Donno about you, but I consider it a good omen when I find an old car at a shop I’m about to patronise. Not just any old car(s), mind; one of the worst establishments I ever pissed away money at was fairly teeming with old cars. No, a good-omen old car has to have a particular bearing to it—the vibe kind of bearing, I mean; not the rolling type. This ’53 Hornet had such a good bearing I could almost pick it up on my car’s radio.
From out here, the trunk looks to have enormous capacity. The tail lights look big enough to probably work decently. And nobody’s going to dent up your licence plate while parallel parking by tele-touch.
It wouldn’t be completely unfair to call this car bathtub-shaped. Same with the ’91 Chev Caprice, but that bathtub hurts my eyes. The Hudson here makes me wish we could have more things that look like this in today’s world. Such lovely streamlining!
In general, I’m not a super big fan of frowny faces on cars of the late ’40s to mid ’50s, but this one’s quite fine. It’s neither spartan nor overgilded; it’s just right—nicely brought together by the triangle tying together the bumper; grille, and hood. And yes I dig that wide chrome hood ornament; fendertop rockets; openable cowl, and windshield made of two curved panels. Nice, big turn signals, too, tidily integrated.
Classy chrome collection here, in ideal condition. The grey sill paint is interesting; looking at the whole car, it seems to have been a thoughtful choice.
Twin H-Power. That means the car has Hudson’s giant 308-cubic-inch (5-litre) flathead six engine with twin Carter 1-barrel carburetors. I didn’t get to see under the hood of this car, so this Wikimedia image of a ’54 will stand in:
Who’s a pretty motor, then? Christopher Ziemnowicz image at Wikimedia Commons
A flying Hornet rocket on the trunklid brings its own tailfins…
…and so does the one at the front of each side spear.
Here too, an expression of the design themes of the day with just the right amount of moxie; neither too little, nor too much. Same goes for its condition: old but clean but faded but maintained.
Ahhhhhhh. These colours and shapes and stainless and glass all together are yes. Even the side glass on cars used to be laminated, rather than tempered; the quarter window here shows minor signs of delamination at the edge.
Yet again, exuberance tempered by presence of mind; a Hydramatic rather than high dramatics. And that glossy green steering wheel is the most!
The vibe was true; the shop did craftsmanlike work for me.
So, does this mean you’re not recommending The Muffler Shoppe?
I believe Mr. Stern was pleased with The Muffler Shoppe. They provided craftsman-like work product. The Hudson was a good portent.
He was not pleased with a different business, despite a plethora of old cars outside that place. Those cars did not have the correct vibe. They were not a good portent.
Not sure I could come up with that. Oh well!
I’m on intimate terms with the 1953 Hornet. Dad added one to his collection when I was 20, and we kept it for 4 years. Details like a ship’s hull shaped gas pedal, drawer style ash trays at the extremities of the dash, a stubby radio aerial that pivoted on a knob on the inside of the central windscreen pillar and dimensional, phosphor-impregnated plastic numerals on the instruments (great for driving in the dark if you were a bootlegger, running moonshine whiskey) and a back seat suitable for four, with a folding center armrest the size of am ottoman, are unforgettable, 50 years later.
Regarding the glow-in-the-dark gauge numbers: any time I used the big sedan at night, I couldn’t resist lingering at the wheel afterward to watch the green glow gradually subside.
These were quality cars, and quite luxurious. They cornered flatly and had a firm but comfy ride. Yawing at the big wheel was like being in the pilot house of an ocean liner: anticipation was key to putting the Hornet where you wanted it to go. Ours even had a “suicide knob” on the rim, useful for micro steering corrections and slowing the wheel, so the spokes didn’t catch your fingers when it whipped back to center after a turn.
If I were to own a big ’50s classic now, it wouldn’t be a wildly styled chrome-mobile, it would be a Hudson Hornet.
Great memories that I enjoyed reading about.
Those fading gauge numbers – I had no idea, only having been in a step-down during the daytime. They’re the kind of details that we just don’t notice looking at a car in a show setting. Thank you so much for sharing those memories, Barry.
Wow; someone loves this Hudson. I can just see the owner using a toothbrush to wipe away freshly applied car wax around the edges of the trim, rockets, and the Twin-H call out.
The front-end and dashboard are very contemporary Packard-like; the rest of the car is unique unto itself.
Kind of wondering if the suspension allows the rear wheels to drop sufficiently when jacked up to change a tire. The lower trim above the rear wheels looks to be removable, but that just a few more inches of access.
According to the web (driving.ca), Hudson dominated American stock car racing. In 1952 Hornets won 27 victories in 34 NASCAR races. But then NASCAR became all OHV-V8 Ricky-Bobby-like.
What a find… just sitting there and waiting for you.
Hudson Hornet. Stock car racing’s surprise star.
https://www.throttlextreme.com/hudson-hornet-real-hug-road-ride/
On my 49 Commodore straight 8, I use the low boy floor jack, the wheel skirts come off easily once you learn. Not hard at all. But yes once the rear wheels clear the pavement, skirts off, I still have to grab the tire from the bottom, drag it towards me, and voila! The bitch part? There are studs. Not lugs.
