The Terraplane was a lower cost car to meet depression era economics as Hudson themselves were competing higher up in the market. It was quite popular over it production run given the times and even in six cylinder form gave the Ford V8 a run for its money and in its later straight 8 form set quite a few stock car records. A strange name for a car but it came from this marketing slogan that tapped into all the records being broken in the air, on the water and on the race tracks. “On the sea that’s aquaplaning, in the air that’s aeroplaning, but on the land, in the traffic, on the hills, hot diggity dog, that’s Terraplaning!” The car had some very unique features given its lower cost market place. The gear selector was electric over vacuum with the little gear lever being attached to the steering column. it was developed by Bendix and used on a few other cars. The gear you wanted was pre selected by the "electric hand" on the column and when you pressed the clutch the gearchange happened. Your gearbox is missing all of the selector system and clutch control. Three speed plus reverse. first and second via the counter shaft and third is direct drive through the mainshaft.

My Dad had a 37 Hudson straight 8, almost exactly the same as that. I was 15 at the time, done a big-end so we parked the car over an old mineshaft ( Central West Queensland Australia Gemfields) the hole was about 2 foot deep, I crawled under, drained the oil and dropped the pan. Unbeknown to me there was a second pan which doesn't drain ! Oh what a mess, I had nowhere to move in such a confined space. First thing we found was that it was an oil-filled clutch after we burned out the throw-out bearing. Correct oil is Hudsonite, Singer sewing machine oil is a good alternative. you will find the engine number below the water manifold on the left side. Dad had a piece of babbit metal left over from a chev job and we re-metaled the big-end.

One great thing about Hudson engines is the Chrome-alloy engine block. It was so hard that you can easily ruin your boring bar trying to re-bore it. They don't need valve seat inserts for the same reason.

The power dome option was a 106 HP version of the Terraplane engine. It was a 3 speed transmission and 4:11 rear ratio. I'm putting one of those power trains in a '27 model T for vintage flathead racing.

Old Hudson engine wow that’s awesome glad you guys are saving these old cars and iron from the scrap pile thanks for sharing

The disadvantages of Flatheads, is the gas flow, the advantages are reduced number of moving parts that can break. Flatheads go real well with turbos,..... Add direct stratified injection through the top of the head, will clean up it's emissions and take the fuel out of the inlet, meaning more space in the port for air molecules, and more fuel in the injection, for more power.

A mate of mine restored a Hudson Terraplane back in the 1980's, he half jokingly referred to it as a 'Terrible Pain'. Good luck with the rebuild

I remember my older brother had a Terraplane as a paddock bomb back in the 1960’s and where I honed my driving skills in it as a 12 year old around the bush tracks and it still sticks with me to this day where all my brothers mates used to say how much low end power the power dome engine had and There was a particular very steep almost dangerous dirt slope we used to call the sandhill even though it was dirt and if any of our cars could make it to the top only in dry weather here in Melbourne I may add, it was sort of like a badge of honour and it was agreed that you had a good car! As the terraplane had so much bottom end torque with its long stroke the thing just cruised up it! These were the days when we could buy unregistered trade ins from police car car yards around Bell Street, Preston like FX and FJ Holdens, old sidewacker Ford Customlines to pommie shit for as little as twenty to thirty bucks and thrash the S… out of them until we broke axles, diffs, gearboxes or blew the donks up or rolled them over, we never had sny super serious injuries thank god but man what fun we had for our money every weekend! You can’t do that these days! Good luck with getting the grouse old engine going again 👍

The scoop method of feeding oil to the bearings was also used in pre-war Chevvies.

Great video! The first car that I “drove” was a Terraplane, sitting on dads lap while I steered, aged about 4 in 1959. (NSW). When I was older I was fascinated by the words Terraplane and Power Dome cast into the cylinder head. The engine had incredible torque, thanks to that 5 inch stroke, and dad would often boast that he could start off from stationary in third gear.

