Fifty-Somethin' - 1953 Hudson Hornet - Calling all carnuts

[@ob]

lower huh?! i like it alredy!

thats a bit o' sweetness right there!

[DEMENTOR]

Btw, did you know that the special thing about the '53 Hudson Hornet was that it has been lower than all comparable cars in those days, which made it look smoother and more sporty? I read that in a us-car magazine lately.

Yea it does look a hell of a lot more sporty than some of the 50's cars (check out the Bel-Air up there) but there are many versions of the '53 Huds. OK it isn't a Hornet, I don't think, but this Super Jet 4dr Sedan is quite boxy, and yet I still love those glorious bumpers on the front

[Alan]

Why cant they make cars like that now, damnit!!

[@ob]

cause they suck?! heh

old stuff is beter imo indeed!

[Deep_Blue]

Sez Alan:

"Why cant they make cars like that now, damnit!!"

Ya know? I've often wondered that myself.

What with the 'retro' styling thing going on nowadays-Cars like that may be catching on again.

I always figured that automotive designers were slowly working towards those 1950s renderings of people driving bubble-like cars. WTF?? Bubbles are ugly when ya put wheels on 'em...Take the New Beetle for instance. If it weren't for the white lights in front and red ones in back-ya couldn't tell if it was comin' or goin'...It sucks when ya gotta look which way the driver is facing-and sometimes THAT'S no guarantee...

Imo, cars-excepting some of the more exotic ones nowadays have no real 'style. They're just turd-shaped things on wheels. Even the boxy POS cars of the eighties had some style.

It seems as though the evolution of U.S. auto body styling has gone something like this:

1920s cars: We put a motor on the stagecoach and it moves without a horse!

1930s cars: The stagecoach looked too simple, so we used more metal and now it's fancier.

1940s cars: The car should resemble a propeller-driven airplane-everybody wants to be a flying ace.

1950s cars: We won the war! Cars should resemble the new jet aircraft now! Lotsa glitz and chrome!

1960s cars: Cars should have HUGE powerplants and look aggressive, like predators.

1970s cars: Gas shortages have scaled and mellowed cars down now-but people still want aggressive looking predators.

1980s cars: Let's make cars look more European. They drive boxes with tiny engines over there, right?

1990s cars: Lets make cars a bit rounder and pointier-more turd-like. Except for SUVs-lets take heavy trucks and put cupholders in them. Cars should look more like spaceships now.

Early-mid 2K cars: SUVs are like belly-buttons. everybody's got at least one. Car styles are split into several styles now. Urban hybrid flying saucers driven by neo-cubist caffeine junkies, Pig-Boat holdouts who like 4 wheel drive cupholders, the Euro-Box crowd, and growing number of Americans who long to drive something that harkens back to the heyday of the automobile. Even if it doesn't have a massive engine, as long as it looks like something older.

I for one thank some deity that there is a growing demand in the US for retro styled vehicles. It is getting so ya can't tell what anything IS anymore. GM cars are a prime example of this phenomenon.

Remember thelate seventies-eighties-early nineties? The CaFiremaroVettebird? The NovamegApolloenix? Confused the hell outta me.

Gimme old-car styling any day. I wanna see what a '56 Belair would look like nowadays.

AdR: That's a kickass car an' I can't wait til it's finished.

[ApeX__]

theres an idea D_B! have car manufactures (sp??) re-make old cars! just make them new!

not too many changes to the body mostly just the interior and under the hood, and all the safty

crap too... that would also be a great Contest idea!

@ AdR: im waiting im aticipation for this car to come out!

i dont recall tho, is it for TDR or C2?

[TTR]

*cough* were in c1/c2 editing forum *cough*

[Alan]

Here's your dream car! New 55 Buick A guy took a 55 Buick Special and is completely rebuilding it! It's completely stock on the outside but with completely modern updated drivetrain! Seeing this really makes me want to drag that 55 Roadmaster out of the woods and get to work!

[Deep_Blue]

huh? Linky no worky...WTF??

[Alan]

That damn site! It's wierd, you have to try it a few times. or got o www.55buick.com and go from there..

[Vermilionvirus]

...55 Roadmaster out of the woods...

i wanna see

[Alan]

[Deep_Blue]

Dude. That is one sweet piece o' steel.

Does it still have a floor?

Sittin' in the woods like that'll rot everything on the underside bigtime. How lon'gs it been like that? (parked there, I mean.)

*forming a mental tally of things that'd need replacement if it's been there for years:

brake lines

brake master cylinder (located under the driver's side floor on lotsa old cars-right down in the wet leaves)

low-hanging linkages

parking brake cable(s)

all brake hardware/drums/wheel cylinders

wheel bearings/seals/possibly spindles

tie rod ends

lower ball joints

driveline u-joints

fuel line (prolly gummed up anyways)

fuel tank straps

floor pans (it looks like it's sunk in the deck pretty good)

body mounts

Eesh. Forest floor is the absolute worst place to park a car.. Hope it ain't too bad.

[Vermilionvirus]

every car ive ever come across in the woods around here has had a hornets nest the size of a small block in it..... so just incase ya decide to go and sit in the thing..... carry a can of raid with yeh

[Deep_Blue]

Yah, you ain't shittin'! Two cans. And a beekeeper's suit! With a steel ass-protector!

