It took quite a bit of work to get "Mrs. Martin," a 1949 Hudson Commodore, from curious eBay listing to cross-country driving machine. Author Dan McNichol and his mechanic Dr. Per Christiansen—"The Hudson Whisperer"—restored the car to working order so it may serve as a rolling metaphor for America's aging infrastructure. Click the image to begin the slide show.
Restoring a 1949 Hudson To Get It on the Road Again: A Slide Show
In 2013, while visiting a collapsed bridge in Dekalb, Illinois that left soybean farmers in hardship, Per adds clutch fluid to Mrs. Martin.
Photo Courtesy Dan McNichol
The photo posted on the eBay listing when Dan McNichol purchased the car in 2011.
Photo Courtesy Dan McNichol
In 2014 Mrs. Martin is touring the rebuilt New Orleans levees system. Riding shot-gun is US Army Crops of Engineers Deputy Director of Task Force Hope Michael Park. In the back is Warren Perkins, head of risk management for Boh Brother�s Construction, a contractor on the levee project.
Photo Courtesy Dan McNichol
National Geographic is featuring Dan & Mrs. Martin in a special 2-hour film call Driving America� premiering May 25th. The film crew visits Per�s garage in Boston in May of 2014.
Photo Courtesy Dan McNichol
Mrs. Martin was hauled to Boston in 2011 from the farm in Upstate New York where she lived in a barn for half-a-century. On the trailer with Dan her odometer reads 31,000 plus miles.
Photo Courtesy Dan McNichol
The Hudson Whisperer connects the radiator to the flathead-six shortly after it was dropped back in.
Photo Courtesy Dan McNichol
Author Dan McNichol and the Hudson Whisperer outside the garage they rehabilitated Mrs. Martin in between 2011 and 2013.
Photo Courtesy Dan McNichol
The Hudson car company was advertising the Commodore as The lowest car on the highway. The 1949 Hudson step-downs were America�s first lead-sleds.
Photo Courtesy Dan McNichol
In 1966, a youthful Hudson Whisperer stands behind his own 1949 Commodore. Per totaled the car on an icy one-lane Connecticut bridge soon after the shot was taken.
Photo Courtesy Dan McNichol
Punch-list items to be done days before Mrs. Martin heads out on her 14,000 mile circumnavigation of America between 2013 and 2014. Notice: the gas tank and seat belts were added to the car the night prior to departure.
Photo Courtesy Dan McNichol
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