Here is the second find from the good folks over at Eufaula Ford in Oklahoma! Yesterday, we featured their 1965 Ford Galaxie. If you missed it, be to take a look at it. Let’s get to this find though, it’s a Hudson Pacemaker and it looks to be a decent driver. When in tip top shape, these are really great looking cars and I just love the step down design. If you’d love to take a closer look at it or make them an offer, you can give them a call here!
From Jack – This 1951 Hudson Pacemaker starts, runs and stops. I had it up to 30 mph just the other day, and it ran, sounded and handled fine. Previous owner had done some restoration on it buy it looks amateurish. Pickup where he left off and turn this car into a real showpiece. I suggest you come by Eufaula and take a look at the car so you know exactly what you are buying. We are asking $6,900 for it and are selling it as is. Car is located at Eufaula Ford in Eufaula, OK. Call Brian at 918-689-7767.
I think calling the restoration job on this Hudson as “amateurish” is fairly accurate. There are a lot of small details that make me worried, but you have to give whoever did the work a little credit. The car is still on the road and it hasn’t rusted into pieces yet. The asking price might be a tad high, but it’s below what Hagerty lists a #4 at.
While I’m a bit worried about what kind of repair work may have been done to it, my greatest concern is finding the correct trim pieces for the interior. This isn’t a ’57 Chevy, so parts aren’t as readily available. The upholstery doesn’t look terrible, but it doesn’t look correct to me. That is something that I could live with and use without issue though. The carpets will probably need to be addressed, as do the door panels. I’m not sure why properly recovering or finding the correct door panels is so hard for some, but it would be a worthwhile investment to get the correct ones for it.
Putting all the concerns about trim and previous work aside, this looks like a solid Hudson. It’s one of my favorite designs from the early ’50s, they are a bit like factory built hot rods. The inline six isn’t a powerhouse, but they are bullet proof and get the job done nicely. I do hope we can find a good home for this Pacemaker with an owner that’s willing to keep it on the road! If you’re interested in taking this project on, be sure to contact Jack or Brian to make an offer on it.
Special thanks to Jack and the whole crew at Eufaula Ford for listing this Hudson with us! You can view more photos of it here on Drive.
Pretty cool!
I want to buy this and tell my friends, “I got a Pacemaker!”
Now don’t be too harsh. That’s exactly what it is, an amateur restoration. Very similar to my Packard project. Somebody went as far as they could, resource wise, and were enjoying driving a Hudson Pacemaker. My Packard was the same thing. Money was tight, and even though, I had 4 parts cars, some stuff had to wait. Chrome plating, was a biggie, and never got done, but it ran great and I used it. I’d finish the chrome, and the color choice is a bit odd for the seats, but a very neat car for someone.
To these old eyes a couple of the pictures show what looks like black paint sprayed along the bottom of the sides of the car. Also I believe there are possibly patch panels showing and some rust bubbling up in the same areas. Hope I’m wrong because at a 4K price level I’d be a possible buyer. Does anyone else see this?
What appears to be rust concerns me a little. I admire the Hudson but do not know the structural trouble spots in the unitized Step Down design. If it’s structurally OK, this would be a fantastic car to own and use.
Hey Howard Good to see your still with us! Looks like the finger guy has struck again, ignore him. This looks like a nice driver if all is well underneath. I could live with the interior color but would change the paint color to something more subdued, maybe even brown. Don’t believe I just said that. I love the orphans. Finish the restoration and enjoy it.
Hi Rustytech, what thumbs??? Yeah, what can I say, I love this site and the cars that come through here and the good folks outweigh the bad 10 to 1. You know, when I had my Packard (1980-2010) early on, I took it to shows and believe it or not, that’s what a lot of the cars were, amateur restorations, and we DROVE them there. Didn’t have to be perfect. Now, it seems, they come in on a trailer, and you could serve lunch on the air cleaner. That’s ok, just not representative of who used to fix these up in their spare time, if any, and guess what, we had fun, as is.
To me, this looks like the kind of “restoration” a bright 16 year-old might do if he wanted to get the Hudson on the road but had only the money he earned working part-time at the local grocery store. I don’t see anything that couldn’t be rectified; in fact, all that paint in inappropriate places probably does a better job of preservation than the rust that was there before!
I like this, even if it has only a Single H-Power!
There is always somebody that takes the fun out of everything they see. If it makes you happy, go for it.
Are these the kind of cars the Eufaula boys sell ? the last one was almost right and now I I see they were inspired by the plug wires for the body color but I agree I would change the paint– on the grille and bumpers- to peach and spray silver on the black bubble areas that some how the pictures are vague about’ This may have been an Earl Shibe circus car- I can almost hear the lion roar from getting his foot caught in the hole in the floor and pulling the carpet in a ball
I love how that roof line flows into the back, so streamlined and slick, and it’s a two-doors! :D
Look exactly like Doc Hudson on Cars. Although Doc was a Hudson Hornet. This car has the same color and grill.
Hudson’s were big with the kids back in the day…Can’t afford a Merc, this may be the car for you.