wow, a 34 Husdon Terraplane garage made truck from a car, because during WW2, trucks were given more gas rations (and a lot more useful to working guys than a car)

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 Terraplane truck from the factory. 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-pu That 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".

Info and bottom photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/homer----simpson/6931919281/

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some vehicles Steve McQueen owned were on display, and surprising me was that the GMC 4x4 was used as high school daily transportation by it's current owners kids. Think they were impressed to have a truck of Steve's?

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Have you ever seen a 1956 Hudson Station Wagon? It's also a Rambler Custom. Yeah, I need to look this up and find out how it's a Hudson and a Nash

The station wagon (post or hardtop) is an expensive body to make, mainly because of the large rear quarter panels and roof. The wagon had been very popular in the Rambler line ever since its intoduction in 1950 as a two door. A four door version was introduced in 1954 and accounted for almost one third of Rambler sales that year, and closer to half for 1955.

That there were never any wagons in the other Nash or Hudson lines explains some of the high Rambler wagon sales, but there had to be a wagon in the Rambler line regardless of cost. As it turned out, nearly half the 1956-57 Ramblers sold were wagons. http://www.amcyclopedia.org/node/54

Keep in mind, the 1956 was the 2nd year of AMC existing and so they still used more than one (AMC) car maker identification on this wagon.

AMC was created as a merger of Nash and Hudson on May 1, 1954, but Hudson had no 1955 models ready. Hudson factory production ceased in July of 1954, but AMC had a contractual obligation to supply vehicles to Hudson dealers until the Nash and Hudson car lines could be consolidated. So Hudson dealers received the same Rambler as Nash dealers for 1955, the only difference being the Hudson emblem. U.S. production was 5,981 two door models, 19,223 four door models. Canadian production was only 226 two door sedans and 548  four door sedans.

Even at a price that was expensive compared to Ford, Chevrolet and Plymouth, the Rambler sold well enough to provide the foundation for AMC. It offered comfortable accomodation for four people, economy, sturdy contruction and a high level of equipment. It was a foundation that George Romney, who took over AMC when Mr Mason died in late 1954, would build upon brilliantly.

 wow, incredible leather seats! And check out the ashtray in the door, cool!

So I looked it up, and was reminded... of just what AMC was. American Motors was a merger of failing car companies that couldn't compete alone against GM, Ford and Chrysler.. The companies that merged were Nash, Hudson

the ultimate goal was to be the merger of the new American Motors Corporation with the newly formed Studebaker-Packard Corporation (cash-flush but dealer-poor Packard bought cash-poor but dealer-flush Studebaker), which would have made American Motors a viable four-marque competitor in the industry as one of the "Big Three" - they would have been bigger than Chrysler.

However, when George Mason of AMC died in 1954, James Nance of Studebaker-Packard (took over in 1952) decided to go his own way.  He shouldn't have, since the Studebaker-Packard merger was fraught with problems, and the strength of AMC would have bailed them out.  As it was, Nance resigned following a disastrous 1956 and Studebaker-Packard agreed to a three-year management contract with the Curtiss-Wright Corporation.


  Curtiss-Wright promtly took over all of the defense contracts and factories that Studebaker-Packard held, and killed off Packard within two years, although the Packard name wasn't dropped until 1962. 

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Most outstanding exhibit at the Viva Las Vegas, Elbert brought a 29 Hudson, 2 Harleys and an ACE, and made a lot of people stop and stare

Kevin Chen asks (but needs to realize he needs to include an email for response to questions) what the deal is with the Gramaphones... they are real, they have modern speaker magnets and wiring at the small ends on the bottom, but were putting out music, quite loud and clear. I was real curious too!

Elbert Says: Them their is 1929 Atwater Kent Monophonic Super Heterodyne Speakers, that you can rotate and aim at who ever dislikes the racket and ole timey music you're playing. They be puttin out two hundred decibels which tends to cause cattle stampedes and youngens to scream. Which tends to cause their mothers to bend over, which me and my crew tend to like.....You have to understand we like things that tend to get on peoples nerves. But you see, we are highly entertaining. Ask me some more questions, I got lots of answers about the mighty Hudson and ole motorsickles. Will send money if we find work!!! Have Fun!!!!

Thanks Elbert!

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