First Round Of Questions From the New Guy

[shadetree77]

I'm having trouble locating a 1951 service manual and I'm waiting to get my KFOCI handbook for the '52-'53 supplement, so I have a bunch of newbie questions here. I've been pouring over this car trying to figure things out. Bear with me if you've heard some of these 1000 times. I do appreciate any help you guys can give.

1. This was in the trunk. Is it original to the car?



2. I've figured out that the knob on the left was added by the previous owner for the electric fuel pump. What is the toggle switch on the right for? I've seen it in pictures of other Kaisers.



3. I know that the radios were often added by the dealers but my radio doesn't look like any others I've seen in pictures. It has small, square push buttons and it is a Motorola Deluxe. The chrome bezel is made for this radio though. The holes are made into the bezel to fit the small buttons. Is this a factory radio?





4. My antenna is on the drivers side fender. Other cars I have seen have it on the other side. Was this a dealer decision?



5. Is this the factory correct oil filter type? If so, what colors should it be painted. I can find what everything else needs to be painted but nobody has mentioned the oil filter colors.





6. Is this the correct Carter carburetor? What about this "Mileage Minder"? I have the feeling that was added by an owner. What kind of filter (if any) was on the carb. originally?





7. Is this the correct fuel pump? Seller told me he thought that it was not. There was a very small broken fuel pump inside the trunk without a vacuum section to it. Might the broken one be my original?



8. Is this the factory correct radiator cap?



9. Am I missing something on the firewall here?



10. What is this?



11. This car has what appears to be electric wipers. Was this a factory option?



12. What is this grey box under the steering column?



13. Is this chrome above the rear wheel well supposed to be held on like this? Reminds me of a fender skirt sort of.

[joefrazer]

And some answers...

1. No. 1953 Kaisers used a woven mat that had the appearance of being a grass mat.
2. The toggle switch controls the under dash lighting. Most switches quit working long ago.
3. Questions 3 and 12 are related. The box under the dash is the power supply and tuner for the radio. The piece in the dash is known as a control head. It's just the dial and buttons with cables and wires that lead to the larger box. This is an unusual set up and not common to the 53 cars. There's another frequent user of this site who goes by 'Fid'...he's our radio guru and I'm sure will go into detail about this particular unit.
4. The antenna can be mounted on either side, though in 1953 the passenger side seems more common.
5. The filter looks like a Purolator unit, although the strap appears to be for a larger filter given the interesting adapter. Purolator units were used but the Fram canister was much more common in the full size Kaisers. Purolator units were used in the Henry J's as well.
6. The carburetor looks like the right unit but the Mileage Minder is an aftermarket unit. There should be a brass tag near the carb throat that will have either 781S or 999S embossed. The 781S was used in 1953, although either will work on the car.
7. Your car has factory installed electric wipers, picture 11. In 1953, the Manhattans used electric wipers so the fuel pump is incorrect. The broken pump is probably the right one. The pump shown is for cars with vacuum wipers.
8. The cap looks like it has 4lb printed on it. If so, it is the right cap.
9. No, you are not missing anything. If your car had a standard transmission with overdrive, the relay would mount in that spot. No, overdrive means the holes stay empty.
10. That's the turn signal relay. Turn on the signals and listen and you'll hear it click.
13. That is a fender skirt and yes, they are held in place using the spring loaded arms. There should be two small square clips mounted above the wheel that the top of the skirt slides in to, as well as two inverted U shaped tabs that accept the spring loaded arms.

Hope this helps!

[BigDave LM6174]

Good job Mr. President.  Here Here

[Fid]

The radio is not factory issue.  Today it may seem strange to actually have to ask a dealer to add a radio to a car but in 1953 radios were not standard in cars.  Most makers offered them as an option and because they could be expensive, other companies offered units which were made to fit in certain cars that's what your car has. Because they were large, vacuum tube units and space under that dash was limited, you often saw radios in two sections such as Joe mentioned.  A '54 - '56 Cadillac for example had a two section radio  behind the dash.  The one in your car is a Motorola unit which was made to fit any number of cars from the era and was fitted with a face/cover to blend in with the '51 - '53 Kaiser motif. It probably sold for less money than the factory one did. I've seen a few them but not too many. It would be cool to have a working example in a KF product.  The factory issue radio was made by Delco.

[shadetree77]

Thanks guys. Excellent answers to all of my questions and very helpful.

Joe, regarding the oil filter, I noticed that "interesting adapter" too and wondered about that. So you're saying that I have an incorrect strap for the type of filter that is on there? If it is a Purolator unit, what should the original colors be? Do you have a picture of one?

Joe and Fid, that's very interesting about the radio unit. I have never heard of a 3 piece radio! It does take up quite a bit of space under there altogether. I couldn't figure out why the second box was mounted so far away from the radio. That's what made me think it might not be part of the radio. I guess that was the only place they had to mount it! So if I'm understanding you correctly Fid, the reason that the face plate looks like it belongs is because it was special made to put this radio in this car and make it look like it belongs. Interesting that a radio manufacturer would go through all the trouble of producing such a large, chrome bezel for a specific car.

Thanks again for all of the help guys. Some of those could have waited until I found a shop manual but I guess I got a little impatient.  Hopefully I'll be able to locate a '51 manual soon. I haven't had any luck as of yet.