After featuring a 1941 Studebaker, I stumbled upon this 1941 Hudson. It too has just been pulled out of long term storage. The seller claims that it ran when parked 15 years ago and that the royal blue paint has been “preserved by the dust”… I have never heard that one before! Not sure how dust can preserve anything, but you never know. The claims of originality could be questioned here, but these prewar Hudsons are interesting enough that this one deserves a look even if it is just to learn what made these special. Find it here on eBay in Agra, Oklahoma.
I get the sneaky suspicion that this Hudson is not really “as original as it gets”. Perhaps it’s an older restoration? Or perhaps I am wrong and it is the real deal? Either way, a few red flags popped up when I looked through the photos. I’m no Hudson expert by any means, but that interior looks reupholstered to me. The aftermarket gauges under the dash are also a hint that someone has restored a few things along the way. Nothing wrong with that, but it should be presented as such.
Admittedly, we all have different definitions of what “original” really means. I’m sure the seller of this car is just trying to convey the idea that this car is complete without any major modification to the body or engine. The fact that it has been painted bright blue may only bother the most preservation possessed among us. Don’t get me wrong though, these alterations don’t necessarily mean that this car isn’t a good basis for a restoration project. Just make sure you know your Hudsons before taking this one on so you can reverse any changes that may have been made over the years.
Hudson may be all but forgotten today, but in its heyday the factory cranked out some quality cars. In fact, much of the marketing done in the forties touted the Hudson as “America’s Safest Car”. They won awards for their body structures and even patented a system that was supposed to keep the front wheels straight during a strong crosswind. It was called Auto-Poise Control and although it may have been a gimmick, their Double-Safe brakes were not. Hudson fitted hydraulic brakes to their cars long before dual master cylinders were invented, so they created a system that could engage the brakes mechanically as a fallback in the event of a hydraulic failure (in addition to a parking brake). Sounds like a smart idea to me!
We don’t feature a lot of prewar cars here on Barn Finds, but every once in a while we like to in hopes that the younger generation will see the value of preserving these old cars. It’s also fun to learn about all the engineering breakthroughs that were made so many years ago. There is just so much history that is being forgotten so we hope that by documenting a few of these old cars we will be able to help keep a few more people engaged in this end of the hobby. The sixties and seventies cars might be what’s hot right now, but I still wouldn’t mind having an example of one of America’s safest cars. How about you?
My school laptop doesn’t let us on ebay.. how much does he want for it? (Bid or buy it now?) Thanks!
Bidding is currently at $5,700, with 20 bids. Hope that helps!
Thanks Josh!
While the car is very interesting & looks to be in great condition, something in the ad caused me to think twice, the person that placed the ad says that “he” parked the car in his garage in 2000, but then he goes on to say that he is selling it for the “owner”. I am sure that many explanations can be given, but it just seems to have lost that ring of truth!
And don’t forget that Hudson was a big winner in the early days of Nascar, winning numerous championships, back in the days when the cars were actually stock. It’s big straight six motor beat other cars like Oldsmobile that were powered by V-8s.
I have a mostly original ’40 hudson. Most people who ride in it comment about how smooth and quite it is. This comes from especially surprised Ford V8 owners.
Parts are more challenging to get compared to the same vintage Ford or Chevy. They are very well built cars.
If anyone here does pick it up, feel free to contact me. Can point you in directions for 40’s parts.
Jesse and Josh, just keep posting prewar cars and trucks. Myself I’m especially drawn by the vehicles of the 30s; have (2) myself (well, 3 if you count my John Deere tractor).
Dust isn’t harmful as long as it isn’t disturbed and you WASH it off instead of attempt to brush it off. My ’49 Chev came out of a farm shed and it looked similar to this car. But it cleaned up very well. After a 5 year sleep, it’s now been out of the barn for 41 years and runs great.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s been repainted at least once, as I can’t ever remember seeing a Hudson in that shade of blue, still a neat car at any rate and one that you’re unlikely to see at your local cars-n-coffee.
Lots of little unoriginal bits, but I bet you could have her running in a weekend, add another weekend for brakes and tires, and off you go.
looks like it has a 8 volt battery and air horns which i do not think are stock. but very nice looking car. would need to see photos of the underside. surprised it did not get made into a dirt track race car back when it was just another old car. very nice find
I’m not really an expert on 40s, but I’ll bet a lot of money that’s not an original color and the interior is not original. I do know engines were never body color, the fan blades were red, etc. Don’t I see blue overspray on the radiator? Looks as if someone went crazy with a spray gun.
That said, the engine looks bone stock–except for that awful blue. Those horns don’t go there either.
Did the seller say no rust ? Is that grass I see through a gaping hole below the left tailight ?
I agree with the rest of the comments that it has been ‘fixed – up’ at some point. Hudson was not in, what later became NASCAR until the early fifties with the ‘Twin – H’ set-up. I have a little age on me since I took my driver’s test in my Dad’s ’49 Hudson in 1954.
Agree with the other posters that this is not a factory color. Nice lines, would like to see it restored.
At last, this one REALLY will buff out!
target buyers………….one foot in the grave and the other on Teflon
Personally I love seeing pre war barnfinds. But then I’m an old guy! LOL
I would want to thoroughly check this out if I was going to buy it. That said, it looks very solid, complete and cheap. Perfect hot rod material. The only Hudson hot rods I’ve ever seen of this vintage were pickups. Doesn’t seem to have interest as a collector car, so why not? I think I hear a small block Chev. :)
And bastardize a perfectly good car!
Sold for $6100, looks like someone scored bigtime.
@ MikeH I have nothing against restoration, but I’ve seen too many cars like this end as useless hulks, rust buckets only good for parts. Just because some guy decided years before that he was going to restore it and let it deteriorate. The way I see it, it might as well become a resto-rod. At least it gets back on the road. As Sly Stone so eloquently put it, different strokes for different folks.
I agree with some of your points, but the point is, this car is not a “useless hulk, rust bucket”. It appears to be in moderately good shape and is all there–it deserves restoration, not bastardization.
My first car was a 1941 Hudson coupe, it was factory gold, ran great, got it as a Xmas gift from my parents, they paid $15.00 for it in 1958, I was 13!