Monthly President's Message

[joefrazer]

The club does not rent any space at the museum.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

The museum has offered rental of floor space for $5,000 per year to help cover upkeep.  It also has enough material to run their own space for K-F of the same square footage offered the club.  Barbara and I visit as often as we can even though it is around 5 hours by car either through Canada to Detroit or around through Cleveland and Toledo. 

Jim is right, it is well worth the visit.

[joefrazer]

For my May message, I am including the proposed changes to our club's constitution and by-laws. Every year at our national convention, members in good standing who attend are asked to vote on the proposed changes. The number of changes varies from year to year and this year, we have four changes that have been proposed.

The same proposals have been published in this month's bulletin but for some reason our editor chose to omit the rationale behind the changes. That's why I'm posting them here.

If you're a member please review each proposal and let me know what you think via email or PM.

Constitution, Article 1, Name and Purpose, Section 2. Amend as follows:
The purposes for which the club are founded are for the development, publication, and interchange of technical, historical, and other information for and among the members and others who own or are interested in the vehicles built after 1946 by Kaiser-Frazer, Graham-Paige, Willys Motors, Kaiser Motors, Kaiser-Willys, Willys Overland, and Kaiser Jeep (including vehicles built by the above companies by their foreign divisions or under license), and to promote social discourse and fellowship among the members; and to maintain references upon and encourage the maintenance and preservation of all such vehicles as well as to promote and publish and research pertaining to their history.
 
There are three reasons for this proposed change:
 
1. There are Kaiser vehicles there are titled in 1970 and I have even seen one titled in 1971 and this change would make the  owners of such vehicles feel more welcome to our club.  This would be done in order to open us up for more new members.
2. Grammatical corrections of adding commas where required.
3. Change the word "cars" to "vehicles" . The word "vehicles" is previously used twice and then changes to "cars" . The verbiage needs to be consistent for one thing and then again the word "cars"  is exclusionary of trucks and Jeeps.

By Laws, Article 4, Club Publications, Section 1. Remove the word "monthly".
Rationale: This puts the club in the position of being able to publish greater or fewer than 12 issues a year which then gives the club the latitude and funds to distribute other publications.

By Laws, Article 4, Club Publications, Section 2. Rephrase as follows: "A magazine shall be published and distributed at least once per year that may include reports of meetings, an Annual Membership Directory, and items of historical and general interest. The issue may be a calendar."
Rationale: Because the membership voted to suspend regular publication of the Quarterly, the current language violates our rules. Relaxing the number of publications gives the club the latitude to publish one magazine per year and still meet the constitutional rule.

By Laws, Article 4, Club Publications. Add Section 6.
"Elected members of the Board of Directors shall be provided the option of receiving both the electronic and paper versions of the Monthly News Bulletin."
Rationale: The two versions occasionally differ and in the event of a dispute requiring board level intervention, having immediate access to both will aid in timely resolution.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

Where are these vehicles that are 1970 or 1971 Kaisers?  What type/series?

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

PLEASE NOTE MY UPDATE ON MAILING INFORMATION

Jennifer Dimmick should have the current membership information at her fingertips (Associate, Regular & Life Member totals).  When we got stamps for mailing the BULLETIN (it will go out, as normal around the end of April) It broke down to 825 domestic & 43 Canadian and overseas mailed (I previously gave an incorrect figure).  We also e-mailed 139 copies to members wishing to receive the Bulletin electronically (adds information).   Using Jim Lape's total figure of 1,102 this would mean we have 105 Associate Members (Associates do not get publications such as the Newsletter) as of the end of April.

I agree about increasing membership.  In past issues of KFOCI MONTHLY BULLETIN I've passed on things that worked for me over the years to build membership but it takes participation by other members as well to make the numbers truly grow.   Anyone interested in finding out more about things individual members can do to try and boost membership can email the Club Historian.

[joefrazer]

As of today, there are 1102 members in the KFOCI. This includes regular, life, and associate members.

The subject of membership and attracting new folks has been hotly debated in many circles. The AACA, arguably one of the largest car clubs on the planet has seen a precipitous decline in membership over the last 10 years. All clubs have seen declines, due in part because people have many other things to keep them occupied. And, information is more readily available today than even just a few years ago. In the past, car clubs were a source of technical assistance, parts sources, and a side benefit was the social piece. Today, you can turn that list around. Folks can source tech help from many sources and parts can be found on places like ebay, but the social aspect of any organization cannot be fully enjoyed by sitting at your computer...regardless of what your teenage kids may tell you!

If clubs are to survive, they need to continue to offer technical support, sources for car related items, but more importantly, they need to be a destination. When we hold regional, division, and national meets, we have to make them a draw. Folks will want to attend because there's something in it for them. Be it an attraction (amusement park, baseball game, etc), or an event, our meets need to draw folks into attending. We do a great job today, but we could do better.

