Hence, the Hudson Terraplane becomes the first car advertised on television. Who had a TV at home to watch this? No one–the audience watched the TV image on a large screen in the “Television Theatre”.
Billy has a natural talent for getting people excited about what he’s saying. He boldly predicts that in the coming years, he will be able to physically shake your hand through the television screen! (It’s 2021 A.D. now, and you still can’t do that, even with Skype and Zoom (a form of which was also demonstrated at the fair, the “Two Way Telephone-Television”). Unfortunately, this YouTube video is cut, so you won’t see the ending where Billy exclaims:
“In the air, it’s aeroplaning; on the water, it’s aquaplaning; and on the road, hot-diggidy-dog, that’s Terraplaning!“ (You’ll just have to take my word for it.)
Billy Repaid had a fascinating life–he lived to be 95, and died in Florida in 1987. You can read about him here. Unfortunately this is the only internet reference I can find for him:
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1987-04-09-8701240580-story.html
So you can achieve even a minor bit of fame, but in a few decades no one will know you even existed. It’s a fact!
While you’re in Ogdensburg, check out this 1989 Cadillac Eldorado and 1989 Oldsmobile 88 Royale, which are also for sale.
Here’s an idea–store the Caddy and the Olds in a barn and don’t open the barn doors until the year 2100. People of that time will say: “Olds 88? Eldorado? Never heard of them! [#$&@^()+]” *
*[Futuristic vocal meme/emoji sentence ending]. (Untranslatable).
Terraplane was the first ponycar. Small, light, powerful, looked sporty and proved itself in hillclimbs and races. Unfortunately Hudson spoiled the brand in the usual way, degrading it into a low trim level of the big Hudson.
Robert Johnson’s “Terraplane Blues”:
And I feel so lonesome, you hear me when I moan
When I feel so lonesome, you hear me when I moan
Who been drivin’ my Terraplane, for you since I been gone.
I’d said I flash your lights, mama, you horn won’t even blow
(Spoken: Somebody’s been runnin’ my batteries down on this machine)
I even flash my lights, mama, this horn won’t even blow
Got a short in this connection, hoo well, babe, it’s way down below
I’m gion’ heist your hood, mama, I’m bound to check your oil
I’m goin’ heist your hood, mama, mmm, I’m bound to check your oil
I got a woman that I’m lovin’, way down in Arkansas
Now, you know the coils ain’t even buzzin’, little generator won’t get the spark
Motor’s in a bad condition, you gotta have these batteries charged
But I’m cryin’, pleease, pleease don’t do me wrong.
Who been drivin’ my Terraplane now for, you since I been gone
She got her own driver’s license, and now she drives alone past his street.
I was going to mention this song too – it’s how I first heard of the Terraplane.
Robert Johnson…master of the delta blues, and the extended and not-terribly-subtle metaphor.
No, it’s about a car! Really! 😉
I think this was the last year Hudson used a fabric top insert on their closed cars. It looks like somebody has supplemented the wooden top supports with a, er, shower curtain rod? Anyway, this is definitely not a car to leave outside.
I love the Streamline Moderne grille Terraplane used in 1934.
Interesting that the clutch works. Hudson used a cork-faced clutch running in oil, which was supposed to be very smooth.
From the brochure:
The trunk is referred to as a “luggage vestibule”.
“The Terraplane is built on the new Hudson Principle of Unit-Engineering which produces an airplane ratio of power to weight. This principle . . . makes possible a performance ability never before approached in a motorcar.”
“The external beauty of the 1934 Terraplane expresses its internal excellence. When you become the owner of one of these cars, your feeling of pride in it will grow out of the knowledge that the beauty of line which your friends admire is a beauty of a true thoroughbred.”
Other body styles:
Terraplanes were a very big deal in the early 1930’s. Put a Ford V-8 against a Terraplane at a stoplight, and the Ford was dead meat. And both cars were in the same price class. So yeah, the Ford’s domination of hot rodding in the 1930’s got off to a very rocky start, both in performance and reliability against the Hudson product. Something that’s conveniently ignored in hot rod lore nowadays.
Fortunately for Ford, Hudson did the usual American manufacturer screwup on the line. Make it bigger, heavier, and eventually let it die.
And yes, 1934 was the height of automobile styling. Equal parts classic styling and aerodynamic moderne. And the independents seem to have it down a bit better than the Big Three.