My 49 straight 8
Never been a fan of yellow cars but this yellow with the green roof just works so well. As a small kid in the fifties I thought these were hideous, but grew to appreciate how remarkable this car really was. The thing is just so solid from bumper to bumper. Then, there was superb engineering and that huge flathead six that dominated NASCAR in it day.
The Nash merger did Hudson no favors. With an expensive, proper restyle of the unibody Hudson out of the question, the ugly 55 “Hash” was an abomination and the nail in the coffin for this once fine, proud automobile.
See my post. The merger with NASH actually gave HUDSON a few more years on life support.
The name maybe, but the ‘55 – ‘67 Hudsons were rebadged Nashes.
Nah. Hudson was by then on full life support including being intubated and breathing tubes😁 it was futile.
I agree, Nash did Hudson no favors with the merger. A E. Barrett, President of Hudson, became irate at a board meeting early on, basically yelling that he never would have agreed to the merger of his beloved company if he had known what the plans of Hudson’s future were. Hudson was supposed to share corporate power equally with Nash in the new company . AMC. He quit in disgust and in anger shorty afterwards .
No doubt he felt tricked or duped !
In the late 60’s through the mid 70’s these were very popular Hippie / Stoners cars .
Well made and very stout .
Good looking too .
-Nate
Yeah I read Jack Kerouac’s famous novel “On The Road” and they used a step-down Hudson during their cross-country travels and yes, they experimented with marijuana at the least.
The front is reminiscent of an Oldsmobile of that era. The rear, looks similar to a ‘49 Merc.
Say what you will, but even in 53, Hudson made some great cars. As I recall, a 53 🤔 HUDSON won at least one major race. Unfortunately Hudsons STEP DOWN design was not easily updated. Hudson was strapped for cash and merger with NASH actually gave a few more years of life. Personally, think the 55 through 57 (final) AMBASSADOR and HUDSON were pretty good looking for the time.
Very encouraging, nice old cars or vintage race cars are a good sign. On the flip side I never patronize a shop that’s surrounded by the carcasses of their mistakes.
A good way to put it!
Yes, old cars that drive in and out and not the ones parked permanently there.
I just picked up my FE heads from the shop down the road and a 66 Hurst Mustang pulled in and the fellow coming in beat my 69 years. Seems this shop has a lot of old time racers drop off their engines and it is just 3 miles away.
Doug ;
What about the old timers like me who like to keep carcass’ around for the endless little bits and marque specific hardware ? .
I know junkers look bad but parts cars are priceless to those who know how to use them .
-Nate
I like the Hornet but I think this is a classic case of the original styling being the best.
…
Many years ago I had a 1954 Hudson Hollywood 2-door hardtop in the same Green over Yellow colors, a nice mostly original car that I still regret letting it go.
Lovely car. And of course I have a Hudson model – make that models.
But you’ve got me in a quandary – none of my ’53 coupes I’ve built are green over yellow, and my ’54 that is green over yellow isn’t a coupe.
Oh well, here goes…
That’s a beauty. My gosh, man. Your collection, handiwork and tastes are so impressive.
It’s inspiring.
Thanks. There’s a lot you haven’t seen… 🙂
Peter, perhaps YOU could do a “ModelCOAL” ?! I, for one, would love to
enjoy it!! 🙂
And the Hornet name lives on to this day.
On a badge engineered Alfa crossover. The modern Hash!
Nice find Daniel! I love that soft yellow with the green roof.
Your closeup pics show some amazing details I’d never bothered to notice. In the 4th picture, a bas-relief pattern on the quarter panel is echoed by a crease in the sidesweep. A *painted* trim strip overlays the *chrome* trim strip along the rocker panel. None of those details were necessary but all contribute to the total.
I could see myself in a Hudson relationship. This one is great, and I generally don’t like yellow cars!
Didn’t the Hornet have a sister called the Wasp?
I seem to remember something about a Hudson Wasp.
And didn’t Hudson make a pickup truck, for awhile?
Would like to get the answers to both questions
My father had a 53 Wasp. It was emerald green over a light green and had many of the same features mentioned in the story above about the Hornet. I recall the antenna with the inside control, the knob on the steering wheel, and a big spotlight mounted on the driver’s door with an inside control knob. I have five siblings and it seemed like we could all fit in the back seat.
These cars were awesome. Two of y favorite cars of the 50’s were the hornet and Studebaker hawk. Everybody can keep their tri five chevys dime a dozen. But these….these are special.
My grandpa had a Hudson Hornet what a hot car they used to drive it doing something like 70-80 miles per hour going on trips to Cripple Creek Colorado apparently the old Hudson could handle those dangerous curves like a dream boat.I always wish in you know in one hand I could have a chance at owning one of these mystical, obscenely fast automobile’s,My grandpa always had to have fast cars and the Hudson just had to be one of them.
My dad had a Hudson Hornet he always talked about. Had to be early mid 50’s. His buddy had a Hudson Wasp. Story goes they raced from one town to get back to their town about 12 miles, very curvy eastern Ohio road. My dad said he was already out sitting on a bench at the square when his buddy got their. Don’t know if difference in power or driver performance but they both talked about that many years later….
Yes Hudson did make a pickup for a few years. I always loved seeing one.
I have but one word for the Double H…..STYLE !