The North Texas Chapter of the Hudson-- Club, Inc. The Hudson Monthly

Volume 44, Issue 3 Dedicated to the Preservation of the great built by Hudson March 2015

Chapter Officers Sweethearts & Orphans XVI President - Calvin Buchanan Well, another Sweethearts & Orphans Meet has passed into history. 1382 CR 4191 Decatur, TX 76234 S&O XVI brought another very rewarding and successful year. The weather 940-627-5229 for the show, while cooler than the 70s that were predicted earlier in the week, Vice-President - Mike Harrel was decent, if not outstanding. I’m glad the meet wasn’t a week later! Whose 241 Richerson idea was it to have a car show in February, anyway? Still, it seems like we have Denison, TX 75021 903-327-8209 more good weather than bad. It’s almost time to start holding our breath for 2016! Secretary – Clinton Webb 194 County Rd. 197 Gainesville, TX 76240 As usual, the “S&O family” turned out in force. In addition to North 940-736-7548 Texas and South Texas HET folks, Big Country and S&O stalwarts Charlie Treasurer/Editor – Lew Bird and Sharon Harris, Rick and Kathy Lawrence, and Terry and Donna Heckart 1513 Treehouse Ln. S. Roanoke, TX 76262 joined us as they do almost every year. We had some other prominent HETers 817-379-0458 from far off join us for the first time: Noel and Cynda Renner (from Ohio, by Historian - Mark Huffman way of McAllen, TX) and Ed and Liz Wright in their ’35 Terraplane from Cen- 1637 Quail Hill Rd. Whitesboro, TX 76273 tennial, Colorado. Oklahoma HETers Robert and Barbara Sims (’55 Hornet) 817-781-7141 and Robert McCord (‘48 Commodore Sunshine Person - Helen Huebert Six) joined us as well, as did quite a 2309 Robin Hood Dr. Grand Prairie, TX 75050 few other Oklahomans with a variety 972-602-9751 of interesting cars. From Texas I think www.ntxhd.org our longest distance travelers started Inside this issue: in Lubbock, LaGrange, or just south of Houston. (Continue on page 2) S & O Meet 2

March Business Meeting 3

Tech Information 4 Upcoming Meets and Events March 21- March Business Meeting S & O Meet 5 Information on page 3

S & O Meet 6 April 11 - Medal of Honor Parade, Gainesville April 18 - Bluebonnet Festival, Ennis S & O Meet 7 Bluebonnet Trails Festival The North Texas Hudson Dealers - Chartered 1971 Application Sheet 8 NNTC - HET One of the oldest Chapters in the Hudson-Terraplane-Essex Club PAGE 2 THEHUDSONMONTHLY VOLUME 44, ISSUE 3 Sweethearts & Orphans XVI We had an odd situation this year in that we had way more people registered than we had orphan cars present. We had 67 pre-registrations plus 20 more registrations at the meet, for a total of 87 registra- tions, but we had only 67 orphan cars present. I think there may have been a few more that weren’t regis- tered because I’m pretty sure that I counted a few more than 70 orphans while walking around the square, but the ratio of registrations to cars was still about 4:3. We only had four “no shows” among our pre- registrations, which was also an outstanding number. Two of those were understandable: our own Don Mozynski needed to work over the weekend on a critical situation so he couldn’t make it; and the other was due to a failed oil-line on Marty Bricker’s ’74 AMX. We missed you, Don, hope your alternative weekend was successful! That left only two others that I will follow up on so they know we hope to see them next time. On one hand, this oddity was great because it shows that we’ve built commitment. People come to the meet even if they can’t bring their cars. On the other hand, S&O is a car show and it’s im- portant to have as many cars at the show as possible. Still, on bal- ance, I am pleased that people love the event so much that they come even when their cars can’t make it. Thanks to all who have that kind of dedication! But, please, if you possibly can… Bring your car!

