A Perfect Day For a Tour

Unknown

The last several weeks have been very busy at work and I have had little

time for working on projects (or posts to this list). I spent this past

Saturday at the shop and was on the verge of doing the same again Sunday when

the lure of a short jaunt in the '29 overcame good sense. The Orange County

Model T Club was having a local tour with a late A.M. start and the weather

promised to be just the sort that the Chamber of Commerce might brag about;

sunny with a light sea breeze to keep away the heat. The Hudson had not been

run in a month and the rockers were no doubt dry, but I had decided to go,

lack of prep or no.

For those of you unfamiliar with the F head setup, the rockers have oil

cups with felt wicks to drip oil on the Hyatt bearings. This was a very

common setup in the early days of overheads and it works very well. I like to

oil them up the night before a tour if it has been longer than a week between

runs.

I oiled them up fired the motor and waited for it to warm while I filled

the radiator with water. It always seems to loose a quart or two on tour,

probably from poor water pump packings that never seem to tighten up as they

should. This '29 has the manifold heat assembly disconnected, and the car is

an undrivable pig until it is completely warm, so I always allow ten minutes

or so to make sure this is done.

The T Club is a fun group, and they always seem quite happy to have the

Hudson along on tour. The tour speeds are typically 30 - 40 mph and the

Hudson is at it's ease at these speeds. Today the tour went from northern

Orange County into Southern L.A. County to a municipal park on an old

historic rancho that has some of the old buildings and a restored steam

locomotive to inspect.

When I was Tour Chairman of our local C.I.C. Chapter, I tried a few tours

out with mixed results. Some of us just wanted to "get there" and then sit,

missing out on the biggest portion of the fun. There is something magical

about being part of a column of antique cars!

For those whose cars are still projects, I can tell you that the view

from the Hudson driver's seat is wonderful. The big long hood tapers toward

the radiator, the fenders swell gracefully towards the sides of the car and

the back of the headlights mirror the sky and the paint colors like an ever

changing Picasso painting. I have a '28 style Hudson Man mascot mounted on a

faceted '29 style cap (cast as one unit) above it all leading the way

forward. Looking past the Hudson man is a Model T, or rather several of them

nattering away ahead of me and certainly a very common sight when the '29 was

new. Some of the roads that we traveled on were through older parts of town,

and with squinted eyes and a little imagination it is possible to go back in

time a bit. Back when the Hudson was new, 30 mph was a good speed and gas

cost a nickel a gallon. Heady stuff for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

This Hudson needs motor work and does not drive as it should, a situation

I hope to address after I finish the Coupe, but for now it is fine at Model T

speeds on a sunny breezy SoCal day. For a time, the pressure of business is

held in abeyance and life is sweet.



Paul O'Neil, Hudson29@aol.com

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