newbie just found paper work for Joe Frazer's personal car

[manitoubeach]

  Hi, Frazer fans: while going thru old papers of my folks, I came across the original sales invoice from Kaiser-Frazer Sales Corporation, billing date 4/21/49, for a 1948 Frazer Manhattan 4 dr. sedan in the amount of $1,794.70, marked paid on 4/22/49.
Invoice number 3704-49060, shipping order no. CO 2839 Terms cash received 4/6 49.
Serial F-486-017127, motor FM 2372.
Equipment includes:
ACCESSORY GROUP 1
OVERDRIVE
DUAL MANIFOLD
W/S WASHER
SPOTLIGHT
BACK-UP LIGHTS
RADIO AND ANTENNA
HEATER AND DEFROSTER
OUTSIDE MIRRORS
TAIL PIPE EXTENSION
WHEEL RINGS
W/S/W TIRES

At the bottom are the numbers 20203 and 24008. Key numbers, maybe? My dad was a young 28 year old attorney practicing in Ypsilanti, Michigan, a stone's throw from Willow Run.  His firm did legal work for K-F (and Tucker, too,) and supposedly this car was Joe Frazer's personal car. It was what we called Saddle Bronze, and my mom drove it until it was traded in on a new '54 Ford.
My folks would tell a story about going to the dealer and mentioning the cigarette lighter in the rear seat did not work.
The dealer said there was no lighter in the rear seat....and my mom showed it to the service guy....special for Joe?
(I don't know if they had lighters in the rear seat or not...that was the story they told, but ours did as one day I touched the glowing lighter to the headliner and got in BIG trouble.)
I don't suppose this car still exists.
Can anyone tell me what "accessory group I" is? What is the "dual manifold," twin carbs?
This car served us well, and was the folks only "nice" car until my dad bought a '66 Mercedes.
I'd be happy to send a copy of this invoice to anyone interested in seeing it.

[Jeri Conklin]

How exciting on your recent find. I'm sure with the F-number the club will be able to track down or see if someone knows where it is. In the meantime, hang onto the paperwork. I have a 1949-1950 Frazer and it has the cigarette lighter and ashtray in the back of the front seat just about the middle of the top about 12" down. I don't know if they became standard equipment that year or what, but it is there. Again, congratulations and I'm sure you'll get more information as everyone reads your post.

[jerussel]

I have a '51 Frazer Vagabond.  It also has the cig. lighter, in the ash tray, on the back of the front seat.
The 515 wiring diagram also has the lighter wiring.

[ben-tex]

Group 1 included rear seat lighter according to the handbook.

[Fid]

My dad saw one of the Kaiser family cars somewhere in the Pacific NW and it was 1948 (don't remember if it was a K or F) and it had the spare tire which stood upright behind the rear seat like a '49... but it was a '48... so  they did do some special things on those cars. Edgar Kaiser's Henry J has chrome ash trays in the rear and chrome moulding on the rear seat side panels which no other Henry Js have. Cool to see those things.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

Hi,

I would be very interested in seeing a copy of the paperwork on this car.  The post brings up several questions...

1.  Does the invoice list buyer as an individual or being shipped to a K-F dealer or distributor.  If dealer or distributor, what is name and location?

2.  The only Joe Frazer-owned car that I know of outside of a vehicle kept at the Frazer residence on the bay was a two-tone 1948 Manhattan garaged at Kaiser-Frazer Sales Corporation's New York City facility.

3.  I wonder if this was a pool car, that is one at Willow Run owned by the company and available for VIP transport.

4.  As K-F president at the start of the model year, he would have obtained a 1949 Frazer Manhattan Sedan at that time, and a 1948 would have gone on the company used car lot (for sales only to employees).

5.  Joe loved his stogies, so the car should have had not only a cigarette lighter for rear seat passengers, but a huge ash recepticle.

Jack Mueller
Club Historian

[joefrazer]

Just checked Harold's registry and the car is not listed. So, if it exists, it has not been reported.

[manitoubeach]

Hi, Jack,
 Just saw your note. I sent a copy of the invoice to Dave Hollen and would be glad to send you one, too. Get me your address. The stories we always heard was this car was Joe Frazer's personal car....who knows, it could have been a pool car.
The invoice shows under "sold to" my dad's name and address at his law office in Ypsilanti. Nothing appears under "shipped to" or "date shipped." Probably picked it up at Willow Run.
My dad and his law partner were apparently well connected....his partner bought the slightly used 57 or 58 Imperial used by "Tex" Colbert of Chrysler Corporation.
Their firm also did work for Preston Tucker's company...not anything to do with the car end but the base business.
Thanks for your interest!
Bob Ulrich

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

I took a look at the copy of the invoice on this.  It definitely was a sale through the By-Products department which disposed of surplus company owned stuff (cars, paint, etc).   The equipment list (as it shows only one spot light and outside mirrors) ties in with the external items on Joe Frazer's 1948 Manhattan company car that was pictured as a backdrop for a Harpers Bazzaar fashion layout in 1948.

It is too bad that AMC destroyed the company records shortly after getting Kaiser-Jeep Corporation; with that information, it would be fairly easy to link the numbers on the paperwork with car numbers on allocated vehicles. 

Jack Mueller

[coops223]

Very nice find. I never get so lucky to find original invoices with any of my car purchases. This has to be worth something if it was Frazer's personal car.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

There is only one thing that has always bothered me about this thing.  Why would Joe Frazer buy a 1948 Frazer Manhattan in April of 1949?  As a company executive, a car and driver would have been a perk.  If I was leaving a company and was going to buy a vehicle, I would have purchased a current model year car, especially if it went into production while he was still riding high in the organization.