Olsons Gaskets in Port Orchard Washington has complete gasket sets for those and near all other engines to 1900 for all applications. I have a 32 Essex Super 6 car, your base engine looks quite like it mine. Also have 31 Hudson 8 75K miles stock bores still excellent condition, apparently very high nickel alloy blocks. Both are roller lifters (Essex is Hudson). I figure those engines would have done 200K+ miles given todays oil, proper oil filter and proper oil changes. Both engines the stroke is near double the bore which is why they were good drivers. Other than couple small floor panels no wood in the bodies unlike most other same era cars. When I get old engines first thing I do is pressure wash them then keep the fasteners and pistons wet with penetrant for couple weeks. I do not turn cranks until I clean the bores to save the rings, near always a rust layer in the bores. I updated the essex with a Ford 300 6 cause the Essex 6 is too slow for todays traffic. My wife drives the stock Hudson no problem after I changed the bad carb to a weber. The newest vehicle I drive is 1959 for good reason (mostly keeps me sane).

My dad had a Terraplane pickup when I was a teenager, late '70s or so. Was pretty rare as I remember.

A Terraplane motor in a Valiant. The Terraplane was made by Hudson. Babbited rods with shims. They had a strange oil supply looks like some combination of splash and pressure lubrication. I worked for my brother in law's garage one year and they still had cans of Hudsonite clutch juice on the shelf.

Interesting engine for sure. I've never heard of such an engine, but would like to follow along to see how it comes out... Thumbs Up!

You scored a piece of history unknown. ❤

That's a cool find. I love old engines. I have always had an appreciation for old-school mechanical engineering they're like functional art pieces.

Those bores look mint compared to what I was expecting from first sight. You guys got lucky! You also got a sub for the excellent engine content!

The box will be a 3 speed. The biggest gear on the main shaft is first, the medium gear is second. Third is just connecting the input shaft to the main shaft. The idler gears are reverse.

Outstanding video and find. Good on you pal, save that old dog. Too bad we can't update them with oil gallies and pressure, modern filter and caps and bearing. But getting back to life as is will be a very good then. I am hoping to see Part 2 soon. Dennis in Virginia, USA

I worked at a trannie shop/parts distribution warehouse hub. We repaired train trannies. Made custom monster truck transmissions as well as US passenger stuff. We also installed several hundreds of 6 to 12 plate wet pack clutches in UPS vans. That looks like a very old version of the UPS clutches. BTW In 1983 A full clutch pack with pressure plate, clutch pack etc. ran north of $7,000.00... For the "cheap" ones. Never had one come back from wear.

What an amazing engine. I. would love to see it all restored and running.

...From Wikipedia: "The Terraplane was a car brand and model built by the Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, between 1932 and 1938. In its maiden year, the car was branded as the Essex-Terraplane; in 1934 the car became simply the Terraplane. They were inexpensive, yet powerful vehicles that were used in both town and country. The Terraplane name was used for both cars and trucks.".... Terra..(Earth) plane.... My dad owned one back in the 50's.... A very reliable car.

My grandmother's first car was a Terraplane, she always said it was her favorite car and never let her down.

Hi, so refreshing to hear 'Split Pins' as what they are , many thanks from Nr Chester

You guys are true optimists! As she came apart, I kept thinking "Briggs on steroids", as a factory stroker. My favorite parts are the clutch & the preheater intake manifold, like an old Ford tractor! Subscribed, so I can hear it run again!

Yeah I Haven't Built an Engine for a few years, But Watching yous guys Makes me want to start a new project.

High performance power plant from early 1930's what a beast..👍

Thank you for this video! Yes subbed! So cool to see you guys work on that and find out what is inside! I got some flatties myself, but... just mini bikes and mowers. Still fun to play around with and see if I can make em run again. Cheers from the States (Chicagoland)

First car when I was 12 years old a 47 Hudson, super six, wet cork clutch drove her pedal to the metal around our acreage for three years before blowing the head gasket, 45 mph in first gear once too often. Then a neighbour moved in they had a Hudson Hornet six cylinder with multiple carbs. Hudson engineers were ahead of the other manufactures.

Had to chuckle when ya pulled that head off !

Nice bit of automotive archeology. Very interesting to watch. Thanks guys.

It aint no 265 but always enjoy some old Aussie mechanical History. That engine cover is cool.

Hudson's were amazing, even in their lower priced cars - the Terraplane which was promoted by Amelia Earhart and was a fairly popular car in its time. The wet cork clutch was surprisingly smooth and reliable.I wasn't aware of the timing gear being bakelite and am amazed at the condition of it for its age. I also wasn't aware of it having been exported but am not an expert on these cars so had never even thought about it. The Terraplane was dropped from the Hudson lineup before WWII, and Hudson merged with Nash-Kelvinater (Rambler) in the early 1950's which formed American Motors Corporation (AMC) and the Hudson name was dropped a few years later along with the Nash name, but the Rambler name continued to the late 1960's. AMC by then had bought out Kaiser-Jeep and it was later bought out by Chrysler Corporation, so in a sense, I guess a person could say that in a way Hudson/Terraplane has descendants still being produced today.

