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In this Discussion
- 1951hornethardtop March 2
- 51hornetA March 2
- hudsontech March 1
- Hudzilla March 1
- James P. March 1
- Ken U-Tx March 1
- lostmind March 1
- nick s March 2
- Park_W March 2
- RL Chilton March 3
- SuperDave March 1
- Tallent R March 3
Hudson body photos
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These pictures were on the forum years ago. They were Life pictures that finally got released to the public. At the time of their release, there was a great debate about the logistics of Hudson convertible production, mainly due to my prodding and pestering, at the time.
The first pic, that shows a convertible body on the bottom and rear of the trailer, was the picture that proved the rumor that convertibles were built off of the main line and in their own room, by showing the completeness of the car. These bodies are being moved from the body plant on Gratiot and trucked to the main factory to be finished.
I tried blowing it up to determine what year these bodies were, but was unsuccessful. I believe it is pre-'52, though by the rear bumper cut-out. -
Another very interesting item of mention (to me, anyway), is that the bodies do not appear to be "in white", but rather, pre-painted. That would seem to me to make staging the bodies on the line a great lesson in organization!
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Nice try, but I think the truck analogy is inconclusive, Ken. '48 & '49 Dodge essentially the same from the front. Also, it's very dangerous trying to date photos by using trucks as examples, as oftentimes earlier, unsold trucks could be titled as later year's examples.
Great spot on the back, window, though! I love it, we're narrowing it down. -
Answer to your original question, Roy, is YOU BET! Would've been loads cheaper than what I did.
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Russell , I thought of you when I spotted that Convertible. I was browsing
and came across them. There are many great photos released by Life.
There were also photos of Chrysler products being hauled the same way.
I thought they were coming from a body plant somewhere.
Don't know the details , just thought it was worth sharing. -
How would you like to look in your rear view and see that truck bumper coming at you. :D followed by :((
Hudsonly,
Alex Burr
Memphis, TN -
50 or 51 do to the size of the side window behind rear door. Its hard to tell but I would choose 51 because 50s had a split back window.
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The firewall has a large hole on the drivers side for the wire loom ,I am presently replaceing a drivers side cowl section on a 49 and the donar car is a 51. The 51 has the large hole where the 49 had a much smaller one. Don't know what the fifty was like. The rear bumper cut out appears to be lower than 48-51,which would make it 52.
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It's my recollection that converts were only available with tan tops initially, and I believe for quite a while after that. I took a quick look in a Feb 1-'53 ( '48 - '53) parts book and in Group HH2 there is a note in there about stating the color of the top when ordering the rear window curtain. This was to make sure that the color of the fabric surrounding the rear window your were about to order would match the rest of the top. That means for sure that by that point different colored tops were available. None of that means much, though, because the convertible body we see in the picture is light colored and could well have been ordered with a tan top even if dark ones were available.
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James-
'48 & '49-- tops came in black or gray (with black boot)
'50 thru '54-- tops came in black, maroon or tan (after '50, boots matched interior)
But you are right, it means very little, as you could probably order a car with whatever color top you wanted. -
Hmmm. I feel like Johnny Carson . . . I did not know that!
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I say they are 1951 bodies from the rear tail light cut outs and the fact there is a 1951 sedan in the parking lot.
http://www.hudsonmotorcar.org/coppermine/displayimagepopup/pid=676/fullsize=1.htmlwww.hudsonmotorcar.org -
Sean-
Except that that is not the same load of cars . . . -
Diffintly 51s the 52-53 had a longated window on the side behind the back door unlike the 48-51s. Even tho these dont have glass in them the 50s, except Pacemakers, had a split back window and there was a strip of the body that ran through the center of the back window that the split window set in and the chrome pieces screwed into. . Just my oppinion.
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Yes there is a series of 5 Life pictures taken the same day of cars moving from the body plant to the factory. All the pictures show 1951's being transported. I used to have the labels for the pics that said when in 51 the pics were taken. Not close to my stuff to look right now.www.hudsonmotorcar.org
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" ..., it means very little, as you could probably order a car with whatever color top you wanted."
RL, I think you're right there. I bought my first '51 Hornet convertible from its second owner in early '56. Based on wear, the top looked like it was the original, and it was white. -
I've often said, the independents had to go the extra distance to sell cars. If that meant putting a purple top on a car, because a customer said, "I'll buy it if I can get a purple top . . .", then Hudson would everything within reason to sell a car.
And as soon as someone comments, "There was never a purple top on a Hudson convertible", I guarantee it, one will show up out of the woodwork.
