what is the switch above the dimmer switch

[brian.b]

hey guys what is that second switch for,,it has me confused,,,thanks for all the help guys..

[Don C]

It should be to change the radio station  on early KFs

[Fid]

I was going to answer with the same. If the car has a factory radio, then it likely has the foot switch installed. It was used for changing the station with your foot. Some Henry Js even had that radio and feature installed. The Kaiser installation manual specifies where that footswitch should be located and indicates the bodies of those cars were stamped with 3 indentations which are to be drilled. See attachment and see if that's where the switch you're referring to is.
The instructions that came with the Henry J kit 100219 only state that it should be installed "in a convenient location..." Whomever installed it in my '52 Vagabond put it right between the clutch and brake pedals just above them which made if very difficult to reach with your foot! I find that ironic since the Kaiser instructions list the benefits of the foot switch as allowing the driver to "select a station without removing their hands from the wheel or eyes from the road" - it was treacherous trying to reach that switch in my car! I moved it when I installed the new firewall pad.
If you have that radio and would like it repaired, let me know. I can do that.

[brian.b]

WOW,,thanks fid and don c im going to play around with the radio and see if it gets power ,,about how much to repair a radio like this it would be cool to have it working .the previous owner had one in the back seat but it has buttons and says motarola on it any idea of what it would have came from.ithe last is my radio in the dash

[xkssfrank]

I had a 1959 Ford wagon that I towed my race car with. It had the foot control for tuning radio stations and was very nice. Driving thru the nite u could kick the switch without taking ur eyes off the road and get many long skip stations during the long nite tow. Wish they still had those.

[rialto]

They do but now it's called seek or scan. My 98 olds has the buttons on the steering wheel.

[Fid]

Regarding that Motorolla radio, it was likely an after-market unit which could be installed in any number of cars and trucks back in the day.  It's easy to forget that in 1940s and even  up into the 1970s, radios were optional in cars.  Back in the 40s/50s etc. if you had a car without a radio, you could buy one from your local Sears, Wards and other store.   You could purchase one out of the Speigel catalog or at your Firestone dealer.

[JoeKeys2010]

Did all Kaiser's with radio's have a foot switch?  I have a radio in a 49 parts car that I removed (still had KF tags on it) but I don't remember seeing any floor switch and I did not remove any linkage when I pulled the radio out. 

[Fid]

Not all Kaisers with radios had the foot switch - only the GE 230 radio used in the '47/'48 cars had the feature.  Some of those radios were installed in 1949/50 Kaisers using an adapter kit so you may see it in one of those. As mentioned, there was also a kit available to install it in a Henry J as well but it was the only model KF radio with that feature. The other styles did not have it.  I often see that radio advertised on ebay stating that it's a "signal seeking" radio but it is not. It simply allows you to preset stations and select them via your foot as opposed to turning the dial.

[Gordie]

Sometimes the radio installer did not bother to install the foot switch so you may see some of the early cars without that feature. The early 1947 Parts list does not list accessories but the 1948 list just mentions radio and does not specify whether or not it has a separate foot switch.  I have a NOS foot switch in the box so maybe not all radios had the separate foot switch.  I've not seen an accessory booklet for 1947 but the 1948 version does not mention the foot switch.  Originally in 1947 there were separate radios for the Kaiser and Frazer but by November 1947 one radio was supplied for both cars.  Although the radio was the first K-F accessory listed they were not ready for sale until May 1947 and the Parts and Accessory Bulletin does describe the foot control.  A February 1948 mailing of K=F radio folders went out to 105,000 owners from the factory and a variation of that folder was available for dealers  for their own direct mailing or for handouts and that folder does describe the foot control.

[Fid]

I've definitely seen KF cars with that radio that did not have the footswitch installed. Whether it was because a dealer got lazy and didn't install it, or if it was just left behind when a radio was harvested from a parts car I don't know but I've seen cars without it.
I was not aware that there were separate units for Kaiser and Frazers in the beginning. I know  the  ones installed in the Kaiser cars had the plastic button for selecting stations whereas the Frazer had a chrome button which was part of the dashboard motif.  My '48 Frazer standard did not have a factory radio but that button could be pressed in so the cars were equipped and ready if someone decided they wanted to install one.  The installation instructions mention this.
I  know AZ_HJ sent me one last year that had a different looking dial face (gold with blue or clear numbers as shown).


I saw one with that same type dial face in that '47 Frazer Manhattan at Sublett in 2012.


Was  that the difference?

The one that's in my '52 Henry J had a very short shaft on the push button. I later replaced it with the longer one so I could install an original plastic button on it. I assumed the shorter shaft button on it was likely because it was intended for a Frazer which used that chrome dash button instead. But looking at the above picture, it clearly has the long shaft on the button. Maybe mine had been repaired before, it was 50 years old when I got it so you can't assume it hasn't been worked on. The dial face on mine is the typical one you see so I don't know what to think about it. Here it is -

[xkssfrank]

Gordie: were u the guy I met on the PA turnpike toll road at the oasis where we had lunch together on the way to Hershey? That was a pleasent meeting, Frank O

[JoeKeys2010]

I looked and mine does not have a floor switch and I could not see that the floorboard had pre-punched place for one.  My radio does not look like the ones pictured here.  Mine has (what is left of them) plastic/bake-o-lite buttons under the dial and a post on either side.  It has two tags hanging on it that say KF.  Not sure if it works or not, it was in the parts car.  The speaker seems intact as well.  It has two power leads going to it.  I may want to get it back in good shape and put it in my car.  I'll post a picture of it the next time I go to the garage.

[Gordie]

Gordie: were u the guy I met on the PA turnpike toll road at the oasis where we had lunch together on the way to Hershey? That was a pleasent meeting, Frank O

Hi Frank, yes, that was me and it was fun!  I'm sorry that we got rained out at Hershey.  I just got home last week as I towed my hot rod home from MO.

[JoeKeys2010]

Fid,  thanks. I found a radio for mine but no foot switch.  waiting for it to come in the mail now.