Love to follow the journey to get it running.

Love ❤️ the idea of the area. 👍 So much adjustment on the bearing. Wish we had today. The pain great idea. I'm shore this motor has alot of hrs on it. Time war's. Today engine be the same. I think not. Hehe. Thank you mate. 😊

Gearbox is a 3 speed with high gear being direct drive (no gears). So you have gears for low and second, and a different set for reverse. Hudson used its own design of oil bath clutch from 1909 until the mid 1950s. Very smooth and effective. Had no trouble even with the 170HP Twin H Power engine. You can reline the clutch plate with bottle corks and cut them to the right thickness with a sharp knife. Pro tip, push half the corks thru from one side, half from the other and they can't fall out. Fill the clutch housing with 6 oz of automatic transmission fluid, top up or change at every oil change.

That's an interesting ol banger !!! Good you for getting it back home safe !!! 😉😎

What an awesome find/save, that'll come up alright. Good work.

Get a couple guys to help. Make new timing gears. A person who can cast new gear blanks. Possibly iron. With a brass cam gear, or a aluminum cam gear. With a brass gear pressed on. And a iron crank gear. Get the blanks milled from foam. And do lost foam casting. Use s mill to do a final cut for the gear teeth and mounting surface . The bearings will probably just need cleaning. I would possibly work on a crank driven oil pump. With remote oil filter. Snd stleast spray oil on the cam, cylinders and other parts use the stock ports to plumb it in. And mount the nozzles to the dipper pan. Maybe try pressuring the main bearings atleast. Have nozzles spray 30-40 psi oil into the rods dippers after they leave the oil dip tray. The pressure along with the rods motion it should be similar to getting 100psi oil for a fraction of s second. If it didn't get enough while dipping. The nozzle should get it done. That engine should make a fair amount of TQ. Maybe 80-100 HP , if its a good day. A 5" stroke, probably 5:1 compression, if that is pushed to 8:1 and possibly a cam ground for it. Port the ports and manifolds it will possibly make 130hp get the compression up bit and add a turbo, find a model A hot rod to put it in. Adapt a t-5 , 5 speed transmission to it. Maybe an automatic. Definitely would be different!!

Cool find. Enjoy watching you guys work on it. Hope to see you guys get her running again.

Given that it has likely been sitting out in the open for decades - that engine is in amazing and very rebuildable condition!

these terraplane engines were real good speedboat motors ,especially if they were balanced and ported you could run salt water straight into them for cooling so no heat exchanger torquey as hell for pulling skiers out of the water, easy to work on and modify to up horsepower

You promised an oddball engine and you delivered . Think i'll subscribe and see more of what your doing . Yes it needs to sit in a cool rat rod 👍👍🇺🇸

There was a Terraplane dealer in Deadwood S.D. The painted signage is still on the side of a building on the main drag through town.

man that is some cool shite. I would love to see it built. cheers.

Most enjoyable and cool teardown vid I have seen. Nice job

They are called babot scoops. They scoop up the oil and force it between crank and bearing.

You do that will interesting thanks mate

One Of Robert Johnson’s best songs, “Terraplane Blues” is about a woman he left years before beating the snot out of his old Terraplane. The lyrics are basically a list of the problems she has failed to fix, while continuing to drive it.

The best of luck to you!

Sir this project looks like a good end ever, I like it. Hope to see it running. Good luck.

Very cool learning experience. Thank You P.S. Not sure I would have much faith in un-shimming the rods to quiet a rod knock though.

Nothin like the smell of a 300 year old plug pullin either 🤣 Nice find. Hope to see it run.

new subscriber glad to be here ,had the same engine in a ol mid 50s Fargo ,the cocky who we got the ute from said he found that motor and fitted it 25 years ago ,Far South Coast NSW

Imagine when the Hudson Terraplane was being assmbled at the factory?? If you showed them a modern cordless impact gun! :)

Ya see you need to lay that Hudson over then it might fit. Clem Smith [owner Mallala Race track] raced a Terraplane Special at Rowley Pk in the 60s,, a front running car. He had a collection of Hudsons auctioned off after he died. All runners. Bizare?? No just old. Many sidevalve engines, even up to the 60s with Dodge sidevalves the basic engine in Mopar products. Replaced by the slant 6. 3 speed gearbox

My father had a '36'in high school in '41' faster than fast he said. The biggest issue only cable operated rear brakes which needed adjusted quite often to keep them working right.

