1950 Hudson Commodore 8 -- thermostat and dipstick question

Rex
Rex Member
Dear All,

I discovered that my 1950 Hudson Commodore 8 has no thermostat in it, and I am a bit confused as to which one is correct for the car?  There are a number of them on eBay, but I am unsure which one is correct.  Any help would be appreciated!

Secondly, I changed the oil in my car and feel certain I only put in 7 quarts, but the engine registers  a quart over.  I admit I did not check the dipstick until a couple of days later.  Could it perhaps have the wrong dipstick?  How long should the eight cylinder dipstick be?

Thanks!  Rex  

Comments

  • Jon B
    Jon B Administrator
    If the book says it's supposed to hold 7 quarts, one of them would be in the upper (dipper) tray.  Assuming the dipper tray already held one quart when you drained the oil from the pan, then you'd only have needed to add 6 quarts.

    I'm sure someone with a '50 will tell you which thermostat you need. There are two basic types (that I know of), the bypass and the non-bypass type, and each of those would be available in different temperature settings.
  • I believe the dip stick will say 8 cyl. Stamped on it.
  • Rex
    Rex Member
    Thank you for your help!
  • befishers1
    befishers1 Expert Adviser
    The '50 8 takes 8 qts dry (1 in the dip trays and 7 to refill).   If you didn't check it for a couple days are you sure it doesn't have coolant in it.  Is there sludge in the pan.  When I first got mine it didn't take much oil, I dropped the pan to find an inch of sludge.  Also I use a 155 degree bypass type.  In Florida I find I get 155-175 using this with a new 4-core radiator.  Hope it helps.