|
1955
Hudson Hollywood Hardtop
Provided by Hemmings
 So,
just what is a six-cylinder Hudson Hornet Hollywood worth? In our opinion
you could probably buy the best one in the world for $15,000, and you’d
be getting a lot of car for the money. Deduct 10% from that figure if
it’s a V-8. A very nice #2 car might make $11,000, a decent #3 could
go for $7,000. After that, proceed with caution. Rough examples will almost
certainly cost more to restore than their market value when the restoration
is completed.
The 1955 Hudson Hornet Hollywood—-a fast fall from
proud independent to amalgamated American Motors product!
These cars have a mixed parentage, being the first ones to
be designed and built after Hudson had been absorbed by Nash, which then
became, corporately, American Motors. Finances dictated that the Hudson
get only a facelift and chassis change using Nash components rather than
carrying on with their 1948-based body shell. Hudson’s excellent
flathead six-cylinder engine was retained for the1955-56 Hornet series;
while V-8 power was available via Packard’s new OHV V-8, which was
also an option in the big Nashes. The Wasp series used the old Jet flathead
six.
This "new" Hudson, however, attracted neither Hudson
loyalists nor buyers looking for something new and interesting on the
1955 American automotive scene—a year that hardly lacked for new
drivetrains and body styles from nearly every automaker. At the end of
the model year only 20,321 of these cars in all series found customers.
The 1956 sales figures were even more dismal with 8,914 cars delivered.
Hudson production finally came to a halt in 1957, after only 3,108 cars
had rolled off the assembly line.
In collector circles these cars came to be known as a "Hash"
thanks to their shared components with the Kenosha product. Indeed, the
Hudson Ramblers and Metropolitans only difference with their Nash brethren
was the nameplate—perhaps the most blatant example of "badge
engineering" ever to come down the road.
Nevertheless, those who chose a Hudson Hollywood Custom hardtop
in 1955 got some pleasing features, particularly on the inside. Included
as standard equipment were transparent sun visors, a 16-inch-wide rear
seat center armrest, padded dash and an overhead net for carrying oddments.
Outside, a "continental" spare tire was standard equipment,
freeing up an enormous amount of trunk space and raising hell with gas
mileage and aerodynamics.
Due to their very low production originally, these cars seldom
come up for sale neither in the collector market, nor in magazines like
Hemmings, on the internet or at auction. Interestingly, despite their
low sales a prospective purchaser could choose from three distinct Hudson
Hollywoods in terms of engines for 1955: the Custom Wasp used the old
Jet flathead six for motive power, and probably was not exactly neck-snapping
in its zero to 60 times; the Custom Hornet carried the grand old Hornet
six from previous Hudsons; and the Custom Hornet V-8 used the new Packard
V-8.
Unlike most cars of that time that offered a choice of sixes
and V-8s, the Hornet Hollywood with the six has more collector value than
the V-8-equipped cars. There are two reasons for this anomaly: first,
the six has more collector appeal to the Hudson purist; and second, the
first Packard V-8s with their Twin Ultramatic transmissions—mandatory
on V-8-equipped Hornets—were trouble-prone units.
1955 Hudson Hollywood hardtop
Base price: $ 2,880
Base weight: 3,587 lbs.
Body: Five-passenger unitized all-steel two-door hardtop
Frame: Welded in unit with body
Wheelbase: 121 ¼ inches
Length: 219 ¼ inches
Track (f/r): 59.5/60.5
Suspension: Coil springs with shock absorbers
Brakes: Four-wheel hydraulic internal expanding
Engine: Inline L-head six-cylinder with
Output: 170 bhp @ 4000 rpm. 7.5:1 compression ratio
Transmission: Three-speed manual. Overdrive or HydraMatic optional
*Length of car includes continental spare tire.
|