You may be interested in some of the numbers. There was a nice distribution of orphan marques: 12 Oldsmobiles; 10 Hudsons; 10 Studebakers; 7 AMCs; 7 Corvairs; 5 Pontiacs; 3 Kaisers, 3 Nashes, 3 Plymouths, 3 Willys (two Willys- Knights and a Whippet), 2 Packards, 1 Franklin, and 1 Mercury. There were 25 cars from the 60s; 14 from the 50s; and the rest were pretty evenly divided among the other decades. The oldest was a 1909 Sears Mo- tor Buggy and the newest was a 1985 Olds Cutlass Supreme. It was a banner year for the North Texas Chapter. There were ten categories where Peoples’ Choice ballots were cast. Hudsons weren’t eligible for three of them: 1960-69, 1970-79 and 1980-89, but Hudson products won or tied in five of the seven categories in which they were eligible! Congrats to the winners - an outstanding showing by any standard! Here are the winners of the Peoples’ Choice Awards, Drivers’ Award and Sweethearts’ Award:

 1919 and Earlier Clayton Adams* 1915 Hudson “Mini-roadster”  1920 to 1929 Don & Ferne Tremelling 1929 Willys-Knight  1930 to 1939 Calvin & Virginia Buchanan 1932 Essex-Terraplane 4-Door Phaeton  1940 to 1949 Lew & Vicki Bird 1947 Club Coupe  1950 to 1959 (tie) HETHS 1951 Hudson – “Doc Hudson” Replica  1950 to 1959 (tie) Gene & Elaine Breece 1958 Packard Hawk (Continue on page 5) VOLUME 44, ISSUE 3 THEHUDSONMONTHLY PAGE 3 North Texas Hudson Dealers March Business Meeting Date: March 21, 2015 Location: Flips Patio Grill-Grapevine, TX Address: 415 West State Highway 114 Time:12:00 Noon

Directions: Flips Grill is located on the south access road of Highway 114 east of William D. Tate Street and west of Grapevine’s Main Street. The Restaurant is located next to the Freeman Car dealership. Joe’s Crab Shack is on the corner of Main Street and the south access road and east of Flips Grill. PAGE 4 THEHUDSONMONTHLY VOLUME 44, ISSUE 3

March is the Month for Vintage Car Wreck Chapter Dues Looks like its the end of the road for this 1938 Hudson Sedan. The photo is not dated, but the Hudson appears to Please forward your Dues to be fairly new. If you look at the bottom of the car one can Lew Bird. see the right tie rod is broken off. For only $10 a year.

Hudson Tech Information Walt’s tech tip books, Volume one, 1995 to 2003 have been reprinted along with the new Volume two, 2004 to 2007. Volume one is $20.00 and volume two is $15.00. If only one book is ordered, S&H PRIORITY MAIL IS $7.00. If both volumes are or- dered, S&H is still only $7.00, because both will fit into the domestic use only envelope. Walt Mordenti, 45 Skyview Way, San Fran- cisco, CA. 94131-1248 cell phone 415-939- 1202 till 8pm Pacific Time zone. E-mail [email protected]

Fan to Radiator Clearance Proper clearance between the fan blades and the radiator is important and should be carefully checked par- ticularly if and when installing a radiator core. Should the fan be too close, there is danger of damaging the core on an emergency stop, also there is apt to be an objectionable fan noise. If set too far from the core, cooling efficiency will be impaired, particularly at low speed. This clearance should be 5/8 to 7/8 of one inch. Provision for moving radiator core forward or aft is by means of elongated holes - four in each side of the radiator Mounting Channel Assembly. Two Brackets at each side secure the Radiator to the Mounting Channel. A cap screw and a lip in each Bracket fits in elongated holes and limits the amount of adjust- ment. Fan Blade Assembly, 305153, that was originally used on 7A only, is now standard on all series A en- gines. The blades of this fan are slightly cured at the tips to improve its efficiency. Hudson Service Merchandiser June 1951 VOLUME 44, ISSUE 3 THEHUDSONMONTHLY PAGE 5 Sweethearts & Orphans Meet XVI  1960 to 1969 Bill & Sue Russell 1969 AMC AMX  1970 to 1979 Bobby Gilley 1970 AMC AMX  1980 to 1989 Kendall Workman 1985 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme  Drivers’ Award Calvin & Virginia Buchanan 1932 Essex-Terraplane 4-Door Phaeton  Sweethearts’ Award Ron & Janice Hall 1960 Studebaker Champ Pickup * Clayton Adams is the six-year-old grandson of Calvin and Virginia Buchanan. The “15 Hudson” is his custom-built miniature Hudson roadster. Clayton sold the qualities of his car – and the HET Club - with skill and excitement to everyone close enough to hear his “sales pitch”. Congratulations, Clayton! He exemplifies what is need- ed to keep our great club going and growing! Hats off to you, too, Jody and Rachel, his parents! You, too, Grandpa and Grandma! “Doc Hudson” contin- ued to draw fans and friends. In addition to the Peoples’ Choice Award that “Doc” won, he drew crowds and made friends throughout the day of the show. It’s really been an eye-opener to see how people are drawn to this car, and how well he’s ac- complishing his mission in getting the Hudson name out and creating visibility for the HET Club and the HETHS. It’s been a blast hosting him! If all goes well, he’s headed for South Texas in March.

