South Texas HET News A BIG COUNTRY REGIONAL CHAPTER OF THE HUDSON ESSEX TERRAPLANE CLUB Visit us on the Web @ http://south-texas texas-hudson.org V O L U M E 3 I S S U E 1 0 O C T O B E R 2 0 1 3 RECRUIT NEW MEMBERS RECRUIT NEW MEMBERS GOD BLESS AMERICA INSIDE THIS ISSUE: President Rodney s Notes Last Meeting Minutes Chapter Chatter Membership Form Wanted and For Sale / 1 2 3 4 4 Calendar 5 Tech Tips 6 Oct Meet Pics 7 South Texas Chapter in the News 8 Thanks to Dave Nault for hosting the October meeting and all who attended it was much fun. I am pleased to welcome a new member to our south Texas chapter, Jerry Potter, who owns a 1940 Hudson coupe. When first we met, he was working on the coupe s brakes and other issues to get the car on the road. We met at his place where I brought my drum puller and pulled his rear drums. He sure knows his way around a car and I have no doubt he will be driving and enjoying his Hudson soon. Our Chapter members mostly own Hudson Stepdowns and his 1940 will really spice up our meeting line ups. Another bit of news is, Paul MacNamara has given his Hudson Pacemaker to his son. The car was recently shipped to New York where Paul s son resides. Paul expects to continue membership in our chapter and the national club. He also shared another Hudson maybe in his future. Joe Clark let me know he has engine out of his 1954 Jet to be rebuilt at Ledford Performance Machine in Waco. Amazing news as his little Jet is a great meet participant and I know the rebuild will make it even better. Having used Ledford s shop for engine work, I know they are great machinists who know how to work on Hudson engines. When researching to have my own Hornet motor rebuilt, I sought a shop I could trust and feel good about. My search started by walking into a restoration shop here in Austin, sauntering up to one of the mechanic s working on an old car I asked him if he could recommend a good machine shop. He pointed to two complete flathead engines, one being dropped into a car and another yet to be installed while telling me about Ledford s. He informed me, using Ledford was a cost saver for his shop as Ledford s complete all the machine work and assembly. Furthermore their work is done correctly and on top of this, they warrant the resulting engine for one year. To confirm these comments, I visited Ledford s shop in Waco. Soon after walking into the shop and meeting the owner I was sold on them being the shop to do the machine work on my 308 engine. He thoroughly discussed all aspects of what I expected from the completed engine. Using Hudson specifications he even discussed the valve adjustment and recommended I have him send the cam off for re-profiling. Ledford s was a great experience and the cost was reasonable. (cont page 4) President Rodney s Notes South Texas Chapter Officers Rodney Lemmon President 813A West Street Elmo Road Austin, Texas 78745 1154 Email:hotrodman2010@hotmail.com Phone: 512 964 0361 Mark Brians Vice President 7156 W. FM 436, Belton, TX 76513 lmbrians@hughes.net Steve Brookins Treasurer 6401 Rusty Ridge Dr. Austin, TX 78731 Email: sdbhudson52@aol.com Phone: 512 750 1620 Paul Mac Namara Membership 1129 Avenue C Elgin, TX 78621 Email: pmac505@sbcglobal.net Phone: 512 285 5022 Ken Cates Secretary /Newsletter editor/ Webmaster 4813 Lake Hurst Drive Waco, Texas 76710 2949 Email: hothudsons@gmail.com Phone: 254 744 0985 VISIT OUR WEBSITE News and Meet Information
PAGE 2 VOLUME 3 ISSUE 10 October 2013 Meeting @ Dave and Germaine Nault Home Austin, Texas October 2013 Meeting Notes The South Texas Chapter of the HET club met at the home of Dave and Germaine Nault in Dripping Springs Texas. President Rodney drove his 1954 Hornet and was first to arrive followed closely by Ken and Yolanda. Rodney, Russell Chilton with his son Hudson and Dave were present with their Hudsons. Our hosts provided a BBQ meal accompanied by side dishes and deserts brought by attending members After lunch President Rodney Lemmon called our meeting to order. After calling for acceptance of the previous meetings minutes to be accepted as printed in our last newsletter, Ken moved the minutes be accepted and Russell seconded the motion, with all present approving. Rodney asked for a treasurer s report and Steve Brookins stated the balance was $2207.39. Old Business_ None New Business: 1. Thanks to Dave and Germaine for inviting the club to a meeting at their home. 2. Rodney noted that a new member Jerry Potter had joined the national and local HET Chapter. Announcements: Ken Cates informed the members present about a newspaper article that would focus on the South Texas Hudson Club. The article would appear the following day ( 6 October 2013 ) in the Austin American Statesman. Ken noted Dave Nault was the person who initially contacted the AAS newspaper and got the ball going. (See copy of article in this newsletter) FUTURE MEETINGS Chapter November 16, 2013 The members decided to meet in conjunction with the Vintage Car Show in College Station December Christmas party at Mark and Lorraine Brians, more information to follow January 2014 Jim Petersen will look into setting meeting at Dick s Classic Cars in San Marcos, more information to follow Regional and National 2014 Big Country Regional - Ponca City OK Dust Bowl Chapter sponsoring 2015 Big Country Regional and National - Colorado Springs - Rocky Mountain Chapter - Thanks to Dave Nault for hosting the October meeting and all who attended it was much fun. At 12:35, Rodney asked for a motion to adjourned the meeting, Rick motioned and Yolanda seconded. Respectfully submitted Ken Cates, Secretary, South Texas Chapter HET Approved by Rodney Lemmon, President, South Texas Chapter HET