Yes, 1933-34 was a fascinating and short period that was just as you say – one foot in the old classic school and one in modern streamlining. Starting in 1935 (in the US at least) almost everything had a chunky, streamlined new look.
The early V-8 equipped Terraplanes supposedly had the highest horsepower to weight ration of any car in the US. Noted outlaw John Dillinger had one. It was perfectly restored and on display some years ago in the concourse at BWI airport in Baltimore.
Uh, straight eight. 244 cubic inch flathead. There was also a six cylinder version. The straight eight was around for 1933, and I think 1934, then just sixes until the line was dropped after 1938.
The early, V-8 equipped Terraplanes supposedly had the highest horsepower to weight ratio of any car in America. Noted outlaw John Dillinger had one. It was perfectly restored and on display some years back on the concourse at BWI airport in Baltimore.
CPJ,
Terraplanes never had a V8.
The 1933 Terraplane was the only year with the straight eight engine, standard was a 244 cu in but they also had an optional 8 of 354 cu in, this was the same as used in the lower priced Hudsons.
Last I heard, Dillinger’s ’33 Terraplane is owned by the Crime Museum in Wash, DC.
I used to have one of the rarest Terraplanes: a 1937 3-passenger Coupe with a short 3′ pickup bed [with tailgate], it was fully enclosed inside the coupe’s trunk, but with the trunk lid open, it could be extended rearward to a full 6′ pickup bed. This did have one problem; when the trunk lid was in the open position, all I could see was the trunk lid in the rear view mirror!
I used to take it to local car shows, I would load the bed with hay bales and dress like a 1930s farmer in bib overalls and straw hat. The ’37 Terraplane was sold in 1979. About 2016 the Hudson Club had it’s national meet in Gettysburg, PA. That car was there!
Of course a straight 8 it was. My mind must have been on Fords of the same vintage. Nevertheless, a powerful motor in a lightweight car. The 354 c.i. version must have been something.
What I can recall about Dillinger’s car was how much smaller and narrower it was compared to other cars of the time. Sort of like an early muscle car. Years ahead of its time in that respect.
254.4 ci was the largest straight eight Hudson Motor Car Co. ever built. It developed from the Essex Six architecture for 1930, initially only 213.8 ci,; 233.7 ci for 1931; finally 254.4 for 1932. It remained unchanged through the end of the 1952 Hudson Commodore.
I don’t know a thing about these, but a survivor/unrestored car like this tugs at my heart strings, having gotten looked after well enough since 1934 to be in the shape it’s in today. I’ll hope it finds a devoted next owner!
Similar 1933 in ad below:
Another fun ad (1934): Hudson borrows a man’s car with 18K on it, puts on another 10K in two weeks to show its toughness:
“Two-Way Telephone-Television” a.k.a. videophones was put in wide use in Germany in 1936 and continued until 1940, becoming the world’s first videophone service. That was long before AT&T demonstrated Picturephone, its version of the videophone, at 1964 New York World’s Fair. And longer before the videophones became the common fixture today.
The videophones were installed at the Deutsche Reichspost Fernsehsprechstelle (German postal service videophone site). The customers visited the Reichspost to schedule the video calls ahead of time, and the recipients received the notification cards to visit the Reichspost at appointed date and time.
Fast forward to the 1990s, the feasibility of videophones as the effective telecommunication mode for the deaf people who prefer to use sign language was studied and put to the use. This led to the rapid spread of videophones amongst the deaf people in the early 2000s and the demand for faster and cheaper DSL service. The accessible technology for the people with disabilities has the cascading effect for the people without disabilities. The latter ends up using the wheelchair ramps, for instance, even though they don’t use wheelchairs or walkers. That includes the families with prams and delivery personnel with trolleys. They end up using the videophone and video conference apps (FaceTime, Skype, Zoom, etc.). They also end up watching TV with closed-captioning because it is useful in some settings and situations.
So, be grateful for the people with disabilities who fought for the barrier-free access and for the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) that have improved the lives of not only people with disabilities but people without disabilities.
Another great example of this phenomenon: closed captions on your TV that turn on whenever you press the mute button. CC was intended so people who were deaf or had poor hearing could watch TV, but the CC-on-mute feature made it useful for everybody, making it possible to follow the action during a phone call or such. Great for learning English (or another language) too, seeing the words as their spoken.
These had a “skeleton” of a clutch/flywheel housing.
I’m guessing to enhance air flow?
