Well, I've lived with the '51 Deluxe for about a week now. Not sure if anyone will be interested, but for those who are, thought I would give a rundown on the car, now that it's gone from a sight unseen internet transaction to sitting in my garage.
It's actually the first time I've even touched a Kaiser, except perhaps when prowling through junkyards as a teen (around 1973). I had a '57 Chevy 4 door hardtop and remember looking for trim pieces , usually costing around 75 cents (those were the days!). This particular yard was FULL of independent makes - Hudsons, bathtub Nashes, Ramblers, a Packard or two, lot of Studebakers, and a few Kaisers. Even though I was looking at rusty hulks, I remember thinking how stylish the 51's looked for a four door car.
I haven't owned a classic car for nearly 20 years, with the exception a couple of years ago of a 1919 Chevy 490 (looks just like a T model). I quickly found out it was practical only for jaunts around the neighborhood. Driving it even 20 miles to a local car show was out of the question. So about a year ago , I sold it. Last month I started looking for something more practical to drive, and decided to get what I always wanted, one of the "orphans". I bid on a car that ran and had a new interior, but otherwise needed restoration, but lost the bid. After a lot of thought, and looking over the prices of rechroming, new interiors, etc., I decided the best course of action would be to try to get a good deal on an already restored car- one someone had put a ton of time and money into. The 'Deluxe was on Ebay with a Buy it Now of $10,500. I ended up getting it for substantially less, and the seller had invested $16K in a new interior, rebuilt engine, brakes, front end, paint and body, rechroming, etc. After winning the bid, I found a transporter (guy with a trailer) local to the car and asked him to inspect it for me. I could have called one of the "online appraisers", but I work for one of them myself and know that they are just car guys like you and me. So I felt the transporter could evaluate the car just as well, for about a third the price.
He called while looking over the car and gave me the rundown, basically confirming the car to be as described. I mainly wanted to know that the paint and body was done right- not to concours standards of course, but to what I call "first class driver quality" standards. And it was. He also confirmed that the car drove OK and was mechanically as represented.
After the car was delivered, I took my first drive around the block in a Kaiser. Not having driven a car with manual steering and brakes for a long time (other than the 490), it took some getting used to. And it seemed to wander a bit on the road. After a few days of getting used to it, I really like the way it drives. Really floats down the road like the big, comfortable boat it was designed to be. I thought lack of A/C would be a problem, but the old cars have attributes that make up for it, like pulling a vent lever and getting a blast of air from below, or opening a vent window or even rolling down a window in the rain without getting wet (yes, I drove it in the rain today).
The car had an old car show placard in the glove box that said the car had been purchased new in 1951 and owned until the buyer died in 1996, when my seller bought it from the estate. With the odometer showing 41,000 miles or so, I decided to give it the same "once over" I would give a clients car if doing an appraisal. Could that possibly be the original mileage?
After a lot of time spent examining, the answer is, very possibly yes. The engine was replaced with a rebuilt '54 motor, but only because the block had cracked (probably from overheating). . The hydramatic may have never been touched. The entire underside of the car says, "well maintained original". It was coated with rubberized undercoating from the factory or early on and had zero signs of rust. Floor pans look like the day they were made. Certain parts like the windshield rubber and window wisks look unreplaced, yet in much better condition than they could possibly be if exposed to a lot of sunlight.
My conclusion is that the first owner babied the car, drove it little and let it sit, in a garage, for maybe too long, resulting in deterioration of brakes, seals, etc from sitting. The second owner repaired and rebuilt as needed, and did a complete cosmetic restoration. Most of the chrome was re done, except for inside the car, where it held up well.
I'm looking forward to taking it to some K-F meets where some more experienced eyeballs can tell me if my conclusions are correct!
