Having owned a 50 Super for 41 years......I can definitely say that the 23d series Super, Super deluxe, and Custom all shared front end sheet metal. The grill is the same size as the Custom but with an internal die change to accommodate the the broad horizontal bars. The rest of the grill bars have attachment provisions on their bottom surface for the eggcrate, but the holes were not drilled.

The confusion arises in that the 22nd series Super was on the 120" wheelbase, but the 23d series Super and Super Deluxe were on the 127.

The pictured convertible in this thread is for certain a Super Deluxe which gives it a decided cornering advantage over the (more) nose heavy Custom.

Here is a fascinating movie from Hudson, the first I have ever encountered. Thanks Youtube!

http://youtu.be/x9kJ76U9Hc4

In it is described the difference between power and torque, but also is hinted what mods Hudson made for increased performance on their flatties. Couple of things to note--how relieving the block and a very briefly mentioned LD (long duration) cam flattened their torque curve so it did not drop off so fast at higher engine speeds, which is the curse of flathead engines as they struggle to breathe.

Note also as the staggering combinations of engines, heads, and carbs are rattled off and compared with Hudson's 53 engines: The optional aluminum heads offered only a few extra horsepower. The dual carb setup about 10. Most of their gains over 53 came from their "Super Induction" modifications, ie the cam and relieving.

Also, if you google "port and relieve flathead" you will find more info than you can look through in an evening.

It is not necessary to remove the lock knob. Just open the vent window slightly and the garnish molding will clear both the lock knob and the vent window frame.

Mount your generator so you can have a belt to turn your water pump. Fill the PS pump and the Ultra--neither one will enjoy running dry. See the manual for how to fill the Ultra. The "ignition" wire needs to be jumpered to the neg terminal of your battery, if you are still running pos ground. Have fun.

Wow, if what you say is true, you got 10 mpg. I sure hope not! My 51 200 (exact same drivetrain as your car) turns in a regular 17 mpg on a trip, 18 at the speeds you mention, and 16 if I flog it. I don't know what it does in the city because I can't hardly think of a reason to visit a city.

PackardV8's numbers are quite right given your tire diameter. From the numbers and from my own experience there is not the slightest trouble running 70 -80 mph, especially with the 288 which has the sweet short stroke. The bottom end won't notice a thing but the gas gauge will have a tendency to plummet.

I'll be very interested to hear--the last old-style u-joint I saw for sale was that much, and you still had to do the job.

Anyone who has ridden in one of the long wheelbase cars or in one of the hearses or ambos would not be in any hurry to include torsion level. They ride just fantastic as is. The point of T-L was to give the effect of suspending the car at its center of gravity. The longer the wheelbase, the less the real advantage. 2CV Citroens had the same system in principle and it was BIG help for them.

BUT, if someone wanted to build a limo with Torsion for fun, I would suggest making bar extenders, sort of like a socket wrench extension. Then add light helpers front and rear to compensate for the extra weight. Would not have a clue how to affordably make longer bars.

I know that there are people on here that love them, but I think that battery tenders are a money making farce. Every winter my collection sits 2-3 months while I am away. Every spring I just get in, turn the key and start them. If I had a car with a functioning clock I would pull a battery cable for storage longer than a month. Being a cheapskate, I usually buy the cheapest batteries I can find and most last 5-6 years. A tender might be a good idea for a seldom-used car with a computer that constantly draws.

Optimas do hate to be overcharged--saw a tractor with a bad regulator ruin one in an afternoon. Otherwise, they are amazing.

The Gear Start has a 56 valve body with the shift points altered, and an extra disk in the clutch pack. The bell housing is ventilated to help keep the convertor cool, and I will be using an air cooler also. Thought of using the 56 hi-stall convertor turbines but wasn't sure that would be a good idea with the slower torque curve of the I8.

The radiator, by happenstance and the fact that I am cheap, is out of a 58 Packard that I slaughtered. That solved the height problem, and fitting it with a full fan shroud seemed to bring the cooling capacity in line.