Hudson Commodore 8 Convertible. Purchased from the estate of Herbert Bell of Gainesville, Georgia ,July 2011. Herb had this car in his collection since the late 70's or early 80's. He also owned a large collection of Hudson autos of various years. He had two 49 Commodores. This one and the car used in the filming of the movie "Driving Miss Daisy" .These two 49's were parked next to each other. A beautiful sight! Some Historians have estimated that total of less than 600 of these cars were built in 1949. Many convertibles were the lesser Super 6 and Commodore 6 models. Not many of these top of the line cars were built nor survived. Serial number is 49487648. Beware..There are convertible clones out there. This one is authentic. It is documented. I have been owner and restorer of step down Hudsons since 1972, This my second 49 Commodore 8 convertible. The first I sold in 1977. It resides in Smyrna Georgia today. Herb used this car very little, just a few local shows and parades. This car has never received a complete restoration. It was maintained as needed over its 64 years. Paint, upholstery, chrome etc. You might call it a "survivor". I do not think the mileage on the odometer is correct. It says about 48,000. I suspect it was replaced at some time in the past. From what I have seen in working on the car.. It probably has about 80K miles on it. Most of that mileage was in its early years. I doubt Herb put more than , at the most , a few thousand on it. Approved factory accessories include Turn signals, radio, fog lights, fuel door trim, and front bumper over riders. , The usual owner's manual and various receipts. Hydraulic bumper jack and under seat heater are included ,as well as various "convertible only" parts. The heater has not been installed yet. It doesn't get that cold in Florida! . No doubt that I have forgotten something ! Since it's a Commodore rather than a Super, It has hydraulic windows, crank out vent windows in front, Upscale instrument faces , front fender ornaments, Larger two piece hood ornament, large two handle trunk latch and wider rocker panel stainless trim. Even the steering column is chrome. Trunk ornament is also much larger than the Super version. The door handles inside and out are upscale from a Super. Two tone paint scheme, Maroon upper and ruby red lower. Most of the work I had to do was a result of not using it! This car was undercoated when new and has NO RUST , nor rust repairs. I have a lift here in the shop and will be happy to let you inspect every square inch. Still maintains its 6 volt Pos. Gnd. system that works well. It is a three speed column shift with overdrive, which makes it an effective 4 speed. Still has the original rubber trunk mat, Just prior to my purchase, Herb's estate had some work done on the car to make it safe to drive. New battery, new or rebuilt brake wheel and master cylinders. All flex lines and some rigid lines replaced. New exhaust system. Ignition tune-up and a hydraulic pump for the windows and top. Since my purchase in July, I have made a great deal of improvements that include the following. Not in the order they were done, but as I can recall. Work done/Parts replaced Front bumper, bumper guards and grille guard. Front and rear shocks, motor mounts and transmission mount, center drive shaft mounts, Fuel pump, N.O.S. fog lights, N.O.S. Carburetor, Pertronix ignition module in distributor(6 V Pos. Gnd.), battery cables, starter drive, Complete MAJOR rebuild of the 8 cylinder engine, including repoured main and rod bearings, valves, guides, springs etc., complete new clutch, transmission seals and gaskets, left rear axle outer seal, upper control arm snubbers, new coil, rebuilt dual action fuel pump, Rebuilt wiper motor, radio repaired, top replaced, proper glass rear window with chrome plated metal frame . all four hydraulic window lift cylinders, Hydraulic lines in doors, two power window switches, exhaust deflector, Two re-plated wheel covers, various rubber seals for the top/windows/trunk, All new stainless trim along bottom of fenders and doors. shift linkage rod ends rebushed, rear fender rocker panel extensions replaced (they were bent, not rusted), left rear bumper end, Goodyear 4 1/4" W/W front tires(due to weather checking of the otherwise good ones), A used exhaust manifold to replace a cracked one, rebuilt overdrive solenoid. Auxiliary direct reading temperature guage, This car drives like a 49 commodore should. No road wander and it's quiet! Not like the sixes.. What does it need? Some minor chips and scratches in the paint and upholstery could be addressed. The wiring harness should be replaced due to age. The gauges work and the clock does work, but losses time! The steering wheel has some minor cracks, as would be expected of an original car, but no missing plastic. This car had DriveMaster originally, but that has been removed. The wiring harness and switch as well as some shifting linkage is still intact. I have several boxes of used and NOS DriveMaster parts that go with the car. Missing, are the brackets that adapt it to the eight cylinder engine. Your decision to purchase a new wire harness depends on whether you will use the DriveMaster or eliminate it.
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