This 1942 Hudson Woody Wagon was found at 7,000 ft above Death Valley. At some point in the 50’s it had been stripped of its interior, trim and drivetrain and used as a supply wagon to be dragged behind a tractor by a local miner. In 1969 it was brought back down the moutainside with the intention of restoring it. With its frame past the point of saving, the wagon was used as a template to build a replica body on a donor frame, a process that took over 5 years.
The wagon now sits beside its replica at Hostetler’s Hudson Auto Museum in Shipshewana IN. The most unique feature of this car is that the door panels were extended to cover the running boards, where nearly all Hudsons (and most other woodies) have the door panels come strait down and stop just above the running boards (leaving them exposed).
Original drawings from George Sheppard, then reproduced in 1939 by Colliers Weekly magazine but I found this on my favorite site, http://carrosantigos.wordpress.com because Nik finds the coolest stuff and shares it!
This movie was made over 18 months at over a dozen East coast race tracks events and show a great variety of racing cars, from extremely expensive to very affordable (less than 10 thousand dollars) and is arranged in chapters that cover the race tracks, getting into racing, growing up in racing families, and the overall story line is that the movie maker went along with the Zapata racing team to these various tracks.
this Bugatti was imported into the US when new, and stayed int he US racing ever since. Not restored, just raced. 1930 something type 37
a lot of humor is covered by the movie, the various off track moments,
the three wheel around corners traction ability of several cars
Even on two wheels around a corner... without lifting off the accelerator.. wow.
the feeling of being on the track, the thrill of racing, and the real emotional reaction to the cars getting in the way of the car that the camera in mounted to... "Get out of the WAY!"
I yelled at my screen.
I did.
Slow drivers upset me.
Great rare expensive cars
even the ones that are racing against Pintos! Dan Gurney drove this Denzel in 1959
these are Denzel 1500 International Sports cars
I was surprised to learn that some of the race track events include the towns they are at with parades and race cars driving through or stopping in for lunch so the locals can check out the cars. Good free advertising to get people interested in the racing and buy tickets to the tracks. You'll add Elkhart Lake, Road America, Sebring and Watkins Glen to your life list / Bucket list if you are anything like me, once you've seen this movie. Yeah, you've been warned you'll like it that much
the above nun is "Partial to Porches" when interviewed on camera
from the chapter on growing up in a racing family
from the chapter on racing as a lifetime hobby
damn, Corvairs can look really cool in full racing battle gear
a bit of a look around in the pits shows innovation like the above engine hoist
and the only Shelby signature I've seen on a hood (wow cool)
and there is a chapter on how to get into racing cars, advice on buying cars like where.. . Bring a Trailer and Wirewheels dot coms, Vintage Motorsports and Grassroots Motorsports magazines, and looking around at the racetrack in the paddocks and clubhouse
the racing sanctioning bodies that operate the race tracks
the wonderful sponsors that helped the filmmakers get this movie produced, filmed, etc!
the hobby of vintage racing, focuses on the Zapata Racing Team. Director Ben Cissell follows the team to 17 events in the span of 18 months, capturing the excitement and sense of community that has hooked thousands of drivers and spectators to this riveting sport. Rather than put their race cars behind museum velvet ropes, these car owners have opted to race their historic cars the way they were designed and purposed...at over 100 mph around world- famous race tracks. Vintage racing is a unique and captivating sport, one that gets in your blood and carries a life-long love. http://www.vintageracingtoday.com/pages/the-film
In review, the music is mellow, well editted, and perfectly timed to the action, the movie editing is great, the action is damn good, and plenty of it with a good variety of the trackside culture like parts helping, a bit of wrenching, some camaraderie, and after watching the movie lock up your checkbook... the desire to get a Formula V is overwhelming. The need to go to your local track and get involved is huge. Damn good movie.
