This Hudson Hornet sedan was purchased by the seller in 2000 from the original owner’s estate. After many years of making improvements, the seller has reached his limit when it comes to working on vintage cars. Consequently, he’s advertising this ’54 on craigslist with an asking price of $9500. The car is located on Samish Island, Washington. Thanks to Barney for sending in the tip!
The Hornet was made from 1951 through 1954, when Hudson merged with Nash-Kelvinator to form AMC, and then through 1957 by the conglomerate. Its design extended Hudson’s “step down” concept, introduced in 1948, with the floorpan sunk around the chassis rails. A low center of gravity, easy ingress/egress, and new, modern styling were just a few advantages of Hudson’s innovation, but over time – as AMC discovered – updating the car’s look was nearly impossible given geometrical constraints. The Hornet was initially sold with Hudson’s 308 cu. in. in-line six, here with optional Twin-H Power, which amounts to two single-barrel Carter carbs decked with fancy air cleaners. Output quoted by the factory for 1954 was 170 hp, but the seller notes that this engine has a 262 cu. in. cylinder head installed. That’s gonna hike the compression ratio to give this mill a few extra ponies. The gearbox is a dual-range four-speed Hydra-Matic. A long list of repairs is listed, but these date back to 2000; I’d want to know what’s been completed in the more recent past. The car is said to run well.
The door jambs are showing off new windlace, but the seating surfaces could use renovation. The floors appear to have been painted with grey epoxy; the underside is moderately rusty with no serious incursions evident. The seller notes some rust and a few dents in the rear quarters. The tires were replaced, but in ’01 – time for new rubber!
If you yearn for the old NASCAR-style Hornet, ’54 was the last year to capture that look, and the four-door sedan is your value play. Very nice driver-quality sedans and even the two-door “Hollywood” sell for around $20k, but you’ll pay twice that for a convertible. I like this mechanically upkept Hudson, but cosmetic improvements will cost a pretty penny. What do you think, is this one a deal, or is a negotiation on the horizon?
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