VOLUME 3 ISSUE 10 PAGE 3 Chapter Chatter: Dave Nault recently completed the refurbishment of a cracked 1954 Hudson Hornet steering wheel to replace the failed steering wheel which was original to his 54 Hornet coupe. Contact Dave for the specifics of the process but the following shows before and after pictures. GREAT JOB & SUPER LOOKING Results! Rick Heeke has been working over a Stepdown Gas tank and provides some sources for repair and cleaning work he found during that task. I took my tank to Bellmead Radiator. http://www.bellmeadradiator.com/ 1204 New Dallas Hwy, Bellmead, TX 76705 - (254) 799-2162 Bellmead Radiator has the capability of steam cleaning the gas tank, which is good if the tank is just full of varnish. The tank I was working on was in need of hot tank cleaning and I was pointed to Renschler Auto, for a hot tanking and boil out. Address: 600 S Valley Mills Dr, Waco, TX 76711, 254-754-4655 Sealant in the gas tank has separated from tank interior walls. As previously mentioned in Rodney s Comments, our Joe Clark has yanked the engine from his tidy 54 Jet Liner. The engine was disassembled and taken to Ledford's Machine shop in Waco. After a few delays all the pieces necessary to complete the engine were located and sent to Waco. During the down time, Joe cleaned and detailing the engine compartment. Using the Jet Set connections of Sarah Young, Joe was pleased to connect with a fellow HETer who had a NOS in the crate Jet OD transmission. Obviously Joe is the new owner of this rare gem and it will slide back into the Jet attached to the new motor. Mark Brians modified a Harbor Freight Engine stand for 308 teardown and rebuild duty... Several trades occurred allowing Ken Cates to procure rust free quarter panel sections to replace the rusted sections of the perimeter frame and the lower quarters on his 1954 Super Wasp Hollywood. These panels were removed from a 54 Sedan and then prepared for installation on the Hollywood. (cont. page 8)
PAGE 4 VOLUME 3 ISSUE 10 WANTED AND FOR SALE Send your ad submissions to the editor @ hothudsons@gmail.com Source for good used Hudson parts: Roger Tallent - tallentcc@aol.com Used and rebuilt Hudson parts primary focus 1946-54 Hudsons Rebuilds Hudson Ranco heater valves, fuel pumps and water pumps - Lance Walker 704-792-9110 hornetllw@yahoo.com NOS, and excellent used Hudson parts, Don Crane purchased all the parts stock from the Sonoff Garage estate. He is still inventorying his stock. Great HET'er who will work hard to get and keep your business. 303-902-2532 ski4life65@hotmail.com New Manufacture Fuel Pump Kits for Hudsons. Made with materials that stand up to the current gas formulas. Hal Houghton - The Classic Preservation Coalition 518-374-5078 http:// www.classicpreservation.com Hudson Sales and Service Reproduction Neon Wall Clocks, I met Chester Pogue at a cruise. His company Rolling Memories sells a import manufactured HUDSON SALES and Service ( blue background signage) clock which has a neon surround. (I saw the clock but failed to take a picture) nice addition to a den or garage. 430 Woodland Drive Lorena, Texas 76655 254-855-9084 47 Hudson Super 6 Sedan member Mark Brians has a parts car and is willing to sell parts. Call Mark 254-939-3011 Continued from Page 1- Rodney s Notes Looking forward to the November meeting in College Station on the 16th, our club is joining with the Vintage car show. I have no idea what to expect, but it should be a good meet with other cars and owners from the area participating too. It might be difficult to hold our meeting but we will work it out as needed. Any members coming from the south interested in convoying Please let me know. So far it is looking like the best place to join up will be somewhere in Austin and proceed on from there. Rodney Lemmon Chapter President, South Texas HET Chapter SOUTH TEXAS HET CHAPTER MEMBERSHIP FORM Name Spouse Street Address Phone City State Zip Code HET Membership No. (found on the White Triangle News Label) NEW RENEWAL Email Address Hudson Cars Owned: Year Model Serial No Engine No. Mail check for $15 Payable to South Texas HET Club to: STEVE BROOKINS, 6401 Rusty Ridge Drive, Austin, Texas 78731-3927
VOLUME 3 ISSUE 10 Calendar of Upcoming Events PAGE 5 NEXT MEETING November 16, 2013 College Station Texas NOTICE CHAPTER, REGIONAL and NATIONAL MEET INFORMATION November 16, 2013 Meeting will be in College Station Texas. The show is part of their 75th Anniversary celebration. The following links and the flyer elsewhere in the newsletter will provide you with information about this meet. THIS IS S NO COST SHOW BUT YOU MUST REGISTER TO DIS- PLAY A CAR Here is the link to our Car Show forms http://cstx.gov/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=17455. ( Online Registration Form for this meet) Here is the link to our 75 th exhibit page http://cstx.gov/75. December meeting will be at Mark Brians' home in Belton, in a joint meeting with the Studebaker club. Future meetings for 2014 are being planned information will be posted on the website and in future newsletters http://www.south-texas-hudson.org
