54 Henry J's

[Roadmaster49]

I don't recall the Henry J program going into 1954. So, was the Henry J made only in 1952 - 53 and why was it not carried on into 1954?  If it was carried over into 1954, it seems to me I never see any for sale. 

[Fid]

There were just over a thousand '53 Henry Js that were reserialed as 1954s.  There was no difference between them and a '53. They did have their own Owner's Manual. 

[joefrazer]

Here's a picture of my 54 Henry J. As Fid stated, it's a leftover 53 that was reserialed and given a new cover for the Owners Manual.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

According to an article in AVIATION AND AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRIES magazine (a Chilton trade publication for the motor vehicle industry) Production at the Kaiser-Frazer facility started up on October 20th 1953; the plant was shuttered from late June until then because of the UAW strike and an overstock of 1953 model year cars at the factory.  The first cars coming off the line would be the build-out of 1954 model year Henry J automobiles.  Besides re-serializing the leftover 1953 work in process cars (4 and 6 cylinder models) it is believed that the "spinner" on the 1954 HJ was painted black so the cars would have a noticable difference.  1953's had a clear plastic spinner.

[Roadmaster49]

Interesting.  I can surmise that KF decided not to pursue 1954 Henry J's, that they had given up on them during 1953.  I need to go back and read why.  I used to know some details on the Henry J program but at this point I have forgotten most.

My novice recollection was that Henry Kaiser had always wanted to build - for lack of a better word - an American peoples car, a modern Model T or VW Beetle for America.  I know those are not accurate recollections but kind of catch what I understand his concept to be. 

And I recall - they had to build something like the Henry J to get some kind of funding or finance to keep going. 

What I do not remember is whether the Henry J program was ever profitable. Evidently NOT, since they decided not to go into 1954 with any semblance of a new model.   

[Carpenter]

I've also read that the V8 went down the tube because of funding for the Henry J.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

No, the HJ did not drain off funds that might have gone to a V8.  The lead engineers on the project left Kaiser-Frazer to make more money at Nash Motors (who wanted them for their V-8 R&D know-how for a Nash ohy 8 cylinder car).  While at Nash they discovered that the K-F work needed more than tweeking before it could be a viable product.  In fact, it took the two men from 1950 until 1955 to finally come up with a workable V-8 engine reliable enough for production.  This engine was the 290 cubic in "Typhoon" which evolved to the well known (by AMC standards) 327 V-8. 

If you read my book BUILT TO BETTER THE BEST, you get a walk through the RFC loan agreement whereby government money (the RFC was a Depression era hold-over that continued loaning money until after the 1952 elections) in the amount of 44 million dollars (the loan was in two parts, one to Kaiser-Frazer Corporation and the other to Kaiser-Frazer Sales Corporation) which made the difference between getting out 1951 model year cars and filing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition.  The main thrust of the loan presentation by K-F was that with new capital they could put into production a car that any working American family could afford to buy new.  To guarantee that Kaiser-Frazer made good on the promise the loan agreement contains several conditions specific to this low-priced car (read the book for particulars) including price, availability date, highway performance, and interior room.  It was the first time the government ever spec'd out a civilian automobile (and would not be the last).  The company met all the government's conditions and prevented forclosure in the fall of 1950.  The government didn't care about V-8 engines but did care about a decent car that working people could afford to buy and own (as did many of the country's major unions who lobbied heavily for K-F to get the cash).

My book is still in print and can be ordered at its original 2005 retail price of $44.95 plus shipping from MT Publishing, Evansville Indiana.  Check out their website for more info on ordering.

As for giving up on the Henry J, sales went from around 80,000 cars (4 and 6 cyl models total) to less than 25,000 in 1952 (including 1952 Vagabonds) and even fewer in 1953 despite heavily promoting the fact it was the lowest-price 6 passenger American made car offered in 1953.  What was doing gangbusters during 1952 and 1953 model years were the Aero Willys series sedans and hardtops from Willys-Overland (and a division of Kaiser-Frazer acquired the automotive operations of Willys-Overland in the spring of 1953, weeks before the Korean War truce & everything at Willow Run unraveled).  The first thought was to drop the HJ and sell the Aeros. 

[Fid]

I've also read that the V8 went down the tube because of funding for the Henry J.

Thanks for the response Jack. I hear this all the time too and as you point out, it's not true. 

[Roadmaster49]

Thanks Jack for filling in the missing information. You are correct, I need to order a new copy of your book and join the KFOCI so I can get that CD. 

Your last paragraph was enlightening. In that the Henry J had somewhat unorthodox styling for a 6 passenger car, and it was my understanding - somewhat disappointing performance.  Then - the Willys and other competition looked more straightforward and provided adequate performance for the small car field. 

From 80,000 to 25,000 in sales, interesting.