62

Airflows were upscale and complicated. Hudson Terraplanes were at the other end of the spectrum. The same size and class of automobile, the Terraplanes were simpler, more basic, but still had unique features and character. I got this one intending to be able to drive it more

1936 is sort of a one-of year for Terraplanes. Starting in '37, there were lots of differences - engines, floorpan design, dashboard gauges, things like that. The '36 has no oil filter, but it has a pump. Overall, the exteriors are similar, but there's a lot of parts that fit only '36. '35 Terraplanes had a different front grille altogether.

The car was last driven in 1951in Minnesota and parked where it apparently sat for decades. In early 2007 it was brought to San Diego. I purchased the car in June 2007, and moved it back to Warrensburg, Missouri for work on the engine. The car is entirely complete, but there was rust in front floorpans, around the trunk floor and the bottom door edges. The hood ornament is missing, and the wheels are not original, but otherwise everything that had been on that car when produced in 1936 was still there.

Early on, I took out the gauge cluster and had it refurbished in Arkansas. When it came back I just had to set it back in for a while.

It didn't take very long to figure out that the car had been monkeyed around with by a bunch who didn't understand much about cars. Plug firing order was way off, wiring cross connected, you name it.

I have a soft spot for old, once- great cars of the 30s, but which have almost been allowed to die. Bringing ones like this back from the brink is often the only way to get one. Terraplanes are so easy to work on. Sheet metal and other major parts are hard to come by, but mechanical parts cheap and often available through NAPA, so most Terraplanes have been hot rodded over the decades. It's sort of rare these days to find one complete and unmolested.

The poor thing has been through quite an ordeal over the previous 74 years. We're not sure what happened to it - the frame had a series of lateral cracks running forward from bolt penetration holes, but yet the frame has hardly off square at all. When it arrived, the rear bumper attachment to the frame was almost completely broken and could be moved by hand. The frame metal seems pretty thin for frame steel, perhaps they were pushing the design envelope, using more steel so they could use less to save weight. Curious, anyway.

All internal door and window handles are present.

I'm thinking it was used on a farm for quite a while. The heavy bumper plates on the front suggest that it was used to push and pull things around. The shackle bushing were completely shot all around, the rear shocks were gone, and most suspension parts seemed to be just beat, like it had been driven a lot in fields.

The left rear fender is OK, but the right rear fender's a mess. Looks like the damage height matches the height of the old style safety barricades they used in rural areas on approaches to bridges, so perhaps someone fishtailed into one while driving in winter. Who knows, but the thing was just about dead.

Restoration's been going on and off for a couple of years. Click HERE to see where we're at now.

Current Status

Front seat had enough fabric left to get the patterns.

The back still has original ash tray and grab rope.

The wood frame is in great shape.

There was a large amount of original paint left around the interior of the rear windows - a nice maroon color, but according to the Hudson color history, this was not avialable for 1936 Terraplanes, but was available in 1937.

Could be that the car was produced very late in the 36 model year, or more likely, was a custom ordered color. At any rate, that's the color that's going back on when its done.

Some color left on the firewall edge, too.

Ugh.