So where are all the '38's then?

RL Chilton
RL Chilton Administrator, Member
edited August 2012 in HUDSON
I figured since we had a thread about '39's, we could start one on '38's "officially". I'll start the ball rolling by posing a question. Does anyone know where this '38 ragtop has gone to? I believe, but am not sure, that Hayward Barb of WV used to own this car. He also was a former owner of my sedan.

«1

Comments

  • RL Chilton
    RL Chilton Administrator, Member
    oldhudsons had this one posted on his album (think it's the same car):

  • Jon B
    Jon B Administrator
    edited August 2012
    image

    Well, of course there is this one, which was driven to the Gettysburg National. Comes from Long Island (but don't know where it was before then). Al Muller (previously of Long Island, now from Tennessee) had a '38 convertible for many years, originally green like the one pictured here, but later changed to yellow. Al sold it in the 1980s (I think) to finance restoration of a '33 T8 cv. he'd owned since his college days. Possibly the Barb one was once Al's. Then you have the '38 formerly owned by the late Kelly Hinegardner. So that makes three Hudson Eight convertibles known to exist in the U.S. (A fellow from Russia showed up at Gettysburg; turns out he owns a '38 cv. too, but it was exported to Germany from the U.S. when new, so not one of the aforementioned ones.) These are the only three 1938 convertible "senior Hudsons" (not counting 112's or Terraplanes) that I know of.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Kelly Hindgardner had a 38 -8 conv. with a back seat. I saw him a few months before he died and he told me it was one of two to exist. I thing his wife still has it. He also had a 38 sedan that he drove to Salt Lake City meet to run on the salt flats. They wouldnt let us because it rained the night before. Dont know what happened to it.
  • RL Chilton
    RL Chilton Administrator, Member
    Rick-

    The '38 that was at GB and at Hershey before that, is it an 8?
  • oldhudsons
    oldhudsons Senior Contributor
    1951 - Kelly's '38 was originally a '38 Hudson 6 conv. (model 83 & probably the only one of them in existance) which he converted into an 8; I know, I sold it to him. He'd looked for a '38 8 conv. for decades & could never find one so bought this one from me, which I'd found in no. Calif., and made it into an 8.
    RL - YES, Kelly would have gone NUTS to have found a completely original '38 8 conv. after all the years of hunting! An incredible find - I took a lot of pics of it at Gettysburg but owner never around (I was told he paid $40K for it at Hershey).
  • RL Chilton
    RL Chilton Administrator, Member
    Oldhudsons gave me permission to post this photo. That's him in the photo with the '38 Ragtop that he sold to Terraplane Kelly. Kelly later painted it blue and added sidemounts to it. Also, he converted it from a 6 into an 8. Reason for posting, is that I do not have any pictures of the car after Kelly completed it. I was hoping some of y'all could help me out with that! Got any pics of TK with the completed car?

  • oldhudsons
    oldhudsons Senior Contributor
    RL - I "cleaned it up" on Picasa & added it to my website.
  • RL Chilton
    RL Chilton Administrator, Member
    Rick-

    Pete confirmed that it was.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Dave and Mary Blanchard of the RMHET chapter drive a modified 38 coupe everywhere.
  • Hudsy Wudsy
    Hudsy Wudsy Senior Contributor
    edited August 2012
    On a far more general note, I learned some time ago that the reason that there are far fewer '38 Fords (it was an article about Fords - sorry) is that 1938 was a recession year. I found it interesting that even though the country was in a depression, it was still possible to also have a recession. There must be some truth to it, because not only are there fewer Fords for 1938, but also Chevys. I suppose that it's logical that the same thing would apply to nearly all other makes, as well. I'd be curious to know if the club registry reflects that in any way.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Give me another year or so and hopefully I will get my '38 112 finished. Promised you a ride and a promise made is a debt un-paid Russell.
  • RL Chilton
    RL Chilton Administrator, Member
    Give me another year or so and hopefully I will get my '38 112 finished. Promised you a ride and a promise made is a debt un-paid Russell.
    I have not forgotten! I assure you, sir. You don't know how, "distraught" is not the right word, . . . let's say, concerned that when I first saw that yellow 112 in a picture from GB this year, that I thought I had missed the boat, so to speak. Then I got a hold of my chimp and realized you would have written me if you had gotten her completed.

