Rare Utility Coupe with slide-out pickup bed in the trunk. Older restoration still in excellent condition. Proven tour car and reliable runner with comfortable interior. Always clean, never any rust or rot. How cool is this?
This particular Utility Coupe has been in the same family for nearly 50 years, passing from father to son several years ago. It was restored in the early 1980s, so it isn’t fresh, but by the car’s current condition you can see that it was extremely high-quality work. The gray paint is just the right color for a low-key salesman’s vehicle, letting the extremely handsome bodywork do the talking. Despite the age of the restoration, it is holding up beautifully, with a soft shine on the paint that seems entirely appropriate and a bright red pinstripe to add a little zest. It does not appear to have ever been a rusty car and there’s no evidence of cut-rate workmanship anywhere on it. The doors close with authority, the hood is easy to latch, and the unique trunk lid swings open on well-oiled hinges and stays there thanks to two heavy-duty props. Chrome details add an upscale feel and the bumpers, grille, and emblems are in very good condition—it appears that most of the grille is stainless steel, so it’ll be easy to maintain for years to come.
The beautiful interior is correctly restored as well, offering cozy accommodations for two. Tan broadcloth with simple vertical stitching looks period-appropriate, and while there’s some very minor wear, none of it detracts from the appeal of this Hudson. Controls are familiar, with a big steering wheel and long shifter controlling a 3-speed manual gearbox, and the gauges are all clustered in the center of the dash. You’ll note the unique speedometer begins at about the one o’clock position and rotates clockwise, and this might be one of the earliest uses of warning lights in place of gauges—both oil pressure and generator output use bulbs. It also includes an accessory Hudson heater/defroster unit that surely worked well on chilly drives and the spare tire is stowed behind the driver’s seat to maximize trunk capacity. Perhaps the car’s most notable feature, however, is the roll-out pickup bed in the massive trunk. Open the lid and grab the two handles, rotating them inward, and the bed slides out on roller bearings and locks into position. You’ll note there’s exactly zero rust in any of the critical areas, particularly at the rear of the trunk opening and ahead of the bed where issues would be common.
The engine is a 212 cubic inch inline-6 that was well-regarded for its reliability and torque. It’s tidy under the hood, if not detailed for show, and all the original components are in place with no notable modifications. Corporate silver engine enamel makes it look bright and thanks to a recent tune-up, it starts easily and runs quite well. It likes some choke when it’s cold and it takes a while to warm up thanks to a gigantic radiator, but once it’s fully warm, you’ll be pleased with the turbine-smooth engine’s performance. It was rebuilt during the ‘80s restoration and has some driving on it, but this is a proven tour car that repeatedly made long highway journeys to shows, traveling hundreds of miles in a day without issue. It isn’t cosmetically perfect but mechanically it’s rugged.
Up front, the kingpins have just been replaced and the brakes have been recently serviced with new wheel cylinders. Hudson’s oil-bath cork clutch works properly, although it’s a little chattery when it’s cold and you should store it with the clutch disengaged (don’t worry, we’ll show you how to do it) so it doesn’t stick. Otherwise, the 3-speed manual transmission shifts cleanly and with 4.11 gears in back, it feels quick around town and pulls effortlessly in high gear without a lot of shifting needed. Braking and ride quality are about what you’d expect for the era, certainly better than any old truck you’ve driven, and you can see that the floors are in exemplary shape with no rust or patchwork in its past. Steel wheels carry correct hubcaps and trim rings with 6.00-16 Denman wide whites.
We know that Hudson enthusiasts are passionate about their cars, and we’d wager that few of them have seen a Utility Coupe in person. This one is a great combination of functionality and appearance, a great older restoration that presents quite well, and it will always attract a crowd when you open up the trunk. Unusual, attractive, easy to drive, and rare, those are all the ingredients of a great collector car. Call today!
For more details and photos, please visit www.HarwoodMotors.com
