Don't try this at home

[SuperDave]

Just for the heck of it, I thought I would start a thread on stupid Hudson tricks.. You know.. the things you do while working on your Hudson, then later say "What the heck was I thinking? " Since I've been bending wrenches and bustin' knuckles since I was 15 ( at least 53 years,) I've had a "FEW" character building experiences...I didn't get my handle "Supedave" by being smart.. LOL... Feel free to add YOUR "character building" experiences..You just might save another Hudson nut from himself!
OK.. Here is mine..
A few months ago I decided to remove my 262's oil pump and inspect the oil pump drive gear. On the surface, this sounds like a darned good thing to do .. Coupled with the fact that the last guy to work on it didn't position it correctly and #1 was in the wrong place on the distributor cap.I succumbed to the "might as well"..attitude. Since I was replacing the fuel pump with a modern Rambler type, heck ....I had it on the lift... the fender panel was out.. OK ..... so far.... When I installed the oil pump, there was a small piece of gasket missing.. "Not a problem" I thought. Just put a dab of High temp RTV on it..So I did. Bolted the pump on and put the fender panel back on.. Now a little background info..The car was on the lift to replace the fuel pump... again... . The first AMC fuel pump I put on broke upon startup. Appeared that I didn't have enough gaskets causing the arm to jamb and break. So I added several gaskets to the pack. After it was all back together, it started and ran fine. No oil leaks. I did notice a slight "click" but attributed that to the fuel pump, thinking I now have too much clearance on the arm causing a little "click". I proceeded to drive the car for at least 2K miles. Then.. after replacing the distributor and re-timing the engine, I noticed a distinct Knock on number one cylinder. After an engine tear down, I found the red high temp RTV plugging the oil supply hole to #1 main and number One rod bearing. It looked like the eraser of a lead pencil jammed in the oil hole in the block where the oil enters the main bearing. No serious damage. The crank is in the shop to be turned .. This is one of those things that fall into the catagory of.. "should have known better" . Never use RTV in a place that it can get into the oil supply system. I DO know better, but still screwed up.. "What wuz I thinkin'?"
:D

[Dave53-7C]

Years ago, GM cars had a reputation for using valve stem oil shedders that turned to stone, crumbled and blocked oil returns in the heads and galleries.

Given the fact that GM has far more engineering resources than you, I wouldn't feel bad about your oil related mishap.

[denverslim]

So does hitting my head on the hood count?

I'd like to have a dollar for ever time I bounced my noggin off the hood on one of my cars. (Let's see. One thousand times, times one dollar, equals-- hell, I donno, I've lost too many brain cells.)

[37 CTS]

When I was 16 yrs old I got my first Hudson a 52 Hornet , it needed the center exhaust pipe replaced and the muffler changed. No matter what was done to make things fit they would not.
Finally after trying for two days it was found that the center pipe was backwards. Switching it end for end and it all went together. In about 10 minutes it was all done.

As far as banging my head, about 5 weeks ago I did it so well I had a big blood loss and went to my neighbors for help
She was really suprised to see me at her front door with blood running down my face.

[Uncle Josh]

Years ago, the old 49 Super Six started to smoke under the dash by the steering wheel. Yanked the box door open behind the wheel and saw a wire glowing red and smoking. Reached in and yanked it in two bare handed. Had a nasty burn but probably saved the car.

[oldhudsons]

Here's mine: one of the tricky things to do in a Hudson is changing the clutch oil. To make it easier to fill without spilling, I made & use a piece of rubber hose, pared down at the end so it will fit into the hole on the front of the flywheel & put a metal funnel at the other end. This makes it easy to pour small amounts without spilling.
"Repro" oil doesn't smell right if you're familiar with the original formula stuff Hudson provided - I always use original (have a 1 gallon container of Hudsonite). The purpose was to lubricate the corks so the original Hudsonite has some unusual additive with an odd odor. I know there are some good replacement fluids such as AT fluid.
Many times over the years I've found both clutches completely dry as well as ones WAY too full. I always drain the oil into a measuring cup to see how much it is in it when I get a new Hudson & to try & ascertain what type of fluid it is.

[Geoff C., N.Z.]

About 30 years ago I spent four hours trying to remove the front Main bearing cap on my Jet. I had fitted a set of standard shells when I did the motor (out of the car), but it knocked slightly, so I had a set of .002 shells to fit. Working in that enclosed space between the front suspension frame and the crankcase is no joke, and that darn cap just wouldn't come off. I tried levering, hammering, pulling, and after much knuckle skin removal, discovered that there is bolt in the timing case going in to the cap! Having worked on Essex and Hudson Super Six motors for years, I knew that the bottom two bolts of the timing case screw in to the bottom edge of the cap, but forgot that the Jet timing cover is much smaller, and goes right around in front of the main bearing cap. A quick scan with the "eye-omoter" from the front would have ascertained this of course - why didn't I think of it?
Geoff.

[hudsontech]

Back in the 70's when I had a running Hudson for a little while I had an experience with changing the points. No problem, right. It's them pesky little things that'll get you.

Changed the points on Saturday morning, headed out for a Hudson meet on Sunday morning - and got about 3 miles, the engine dies. Turned over just fine but wouldn't start.

Ok. Break out some wrenches from the tool box, under the hood and start digging. And digging. And digging. Pulled the fuel line at the carb - cranked her over, no problem there (tho it's a wonder we didn't set fire to the engine with the gas that ran onto the manifold), check the spark - nada, nothing, nope, dead. 45 minutes of head scratching and checking we finally pulled the distributor cap. Well, on the surface everything was fine, points were gapped right and opened and closed properly with the engine turning over.

Then I noticed something between the metal plate the points and stuff are on and the side of the distributor - a little brass staple. The point set had come in a small plastic bag stapled shut. When I opened the bag the staple fell into the distributor and ended up grounding said distributor. Weird.

Hudsonly,
Alex Burr
HudsonTech
Memphis, TN

[Hudsonrules]

:)Many years ago, Iwas helping a freind remove the engine frome his '52 hornet and replace it wiht another one. The transmision was an automatic and everything under the hood and below was coverd in dirt and grease. Had every thing unbolted{so I thought} and beganlifting with an engine hoist, the engine came up a little but would not go further. My wife and his wife both said there is a bolt holding everything up. No we replied, some more beer, tried again, more beer, wifes input, more beer. well finally I felt around in back of the engine and yes a bolt buried under mounds of dirt, greas and oil, just a little bolt. To this day, I do not know if it was the wifes input or the beer that helped find that bolt.

[Harry Hill]

It doesn't matter, beer or wife, too much of either will make you temporarily smarter but brain dead in the end.

Harry

[bent metal]

Back when my brother was in the Marine corps. he had a friend that was removing a transmission. Well, the wrench slipped off the bolt and knocked one of his front teeth out. The guys all gave him a hard time about it. The next weekend this guy was puttin' the tranny back in and, you guessed it, the wrench slipped off and knocked his OTHER front tooth out! hahahahaha, dumb Ford guy, should of had a Hudson. hahaha