SURMOD
1930 Hudson Super 8
History of this car
This car has spent it's whole life on Vancouver Island BC. It was originally purchased in Victoria at a Hudson dealership called A.W. Carter LTD. 831 Yates St. I've talked to someone who remembers a Rambler Dealership on Yates St. decades later, which makes sense because Hudson was bought out by American Motors in 1954.
There doesn't seem to be too much information about the dealership on Yates St. in the Victoria archives. However in the Vancouver Archives it mentions that in 1934, A.W. Carter opened up another Hudson dealership on Burrard St. in Vancouver.
Hopefully there will be more to come on the History of this car.
I'll keep searching.
How rare is the car?
Back in late 1929, Hudson decided to make a straight flathead 8. Since they had such great results with their car named the Super 6, they decided to call the car Super 8. The number of Super 8 cars produced is not precisely known since pretty much all the early Hudson records were destroyed or "well hidden". But I've heard by several sources that it is suspected that about a dozen or less Super 8's made it out the door, when they got a call from Packard. Saying that they had a trademark on "Super 8 ". Hudson promptly changed the name to Great 8 sometime in the early part of 1930.
I have one, and there is a fellow in Australia who also has one, and I've chatted with that guy. I've sent along pictures of the badgeing on my car, which include the headlight bezels, the radiator shell, and the running board step plate . He also has the same badgeing on his car. Mine and his are the only two 1930 Super 8's left that myself and he knows of.
But the even more intriguing aspect of this car is the secrecy around it. There doesn't seem to be any actual written information from Hudson or even Packard, that will support all this. However I do have an eight page Hudson service document, called "Hudson Reference Sheet #35" dated January 1930, titled " Mechanical Specifications For Hudson Super Eight 1930 Models" . Also, the fellow in Australia has 2 original Instruction Booklets. One is dated January 1930, titled "Instruction Book Hudson Super Eight". The other one is dated April 1930, titled "Instruction Book Hudson Eight". I have seen pictures of the cover of each of those books. The Australian fella says the only difference in the two books cover to cover, is the one word on the cover of one of them, that being the word "Eight". He also has the appropriate badgeing on his car like I do on my car.
However I have an original 1930 Hudson Parts Catalogue and there is no mention of the 3 parts showing the Super 8 badging anywhere in the catalogue, nor is there any mention of the word "Super" in the catalogue. It is dated April of 1930.
It has been an extremely well kept secret over the years. My only guess is that maybe it was part of the out of court settlement that Hudson and Packard made, that the misuse of the "Super 8" by Hudson, should not be written about and all the badging that was ready and waiting on the assembly line, be destroyed. Judging by the dates on the literature that the Australian fella has, along with my parts catalogue, and the 8 page reference sheet #35 that I have, I'm guessing that by April all the Super 8 literature had been stopped, and reprinted without the word "Super".
I have a coffee table book about an inch and a half thick, called "The History of Hudson" by Don Butler, which is considered to be a very well written and knowledgeable book according to Hudson enthusiasts. There is about 8 pages in that book on the 1930's, and no mention of the 1930 Super Eight. The Australian fellow has had his car for a few decades now and he tells me he has never been able to find out any more information about the Super 8's. I've contacted the Hudson Museum in Ypsilanti Michigan and they know nothing about this story.