There was a serious competition for the Hard Luck Award this year, with three legitimate candidates: Teresa Stokes threw a rod in her ’53 Nash Statesman while preparing for the trip from Houston to Gran- bury. Undeterred, Teresa switched her luggage over to her ’49 Plymouth Deluxe two-door sedan and came in that car instead. She’s a trooper! Marty Bricker was on the way to the meet in his ’74 AMX when an oil-line broke and dumped much of his oil on the highway. Wisely, he called for a flat-bed truck to take his beautiful ’74 AMX back to Dallas and wasn’t able to come the rest of the way to the meet. Better luck next year, Marty! We want to see that car! George Hollowell, his wife Jennie, and his son, Pat (the driver) were driving in from Sweetwater, Texas, in George’s ’57 Nash Ambassador Super. Shortly before getting to Weatherford, an 18-wheeler dropped its driveshaft in the middle of the highway. The renegade driveshaft tore up the Nash’s front suspen- sion, caused general havoc under the car and finally ripped a hole in the gas tank on its way out. George’s tenacious Texan nature showed itself at that point. The car was brought on a truck to the host hotel and George had it brought to the square on Saturday – and unloaded the car to show it – before loading it back up for the trip home. For his determination to attend the show and his persistence in making the show field - come Hell or high water – George Hollowell received this year’s Hard Luck Award. We earnestly hope he never wins it again! (Continue on page 6) PAGE 6 THEHUDSONMONTHLY VOLUME 44, ISSUE 3 Sweethearts & Orphans Meet XVI

The 50/50 Raffle was not as large this year as it was last year, but it was still sizable. The total amount of the pot was $835.00. The American Heart Association will receive a check for $432.50, matching the amount taken home by the NTC’s own Bob Johnson, this year’s winner. Congratulations, Bob! We hope Bobbie lets you keep a sawbuck or two out of your half of the pot! Incidentally, speaking of money… I will be submitting a final financial statement for the meet as soon as possible. I expect it will be printed in next month’s Hudson Monthly. This year’s meet will show a profit which will be sent to the American Heart Association. It will be smaller than last year’s record contribution, but will still help in the fight against heart disease. I know the AHA appreciates our annual effort. Here is a little information about some of the other events which occurred at the meet. As usual, many of the people who came to the meet spent Friday in Decatur at the Swap Meet. We are seeing more and more of those folks staying in Granbury on Friday. It seems that pieces and parts for cars of our era are becoming scarcer and scarcer at Decatur. I’m looking forward to the Chickasha Pre-War Swap Meet in mid-March!