PAGE 6 VOLUME 3 ISSUE 10 Tech Tips: Cooling your ride - provided by Mark Brians This time let s talk about fans as in cooling. There are three basic types, fixed blade, flex and clutch fan used on our old cars. There are also electric fans. Fixed blade fans come in four to seven blades with varying pitch (blade angle) and diameters. They move lots of air but can be noisy and use more hp to run. They put more strain on the water pump especially at higher speeds. Never use one of these fans that has bent blades or has cracks showing. With the blade mounted I like to spin it with no belt to look for run out or wobble. If you have a fan shroud the blade should set so it is in the opening not behind it. If you do not have a shroud the blade should be within a inch of the radiator for best air flow. Flex fans pull lots of air and flatten out at higher speeds. Some fans have stiffeners added on them to retard flattening out as rpm goes up. Clutch fans have an aggressive blade and a viscous coupling that slips. Some have a more or less fixed slip and some have a thermostatic sensor on the front of them that locks up the clutch at a set temperature to give max air flow. These thermostatic clutches are usually come in at 170 degree air from the radiator hits it. Care must be taken selecting a clutch fan as some come in at a higher temp and your engine will never run cooler than that no matter what. They do work good when matched to the application. If you change the gearing in your car you should consider what that does to your fan speed and air flow at cruising speed. Lower rpm s may mean your fan is not pulling enough air across the radiator and the temp climbs. Then there is air conditioning. It seems that we never have enough air flow to make the AC work and keep the engine cool. I like to use a 14 to 16 inch fan on the condenser coil that runs when the AC compressor is running and when the radiator temp reaches 180 degrees by use of a adjustable temp control and relay. It also helps dissipate that heat buildup when we cut the engine off and it wants to boil over. I had a fan that the blade was held on with a clip on one of my cars. The clip broke and the fan blade hit the condenser coil making one @%$&*!! Noise and it liked to eat the condenser coil up. The one I replaced it with has a lock nut with locktite. No more clips for me. The temp controls are on E-bay for $35 delivered. I have never used a electric fan as the only cooling fan but most all new cars use them. A Quality fan is a must I think. If the electric fan has mounting tabs that slide into a groove of the fan be sure and superglue them in place so they cannot let the fan frame rub on the coil. I hope some of this gives you reason the think about your cars cooling fan and its important job. Keep those cars rolling. Hudson Stepdown parts interchanges used on a 1951 Hudson Hornet Brake rebuild Here are the Wheel cylinder numbers that I used from Advance Auto Their numbers are Tru-Torque Left front W40951 $14.99 (Wagner 40951,Bendix 33614, Raybestos WC36017) Right Front W40952 $14.99 (Wagner WC40952, Bendix 33615, Raybestos WC36018) Rear cylinders are Left W59241 $10.99 and Right W59240 $10.99 The rears are the same except that the brake line screws directly in to the cylinder instead of the brass adapter that I had. My hoses were all the same and fit good. I ordered the master cylinder from Rock Auto. Doug Wildrick, owner of Wildrick Hudson Restorations recently started a new company to support Hudson enthusiasts. The company Wildrick Rubber products provides new replacement rubber products for Hudson cars and trucks. His company can be reached via phone 317-398-4163 / OR / his website: http://www.wildrickrestorations.com/wildrickrubberparts/wrp.html
PAGE 7 VOLUME 3 ISSUE 10
PAGE 8 VOLUME 3 ISSUE 10 SOUTH TEXAS CHAPTER OF THE HUDSON ESSEX TERRAPLANE CLUB - IN THE NEWS The following article about the South Texas Chapter of the HET Club appeared in the October 6th 2013 edition of the Austin American Statesman newspaper. A link to this article and an accompanying video interview are provided. Thanks to member Dave Nault for having the idea and taking the time to make the original contact with the newspaper. The video is on the Austin American website. http://m.austin360.com/videos/news/your-club-your-story-south-texas-chapter-of-the/vcdsj5/ Chapter Chatter (continued) Most members of the South Texas Chapter have had the opportunity to view Rodney Lemmon s great 54 Hornet. But how many know that he restored that car? Well during the restoration process he was unable to remove a substantial dent in the left rear frame. But after a lot of thought and discussion he recently tackled that task too. The results are outstanding! His repair was precise and the out come without damage to other body sections or paint. See for yourself. SOUTH TEXAS HET NEWS