This engine will need a lot of work IF it going to run again!! I thought Hudson Terraplane was a 1930s car, the car in the video looks about 1960s.

A mate had a Hudson Terraplane, (late 30s car I think), back in the 80s. Took it out to Mallala with his Group N EH, and he took it for a couple of laps between races. Yeah, that's not so bad, it'll run again. Poured bearings, the old 100E Prefects had the same.

"even the apprentice's that worked on this are dead" haha, what an unusual engine, be incredible to see this running again mate, good stuff

You've probably opened the oil pump by now .... My money says it's a vane type pump. Had an Allis Chalmers tractor once, and it had a vane type oil pump that was directly driven by the rear of the camshaft. Camshaft was hollow and carried oil forward to its bearings. Seems like that was oil from the relief valve. Lots of weird stuff going on back then!

Just saw your video today , and wanted to share some unfortunate news . Here in Southern California in San Diego there used to be an automotive parts store called “ E&W auto parts” that at one time had damn near every Damn engine related part under its roof , for All makes & models of American made cars ( and some imports) going back almost 100 years or more , and Run by the same family for generations ( I’m 63-1/2 , and can remember going in as a young lad in the 1960’s with my Dad to get some Model T Ford parts) and the counter personnel knew where everything was as they had incredible stock on hand . Unfortunately they went “ Belly up “ just about the beginning of Covid Episode here , and have closed doors permanently, and liquidated all stock ( I saw an awful lot going into Scrap dumpsters amidst tears from the owners & a few of us in attendance who happened to be there the final day they closed) . If only you had found & decided on this rebuild about 5 years earlier….. 😕. Anyway I found this video interesting as I personally have heard of those old Chrysler’s , but have never seen one in the flesh. Good luck on your project, and will be curious to see how it all turns out . 😎👍

Interesting, never heard of a Terraplane cars here in the US, we had plenty of Hudson though. Terra means earth, plane means flat plane so Terraplane means Earth Plane, or Flat Earth Plane Car! Very cool old flat head, it would be neat to see it run, God Bless.

Very unusual motor & box, an awesome find & project Be interesting in a RatRod build Love U & your work Bro🥰

yes they had a cork clutch and were filled with an item called Hudsonite ,in their day were a rippa .made great racing engine when hotted up,owned a 35 coupe with a canvas hood and dicky seat ,and a 36sedan with a crank handle a mile long,could fit an early holden carb for better fuel consumption .

So it’s out of warranty 😂

Good to see old tech ..this I've seen on dump truck vehicle

I was surprised when I stumbled across this video as I hadn't realized that the Terraplane was exported, even though I should have realized it since Hudson's were exported and Hudson made the Terraplane. I glanced to see what your other videos are and decided to subscribe. I'm not sure if you are an Aussie or a Kiwi but know that you are one or the other and think the cars from over there are pretty cool and unique compared to what we have here in the USA....other than being driven from the wrong side of the car on the wrong side of the road...lol.😁... Thank you for posting this very interesting and informative video. I'm looking forward to seeing it run again and to see what you do with it once it's done.

Nice finds lads.

In the early 1930's, Terraplane was the 'sporty' marque of the Hudson Motor Company. By the mid 1930's, they were being sold as just a sport version of the Hudson marque as the Hudson Terraplane, but from the late 1920's to the early 30's, Terraplane and Hudson had separate dealerships. Around about 1932, the Terraplane straight-8 was the fastest American car. The famous American outlaw Clyde Barrow (of 'Bonnie & Clyde' fame) used to prefer stealing Terraplane 8's, since no cop could outrun him. Terraplane 8's, though, were fairly rare, so he mostly stole Ford V-8's of the 1932-1934 vintage. Your motor is a straight 6, not as rare or valuable as the straight 8. Having a downdraft carb was fairly rare in those days, and the same basic motor served Hudson for years after they abandoned the Terraplane brand name (late 1930's), until it was replaced by an OHV unit.

I seen a clutch for a train once, and it was full of cork plugs to. I have no idea what kind of train. I used to know these Amish machinists, I wanted them to make me a piston and they were rebuilding the train clutch while I was there.