And, what about the other things we offer? Our website is undergoing some changes that will allow members to access more information than ever before. And, our publications are under scrutiny as well. I've asked many of our members for feedback around what we can do to make our published information more attractive and useful. Most tell me that the Quarterly magazine, especially the latest issue, is always well received. And, everyone loves our calendar.

But, I've forgotten the most important ingredient to a successful club...ITS PEOPLE. We are all ambassadors for the Kaiser-Frazer Owners Club and it's up to us to spread the word of the club. If you add up the years of experience of just half the membership, it would number into the thousands. It's that wealth of knowledge, the social atmosphere, and the cars that have made this club what it is.

So, as its been said, it takes a village to raise a child. In our case, it takes a membership to make a club. And, it takes everyone who is a member to make the club a success. All too often folks say "the next guy will do it". Well, guess what, you ARE that next guy! Its up to all of us to work together to keep the club the success its been for the last 56 years, and all of us together to make this club one folks talk about.

Thanks for your time.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

Several years ago, the total was closer to 1,500. 

[pnw_oldmags]

In 1992,  I was given a pile of KFOCI Quarterlies before I bought my first Kaiser.  After reading this pile of old Qtrlys I was hooked, I started collecting Ads and everything else related to Kaiser Frazer.   Currently, I have a 5 foot pile of Quarterlies ready to be given to unsuspecting folks we think we can addict to this crazy KFW World.   If anyone needs some Quarterlies for possible addiction let me know.

[HJ-ETEX]

Jack (and the other people watching): I think I know where you are going with this. I have a 63 FC170 and the Data Plate says Kaiser Jeep. The title says Kaiser. I have a 68 Commando. The Data Plate says Kaiser Jeep and the title says Kaiser. AMC bought out Kaiser in 1969 so the vehicles for 1970 and later should have American Motors on the Data Plate and probably just Jeep on the title (I need to check my 1974 Commando to be definite as to how Texas labeled things) .
The states and the Federal government used to be rather loose in the identification of vehicles. As an example Honda 305 Super Hawk motorcycles ended production in 1967 and were replaced by the CB350 & CL350 for 1968. Yet there are claims of 1968 and even 1969 Super Hawks sold. The motorcycles were identified by frame numbers which did not necessarily correspond to model years; the 1968 Super Hawk could have been stored away at the distributors since 1966.
With US Federal safety and emissions laws it became very important to identify what day a vehicle was manufactured. As another for instance, cars sold in the US had to have head rests if they were manufactured (not sold) after Jan 1 1969. So if you bought a 1969 Camaro, if it was manufactured before the 1st of the year 1969 (practically speaking it was probably more like Dec 10 1968) it may not have head rests.
I think Jack is saying that these prior loose activities on identifying (on Data Plates) or naming on titles should have ended by 1969.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

There have been isolated cases of surviving vehicles (not just K-F or Jeep product) titled in a year other than the model year of the vehicle.  I have never dug into the matter but there appears to have been laws on the books of a few states (one of them Washington State?) where a new, untitled vehicle (with the Certificate of Origin of a New Vehicle from the factory) was first titled the year the car was sold new.  With the advent of the new VIN number system decades ago, that practice had to end and it did. 

[Gordie]

Most American cars could be easily identified by changes made each year but European cars of the fifties and newer looked alike from year to year.  It was a practice of at least Mercedes Benz in CA to sell leftover cars as a newer year model if they were unsold at year end.

[joefrazer]

The AMA required some sort of change from model year to model year and some companies, KF included, limited their changes in some years to hood ornaments. Aside from the VIN tag on the Manhattans, the only change from 1954 to 1955 was the upper half of the hood ornament.

[HJ-ETEX]

I recall a claim that the AMA required 3 changes at a minimum. An updated VIN/Data Tag would be 1 of course. I don't think that was a "written in stone" rule though and unless I see better proof, I would label it as folklore. 

[Henry's HenryJs]

Back aways ago my friend had a 68(?) Fiat Spider( sports car anyway). While on a trip one wheel bearing went so he took it in to a dealer to have it fixed. He found out it was actually one build in the last of the previous year and it was re-dated as a 68.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

Some car makers at one point or another didn't care about the visual changes.  For example the 1948 Fords were unchanged except for serial numbers from 47's according to a press release from Ford at the time the new Ford cars and trucks came out.   Willys Overland only distinguished the 1947 from the 1946 model year vehicles by serial number cut points; there was no new prefixing to identify model year.  K-F made no changes to 1950 model year cars from the 1949's'; in fact thousands of 1949's were retagged as 1950 model year cars, keeping their 1949 serial numbers on the door post but having a "K50" or "50" prefix.