Answering your question is interesting as it brings up some interesting history on the end of the Henry J. While is may never be established for certain, there is a good possibility that the body on your 1954 had been a finished 1953 that got a new body tag, with 1953 information transferred over to it. Bodies were built up in anticipation of dealer or distributor orders for cars and at times those orders never came. Some were left in primer while others were finished and put in the body bank.
Kaiser-Willys Sales Corporation Trade Letter K54-3 was the ordering information for 1954 Henry J Corsair and Corsair Deluxe models. While there are no Accessory Groups listed for either the K543 Corsair or K544 Corsair Deluxe, the standard equipment list in this document include the items in Accessory Group 36 as used on 1953 model year Henry J automobiles.
Accessory Group 36 was offered on Corsairs only and contained Front Window Vents, Vacuum Booster Fuel Pump, Deck Lid (with non-folding rear seat), Dashboard Cigarette Lighter and Dashboard Ash Receiver (ash tray). The retail on this was $69.77 plus $5.30 Federal tax, with dealer wholesale of $53.00 plus tax. This is from Confidential Bulletin 88, dated October 17, 1952. There were no changes to price or equipment in the group during the 1953 model year. On July 10, 1953, Kaiser-Frazer Sales Corporation announced that Accessory Groups 34 and 36 (for Corsairs) along with Accessory Group 39 (for Corsair Deluxe) would be considered STANDARD EQUIPMENT items as of that date, per Confidential Bulletin 96. The bulletin included a form that dealers could fill out to get a rebate check for the cost of the groups on any new, undriven, untitled HJ's in their inventory or in transit to them and paid for. The price cut that this created was behind print advertising in the later part of the 1953 model year that announced a price cut of $100.00 on 1953 models. This was done in an effort to move out the remaining new car inventory and use up bodies and other major assemblies at the factory, but did not result in moving out everything.
Information in AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRIES magazine indicates that 1954 Henry J production began October 29, 1953 and ran about 2 or 3 weeks (based on numbers produced). It was also during this time period that the 1954 Early Specials and a few 1954 Kaiser Manhattan models were produced at Willow Run before the Kaiser line was dismantled and moved to Toledo. Henry J equipment that could be used for other things was, and HJ-specific tooling, fixtures, etc, may have been scrapped in 1954-55.
Jack Mueller
