Well thanks for the kind words, I guess my brain was frozen in the very early '50s. I think there were a few '52 Hudsons, but they went out of business in 1953? "Bob" is correct, the 308 cu. in. six cyl was in '51 and that was the year Hudson was a terror on the NASCAR tracks. I am replying to remember another bankruptcy hot rod, the 1955 Packard 400. I saw a Packard 400 V8 lap the field after only about 5 laps at the old Hatfield 1/2 mile track just N.E. of Phila. on the N. J. side. Again Packard knew they were close to extinction and tried the same trick as Hudson did in that they came out with an enormous V8 in 1955. However there were few of them on the street. Still those who remember should tell you that the Hornet was a very fast car at a time when there were few cars on the street with engines over 300 cu. in. displacement. However as I recall, the Olds 88 was 331 cu. in. but there was some problem putting that engine in a Ford frame because of the location of the starter on the Olds engine and so very few Olds engines made their way into a Ford. The fastest car I actually rode in at that time was my cousin's '51 Merc, but that later paled by comparison to my Dad's '69 Chev 350. Well enough nostalgia, I need to worry about choosing wheels, installing rear coil-overs and then (!) the tedious job of installing brake lines on the '29 frame. Sorry to chat so much, but I am DELIGHTED to find this forum?

Best Wishes,
Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teenage rodder