Founded in 1909, Detroit’s Hudson Motor Car Company achieved early success by offering buyers well-engineered, solidly built, and technologically advanced automobiles at an affordable price.

This approach prompted a switch to an all-six-cylinder lineup for 1914, making power and performance typically offered by the era’s luxury automakers somewhat more attainable to the driving public.

1915 kept the same basic formula but brought numerous small refinements to the Hudson lineup.

As seen on this unique Model Six-40 Roadster, the new model year gained a honeycomb radiator and an electric horn operated via steering wheel-mounted button.

Its 288.5-cubic-inch inline-six now produced 42 horsepower, and it was mated to a three-speed manual transmission.

At some point in its past, this Six-40 Roadster was converted into a home-built pickup truck of sorts; the addition of a home-built bed at the rear turned the rakish two-door into something a bit more utilitarian—and it is quite possible t...