When looking at pickups that were for sale after World War II, one vehicle that is often overlooked is the Hudson. The vehicle was viewed as more upmarket when compared with offerings from either General Motors or Ford, but the vehicle could hold its own with comparable pickups due to its robust chassis design. You will find this 1947 Hudson Pickup listed for sale here on eBay. It is located in Kelseyville, California, and is being offered with a Bill of Sale. Bidding on the Hudson had reached $6,250 at the time of writing. Barn Finder Fred H located this beauty, so thank you for that Fred.
This Hudson has spent its life in California, so it’s not surprising that it is free of significant rust. What you can see in the way of surface rust is about as bad as it gets. The frame looks to be solid, and the floors only have a coating of surface rust. The seller states that both doors open and close easily and that the windows roll up and down well. All of the glass is present, although the rear glass looks like it has been the target of a bb gun. Still, that glass is essentially flat, so locating a replacement shouldn’t be difficult. The thing that strikes me when looking at the pickup is how low it seems to ride. This is standard, and in spite of this, the pickup has heavy springs that allows it to carry a surprising amount of weight.
As you can see, the floors look just as solid as the seller claims. The seat will require complete restoration, but it’s nothing that a competent upholsterer couldn’t fix. One thing that you can see visible in this shot is the original gas burner heater.
The pickup is missing its door trims, but thankfully the dash is complete, although it will require restoration. The Hudson interior was somewhat upmarket compared to its competition, with nice moldings and trim pieces on the dash. The wheel featured a chrome horn ring that would have looked more at home in a passenger car, and this item is missing from this pickup.
The engine turns freely, but apparently, it has no compression. It also isn’t the original engine, but it is the 308ci straight-six from a 1949 model. The transmission is the 3-speed manual transmission with a column mounted shifter. The seller is under the impression that the drive-train could all be used as part of a restoration.
This 1947 Pickup marked the final year of production of the Pickup for Hudson. They did dip their toe in the water in 1948 by producing a single new Pickup prototype, but this never made it into production. The seller states that only around 3,000 Pickups were produced in 1947, and while this number can’t be confirmed, it gels with a number of estimates that have made the rounds over the years. As restoration projects go, this could be a good one. While it is not a numbers matching vehicle, it is largely original and complete. With nicely restored examples currently starting at $35,000, this Hudson shows some promise.
Keep that as it is, no paint…..even the wheels look Cool!!
I’d paint it with single stage black then color sand n polish it out do all the chrome and steelies n baby moons . and send the engine to Uncommon Engineering and have them do their magic .
I have to admit that prior to seeing this post, I had no idea that Hudson made pickups.
Comment, not only is the stance low, the cabin does not seem to be nearly as tall as I would expect from a pickup of this era.
Very cool.
Bobk, the different stance is because Hudson made a car based pickup. Heavier duty springs, etc, but based on the sedan. Guess you could call it the first Ranchero/El Camino.
All of the above. Great looking truck!
What a great looking truck.
I am also impressed by the optional bird poo on the tailgate. Most people didn’t check that box on the option list.
Tailgate made of unobtainium. Cool truck no matter which way you go with it. Good luck to the new owner!
Cheers
GPC
There was a man in my hometown that had one of these. His was restored
outdide, but ran a 383 Chrysler V-8 mated
to a Torqueflite auto tranny. Used to see
it around town or at local car shows. He
also had a ’46 Lincoln coupe–also powered by a 383 V-8! He wound up
selling it to a used car dealer as he
needed cash for another project
Seeing this one reminds me of that
gorgeous old truck. Sadly, I suffer
from emptywalletosis.
Emptywalletosis. Waaay too much of that going around.
I believe it was the 1st American production “Ranchero/El Camino” type vehicle. All the parts except the bed related parts, interchange with the same year car. I drooled over one that was in Widefield, CO when I was stationed at Ft. Carson in the early ’80s.
Studebaker fans of the ’37-39 Coupe Express would probably argue that point. Likewise, Hudson fans of ’30s Terraplane trucks could make a case.
There was a garage in my home town that was operated by 2 guys, and both had Hudson pickups that were their daily drivers – this was back in the late 60s -early 70s. Quite a few of the local guys tried to buy the trucks- the owners finally put up a sign that said “Hudson Pickups NOT for sale” to cut down on the number of interruptions.
Just to clear up a couple small inaccuracies; the “original gas burning heater” is actually a Stewart Warner Southwind, gasoline fueled heater. The factory option heater for these was the typical hot water type. If the engine actually is a ’49 then it’s likely a 262 ci, the 308 didn’t appear until ’51 in the Hornet model.
Rarity is a relative thing, though uncommon occurs more often. Back in the late ’70s I was in my Hudson period. While most of what I dealt with were Hornets, I did have a soft spot for these trucks. Ended up owning 3 of them. The most unusual was a ’41 that had had an engine swap, probably somewhere in the early to mid ’50s. It had a Studebaker V8, was painted a burn your eyes yellow. Later had a ’46 and ’47.
Often at those casual strip mall kinds of shows a group of us Hudson guys would show up. Folks would walk by and often comment about how rare any Hudson was, but particularly the pickup. Just as bobk said above, they never knew. That got my pal Jim and I to start counting the ones we were aware of in the State of Washington alone. We got up to 28 when we were done. How many more didn’t we know of? If you’re really into a subject matter you usually have a different perspective than those that aren’t.
Another common remark was something about how difficult it must be to find parts. Again, it’s the same scenario. If you’re not someone dedicated to whatever the subject matter is, you likely haven’t seen things relative to that. Once I had an office mate who knew I was into Hudsons who came to me one day with a phone number for a buddy of his some 50 miles away who’d just taken over the family glass business. In the loft he decided to clear out of all the “junk” his dad just couldn’t/wouldn’t throw away were 28 Hudson step down windshields. Of course I became the proud owner and seller of that “junk”. And similar stories can be told thousands of times by dedicated and active hobbyists.
Wow, back in the 50’s when I was just a little squirt, I remember grandpa had one like this! He was a Hudson or ford guy! He traded a model A in on it! I wasn’t old enough for school yet so I hung out with grandpa a bunch! I can remember riding down the dirt or gravel roads with him checking fences and daily cow count! The rest of the day was spent with him on a old John Deer open cab tractor! When we were done in the evening we would be black as the ace of spades! Oooppss, sorry this site brings up so many memories for me! Have a great day gals and guy’s!
No prob, dubja, dubja, it’s why I’m here, for the memories and stories. I’ll never buy anything, thanks for the story.
Since I’m here, this Hudson, like all car/pickups, had a limited following. They didn’t do either job well, however, I’d have to say, these and the Studebaker made the most sense. It had a real pickup box, unlike the more modern one piece ones. I believe these were pricey new, and a “regular ” pickup could be had for half the price. People weren’t into fancy pickups like today and this was the fanciest pickup you could buy. Last year for the “Big Boy” Hudson. It’s a rare find indeed.
Right from the factory with a chopped and channelled look, how cool is that… what an amazing truck. I have never seen one before, but really want to see one up close and personal now!
I have a 46′ truck with flat black paint and my top is dropped 4′ and door is a sedan door so the cab is lengthened about 4″. All work done by a Hudson specialist in Idaho. 440 Chrysler with Chrysler front clip with disc brakes. attracts attention because it is so rare. I dont know how to post a photo with this. I dont care for the chopped top. I like this stocker better.