NOTE:
The editorials and opinions expressed within this webpage are the opinions and ranting
of the author and in no way express the opinions of the HET clubs, the WTN or any other
publication or organization officially or unofficially unless otherwise noted or quoted....

This weeks winner of the Loonie Bin Award
 
In the WTN (White Triangle News) Jan/Feb issue, Volume 40/Number 3, page 21-22
in a "letter to the editor", to quote:

"Dear Editor,
I am afraid this letter might bring numerous violent replies, but I can't help but feel that it is long overdue. First of all I wish to point out that the engine is the very heart and soul on my automobile. Without the engine the rest is simply an empty shell. If you take one of the General Motors engines (Chevrolets, Oldsmobiles etc.) which seem to be so vaunted by a small number of HET members judging by comments in the HET News, and wrap a Hudson body around it, you no longer have a Hudson. You have a damned GM Chevrolet. I have no animosity toward street rods as such. While I have no desire to own one, I can appreciate the hours of work and money spent on some of them, but I don't want to see something with a Chevrolet engine, Oldsmobile drive line etc. stuffed into the remnants of a Hudson body, and then have the beast extolled as a Hudson. It's not a Hudson, and when we accept it as such-we are downgrading all HET cars and the Club.
  Evie and I have five Hudsons, all in concourse condition. They are a 1909 Model 20 Roadster, a 1927 Super Six Fire Engine (500 G.P.M. pumper), a 1940 4-Door sedan, a 1947 Hudson Pickup (3/4 ton) and a 1953 Hornet, 4-Door. We also have nine other cars of other makes, but no GM junk. I am not a purist on restoration. Our 1909, Chester, is 100% authentic. So is our 1927 Fire Engine. Naturally the pump etc. is not Hudson but every single automotive part from wheels to motor is Hudson with no other automotive parts. Our 1940 Hudson (the Green Goose) is all Hudson but the paint color is not authentic. Our '47 Pickup, has a 308 motor, but as everyone knows, it is a HUDSON motor. The body color is a non-authentic pearl white; however, the fenders etc. are Hudson Harvest Tan. Satan, our '53 7X Hornet with the all leather (original) upholstery is a non-authentic blue and gold color. Other than that the tranny (still Hudson) has had the alteration of the straight line floor shift, called the Dragfast that I added for faster shifting during hill-climbs and other competitions in which I frequently participated. As you can see I am not an authenticity purist, but you will also note that not one of our cars contains a single part from some other auto manufacturer.
  So much for that now on to my next gripe-this is the long story (actually in letters to the Editor) which seems to be typical of the attitude which appears more and more in the WTN. The writer talks about a brush he had on the road when driving a '52 Hornet. A '51 so-called Hudson Super Six followed by a '54 Buick passed him full out. He couldn't understand what had happened until later he found that the '51 Hudson had an Oldsmobile engine. He then makes the inference was obviously that, "naturally a Hudson Hornet was beaten by that sacred Old's V8"! (Above statement is mine-not in the text), but the inference was obvious. The writer then goes on to say he liked the Oldsmobile setup much better than the Hudson and contemplated making the switch and regretted not having done so later when be throw a rod. He then got rid of the Hornet and traded it in on a Chevrolet that he loved so much and his brother also traded the Hudson for a Chevrolet. This trashing of Hudsons and adulation of General Motors might be appropriate in the newsletter of the "Chevys Best" Club or the Cadillac-LaSalle Club but not in the WTN.
Hudsonly,
B.L.M.   (end quote)

Well he sure has one thing correct....this is one of those "numerous and violent" replies. To begin with...let's examine Mr.B.L.M.'s logic. Question: If you put a Hudson engine in a '52 Chevy, is it now a Hudson? It has the "heart and soul" of the Hudson so it must now be a Hudson. Can it attend the meets as a Hudson? Enter the Hudson events as a Hudson? Be judged as a Hudson? According to "B.L.M. logic", it can. Continuing with the "B.L.M. logic", lets suppose Mr.B.L.M. has a bad heart (no wishing, just hypothetical) and he requires a transplant. Ok, a new heart is located, your old ticker is removed and your new "engine" is installed (after all what is a heart but the bodies engine?) The new heart did not come from the B.L.M. clan, the donors name was "Smith" - Question: Can you now be called "Mr.M."? Or must you now be a "Smith" and remove any and all associations with the M's? If you say NO, you are a hypocrite according to your own logic. (And you are the one who has givin a 2 ton hunk of iron and steel a human heart and soul, not me!) And another statement that frosts me is the "I'm not a purist", and the paint is not Hudson, and this and that isn't Hudson but the engine is Hudson! Give me a break. Either it is ALL Hudson or it isn't. Make up your mind. How about the stainless steel valves being used now in the engines so you can run unleaded fuels? They sure as hell did not come from Hudson! Note: All you guys using stainless valves no longer have a Hudson, so don't let Mr.M know it or you will be ostracized from his little world! If your going to "not associate" with any "impure" Hudsons I'd imagine we would loose around 3/4 of the members, as most all the Hudsons I've seen have been modified one way or another, from 6 to 12 volt, ignition systems, starters, suspension and so on and so forth. And a final note worth mentioning is the Hudson's with the V8 engines. Hudson built a V8? Not!! (But I guess them Hashes ain't real Hudsons anyway, right Mr.M.?)

Now, let me make Mr.M.'s day......
I have a 1953 Hudson Super Jet (yeah yeah to some it ain't a real Hudson either) and it is absolutely original with the exception of the engine,  transmission,  wiring and bulbs. The Jet now sports one of those damn GM Vortex V6 4.3 tuned-ported fuel injected computerized motors and a 700R4 transmission. Isn't it a shame I get 28 m.p.g. in town, have AC and cruise control and if I break down away from home I can get parts from any parts house or GM dealer. Sad. And isn't it a shame it has twice the horsepower of the 202 and will run around 150,000 more miles than the old 202 before I need an overhaul? It's so sad it starts right up cold, won't flood, never need points, condenser, carburetor adjustments, timing set and numerous other things this "crappy" GM junk has. Oh well, I just didn't know any better, what can I say.

My point is folks I have original cars down to the last nut and bolt, modified cars, all kinds, makes and models and I enjoy them all. I also enjoy the HET club and the Street Rodders club and several others. The people I do not like to associate with are the "B.L.M.'s" of the world and I never will. When I do, I'm not as nice about it as I am here. There are always a few of these kind of people in every club that make it a little less fun for all of us with their snobbery and stupidity. (Even in my own chapter, the Orange Blossom, there are a couple of real winners! I won't name names but they know who they are.) Isn't it sad he has the privilege to express his opnions in the very publication, the WTN, that he claims the editor, other WTN staff writers, and the HET members, opinions and stories, have no place (should not be included) in the WTN, that he just does not like, approve of or agree with? (His own not included, of course.) Yes, lets censor the WTN to pure Hudson ONLY and fire the pinko Editor! NOT!!!

'nuff said!

Terry Ray, radical HET Member