{"id":2718,"date":"2006-12-13T03:05:00","date_gmt":"2006-12-13T08:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kitfoster.com\/carport\/2006\/12\/angus\/"},"modified":"2010-12-30T12:02:03","modified_gmt":"2010-12-30T17:02:03","slug":"angus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.kitfoster.com\/carport\/2006\/12\/angus\/","title":{"rendered":"Angus"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Angus<\/a><\/p>\n

Last week brought an anniversary to our household: thirty years ago on the 3rd of December Angus the Hudson<\/a> came to live with us.<\/p>\n

Angus was not our first Hudson; I had been dabbling at restoring<\/a> a 1939 Hudson<\/a> that I had rescued from the woods<\/a> about three years earlier, but I realized that at my rate of progress it would be decades before I had an old car to drive. Thus I began combing issues of White Triangle News<\/i><\/a>, magazine of the Hudson-Essex-Terraplane Club<\/a>, for presentable running cars in my price range. I envisioned another 1930s Hudson, until I spied a 1925 Super Six Brougham<\/a> at just the price I was prepared to pay. Jill and I made a quick trip to Cape Cod<\/a> to check it out, and a deal was struck on the spot. My friend Ed Bernier took me out in his ramp truck<\/a> to fetch it<\/a>, and home we came, arriving just as snow began to fall<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We named the car “Angus,” after Angus Hudson<\/a>, the butler played by Gordon Jackson<\/a> in the long-running ITV\/PBS series “Upstairs, Downstairs<\/a>.” An early example of the Brougham<\/a>, a niche model introduced by Hudson in May 1925, Angus has an aluminum-skinned body by Biddle and Smart of Amesbury, Massachusetts. He was repainted around 1960, at which time a naugahyde roof<\/a> replaced the original leather, He is otherwise original, down to the mohair upholstery<\/a> that remains in good condition today. The dashboard leather has cracked<\/a> and nickel trim<\/a> is thin, but Angus has served us well, taking us on countless tours, picnics<\/a> and shows<\/a> while the children<\/a> were small. Although not a high point car, he has taken home his share of trophies<\/a>, albeit “People’s Choice” or “Best Unrestored Car” rather than “First in Class.”<\/p>\n

The secret in Hudson’s Super Six engine<\/a> was a counterbalanced crankshaft<\/a> that vanquished vibration and friction, according to the ads. Angus’s Super Six<\/a> could stand detailing, but runs well, though he doesn’t like to cruise much above 45.<\/p>\n

Hudson continued the Brougham into 1926<\/a>, integrating the visor into the roof and offered additional colors<\/a>. Early in 1925 production the door handles were changed from Angus’s “bow tie”<\/a> design to the smooth handles<\/a> of 1926 style. In 1927, it got acorn headlamps and landau irons<\/a> were added to the Brougham in mid-year. By 1929 the Brougham was gone, but a semblance of the style can be seen in the Club Sedan<\/a>, a Murphy-designed body built by Biddle and Smart. By 1935, “Brougham” had been demoted to describe a two-door sedan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We didn’t give Angus an anniversary party. He’s hibernating<\/a>, but when he wakens in the spring we’ll take him on a celebratory ramble. He’ll be 82 in July. Perhaps we’ll have a party then.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week brought an anniversary to our household: thirty years ago on the 3rd of December Angus the Hudson came to live with us. Angus was not our first Hudson; I had been dabbling at restoring a 1939 Hudson that I had rescued from the woods about three years earlier, but I realized that at….<\/span>
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