1954 hornet sedan

baz1 · Hornet Joined: Oct 05, 2009 Posts: 55 Location: England

hi i just bought my dream car i had an old friend years ago he had one among many other American cars he had (bit of a dealer) used to buy them from American bases here in the uk and had done for years he had old barns full of cars and i managed to buy a 53 studebaker starline coupe from him but never did manage to get the hudson. anyway got one now and i love it its so strong with its unibody design masses of room inside juke box dash and driping with chrome the l head six is in ok condition auto is ok too its in the paint shop now being preped for paint you might not like me for this but its going to be metalic red just had to be sorry. anyway just one question on the cylinder head it says 262 powerdome is this the right motor for this car i thought the later hornets were all 308s any help would be appreciated thanks Baz

51hornet · Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2009 2:09 pm Post subject: Re: 1954 hornet sedan

Hey Baz,

welcome to the site. Metallic paint is fine we have no worries with that.

It was a common practice to put a 262 head on a 308 to raise the compression a bit. You can tell if you have the 308 by looking down to where the block meets the oil pan. About 2 inches above that you should see a horizontal reinforcing rib running from the front of the block to the back. If you see that you have a 308 with the 262 head for compression bump.

Post some pics and we can confirm for you. I am in the middle of restoring a 54 sedan right now so I am with on a love for that model of Hudson.

baz1 · Hornet Joined: Oct 05, 2009 Posts: 55 Location: England

thanks for the info i will check the motor when i get up to the body shop. i was helping get the bumpers of and got a good look at the underside there is no rust under there at all and the body is great now the paint is off you can see how good it realy is just a few bad places at the door bottoms maybe the size of a penny. There is a little oil on the brake back plates not brake fluid i guess the axle oil seals must be letting by. just checked the manual and can see the ridges you talk about. would love to post some pics but not sure how to thanks again for the help regards Baz

51hornet · Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 5:43 pm Post subject: Re: 1954 hornet sedan

You can send them to me at 51hornet at hudsonmotorcar dot org I will then post them here for you.

baz1 · Hornet Joined: Oct 05, 2009 Posts: 55 Location: England

OK i will send pics to you. You were right about the engine its got the ribs so it is a 308 with a 262 head did i mention it has the hydramatic box!

51hornet · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 8:09 am Post subject: Re: 1954 hornet sedan

That is a nice transmission. So with the 262 head it should run nice. Does it have the Twin Carbs?

51hornet · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 9:42 am Post subject: Re: 1954 hornet sedan

Here are some pics of Baz's 54 Hornet

51hornet · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 9:43 am Post subject: Re: 1954 hornet sedan

Another

51hornet · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 9:43 am Post subject: Re: 1954 hornet sedan

One more

51hornet · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 9:44 am Post subject: Re: 1954 hornet sedan

Looks like you got yourself a really nice 54 Hornet. Can't wait to see new paint.

baz1 · Hornet Joined: Oct 05, 2009 Posts: 55 Location: England

thanks for posting the pics for me and no it only has a single carb but twin h would be great guess i will have to look around for a set when i recover from the paint job Ha Ha or maybe a blower we have a lot of the Jaguar blowers becoming available second hand or maybe a ford blower massive benefits having a blower on a flat head gets over all the porting problems etc and you dont need loads of pressure for a good boost in performance. who made the early centrifugal superchargers over there might be room for one of those oh oh i am getting in front of myself here. Thing is its such a nice car and it lends itself to some free thinking who knows what could happen

51hornet · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 12:04 pm Post subject: Re: 1954 hornet sedan

Blower would be fun don't go over 4 pounds it will blow the head gasket. You will probably find the stock setup will be just fine. But having a go at it is always fun.

51hornet · Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 10:37 am Post subject: Re: 1954 hornet sedan

Folks here are the updated photos of Baz's car with the finished paint job. Looks pretty nice.

51hornet · Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 10:37 am Post subject: Re: 1954 hornet sedan

And one more pic.

baz1 · Hornet Joined: Oct 05, 2009 Posts: 55 Location: England

thanks for sticking the pics up wish i could do it myself. Just starting the fitting of the LPG now. I have a nice looking car i want to be able to drive it as much as possible and lpg will allow me to do that gasoline is £5.10 per gallon guess thats about $7 in your money. Anyway its fun to fill up for £45 instead of £95 i am also fitting a valve saver little gismo that injects a small amount of upper cylinder lube while the motor is running dont want to ruin it in the process its all good fun. I retire in a few years and i would like to keep the hudson as my fun car then regards Baz