Just a list and a link to inform you with right now..
the Peerless Green Dragon, 1904. Owned and driven by Barney Oldfield 1903 Pope Toledo race car, Vanderbilt Cup and Daytona beach 1907 Renault race car built for William Vanderbilt to compete in his own race 1911 Mercer Raceabout, barnfind 1911 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, built for a hot air balloon professor, it carries the basket in back 1912 Hudon Mile a Minute, one of 2 known to exist 1913 Pope Hartford roadster Model 29 1914 Marmon speedster 1915 Stutz Weightman Special race car, winner in 1916 race in Wash DC 1916 Stutz Bearcat barnfind... from a barn in Cuba 1924, 1925, and 1932 Miller Indy race cars 1929 Bugatti type 35b owned by Chiron and raced in Le Mans 1931 Blower Bentley 1933 Alfa Romeo 8c 2300 Monza Spyder 1938 Mormon Meteor III land speed record holder 1951 Allard J2 race car owned by Jack Armstrong
these are only some of the most interesting, because I don't want to type all of he collection, so go see their website for more: http://pricemuseumofspeed.org/
"A rare display of the greatest representations of early racing history. Many of these rare vintage race cars either won or placed well in numerous renowned events such as the Grand Prix, Le Mans, Morris Park, Briarcliff Cup, Daytona Beach, Gordon Bennett Cup, Empire Track at Yonkers, Sheepshead Bay, Indianapolis, Mille Miglia among others.
The Mission of the Price Museum of Speed Foundation is to display unique vintage race cars and memorabilia, and provide an automobile research library for future generations of car enthusiasts to enjoy."
Commentor "Stll Out There" asks why "they" call this a garage made/ home made conversion. Because it looks like one. And because I have seen no evidence of a 1934 Terraplane truck from the factory. (at the end of this post is the 1938 factory Terraplane advertisement ) http://www.hetclub.org/burr/other/technical_service_bulletins_vol4-ts34-001-ts46-001.pdf
I know it's a Terraplane from the speedometer
Firstly, to address "Still Out There" there is no "they" here at this blog, it's just me, Jesse, and I am Just A Car Guy, not an expert, and the back of the cab has a square and un conventional non factory termination look. The graceful curves of the fenders and under the pick up box represent the design quality that Hudson made cars with, and the flat-straight lines of the back of the cab don't. Seriously, look at the bottom of the rear of the doors.
No car company made such a bad transition to the back of the cab from the doors by adding a square bottom inches away from the bottom of the doorline. They would have been shot for that.
In the past couple of hours a family member (Bent metal) of the owner confirms that this exact vehicle IS a garage conversion, not a factory job. http://www.classiccar.com/forum/discussion/160636/green-34-t-puThat rear pan that goes between the back fenders is on cars only. Trucks didn't have that.
Far out! This little socket set is an unusual hex head instead of the common square drive of 1/4, 3/8, or 1/2 inch... and is mounted above the rear window
see under the tail gate? not how trucks are made. That was my 3rd indicator that this was a garage conversion.
below is a look at what this looked like before the truck conversion
In 1934 the word "Essex" was dropped and the car became the Terraplane. The cars were slightly heavier and rarely joined competitive events, particularly as they now lacked the eight-cylinder powerplant. The name Terraplane remained constant through the 1937 model year. By 1936 Terraplane commercial cars were produced in fair number. In 1938, knowing they were going to drop the Terraplane, Hudson management chose to phase out the Terraplane name similarly to how it had been introduced, and the 1938 cars were named Hudson-Terraplanes.
The Terraplane contributed greatly to Hudson Motor Car Co. sales during the Depression 1930s. Sales of the Terraplane outpaced Hudson vehicles in the late mid-30s and it is said that Hudson management was not fond of that fact and that was partly why they chose to eliminate the car as a make. One unique feature was "Duo-Automatic" brakes. Terraplanes had two brake systems—hydraulic and mechanical. Should the hydraulic brakes fail (i.e. the brake line had a leak in it), the mechanical brakes would be used to stop the car.
Perhaps the most memorable sales slogan of the Terraplane years came from 1933: "On the sea that's aquaplaning, in the air that's aeroplaning, but on the land, in the traffic, on the hills, hot diggity dog, THAT'S TERRAPLANING".
