A girl and her Hudson Hornet An 18 year long story told in just over 20 minutes
- Andy McIlvain
- 11 hours ago
- 3 min read
Video from Bart Kolodziejcak
A girl and her Hudson Hornet An 18 year long story told in just over 20 minutes
"I have always been a car guy. Ever since high school I have had one classic car or another. While living in Jefferson Oregon, I had an '85 GMC pickup as my daily driver, and my dream car, a '62 Corvette. My daughter, Ellen seemed to like the cars well enough, but she really had a big change after seeing the movie "Cars". As I mention in the video, she really loved the Doc Hudson character (which was a 1951bout Hudson). At some point, she came to me and asked if we could get a Hudson for her. I told her I would check in to it and see what I could find. I actually did look on Craigslist off and on and one day, a 1956 Hudson Hornet Hollywood edition came up in Aurora Oregon (about 40 miles north). I called the owner and got some details, and we decided to drive up and have a look. This was 2008 and Ellen was 12. We Got to Aurora where the car was in a 3 sided barn with an old tractor and another car. The license plate on the Hudson showed that it had not been registered in 32 years. The body did not look too bad, but the car was covered in dirt and bird poop. Of course, Ellen loved it, so we decided to buy it and have it brought to the house. I think I paid $2500 for the car, so the deal was done. I think it was money well spent because I looked forward to bonding with Ellen over this project. Later, the Hudson would be leverage in keeping Ellen out of trouble, and a goal for her to look forward to if she graduated high school. That was the deal. If she stayed out of trouble and graduated high school, the car would be hers.
Fast forward to 2014. Ellen had been in JROTC in her high school and she had decided to sign up for 6 years in the National Guard upon graduation (which I supported and respected). I was planning to move to Arizona because I was sick of the cold wet weather in Oregon. Ellen was going to have to be gone for a few months for basic training in California, and she asked me to take the Hudson with me until she could take it, and I agreed to that. Long story short, Ellen was ready in June 2026. She has a friend Trevor who owns an enclosed car trailer and lives in New Mexico. Trevor moved to New Mexico from Oregon and needed to make a trip up to Oregon to pick up some cars and parts, so Ellen worked a deal with him to meet her in Green Valley where the Hudson is, pick it up and she would road trip with him to where she lives in Washington. Ellen is always up for a new adventure! She flew down a few days early to spend some time with me and my wife Jan. Anyhow, this video is about the 18 years (she is 30 now) between when we bought the Hudson until Ellen and Trevor picked it up and took it to Oregon. Ellen's boyfriend Tony, is also a car guy. Between Ellen and Tony they probably have a dozen classic cars, some are drivers and some are projects. They have a Supra, a 240Z, several older BMWs, a Subaru WRX STI, and now the Hudson! The Hudson is temporarily in a storage location, but Ellen and Tony plan to build a garage in the near future. I hope you enjoy the story of a girl and her Hudson Hornet! Ellen has grown in to a lovely young woman and I am very proud of the person she has become. She has also surrounded herself with quality friends including Tony and Trevor!" from the video introduction
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