AAAIIIEEE!

What's worse is when ya get under one and find a hornet's nest up inside the transmission tunnel.

There's no room to freak out under there and I usually end up going into "pinball mode" and knock myself stupid on somethin' hard and take a lil' dirt nap while the buzzy lil' bastids sting the shit outta me.

[Vermilionvirus]

ass-protector!

lmao.... random story.... but i once left some pants outside to dry on the cloths line over night... next morning i went out and brought in the pants..... i late put them on and felt a sting in ma rear end... and then another..... i reach into the back pocket and pull out a small bee nest and a hand full of bees.... i quickly took off the pants and ran out the door and into the car... were i sat untill i was sure the bees had left the house....

[Deep_Blue]

Aye. That'll screw up yer day. Fer sure.

[Alan]

Dude. That is one sweet piece o' steel.

Does it still have a floor?

Sittin' in the woods like that'll rot everything on the underside bigtime. How lon'gs it been like that? (parked there, I mean.)

*forming a mental tally of things that'd need replacement if it's been there for years:

brake lines

brake master cylinder (located under the driver's side floor on lotsa old cars-right down in the wet leaves)

low-hanging linkages

parking brake cable(s)

all brake hardware/drums/wheel cylinders

wheel bearings/seals/possibly spindles

tie rod ends

lower ball joints

driveline u-joints

fuel line (prolly gummed up anyways)

fuel tank straps

floor pans (it looks like it's sunk in the deck pretty good)

Eesh. Forest floor is the absolute worst place to park a car.. Hope it ain't too bad.

The floor feels very solid. I climbed in and stomped on it everywhere, not a creak, crunch or anything. I know of a place that sells most of the parts you listed, pretty cheap too. I always do most if not all of this stuff on my VWs so its nothing new. Just dont know if it would be worth all that work, but I do love the looks of that car. The only rust through I saw is at the very bottom of the right side quarter and right behind the right rear wheel. If I want the car though the guy will haul it out, put it on his lift and let me look it over good before I buy it! Plut it's only been there since oh.... 1980 or so, no big deal.

ps... I hope I'm not messing up your post, Adr..

[TheJabMan]

None too shabby, however the engine.... wiring, then again those things electrical systems were like the distributer, and the headlights

[Alan]

Yeah, then theres the electrical system.. This car has power everything, windows, seats, some wierd automatic wipers/washers, etc. Headlights would be upgraded to H4's, I'd use a newer HEI distributor so there'd be no points (damned things!). Plus it'd need a brake upgrade too, the old system is probably a single circuit with 4 wheel drum brakes on a tank of a car..

[Junkpile]

Take the New Beetle for instance. If it weren't for the white lights in front and red ones in back-ya couldn't tell if it was comin' or goin'...It sucks when ya gotta look which way the driver is facing-and sometimes THAT'S no guarantee...

An almost perfect example;



I say almost because it's not a VW.

@ AdR; Any idea how much longer it will be before this one's ready for release? I can hardly wait to drive this beauty...

[AdR]

Just checked out that '55 buick site, makes me want to do something like that with the hudson... or maybe make a '55 roadmaster from scratch, why not...? Don't worry Alan, this doesn't bother, as long as we're talkin' about 50's cars, you can chunck in anything you want. And btw, you should definitely buy that piece of automotive history there... is just sad seeing it there on the woods.

Db: That timeline is a keeper, no better way to describe the "progress" of the automotive industry

As far as the hudson goes, gotta work on it some more, just the final details before exporting to pt2. I'll see if I can finish it today or tomorrow, shouldn't take more than a couple of hours to finish it. As soon as I have some time I'll get on it.

[Alan]

Adr, if you made a 55 Roadmaster like in my pic there, Id' make it a point to have my computer repaired to whatever extent necessary just to get that car!

[AdR]

Yeah, that '55 was on my plans. Actually I was thinking more of a '58 olds eighty-eight, but I dunno yet, I would like to make some high poly, high quality model of one of these, so I'll see wich one makes it into C2

[Deep_Blue]

*praying* '53 Olds, '53 Olds.....

[Vermilionvirus]

desoto? plz.....



man i cant wait for that hudson tho, i wanna try makin a skin

[AdR]

The '53 olds it's a beautiful thing as well... damn, so many cars I want to do and so little time! Small_Block now has the hudson for it's final stage, as soon as I have something I'll let you guys know. Coming soon!

[Alan]

55 Buick, 55 Buick... It's even in your sig, ADR! Go for it!?

[TTR]

A3DR

[Vermilionvirus]

heya adr.... would that happen to be Jay leno's buick roadmaster....?

[AdR]

Yep, that's Leno's Roadmaster. I just don't want to promise anything, but there's a good chance that I'll make that '55 Buick, one way or another

In the meantime... smashie smashie!

[Oblivion]

Looking awsome, great job!

[TTR]

Wow fuck it looks damn hotter then on the renders

[Alan]

Damn, that looks fantastic, great work once again!

[DEMENTOR]

WooHoo damaged textures! My my are they rare these days or what!

That grill looks so curvy. It's one of those cars that if you roll, you'll probably get that nice rounded edge on the roof.

That always looks cool.