Jan is making progress on the stripe fabric

This week I received a sample of Jan's work in the mail. it is not final form yet, but she asked for my input on a couple of the threads/yarns and I also got a chance to hold a sample in my hands. Thrilling. I have also attached a series of pictures that show where the fabric will be used in the car. Seats, door panels, and a pouch on the back side of the front bench seat. In the pictures the bottom of the bench seats are blue because I had to cover them due to damage/disintegration. In reality they are the stripe fabric, just like the seat-backs.

HET Forum Thread: http://www.classiccar.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&func=view&catid=13&id=138548&Itemid=152

Wildrick Restoration Web Site

I have had the pleasure of working with Doug Wildrick of Wildrick Restoration on his website, www.WildrickRestoration.com . I really think I have made a positive difference and hope to continue to help him in the future. I also hope to be able to encourage a few other Hudson folks to create simple sites, for the benifit of the community.

Hudson Forum Thread about www.WildrickRestoration.com:
http://classiccar.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&func=view&catid=13&id=138442&Itemid=152

This is Awesome,

I just got these images from the weaver I have been working with. She has been working on research, threads,  and weave; here are the results. I hope to have my hands on samples with in the month. It is nice to have something going right. 

Hudson Forum Thread: http://www.classiccar.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&func=view&catid=13&id=137607&Itemid=152

Falling into Winter

We have had a beautiful fall, but snow is falling today. I don't think it will last the weekend, but it is a sure sign that I will have to get the Hudson ready for storage soon. I was part of a layoff in March, worked a contract job for 6 months, but have been on unemployment for the last couple of months. I hate it, not just because it leaves me felling poor and dependent on the state. I need to be productive, so I am diving back into my work with United Way. I had hoped to have the Hornets interior restored this winter, but that does not seem to be a possibility. The Hudson money has become the money needed to bridge the gap between unemployment and actual bills. I am actively looking for work, but it is slow business and Thanksgiving -> Christmas is not the time of year for hiring. Most companies I am talking to are trying to use 4Q to make their full year numbers. If you happen to of anything. please let me know.

Here is my professional profile: www.MichaelJSandberg.info
Here is my resume:  https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B6DMvGiIRqeMNWU0MmQwYzAtOTE2Ny00Mzg0LThhNzUtMjc0ZjIyYTcxZWY4&hl=en

Good news all around

Problems Fixed:

• Leaking fuel pump fixed, thank you Williamsfield Motors!
• Engine knock taken care of by retarding the engine timing. Sadly I do not seem to have the standard reference point, but I have it pretty close and no matter how hard I push it, no knock.
• Distributor working  great after help from Tom from www.valleymotorsofwinona.com
• Head gasket tested and passed
• Radiator overflow and collapsed hose issues taken care of by a new 7lb radiator cap

The family is just enjoying cruising around town and making up excuses to drive the Hornet. I found that we can fit my family (wife & two kids in car seats) and grandparents together in the car. That is how we went to the farmers market last weekend :)

Classic Car forum topic: http://classiccar.com/index.php?option=com_jfusion&Itemid=62&jfile=showthread.php&t=22702

Some unexpected but very welcome help

I had the good fortune of running into Tom Thorson of www.valleymotorsofwinona.com this morning as he stopped at his son's house on the way to pick up a 1940 Ford Pickup. He spent some time with me looking at the distributor, and he found the remains of the rivet that I thought I had drilled out and a washer deep inside. Once he had it all apart and was satisfied it was in good working order, he told me to reassemble it by the time he came through town again with the Ford and he would listen to the engine. I did my best and managed to get it all assembled by the time they arrived back, but needed some guidance on finding #1 on the distributor cap. He actually had me hold my finger over the #1 spark plug  hole while he tapped the ignition. It was damn obvious when it blew my thumb off the head. With the distributor back on the engine, he had me run it while he watched with the radiator cap off, revved the engine and listened to it. He reported that I did NOT have a bad rod / rod bearings and that what I described was most likely spark knock. He put the radiator cap back on and told me to let it build some pressure and then turn it off and let it cool for a couple of hours. The good news is that the hose did not collapse and I did not have any white smoke when I started it up again. That would have been a sign of coolant getting into the cylinders. FYI - I bought a new radiator cap since my upper radiator hose collapse.

I schedule a pressure test for next Tuesday where the local auto shop will pressurize my radiator to 10lbs and see if it loses pressure. If it does, it may point to a head gasket leak. HET Forum Question.

I am hoping my spark knock is due to my timing being too advanced. With my cleaned out / repaired distributor I can now see the timing lines, but I need to verify where the pointer is that they should be set relative to. I think it is the little red triangle you can see in the crankcase opening, but I want to find out for sure before I start turning the distributor.

Something or nothing. I chose something.

I have decided to do something instead of nothing. I am thousands short on rebuilding my engine, and I am still looking for permanent work. If I go for a rebuild, it would be months if not longer before my Hudson is back on the road. With this in mind, I have decided to play it by ear and see what can be made of the engine now. My first step is to send out my distributor to have it rebuilt by 21st Century Hudson. After that, do some tests to see if the head gasket is really leaking and diagnose the knock. I am assuming we will end up lifting the head, and when we do, taking a critical look at the top of the engine. I am cautiously optimistic this will get me on the road again for hundreds and tide me over until the time comes for a total rebuild.