    Can't wait, man!
  • RL Chilton
    RL Chilton Administrator, Member
    James-

    From what I have learned, you are correct. To add to your story, it is my understanding that the recession (or lack of spending) was brought on by the Germans starting to make a lot of loud noises in Europe (again). Just like in an election year, folks tend to sit back and wait during times like that and see what develops. Which, of course translates into less new cars being sold, among other things.
  • Jon B
    Jon B Administrator
    The economy was on the skids in both 1933 and 1938 and -- wonder of wonders! -- these were two of the worst years for the Hudson nameplate. (Fortunately they made a cheaper line of cars in those years; Terraplanes in 1933 and Terraplanes / 112's in 1938, which pulled them through.) The economy hit all manufacturers in these years. You don't see a whole lot of 1933 or 1938 Anythings at antique car shows.
  • oldhudsons
    oldhudsons Senior Contributor
    HET historians feel the introduction in '32 of the Essex-Terraplane in mid-'32 and the sales the '33 E-T 6 & 8 made saved Hudson from going under. '33 was the worst year of the Great Depression in terms of % of unemployed & only 2401 of the big Hudson were sold whereas over 38,000 of the E-Ts were sold which was enough to keep Hudson going. '34 much better sales.
  • oldhudsons
    oldhudsons Senior Contributor
    here's a VERY rare hood ornamentimage
  • oldhudsons
    oldhudsons Senior Contributor
    and even MORE rareimage
  • oldhudsons
    oldhudsons Senior Contributor
    atho they look the same in the pics the Hudson is approx. 25% bigger (these appear to me to be modeled after an Assyrian god)
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Could someone identify the exact model of the 38 Convertible at Gettysburg for me... Was it a DeLuxe Brougham or a Convertible Coupe? I want to get it right? Or was it a 6?
    One other question is the lights on the fender only seem to be on English cars? Was this available here as an option?

    Thank you
    Todd
  • oldhudsons
    oldhudsons Senior Contributor
    Todd - the original green conv. is an 8 and a conv. brougham. I believe the fender lights were std. on the model 84 as are the "spears" on the front fenders; the lights optional on the less expensive models.
    The 112 is a conv. cp., no back seat.
  • Park_W
    Park_W Senior Contributor
    Here's one a bit further away ... some 160 miles north of Moscow! Some of you met Andrey Laguzov at G'burg. He's in the middle of a full-up restoration of this car.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Thank you Pete, Rick, and Park! I just needed some clarification on the Green one. Love original preservation pieces that run!

    Todd
  • hudnut1tmr
    hudnut1tmr Expert Adviser
    image

    I'm hoping this works, Rich. I saved this image from the old forum and used it as a wallpaper for years. It is after Kelly did his magic.

    Tim
  • Jon B
    Jon B Administrator
    Andrey gave an interesting history on that '38 he's restoring. Supposedly, it was being used by the American ambassador to Germany and was seized (I'm guessing at the outbreak of WWII) by the German authorities. It was used by the Germans (Army?) until the end of the War at which point it was seized by the invading Russians (or maybe "a" Russian), who took it back home. I can't recall what's supposed to have happened to it at that point.
  • Park_W
    Park_W Senior Contributor
    edited August 2012
    We withdrew our Ambassador in late 1938, leaving only an embassy charge d'affaires, so the car may have changed hands then or soon after. Andrey has told me it's supposed to have gone at some point into the collection of big-time (and big!) car guy Hermann Goering.
  • Trevor J
    Trevor J Expert Adviser
    Here is a picture of my 38 Terraplane in NewZealand.
    Trevor
  • oldhudsons
    oldhudsons Senior Contributor
    '46 OK, I looked at the photos I took of at, but all from a distance, no shots of the interior, so having no sidecurtains, assumed it was a conv. cp.
    sure an interesting story about the Russian '38
    I have a photo of a '38 H8 conv. in Denmark which I will try to post after get problems with access to Picasa straightened out!
  • Jon B
    Jon B Administrator
    Pete, that wouldn't happen to be the '38 cv. owned by Erik Bjerring? I met the fellow at the Hudson flea market in Carlisle (the one held just after Hershey) maybe 15-20 years ago and have been carrying his card around ever since. He was then with GM Danmark, and was looking for parts for his car.
  • oldhudsons
    oldhudsons Senior Contributor
    Jon - I don't know as received several photos of rare Hudsons in Scandanavia over the last few years, several in a museum in Denmark, but without attribution. The '38 photo was taken outdoors & appears to be black.
  • Jon B
    Jon B Administrator
    Pete: is it this one?

    image


    Go to http://www.carsinbarns.com/new138.html and scroll down the page. This car is evidently in Denmark. The serial number identifies it as a Custom Eight, and it was registered (in the Club's "master list" of 5,000 or so cars) as belonging to Erik Bjerring in Helsinge, Denmark. Not sure when the photos were taken.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories

In this Discussion