ClassicCar

ArkieJazz

I have recently acquired a '54 Hornet Special Coupe to go with my '54 Hornet Coupe. The "new" coupe has the Borg Warner automatic transmission. I know that many of our HET'ers are not fond of the BW transmission for whatever reason. Years ago, I drove a BW equipped '54 Hornet Sedan from Adams, Wisconsin to Canyon, Texas. It was one of the smoothest and enjoyable trips I have ever taken in a Hudson. The transmission operated much smoother than the typical Hydramatic and the lock out torque converter in the BW allowed it to get what I considered to be fantastic gas mileage for an automatic. We are lucky to have Gus Sousa as our resident "go to" guy regarding hydramatics. Do we have anyone in the BW camp who is familiar with the ins and outs of BW maintenance and repair? The same basic transmission was used in Fords and Studebakers for many years. So surely there must be parts available. If anyone has had a recent successful experience with getting repairs done to a BW transmission, it would be helpful if you could share any particulars. My car isn't exhibiting any transmission problems as yet, but I like to think ahead

Kdancy

Try the Studebaker forums, a lot of info on the BW trans.

RL Chilton

Steve, have you put up any pictures of your new ride, yet?

ArkieJazz

Here's my new "Special"

53jetman

Arkie - Boy that is a beaut! Really love the '54 Hornet & Special Coupes

Jerry

RL Chilton

Wow! She's a beauty!

Thanks for posting.

ArkieJazz

Notice it was ordered without a radio. I normally don't use a radio much, but for me, a big part of Hudsonism is that roof mount antenna. So if anyone has a '54 roof mount antenna for sale, I'd love to hear about it.

cargray

Glad to see you got your new toy, Steve. Looks GREAT..I would have a hard time drillin that roof for an antenna. I kinda like the smooth look with out it..besides, there isnt anything worth listening to on radio anymore..

53jetman

Guess I'd have to agree with Cargray

Jerry

hoggyrubber

nice car! i listen to am radio more than fm anymore. they have music of your life on a local am station and some local programming on sunday afternoons and evenings here out of springfield.

51hornetA

Thats a real beauty. You can get hidden antennas that work nice and you do not see them. There are a few types on the market do a search and you will see them. My 54 Hollywood had a fender mount antenna I am going with a hidden as I like the smooth look as well. Is that car original or restored? love that colour.

Hudson Grandpa

54 cpe with a BW Trans. Got car from Bill Albirght in 2007. Trans runs great, can stomp down and will go into 2-3rd gear. I figure the last work that was ever done on it was at least 25-30yrs ago.
It is now leaking fluid, and has been leaking for about a year. I have made the decision to have it overhauled. Gaskets must be 25-30 years old. I have just ordered the parts/kit from Northwest Transmission Parts in Winchester, Oh. A 40 yr trans business here in Austin will do the work, within the next three weeks. I can let you know then how it turns out. It's a 3 Band trans. I had my mechanic get it on the lift as they/Northwest wanted the serial numbers off the case. Very happy with the cost of the kit. This will be it, and she's brought up to 1954-2012 specs.

ArkieJazz

51hornetA 7:45PM
Posts: 2,284Platinum Member
Thats a real beauty. You can get hidden antennas that work nice and you do not see them. There are a few types on the market do a search and you will see them. My 54 Hollywood had a fender mount antenna I am going with a hidden as I like the smooth look as well. Is that car original or restored? love that colour.

The car is mostly original with one repaint in the original Pasture Green. It was bought new by a minister in San Diego. He ordered the car with heater, automatic trans, power brakes and not much else. I'm not really interested in hidden antennas... I just like the look of the roof mounted antenna....and don't really care for the appearance of the radio delete blank out panel on the dash.

ArkieJazz

Hudson Grandpa 7:58PM
Posts: 195Gold Member
54 cpe with a BW Trans. Got car from Bill Albirght in 2007. Trans runs great, can stomp down and will go into 2-3rd gear. I figure the last work that was ever done on it was at least 25-30yrs ago.
It is now leaking fluid, and has been leaking for about a year. I have made the decision to have it overhauled. Gaskets must be 25-30 years old. I have just ordered the parts/kit from Northwest Transmission Parts in Winchester, Oh. A 40 yr trans business here in Austin will do the work, within the next three weeks. I can let you know then how it turns out. It's a 3 Band trans. I had my mechanic get it on the lift as they/Northwest wanted the serial numbers off the case. Very happy with the cost of the kit. This will be it, and she's brought up to 1954-2012 specs.

