The Hornet was a full-size car initially built by the Hudson Motor Car Co. from 1951 to 1954, after which the company merged with Nash-Kelvinator to become American Motors. The early Hornets had a “step-down” design which means the floor pans were sitting lower in the chassis for a better center of gravity. The autos would find surprising success in NASCAR in its early days. The seller has a 1951 4-door sedan that was converted into a pickup/camper some years ago. Now it’s a project sitting in a garage in Ida Grove, Iowa, and is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $1,800.
These family-oriented machines came with a 308 cubic inch inline-6, a bigger engine than many of its contemporaries. Though the seller alludes to an automatic transmission, one of those sourced from GM was only offered in 1954. Otherwise, it was a 3-speed manual with or without overdrive. More than 43,000 Hornets were produced in 1951 alone across all body styles. AMC retired the Hudson name in 1957 only to revive it in 1970 for their new compact that replaced the American.
We don’t know how or when this Hornet sedan became a pickup. It may have been a professional job or something someone did at home, chopping off the roof to provide a rather long area for hauling stuff. We’re told it was also used as a camper, but all of that paraphernalia has long since gone AWOL. It’s a well-used Hornet “El Camino” with the odometer within striking distance of turning over to 100,000 miles.
If the “pickup” runs, there’s no mention. And given the flat tires, it’s probably been sitting where it is for a long time. The seller says it’s ready for restoration, but surely no one would try to graft a top on the back half of the vehicle. The only viable option seems to be to keep it as a pickup and hope there’s enough bracing for it to be stable at highway speeds. Since the vehicle has been for sale for nearly two months, we guess the seller hasn’t had much traction with the sale. BTW, this interesting tip was brought to us by “Zappenduster”!
I’d rather have a ’47 Hudson Big Boy, than this ’51 Hudson Oh Boy…
Given that half the car is cut away, I’d say restoration is unlikely.
That means you only have to restore half the car!
That cuts the time in half!
how to turn a somewhat valuable car into a worthless one with one fell swoop of a sawzall….
What? It’s Hacked-up Cars Week and nobody told me? Where’s my Sawzall?
Ironically, Hudson did make a pickup in the late 40s, based on their car chassis. At least the price on this “custom” isn’t stupid, and if someone had another Hornet lying around…
If had for the right price, this could be a fun build. Finish into a pickup. Hudson did make some prototype stepdown pickups, I’ve seen some pics online. They probably thought that it wouldn’t be profitable, but they are interesting.
It’s my understanding that they weren’t prototypes as such, but built for factory use. Hudson got a steep learning curve on building unibody cars with big holes in them.
I’d put ona “woodie” with the double barn doors & metal roof.
This car’s speedo goes to 11!
I’ve seen them too geezerglide. The
company DID build a small number of
them for service trucks for dealerships much the way Nash did with their tow truck models from ”46-
’48. In this configuration, the technician could give your car a jump
start, change a flat tire, or maybe change a stuck thermostat. One thing’s for sure, you might never see
another one like it! And yes, you could get a Hydramatic on these in ’51. My grandfather had one so equipped. Would make an interesting
portrait don’t you think?
I know, we look at this with wonder, what was the idea? Well, the way I figure, times were tough in the 50s for many, especially rural folks, that just got electricity. I kid you not, I saw a documentary of a guy that grew up on a farm in central Wis., and wasn’t until after the war that they got juice. There were many things to buy. The farm needed a pickup, that old pre-war Chevy seen better days, a new ’55 pickup was about $1400 bucks. Considering farmers were typically was the lowest paid job in America, that was a lot of money. Then the light went on( literally), ” Say Pa,,what about Uncle Phils Hudson? We’ll cut the back off, weld in some steel bars for back shocks, some wood sideboards”,,, and that, my friends, went on all over the great rural part of America. Just a parts car now, as I think there is still enough interest in Hudsons in general, just not this one.
” I kid you not, I saw a documentary of a guy that grew up on a farm in central Wis., and wasn’t until after the war that they got juice.”
A lot of folks here in the Appalachian Mountains didn’t get electricity until the 1960s.
What a shame this was done to it.
Lots of much more expensive cars than this had been turned into trucks do to the necessity that Howard talks about. Imagine seeing a Stutz tow truck!
“Put the Sawzall down and place your hands on the hood.”
OMG… the garbage some people try to peddle!
Russ, Russ, Russ….You’re gettin a lot of…..well, we’ll say junk….to write about this week. Did BF’s editor put you on punishment of some kind? Let us pray.
I should print a large picture of this as a warning to my ’53. Do not blow a head gasket or a clutch………..