Randy R's Journal

Hello Cyclekart enthusiasts. I am a fellow Cyclekartian who, while searching for his inspiration car, came across an interesting find in a barn. While I am currently investigating the history (fake or otherwise) of the car I will post the progress and any associated pictures of its history and my plan to bring this car back to it’s former glory.

The future will provide a better record of my plans to either do a nut and bolt restoration build or just a facelift using the existing patina as it displays it’s illustrious past victories. The car, as you will see in the various historic pictures, has raced under various liveries but the most famous being the old No.5. Unfortunately my favourite number is 24, so that is the number it will display once completed and fully restored to race condition.

Once completed, the car will be raced at local prestigious events such as Slymedog and hopefully Tieton 2018. As you will see this car has won many events including Sheepshead in 1922.

I have enjoyed this journey via fellow Cyclekart enthusiasts on this site immensely and I will make attempts to document my build as it happens (slowly). I hope to enjoy this journey with you as I’m never been much of a blogger or documenter.

I don’t respond well to pressure so don’t try it????.

After many hours and days of research in countless newspapers articles and library journals (Google), I have come to the realization that this “barn find” was not the Hudson’s first. At first I was shocked and dismayed but after realizing the car’s pedigree, I have since realized the Hudson’s worth.

Upon locating the Hudson Super Six in a barn, I was able to recover pictures and documentation (fake or otherwise????) of a previous barn find restoration done by Victor Von Rudebaker III. It appears the original Hudson Super Six had accumulated such notoriety it had become worthy of a complete restoration in the fifties and was even raced under number 24, the Gilmore Special. I’m unfamiliar who actually campaigned the car but I am certain the Victor Von Rudebaker auctioned the car at Bonbeouf’s (a prestigious auction house of the time). Here are some photos and associated documentation I received with the car.

Fortunately for me, I was able to recover some of the photos taken by Victor Von Rudebaker III that he gave to the prestigious auction house Bonbeouf (a subsiduary of Bonhams) before the sale of his restored prize. Apparently Victor Von Rudebaker III fell to a scandal (something to do with the Russians I believe) and had to liquidate all he was worth for legal fees.

The car sold for an undisclosed amount to someone in the Northwest where it sat in storage until I was able to purchase it for much, much less.

The real question is will I restore it, keep it’s current patina, or resurrect the car under a new livery.

Either way, it will be a bit of a money pit, one that I hope to enjoy in the future (with my fellow Cyclekartigins or is it Cyclekartians, I think one is a sweater).

Here are some more photos. I will add more as the secondary phase of either restoration or freshing (undecided) as they develop.

Classic Profile: 1916 Hudson Super-Six factory racer
In Vehicle ProfilesJuly 10, 2014Steve Evans376 ViewsLeave a comment
Classic Profile: 1916 Hudson Super-Six factory racer
The 1916 Hudson Super-Six factory special at Daytona | Courtesy of the author
Since its beginnings in 1909, Hudson had gone racing to prove the merits of its cars. In 1916 came the introduction of Hudson’s Super-Six with it's significant increase in horsepower.

The 1916 Hudson Super-Six factory special at Daytona | Courtesy of the author
The 1916 Hudson Super-Six factory special at Daytona | Courtesy of the author
Since its beginnings in 1909, Hudson had gone racing to prove the merits of its cars. In 1916 came the introduction of Hudson’s Super-Six and with it a significant increase in horsepower over the previous Model Six-40. The Super-Six had a number of innovations, chief among them the use of a counter-balanced crankshaft, which helped the engine achieve 76 horsepower.
Hudson built a few “specials” to promote their new model and enlisted the help of veteran race driver “smiling” Ralph Mulford to put the cars through their paces. On April 10, 1916, Mulford drove the Hudson to a new mile record at Daytona, achieving 102.53 miles per hour. During this American Automobile Association-sanctioned event, Mulford and the Hudson set a new American mark for a stock car chassis over a straightaway mile.
[pullquote]
This is a new record for man and machine.”[/pullquote]
The Hudson Triangle, The Hudson Motor Car Company’s internal newsletter, would report on yet another achievement: “A Hudson Super-Six stock chassis was driven by Ralph Mulford 1,819 miles in 24 hours, that average speed being 75.8 per mile for every hour of the 24. This is a new record for man and machine.” Mulford would follow this with a win in August at the inaugural Peaks Peak Hill Climb, where he would set a time of 18:24.70 – a record that would stand for eight years.
Hudson’s Super-Six would turn out to be a popular model and the company would continue to use the name through the 1949 model year. Ralph Mulford would move on to promote other manufacturers, including another record run, this time for Paige-Detroit at Daytona in 1920.
Hudson struggled against the “big three” American manufacturers as an independent yet was one of the few automobile companies to survive the Great Depression. In 1954, Hudson finally merged with Nash-Kelvinator to form American Motors. Although the Hudson name would be retired, American Motors soldiered on into the 1980s.