Thread: Turbo Hudson, daily driver

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This is a buddies' daily driver.

That is cool.

Originally Posted by pastor bubba

That is cool.

Ain't it. he has a t5 tranny and 290hp at the rear tire! He was in here asking about a late 50s 9" ford, i wondered why until he opened the hood.
It was awful quiet when he drove in, the last time i saw it it had a cam and a pair of 97's so i wondered what he'd done to it. Can you imagine pulling up beside him with your sbc on rt81 and watch him drive away from you? No noise, nothing. just him pulling away in a 5000lb hudson? That's make you take up bass fishing as a new hobby for sure.

"Can you imagine pulling up beside him with your sbc on rt81 and watch him drive away from you?"

I would love to be behind him when it happens.

I think the big 6 was a 308??.Hot rodding is filled with what ifs.So what if this was in a Hudson Jet??. Yrs ago I drove both kinds and they where torque monsters of their day.

Neat!! Maybe just a little whistle or whine to give things away?? I had a bud in the Navy who had a four door with the Twin H and a three speed in it and the only thing he had done to it was to split the exhaust manifold for duals; I had a '57 Chevy with a warmed over 235 Stovebolt, mild cam, three carbs and a split exhaust, and we were always digging at one another. I truth, there was no contest; I could get a length on him off the line and in the first one to two hundred feet, but then he'd just "barge" on by and leave me behind.

Sweet must be a fun ride .

m

That's very cool; I guess the old flatheads would make a good turbo motor with the low compression ratios.

Originally Posted by 1gary

I think the big 6 was a 308??.Hot rodding is filled with what ifs.So what if this was in a Hudson Jet??. Yrs ago I drove both kinds and they where torque monsters of their day.

He destroked the engine by .625! and spoke of the cam grind, he never said how big it is now. He is an old turbo guy and machinist so there is little doubt that the engine is formidable. He has been testing now for 6wks but said there was more debugging to get done.
When he drove away i doubt the engine ran much over 750rpm and all you could hear was the mechanical lifters. I was amazed.

Pretty innovative.......crafty guy your buddy.

Just a couple things. This is a Pacemaker model, shorter wheelbase than the better known Hornet. They came with a 232 cube engine, so if this is a 308 it would be a transplant from a Hornet...........not uncommon. These were unibody so didn't weigh as much as they might look. A coupe like this (more desirable from my view as around 90% of production were 4 door sedans) would be somewhere around 3500 pounds. Any torque numbers?

I like that look. Cars that when I was younger you would have never thought of building into a street machine. a Little wax, areal cool engine and BAM. COOOL

in the first picture, the back window looks upside down

Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

Pretty innovative.......crafty guy your buddy.

Just a couple things. This is a Pacemaker model, shorter wheelbase than the better known Hornet. They came with a 232 cube engine, so if this is a 308 it would be a transplant from a Hornet...........not uncommon. These were unibody so didn't weigh as much as they might look. A coupe like this (more desirable from my view as around 90% of production were 4 door sedans) would be somewhere around 3500 pounds. Any torque numbers?

I don't think he had it on an engine dyno - very possible, but a mutual friend has a chassis dyno and since he offered the rear wheel hp i assume they flogged it on the chassis dyno. I didn't ask many questions, dave is the kind of guy that when asked the time he'll explain the physics of making the gears to build a watch. I find that i get info by not asking and when he volunteers i pay attention.
The carb was interesting, i should've asked about that as there was a referance to a LeMans car that it came from but we were discussing the slip joints on the stainless header and i didn't pursue it. The SU carb is unusual as it has 2 inlets and 2 bowls as the normal one don't have enough reserve and can't supply the fuel.

That is very cool! It is pretty weird to see head studs like that on a flat head engine.

Hi guys, first post.
We saw Dave at last summers Hudson National meet in Chattanooga TN. Quite a guy. My son Zach, helped him change a U-joint on the show lot ground. I'd sure like to be close by to learn from him.
I'm into Hudson and Studebakers. I have a 53 Hornet coupe I bought for parts but after looking it over, its very restorable. I have restored much worse! But like everything else, time is a factor so I will probably never get to it. Our son has a 61 Hawk with modded 289 Studebaker motor and Paxton charger, 5 speed tranny and winters rear end. Fun car to drive.