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Hudson may have been an independent automaker, but they offered racing support like one of the big three during the early Fifties. Starting with its aerodynamically advanced, “step-down” Hornet bodies—which offered a low center of gravity and superior handling—they dropped in their mighty 7X racing engine. The big-bore six was a collaboration between Marshall Teague and Hudson engineer Vince Piggins, and had a bigger bore, bigger valves, relieved and polished combustion chambers, a high compression head, a high performance cam, and split dual exhausts. All this technology was topped by the famous “Twin H” dual-carburetor setup and produced 220-bhp, which was a 75-bhp increase over a bone-stock mill. While all this might have made the “stock” in stock car arguable, it sure made the name Hudson unbeatable on the track. During those glory days of the first half of the 1950s, those rounded, bulbous Hudsons were indeed the terrors of the oval track.
All the engineering in the world can’t make up for so-so drivers, so Hudson assembled a dream racing team. The roster included Marshall Teague, Herb Thomas, Tim Flock, Jack McGrath, Frank Mundy, Lou Figaro, Lee Petty, and Dick Rathman. Rathman alone was one heck of a team by himself. Rathman collected 13 NASCAR Grand National Wins and 13 NASCAR Grand National Poles (from 10/14/1951 to 3/6/1955). He achieved 3 pole positions on one particular track—Palm Beach Speedway. He won 56 races between 4/6/1952 and 7/10/1954 on 10 different tracks, 26 of those wins (250-milers) at Oakland Stadium Speedway alone! Rathman was born on January 16, 1924, and he died on February 1, 2000.
Highway 61 is knocking them dead with their 1:18 scale images. There was once a time when these “big boys” could be had for around $20 (and you got what you paid for) but, today, are rivaling the “precision” of the precision 1:24ths in this larger scale. This racing Hudson, from H-61’s “Origins of Speed” collection, is no exception. As per NASCAR tradition, just about every surface has a number, name, or advert on it. You can’t beat this larger scale for its ability to display details—and details are what you get. The proportions seem a tad large, but I suspect it’s because of the larger scale. Where there are chrome trim parts on the 1:1 car, they’re on this image—no “molded in” stuff here. The interior—what there is of it (remember, this is a racecar)—is nicely detailed. The floor is fully carpeted and the cloth of the front seats (the rears have been removed) and doors is nicely simulated. Even the driver’s seatbelts have been supplied—made of cloth with photo-etched buckles. The doors have hidden hinges and clips to simulate the way the 1:1 car’s doors open. The dash layout appears to incorporate a tach on the left, small gauges in the center, and a clock on the right. The trunk’s vacant, except of its carpeted floor (no spare tire). The engine bay is a wealth of detail. The engine’s fully wired and plumbed with the two “Twin-H-Power” air cleaners prominent on top of the gold-painted engine block and intake manifold. Let me note at this point that the hood hinges are a spot-on rendering of the real items. Flip this baby over and you’re rewarded with details galore on the undercarriage. One of the first things you notice is the NASCAR-style right-side-exiting exhaust. Next, is the gold-painted oil pan and tranny. Third, is the silver-painted gas tank, next to the spare tire well. It may take awhile, but you’ll notice the two-section driveshaft, especially if you rotate the rear wheels and notice that it rotates too! The front suspensions operate like the 1:1 car’s does but the rear suspensions don’t—though the leaf springs and shocks are present. Another nice touch is that the frame is separate from the floor pan, just like on the 1:1 car. This image comes packaged in Highway 61’s usual curved-front display case with a mirrored base. You also get a polishing cloth, H-61’s version of the FM model examination tool, and an application to receive “The Die-caster” quarterly newsletter. In addition, the outer box has a decent amount of historical information printed on it. Highway 61 is to be commended for producing a beautifully detailed 1:18 image of an historic racecar for about half of what you’d pay ($59.95) for a precision 1:24 image.
Hudson definitely had the formula for winning races down pat from 1951 to 1955. The machine was right, as was the driving team. For five glorious years, Hudson was THE car to beat on the NASCAR round-and-rounds. I can recall one old Hudson war-horse running on the 1/3-mile oval track in Wall, NJ in the mid-1960s. Going up against a raft of V-8s, that big-bore 6 just tore up the competition in the straight-aways—bellowing around the small oval and lapping the field a couple of times during its races. Needless to say, the crowd loved it.
(09/29/2005)
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