The clutch disc’s friction material was made up of dozens of coin-size round corks!
Corks, as you’d see in a wine bottle.
When I first saw a disc I thought it was a joke and somebody had been saving their spent corks on it. Lol
Hard to believe cork would drive and last, but apparently they worked well.
Later I saw similar in industrial clutches, but flooded with oil.
Didn’t the design for this clutch last about 50 years? Remember seeing an instructional on relining these where you could cut down regular bottle corks and sand them down smooth. Needed to soak the thing in “Hudsonite” fluid first. Contained whale oil as I remember. Similar to ATF today.
I believe they were around for a good run.
We wonder how long the Hudsonite hung around driving dusty roads with the wide-open housing?
I remember an oil-flooded industrial one inspected during engine work, virtually no wear after LOTS of hours and cycles.
I sort of recall 10,000 hours mentioned as not unusual.
I ran a fairly large restoration shop for 30+ years, and we repaired many Hudsons with fluid & cork clutches. The only reason they ever needed replacement of the cork pieces was if the clutch was allowed to sit for years and the cork bonded to the flywheel from corrosion. The cork was damaged when the clutch pedal was pushed in, tearing the cork pieces.
That said, if the owner had been able to turn the engine and clutch by hand to immerse the dry cork in fluid again [for a few months] chances were that when the clutch pedal was pushed slowly and gently, the cork pieces were not destroyed. I’ve seen and driven many high mileage Hudson cars still running on their original clutch material.
Buy this for list price , add shipping and you are into it for $9 large. Then restore to factory condition and you have $75 large in it. Sell it on BAT for $50 large, but you had FUN doing this!
I wish I had the time!
I used to see a Terraplane in one of the junkyards on the west side of Columbus, Ohio. (Woody’s, if I remember correctly.) This was in the mid 1980s. Most of the front clip was gone, as was the glass and interior. The old flathead engine was still there and “Terraplane” was cast into the cylinder head.
I love cars like this. Sadly, with what really nice sedans of this vintage are going for in the real world, restoring this one would be a fantastic way to turn $50k into $10k.
Terraplane is a great name for a car!
I share your sorrow. Restoration is just a winning Poweball ticket away. Once again it’s up to the hot Rodder’s to save this car.
My immediate thought was the line from Children of the Revolution by T Rex
“Terraplane in the pouring rain”
What sticks in my mind from that song is the bit
“I drive a Rolls-Royce/ ‘Cause it’s good for my voice.”
Great CC on a long-forgotten car that was actually something in its day, maybe even a forerunner of what would eventually become known as a musclecar.
Also helps shine a light on an earlier version of the Hudson brand performance image. Most people think of Hudson as the car with the ‘step-down’ frame and Twin-H six that was the scourge of NASCAR in its fledgling years.
Where I used to live Terraplanes arent totally forgotten or undiscovered a guy at a local wrecking yard drives a silver 34 from time to time to work and a hotrodder in a nearby town found a 37 coupe in a shed in original condition its now his daily drive and of course city of Napier uses a stylised 37 Terraplane grille on its art deco posters.
Fascinating about Billy Repaid… his mile-a-minute speech pattern seems like he’s 50 years ahead of his time.
From what I can figure out, he was a relatively well-known radio personality who got his start as a news commenter in Detroit the late 1920s. Eventually, he was hired by a number of companies and radio stations, including Hudson, who (I think) had him as the main character in a serial radio show called the Terraplane Hour, on which he was known as the Terraplane Reporter.
Sorry Billy, but every kids in Chicago knows that the Great Chicago Fire began October 10, 1871 – not 1876!
As for Billy – by gosh by golly – I sure as heck wished I could talk like he could – GANGBUSTER, I tell ya! He’s a mighty slick fella, I tell ya!
As for the Terreplane – a very good car, like it’s predecessor, the Essex.
Geewillikers, those Terreplanes are SWELL! That’s the road car job for me!
Right Billy?
When you are growing up in Chicago, October is Fire Awareness Month, the fire trucks show up, you see fire movies, the fire men give us talks about fire safety, and my dad was a volunteer fireman.
So, every October from kindergarten to high school, fire, the Chicago Fire, the Peshtigo fire, and everything fire was trotted out and we loved it.
A friend had a ’39 Hudson 112, Hudson’s attempt to get back into that size/price class. Nothing much Terraplane about the way that drove though.
One old timer used to call them “Terrible pain”