First trip home to from MN to WI in the Hornet

A couple of weeks ago was my family's maiden road-trip in the Hudson to my home town of Oshkosh WI. It was a mad rush to get the car ready for the trip, as parts for the seat belts and the carpet kit arrived at about 3:30 in the afternoon on Friday, but we were on the road by 5:30. A special thanks for my neighbor Jon for making it possible with his help. The four hour drive home was pleasantly uneventful. The only issue I ran into was when I was trying to accelerate uphill onto the interstate. For some reason, the Hudson had trouble choosing 3 or 4 gear. The rest of the trip home averaged 75 mph on the interstate and 65 on the highways. I am happy to say my Hudson had no trouble with the speed and suffered no overheating, even with the air-conditioning running. My wife even complained that the AC was too cold. Since this was the first big trip since driving the Hudson home from TX to MN, I kept track of mileage. It always worked out to just over 12 mpg, regardless of speed (65 or 75) or if the AC was on or not.

While in Oshkosh, I convinced my my parents and Nicole's to let me part Hudson in their garages. This did not prevent me from being stuck with the Hudson parked in the rain though. It was not just any rain, it was a half hour of torrential downpour, and I mean torrential. When the rain finally let up and we got back into the Hudson, I found that all of my door panels were soaked. The windshield had not leaked and the back window had not leaked, but something in the doors had let the downpour in. It was very frustrating, but at least it happened with the old interior so I have a chance to fix it before the new interior goes in. What puzzles me is that when I wash the car it does not happen, so it mush have been the sheer volume of water. Since only the door panels were wet, I am wondering if the water came in on the bottom of the glass, but is just a guess. Fixing water leaks is top priority and must be taken car of before I have a new interior put in.

Trip home turned out to be a rainy one, and the Hudson performed beautifully in it. During the four hours in the rain, the door panels remained dry, but I did discover a weatherstripping leak on the front passenger door that let some water in the front edge of the door. The only mechanical trouble I ran into was during our ascent through the bluffs from WI to MN. During the climb if I tried to go faster than 70, I got a loud rattling sound from the engine area. This bothered me enough that I did not push it. Since it generally runs great, the high speed up hill rattle will get added to the long list of things to look into in the future.


Here is a picture of my Wife's grandfather, Harold, with the Hornet. I was thrilled to be able to give him a ride and listen to the stories of every car he ever owned. For Harold, the one that he never should have let go was his Ford Model A. His most hated was a Nash.

I also had the pleasure of giving rides to a number of relations that had not seen the car before. I always find myself apologizing for the poor condition of the interior, but no one seems to mind but me.