QuestionQUESTION: Hi I have a 1952 Hudson Pacemaker and its currently in the shop being restored and I have no access to do things on it, but I am looking at replacing the gauges with aftermarket ones I had left over from another project. I need to know what the ohm reading for the fuel sender would be i.e 0 ohms EMPTY to 30 ohms FULL or 270 - 33 or 0 - 90 or 0 - 180. I can't seem to find it anywhere and unfortunately I don't have access to the car to pull the sender out of the tank. Would you know what my Hudson Fuel gauge / sender readings would be??
Regards,
Adam
ANSWER: Your sender would be around 70 ohms empty, and about 6 ohms for a full tank. These numbers are very un-critical - anything within 30% of those numbers will work just fine with the original dash gauge. The key thing is that the resistance drops with increasing fuel level.
Now, since I say in my intro on this site, "please don't ask me about modifying cars" - I don't do it, and I don't advise it. So, here comes the harangue!
WHY would you want to modify that beautiful Hudson dashboard in any way?
That is one of the most attractive dash designs ever, with beautiful gauges and letter fonts. I have Hudsons too, and I just revel in looking at the gauges and the whole dash every time I use the car. AND - there is no reason to - the guages and indicator lights do their job in warning you of any trouble. If you insist on a modern oil pressure gauge and ammeter, you can hide them in the glovebox in case you ever have reason to look at them, but please consider leaving your car as original as you can. The original cars are disappearing from the landscape quickly now - pretty soon all the truly original cars will be in museums or gone from public view.
OK< it's your car, do what you want, I just have to vent when I hear of people "improving" their cars, when the original design was well thought out by skilled and experienced designers, and is still usable. (This includes converting to 12 volts, by the way.)
Please don't shoot the messenger!
Dick
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QUESTION: Hi Dick,
Thanks for this answer it is excatly what I needed.
I have only just bought this car and unfortunately the previous owners tried to customize the car and did a bad job, I am now trying to clean everything up and make the car look nice and respectable. But I understand where you are coming from if people keep customising and not restoring we will never have any original cars left whcih is unfortunate.
Thanks for your time,
Adam
AnswerThank YOU for the very kind words. I wish you every success with your car. As you may know, Hudson was a very high quality car, with an exceptional record in track racing due to the excellent handling and low center of gravity. The engines are very durable, and they make practical driving cars even today - they will definitely keep up with traffic, especially if your car has overdrive. And, the styling, while shocking when the cars were new, actually foretold what the trend would be many years later - there are 2009 cars that have a lot of the same styling cues! Consider joining the HET (Hudson-Essex-Terraplane) club - they are nice folks, and will be an important resource in finding parts and repair specialists - there are some things that are unique to Hudsons, and you need someone to consult with when you have to do a repair.
Good luck with it! I've been driving mine since 1985, and we've travelled all over the western states with it - it has always gotten us where we're going in style and comfort.
Dick
