My Favorite Ride: Adding a 1923 Hudson Speedster to the collection
When her husband said he was looking to buy another car, Marcia Lloyd asked what year it was. "A '23," he replied.
"Hmmm," she thought, surprised. "I guess he's finally buying a new car."
When he brought the vehicle to their Bloomington home after buying it from a man in Mount Sterling, Kentucky, his wife looked out the living room window and saw their new car for the first time.
Surprise came then. On the flatbed trailer was a royal blue-with-black automobile from the past, not one just off the showroom floor.
Not a 2023, but a 1923. She should have known.
It was a rare 1923 Hudson Speedster. Tim Lloyd has three other Hudsons, one each manufactured in the 1930s, '40s and '50s. Two are parked in the garage and the mint green one he drives daily in the driveway.
He made room in the garage, where he is now officially out of space, for this 100-year-old find.
When you own and maintain a fleet of old and obsolete cars, you look to swap meets and owners of similar cars for parts and accessories to keep them on the road.
Lloyd was at one of these old car events in Louisville last year, shopping for parts and wearing his Hudson jacket when a man approached.
"Are you interested in buying a Hudson?" he asked.
Another Hudson: It took some digging to save this classic car from a horse stable
I've know Tim Lloyd awhile. The answer to that question is never "no." But he already had Hudsons and wasn't looking to add to the collection. A short conversation ensued, and the man punched a number into his phone and handed it to Lloyd.
A elderly man named Ralph Willis — he goes by "Zeke" — was on the line. "So, I'm here with your buddy," Lloyd said, "and he says you have a Hudson you might want to sell ..."
They had a conversation that day, during which Willis confirmed he was toying with the idea of selling the car after owning it 28 years. He said he would send Lloyd some pictures, and he did.
Lloyd, who wasn't really in the market, fell for the wooden-wheeled car. The two men spoke for over a month about the Hudson, never talking price.
Willis said he was the third owner, and the car had just 68,000 miles on the odometer after 100 years.
He described the century-old Hudson as a dependable driver, not a show piece. The narrow-body, four-passenger touring car has no front brakes or turn signals. It has one brake light, on the driver's side.
In the 1920s, when cars shared dirt roads with horses and buggies, one set of brakes sufficed. Turn signals were an extra option on Hudsons through the late 1940s.
Willis told Lloyd that five years ago, he drove the classic Hudson in the Antique Automobile Club of America's five-day Glidden Tour in Georgia. It's limited to 200 automobiles manufactured before 1943, that must be as originally built, except for safety modifications.
More time passed and Lloyd didn't hear from the car's owner again. Then, over spring break this past March, Willis called. "I've decided to price you the Hudson."
The cost was about half what Lloyd thought the car was worth. "I want you to be the one to have the car," Willis said. "It's your responsibility now."
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In other news, I'm seeking a copy of the May 31 Herald-Times newspaper to pass along to the subject of my column that week, which featured a 1967 Buick Riviera. The paper isn't printed in Bloomington, so no extras are at hand. Help!
Have a story to tell about a car or truck? Contact My Favorite Ride reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Tim Lloyd adds all original 1923 Hudson Speedster to collection