Interesting pull down of this engine. A nice digression from the Chrysler engines. I hope your able to get it running again.

THANKS, great vid! Woulda walked away after the plugs, but it was very surprising that the bores were pretty good. Surprisingly small/narrow space between the bores. Hard to believe that it could get enough oil splash to not half destroy it self on startup, the cam is the only thing getting a direct feed probably, everything else seems like dumb luck to get lubed. There's gotta be something for the lifters/tappets & valve guides. Thanks again.

They were a mad old piece of kit alright! I think the crazy exhaust was to reduce the likelihood of block cracks - common in Ford sideys. I'm pretty sure it was a special oil used in the clutch. I dunno where you guys are, but you might have trouble finding someone who can still pour babbit bearings. Good luck, fellas, there's gunna be some real satisfaction in hearing it run again, I reckon!

👍🏻👍🏻

There's another you tube vid called 1936 Terraplane engine overview from gruesome's garage.You might find some good info from that including how the internal tinware for the cooling system on the side of the block is the first thing to check.Even oil change procedure I found interesting

Interesting video. Thank you. I have subscribed. I understand that Bakelite comprises phenolic resin and a filler. The filler will ideally be wood-based i.e., sawdust BUT in some cases asbestos was reportedly used.

What's that Hudson engine doing in a '64 Dart? That car was a screamer with the 273 which was upgradable to a 340.

That oil in the clutch was special from Hudson.....It was called Hudsonite.....

The camshafts were not fully case hardened and used to wear to become full race camshafts.

Good ol’ Babbitt bearings on an old engine. They look like they were redone recently as there are a lot of shims left. If there were no shims left that engine would have needed new bearings. Also that oil pan might have had spray nozzles for the dippers on the rods. That’s how the old chevy 216 did it. Oil “pressure” at idle was almost nonexistent and that is one way to scare the driver that’s not used to it. 🤣

you need a huge ultrasonic tank or hot keroscene tank, cleanit before messin with it

What a Wonderful Ancient Lump . I think you WILL get it to run again too . Everything is Filthy Dirty but nothing looks Actually Broken . I think " Powerdome " refers to the Shape of the Heads . That Ramp Shape . Stand By for 25 RAGING Horsepower . Also about 1000 lb/ft of Torque . I just Subbed . VERY interested in seeing that Old Girl run again .

Hudson Essex terraplane club link below. They have everything you will need. Even an Aussie chapter!

that motor would be quite valuable in restored and running condition.

Gearbox is a three speed, typical of the era. Three fwd and a reverse. One shift rail for first and reverse, the other for second and third.

I do believe, that it's a 3 speed transmission, with reverse. 3rd gear is direct, so while there's a shifting dog to connect the input shaft straight to the output, there will not be any gears for 3rd. I'm not sure that this transmission is synchronized. You may need to "double clutch" the shifts. A lot of these transmissions were synchronized for 2nd and 3rd, but didn't have synchros for reverse or 1st. The transmission reminds me of something I've seen in an old Willy's JEEP.

Terra planes were very streamlined high end Hudson's like like Lincolns were high end Ford's

You need a fork lift truck refresher course , look behind before reversing.

Uncle Brent Excellent Chan, a clear view of unique product and pleasantly presented! What If, what if that old dragon gifts a supercharger?

Brent takn the vf from Pattie’s yard was the first video i saw now im bloody hooked… throw those sparkys in a bowl of fuel give em a quick sand n theyl b fine, abit of fresh oil n some fuel i bet this 1’l fire straight up 2😂😂😂😂 6 different shades of shit

Spark Plug " Mud Fouling" due to excessive ballast from engaging overdrive at low altitude...Onward through the fog.

iv never seen that before a head that looks like it need a water blaster to wash it clean

Can I send you guys some of my Domincan neighbors hot sauce? That stuff will free up any rusted piston or valve on anything made...

It is probably a 38, most Hudsons were custom bodies in Australia.

advanced for the late 1930's, completely obsolete by the 1950's. if only it had a 5 main crankshaft or better and was built as a pushrod... i get that friction was a problem due to the oiling techniques used back then, but still...

dippers on the conrod caps make sure the right way around.

Very nice. Looks like aliens tried to make an engine from a few fuzzy black and white photos and a vague understanding but decent mechanical skills.

So the car when you seen it was it like roadkill met mad Max 😁

What was an engine last produced in 1938 doing in a '70s car?