Furthest Distance Traveled in your Classic

51hornet

Thats a good question what is the farthest distance you have traveled in your Hudson or other classic car( for those who don't have a Hudson yet)

Most of you know for me its about 3500 miles in my Hornet when I drove it across Canada to get it home. Since I did not know the car it was a little nerve wracking at first then it got better. I did not relax a lot as every sound the car made was "what the heck is that" but it burned the miles like a trooper the ignition timing was off so it overheated a little in stop and go driving but most of the driving was highway so it was ok. I knew what the problem was but did not want to touch on the road.

Took me six days to get home and that was taking it easy except for some parts of the road that she wanted to cruise at 80. Its seems the closer we got to home the faster she was going. Kind of stupid when you think about it fly down take a train through Quebec then get it a car you have just seen for the first time and drive it home. But hey she did not let me down. She did not miss a beat the whole way home and actually got better as the miles burned away as we blew out the carbon and the cobwebs.

Ok now your stories please or even any of driving when you were kids with your family in what would now be a classic.

Zephyrmec · Hornet Joined: Aug 19, 2007 Posts: 623

I rode a 50 Panhead (rigid frame) from Denver to Syracuse in 3 days about 25 years ago. (I bought it one day, and was on the road the next) About 30 years ago I bought a 58 Chevy from a guy in Green Bay Wisconsin, (it had been sitting in a field for 3-4 years) changed the oil and did a tuneup then drove it to Portsmouth Virginia straight through. That kind of thing was the norm when I was young, bulletproof, and free of responsibilities. Not any more. I will drive my Zephyr anywhere within about 200 miles, further than that, it gets a ride on a trailer. I'm not concerned about getting stranded, it's the possibility of being stranded a long way from home, waiting for a part that could possibly take weeks to get. Most Zephyr stuff is available, but when it's not, it can be a prolonged search. That's why I'm watching for a good driver class Commodore, I want something that I can tour with about a 1500 mile range. Go on vacation, etc.

Dave53-7C

Sean, are you sure your car isn't the one from Toronto?

As an adult, I've never had the occasion to drive my cars any major distance, but a late friend and I drove to FL on spring break back in the 70's in his 67 Chevelle. After traveling that distance in a car, I swore that I'd never do it again and never have. I remember riding to the east coast once in the back of my parent's 1951 Plymouth Cranbrook coupe. That was the last trip it took. I must have been about 3 years old. I can remember falling asleep on that plaid upholstery and wondering why the interior of the car aternated between light and dark. It was us passing between the street lights. Smile

When I was 4, I also remember trying to help fix the car by putting a carboard tube on the broken tail pipe. Well, that didn't work out since it started on fire. Good thing my father had a sense of humor. And when the time came to get rid of that car, I remember being so sad when the tow truck took it away since that was the only car I had ever really known.

51hornet

Nope my car is not from Toronto and that car was actually a Pacemaker with Hudson trim. The guy who bought it was a member here.

My car is actually from Maine. The guy in Quebec was part of the Quebec/Maine chapter which was kind of an informal Hudson club that met to talk Hudsons. My car was picked up by the guy in Quebec after the owner in Maine died he had the car from new and always garaged it. He wanted the guy I bought it from to have it and it had been in Quebec for about 5 years when I bought it making me the third owner.

As a kid I remember taking the family day trips and vacations in the car where it took a while to get where you were going and lots of other families were on the road as well during the summer. We were all piled into the car and away we went. We were kind of lucky since Dad was always buying cars as part of the shop stuff we were always in different cars. Where some families remember 4 or 5 cars growing up I remember about 100 cars. We went out in everything under the sun and then some....

Dave53-7C

Really. I though that car looked OK. How's it doing?

Wow, a 56 year old car only on its third owner. How did you find out about it?

Ah, aren't those fond memories? Did you father have to have a dealer's license in order to sell so many cars?

51hornet

Nope we were always selling cars privately. Guys would come in say they had a car while we worked on their main car Dad would look maybe buy. Fix what was wrong drive it and someone would always make an offer and it was gone. Sometimes we had 10 cars around the place Dad and I working on them. I would come home from school and one would be gone. Wasn't our main business but when you are working on cars for a living you come in contact with lots of cars.

Dad would never shark anyone he would make his money back and parts and labor and maybe a bit of profit. He just liked fixing the cars and making sure people had a safe car to drive.

My car is super straight as it is original except for paint the body is perfect. I plan on removing the back yard paint job and laying down the original colour doing a quality job. Problem was it sat in garage for 2 years before me only being driven once or twice a year. That plays havoc on the old seals. Of course all the old seals are now replaced so I should be good for next season for just driving. End of season next year I will make decision to pull the engine and tranny and redo everything there to make sure the car is 100% in the drivetrain. I have 84,000 original miles on it and I want to make sure nothing goes on that engine so a complete rebuild will give me peace of mind. I may do the paint then as well. I am planning on getting wire wheels then and new wide whitewalls.

