1953 Allstate 1952 Henry J

[jap tin]

My father in law was a Kaiser guy and has passed away. I now have a 1953 Allstate and a 1952 Henry J. The 52 was in my wifes family all her life and the 53 was picked up latter on. I have pictures of my wife with the 52 as a little girl and was thinking about restoring it instead of the Allstate. If you were to keep only one which one would you chose? I'm leaning toward the 52. The Henry J is a 4 cylinder and the Allstate is a 6 cylinder.

[AZ_HJ]

I would do the 1953 Allstate. The production numbers for a 1953 Allstate is much (much) smaller than that of a 1952 Henry J.

I have a 1952 Henry J Vagabond Deluxe.


Best,

Mark
Sun City, AZ

[Gordie]

The Allstate is a scarce car but if the Henry J has been in the family since new and you have pictures of it I would have to restore that one.  Why not do them both over time?

[joefrazer]

Repeat after me...RESTORE THE ALLSTATE...RESTORE THE ALLSTATE...RESTORE THE ALLSTATE...!!

Some pix to encourage you...
http://kaiserfrazercars.com/allstdonelr.JPG
http://kaiserfrazercars.com/allstintdone2.JPG
http://kaiserfrazercars.com/allstengdone1a.JPG

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

Pick a car and restore it then sell the other.  It seems to be a coin flip.  The Allstate is a rare car, but the HJ has your family ties.

[jap tin]

I have another picture of my wife on the seat of her Dad's 41 Harley with her sister on the tank with the 52 Henry J in the back ground along with their 53 Spartin mobil home. Still have all three, the Henry, Harley and Spartin, LOL.

[Fid]

An Allstate 6 cylinder is a very rare car.  A Henry J 4 cylinder is very easy to maintain.  It's a tough choice but if you restore the Henry J, by all means make the Allstate available to someone who would restore it. It's a rare piece of automotive history.

[jap tin]

The Allstate is all decked out. Windshield visor, spot light , fog lights, coninental kit. I think my father in law had all the available goodies on it. Same with the Henry J, every do dad is on it. I may just restore the Henry J and sell the Allstate. My father in law was always afraid I would turn his cars into drag cars as I am a drag racer but I told him I would never do that.

[AZ_HJ]

Is there any way we can all see some pictures of these cars?

Also can you provide Data Plate information and Serial Numbers on both of these cars?

[Fid]

I know several people who have purchased Henry Js with the intention of turning them into streed rods and then changed their minds after finding out how easy they are to maintain in original condition and how much fun they are to drive that way.  If your intent is to use it as an every day car, and drive on long trips, I could understand you wanting to "modernize" it as they do not maneuver the way today's cars do. If your intent is drive it to a few shows or cruise nights, I think you'll find that leaving it original is a lot of fun too.
I, and many others, are always here to offer assistance and insights.  There's a lot of Henry J knowledge that visits this board. Mechanical parts are easier to find than most people might think, especially for the four cylinder cars as the Jeeps used that same engine from the 1940s to the 1960s.
Good luck and keep us updated.

[AZ_HJ]

Does the Continental Kit have a cover on the tire? If so, what color is the cover and does it have any embroidery or other type of markings?

[jap tin]

I will go over today and get serial numbers off the cars.

[jap tin]

The 52 has 1036837 on the door jam. Under the hood tag model 513 body 4 paint 235 trim 3405 there is also a 1 and a 2 and a 315.
There is another 53 Henry J that my wife has that is 007707 on the door jam. Under hood tag model 534 body 4 paint 999 trim 888 then there is a 31  1  4 . There is also HJ 167 78 343.
The Allstate door jam 1000226. Under hood tag model 340 body 4 paint 110 trim 5620 then a 32  1  4  then 40  445. there is another tag above the large tag under the hood with 3404 2000228.

[ben-tex]

The 999 and 888 codes are for special orders which makes that car of more than passing interest. I am sure others will comment on this.

[Fid]

The serial number 1036837 indicates the car is a 1952 Vagabond model which were the leftover 1951s that didn't sell. They reserialed them and called them '52s.  Pictures would be a great.  If you send me some, I'll post them for you. Click my ID and it will display my e-mail