hub caps & dist. rotors

[John M.]

      I have the same hubcaps on my '52 as Fid has on Edgar Kaiser's '51. Can't determine if they are chrome-plated or stainless.Leaning toward stainless because they appear somewhat dull even after using chrome polish on them. If they are stainless, would it be advisable to polish them using a polishing wheel and compound on them?
     Also, has anyone had a problem with loose-fitting dist.rotors on their 4cyl. engines? I got a new one when eng. was rebuilt(old one had noticeable side to side play in it- figured it was worn after years of service). New one, however, ha s similar play in it. Engine runs fairly well and timing appears O.K. But can't imagine there should be any play in rotor. Is the six cyl. engine rotor different from the four cyl. one? The difference would be in the inner plastic part that fits into slot in distributor shaft. Thanks for help as always.
     

[Terry T]

Even if they were stainless, they had flash-chrome applied.
Heavy polishing will erode the chrome and get down to the stainless, which is a different color than the chrome.

[Fid]

Hi John, just a note, Edgar Kaiser's car has Keystone wheels on it so it has no hubcaps.

It may be a bit misleading since the car is a 1951 but it looks like a '53. Actually, my guess is, the people that put it together for Edgar took a 1953 and put 1951 tags on it. By all features (and there are many) it's a '53 but the body, data and VIN tags all say "K514...." on them and the title stated "1951 Henry J..." so that's the story on it.
You likely are referring to my '52 Vagabond, which has the small stainless caps on it -

There were two versions of that cap, the stainless and one was actually chrome. You see the chrome ones more often on the later ('53-'54) Js. They have the same part number but what distinguishes them is the chrome ones have more squared edges around the K and the circle whereas the stainless ones the edges are a bit round and they definitely have a different sheen to them.

To answer your question regarding the rotor; The Henry J parts book lists the same part number for the four and six cylinder rotors. The difference is whether it's an Autolite or Delco-remy distributor.  If your car is a '52 Henry J Vagabond, that means it was an unsold '51 that was retagged/badged as a '52 and it would have Autolite. If your car is a '52 Corsair, it most likely has Delco-remy.
KF Part number for Autolite rotor is 212623, which is a NAPA/Echlin  ECH AL104. KF Part number for Delco-remy rotor is 208288, which is NAPA /Echlin RR83. I've never known one to fit loose. NAPA can usually get them in a day or so and they're not too expensive if I remember correctly.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

Unfortunately all my K-F stuff is now under bonded shipment to Buffalo NY for delivery to the new place in East Amherst so I can't offer further info.   ETA there is July 9th, and I will be there to crack the seal and begin unloading.

Barbara will be up with the rest of the household stuff later in the month.

[John M.]

     My car is a '52 Allstate that has Auto-Lite electrics. I'll get the rotor from NAPA that's intended for the A-L. dist. and see if it fits  better. Thanks for info.
     Re. hub caps- mine are like Fid's Vagabond's in size but have no markings of any kind. Now that I know they were made in either stainless or chrome I'm thinking mine are stainless and will give them a light polishing.
      P.S. if anyone knows of an allstate center grill medallion out there please let me know. My  car looks sadly incomplete without it. Thank You.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

Allstate hub caps, horn button and covers for the back up lights (if you have tail lights in the rear fender crowns) do NOT have "K" emblems on them.

DO NOT MIX Delco-Remy branded electrical items (like distributor rotors) with A-L and vice versa.  These parts are not intended to be interchangeable