Found it on ebay. It never sold so I called the niece of the owner who was selling it. He did not like ebay and preferred dealing over phone we worked out a deal and I really liked him so I sent deposit. When I got there he threw me the keys and said take it for a drive. Off I went and the rest is history he was a little surprised I was so young. He thought I was older. He had not cashed my deposit as he wanted to give me a chance to back out. He did not know me. And he was worried we wouldn't make it home. Of course she drove like a champ.

It was funny we arrived test drove it put our suitcases in the trunk and said we will take it. He cried when he signed it over he was pretty sad. He lived out in country and when we drove up it was sitting there gleaming in the sun I was done then. Had to buy. Here is the pic of the first time I saw my Hornet. It was a solid survivor that is a great place for me to start to bring her back to factory showroom condition.

Dave53-7C

I was asking because you need a dealer's license here if sell, more than (I can't remember the quantity) just a few cars every year.

Hey cool, your car looks really good. Wide white walls are a must. Are you going to get the original factory type wires? True about the seals, if the cars sits, they dry out and leak. If I remember correctly, didn't you say your car was originally blue but you'd like to go with a pale greenish blue?

The seller was a little surprised you were ("were") so young. Well, he should be you now... Laughing

If the picture is from when you bought it, it probably looks even better now. I know the blue interior and red body clash a tad, but can't you just color (or colour) sand it and have some nice original looking seat covers made up to match? They'll help protect your original upholstery and will be cheaper than a repaint. Just a thought.

Cool story about the seller. Do you still keep in touch with him? If so, I bet he's happy that you have "his" car.

51hornet

Yes I keep in touch he calls me or I call him. He is a great fellow still collecting cars.

Going with Factory style wheels I will sand and go with Sea Foam green. The paint is not very good its an ok 20 footer but the job is not quality and has some bits in the paint from dust falling on wet paint. Thats not good enough for me I will do the sanding and repaint properly.

He was expecting someone in their 50's or 60's not someone 41 then. And looking younger thanks to Oil of Olay......

Dave53-7C

Same here. The former owner of my car is in his 80's and still kickin' it.

I haven't decided if I like the wire wheels covers. I leaning toward saying I don't. However, the wire wheels are a different (and costly) story. Is the Sea foam green a stock Hudson paint color/colour?

Have you heard the news? They're making a new product for our Jewish friends called Oil of Oye Vey. Smile

Working toward the big 50 aye. Sorry to tell you, but you'll soon have to switch to a stronger anti-wrinkle product like Stri-Vectin, heck I'm soaking in it right now. My wife tells me that old women used to apply Preparation H (to their face...) as an anti-wrinkle remedy. The look of their faces improved and were hemroid free.

Zephyrmec · Hornet Joined: Aug 19, 2007 Posts: 623

Last weekend I took the Zephyr on about a 300 mile roundtrip. Went to the Florida Flywheelers meet. (antique engines, machinery, tractors, cars, etc.) 240 Acre flea market and depression era village, lots of stuff to see and do, didn't spend a dime in the flea market. I thought I hit a big score, I spotted what looked like original glass taillight lenses for the Zephyr..... $2.00 each, for three of them, upon closer inspection, they were 50s era marker light lenses. (Good original 36 Zephyr lenses go for up to $200 a whack, plastic re-pops are $100) Man I thought I was in luck....... crap.

Dave53-7C

Darn, don't you hate when that happens? Maybe you should take up glass blowing in your spare time.

jab1auto · Jet Joined: Oct 29, 2007 Posts: 4

Hey Zephyrmec, I too went to the Flywheelers last week, Thursday. Nice show, Jan & Feb are larger but also have a ton more people, & they all have 4-wheelers or golf carts.

I haven't gone far in my cars but we have bought them & trailered them from a far. I bought a 64 Rambler in Colorado & my newest is a 42 Hudson bought in Kansas. Both trailered back to SW Florida.

51hornet

Hey Jab any pics of that 42?

Zephyrmec · Hornet Joined: Aug 19, 2007 Posts: 623

Where are you in FL jab? What model Rambler? (in a previous life I was a Rambler Junkie, owned and restored several)
I should have taken time off from work and camped at the Flywheelers field. I think that I'll try to do so in January. Hafta rent a MH or trailer though, it's a long ride back and forth in the Zephyr, it's more work driving that rascal than you'd think. My back and shoulders are still sore. I should pack up a trailer full of parts and other junk and get a space. My shop runneth over!

Dave53-7C

Wow, a 42 is a rare animal.