That's great info Grandpa. Thanks. I'll be anxious to hear how it works out. By the way, what color is the car you got from Albright?

walts garage-53 · walts garage-53 April 2012 Posts: 1,470Platinum Member

You have to remove the roof upholstery from the top of the windshield by removing the inner window moldings, and its a job. We dealers had a tool to line up the drill from the inside to drill the antenna hole. Then you need the plates top and bottom for the center molding inside to run the antenna wire down to the radio. Walt.

super651

Steve, We used to drag race the B-W trans. back in the 60s The problems with the flywheel were the Flex-Plate braking in the webs and would start at the 3/8 nuts that hold the Flex to crankshaft. The nuts would come lossen up a bit and cause cracking of the plate out to the webs. We found that some of the nuts had Hard washers under them and the nuts would not loosen-up. The ones that did not have them would and the flex plate would crack in all webs. one of them broke off at high RPM and the engine went wild until it shut itsself off. When you have the trans,down check the nuts fot hard washere and look for any small cracks leading from the nuts in the webs. ( dont remember the torque of the nuts but check them) Hope this helps. Hudsonly Rudy

ArkieJazz

cargray April 12
Posts: 128Expert Adviser
Glad to see you got your new toy, Steve. Looks GREAT..I would have a hard time drillin that roof for an antenna. I kinda like the smooth look with out it..besides, there isnt anything worth listening to on radio anymore..

Heck, R.D., I was just about to call up and see if you'd come cut the hole for me. :)

Kdancy

I worked on several Studebakers with the BW trans and have always found cracks in the flex plate, working on a 58 Packard Hawk now and it had cracks in the flex plate as well. Any more, I just go ahead and buy a new flex plate when ordering parts.

EssexAdv

I agree that the borg transmission is real nice in a Hornet. It shifts at better points, is smoother and delivers better fuel mileage. There is a recall that Hudson did which involved putting a different dip stick in the car. The new stick changed the markings to allow more fluid in the transmission before it indicated full. Using the new full level will increase the life of the transmission. The biggest problem with these transmissions in daily use is low fluid and a decrease in pressure caused by external leaks. Keep them full and dry and they are great

Lewis Mendenhall

Hudson Grandpa

ArkieJazz
This is the way it came from Albrights.

Interior was a mess.

54SuperWasp

Super nice car Arkiejazz! We got the pics, now, what's the story behind it? I love the color.
Thanks for posting. Michel

ArkieJazz

Michael, the story is that the car was bought new by a minister in San Diego. The guy I bought it from purchased it from the minister's widow about 15 years ago. It so happens that the car came equipped with an automatic transmission (a borg warner) and I had a need for an automatic equipped Hudson. For most of my "Hudson life", I've mostly had overdrive cars, but a recent knee replacement made me rethink my situation. So, I put my beloved '54 Hornet Special Club Sedan up for sale and bought this Pasture Green coupe to take its place. As a driver car, it will serve me well here on the hilly streets of Fayetteville.

54SuperWasp

Thanks for the story Arkyjazz. I'm impressed by that car since I, too, have a 54 to be restored. My 54 is equipped with a 262 Twin-H coupled to a BW. I had the same concern at first since I have a 53 parts-car equiped with a 308 coupled to an Hydramatic. I had my 262 running ( it sat for many years) and it purrs like a kitten and I did not even have to ajust the carbs etc. So, I decided the 308 will be my back-up motor if something happens to the 262. I was told that these 262 were very good motors and, since I won't put my car to the drags, the BW should do the job quite great. Congrats for your car again. Michel.

ArkieJazz

Thought I'd post a few shots of 2 more of my cars.

54SuperWasp

Your 3 cars are just great! You're in Heaven! Michel

ClassicCar

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

We'd love to hear from you! info@classiccar.com