Our Friday Tour and Luncheon was well attended (32 people). According to the feedback we got, it was well-received. The vans left the hotel at 10:00 AM. We started with “Mimosas and Muffins” at the D’Vine Winery on the downtown square, then did an hour (plus a little) of casual antiquing in a small cluster of antique stores. We had an excellent lunch at Linda’s Southern Kitchen, and then toured the newly- remodeled and beautifully furnished Iron Horse Inn B&B before returning to the hotel. It was an easygoing but thoroughly pleasant day, returning to the hotel about 2:45 PM. Our Friday Night Hospitality Night was great. Many people brought in snacks and treats and the “goodies table” over- flowed with all kinds of great tasting stuff. One particular high- light - Dianne Webb brought her heavenly once-a-year chocolate confections. Thanks, Dianne, and all the others who contributed! There was a long-running game of dominoes that appeared to be a lot of fun, too. The only disappointment this year was the low turnout at our Saturday Evening Date Night. I know that quite a few peo- ple left the meet early due to predictions of bad weather coming in, and a few left due to illness or other family situations. Still, on Friday nearly 80 people had indicated they were planning to attend. Unfortunately, only 26 actually turned out. That’s too bad because the small group that was there had a great meal and a terrific show put on by the King of Rock and Roll himself, Elvis Presley. Well, I guess it wasn’t really Elvis, but James L. Wages is one of the best Elvis impersonators in the country and he put on a terrific show. I’m not sure what we’ll do to top the entertainment next time, but we’ll be on the lookout for something special. Hopefully we will get better attendance next year. The Sunday morning Awards Meeting was well attended. Dale Truitt spoke briefly about AAIAA and the Bankhead Highway Tour that is being planned for 2016. Mike Collins, territorial rep for Hagerty Insur- ance, spoke briefly and took questions from the audience about antique auto insurance. Our awards were pre- sented, the 50/50 Raffle winner was drawn, and everyone was on the way home shortly after 10:00 AM, wrap- ping up another S&O. (Continue on page 7) VOLUME 44, ISSUE 3 THEHUDSONMONTHLY PAGE 7 Sweethearts & Orphans Meet XVI I must say a very heartfelt “thank you” to all who helped with the event. You’re terrific! I must also share an observation about the overall status of S&O. We’ve built a sizable “core family” that really enjoys and consistently comes to the meet. Still, it doesn’t seem that we are attracting attendees in the numbers we should be seeing from the Independents, and we’re losing some valued participants to age or other circum- stances. For example, our Studebaker and Nash presence this year was significantly below most previous years. Packard has been low for several years now. Graham-Paige wasn’t represented at all. On the upside, we had more Willys products – and many more “corporate orphans” than we’ve ever had. While this mir- rors what is happening with all orphan meets, the trend is concerning. This raises the critical question, “How do we get these folks back or encourage new ones to come?” Dale Truitt and I are planning to go to the All-Texas Packard Show in Salado in early April to “fly the flag” for AAIAA and S&O. We’re hoping to recruit more Packard participation in that way. I’d like you to think about ways to make our show more inviting and ways to encourage participation, especially by those who used to attend. I think we have a great thing going here but, clearly, it can be improved. I would be very interested in hearing any ideas you may have for improvements. Finally, mark your calendar now for next year’s Sweet- hearts & Orphans. Barring any unforeseen changes, it will once again be in Granbury, Texas, held from February 26-28, 2016. Thanks to all for your support! Stand by for news! Submitted by John Clement

2015 Bluebonnet Trails Festival - Antique American Independent Auto Show April 18th in Ennis, Texas

Visit us online at: http://clubs.hemmings.com/americanindependentautos/ The Fourth Annual, Antique American Independent Auto Association (AAIAA) Show of extinct Marques such as Packard, Kaiser/Frazer, Nash, AMC, Graham, Hudson, Graham, Studebaker, etc. will be hosted by the N. TX. Studebaker Drivers Club and held in conjunction with the 2015 Bluebonnet Trails Festival in En- nis. Public viewing is scheduled for Saturday, April 18st, between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm in the N. 300 blk of West Main Street, between Belknap and Baylor Streets in downtown Ennis. Cars may enter the display area between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m. by traveling along Belknap and turning south onto N. West Main Street. Park- ing attendants will be on hand to assist in positioning cars for display. Event registration will be a $5.00 dona- tion to Helping Hands of Ennis in support of their food and clothing pantries. Come expecting to have a great time and enjoy sharing your beautiful antique car with a host of folks. 1985 and earlier Ford, GM and brands may be displayed adjacent to the north side of the AAIAA Show field. Lunch will be a “Dutch treat” in the festival food court or at one of several downtown restaurants. PAGE 8 THEHUDSONMONTHLY VOLUME 44, ISSUE 3 The North Texas Chapter of the Hudson – Essex – Terraplane Club Annual Dues $10.00 – March 2015 to March 2016 Send Dues to: North Texas Chapter % Lew Bird 1513 Treehouse Ln. S. Roanoke, TX 76262

Name: Member and Spouse

______Street

______

City, State, Zip ______

Phone (include area code) ______

E-mail Address ______

National Membership is required of all Chapter Members The Hudson – Essex –Terraplane – Club Membership Application

To join fill out this form and send to: H.E.T. Club, Inc., 2850 North Meridian Ave., Wichita, KS 67204 U.S. Regular mail: $33.00 a year U.S. 1st Class mail: $43.00 a year Name: Member and Spouse ______

Street______

City. State______

Phone and E-Mail______Please include information on the Hudson built cars Year______Make______