Few Questions Help Please.

[kwsranger]

Hello, I am trying to restore my uncle's old Henry J. It is a 53 Corsair Deluxe with a 6 cyl.

Right now I am trying to get the doors off. I can get the 6 bolts off of the hinges, but there is the "bar" (I don't know what it is called) between the hinges that I can't get loose. How do I go about getting that loose?

The body on the car is really straight. It has sat since 1968. My uncle quit driving it because the floorboards were gone. I just got it last year and now the floorboards are really gone. I will need to find floorboards and complete interior for the car. Does anyone have any connections? Is there anyone that is making floorboards or will I have to fabricate something myself? I also need the rockers. What about glass? I need both door windows with wings and also the drivers rear side glass. My windshield and rear window look good.

Does anyone know where I can get any catalogs of parts or do they exist?

There are many other questions that I have, but I will ask them later as I come to that step.

Thanks in advance for all of your help. Kyle Shaw

[Fid]

Kaiser Bill Brown did a review on the floorboards that are being sold on ebay and he claims they are not a good fit and don't really work. I've heard others make the same claim.  Bill has some good information at http://www.kaiserbill.com/page46.html 
He had great section on how to repair the floorboards but I see it's under construction now.  You may be able to call him or contact him via that page.
Strangely enough, in all my years of working on Henry Js, I have never had a door off one.  The shop manual says to drill out the rivet in that center door hinge/stop and install it with a new rivet upon re-assembly - a nut and bolt may work for that.
In my opinion, it would be impossible to restore a Henry J the right way, without Rudy Phillips' parts catalogue.
Rudy can be reached at 1-760-789-3608, mornings are best to call. You can also write him at 2136 Walnut Street   Ramona, CA 92065
If you are going for an exact, authentic, restoration I would advise visiting this site:
http://home.comcast.net/~ljfid/

Also, Mike Hazel and his dad did an outstanding body-off resto on a 1951 a few years ago. Much is the same on the '53 (although there are some significant differences too so ask questions if you have doubts) and you can see his chronicle of the work at this site -
http://www.henryjcars.com/hjc1p1/hjcp1index.html

Regarding some differences, you mentioned you needed seats; the 1951/52 seats will bolt right in a '53 but the true '53 front seat is larger, thicker and more comfortable to sit on than the earlier ones. Tex Dean in OK may have some seats, his number is (918) 341-4813 and the last e-mail address I had for him is  TJSPJS@PRODIGY.NET

Let us know if you have any more questions.

[kwsranger]

How can I tell if it is an overdrive car or not? As I said above it is a corsair deluxe, but that is all I know about it.

A couple of things that I have noticed that were unusual are: it has turn signals, spotlights on driver and passenger side,  and a visor above the windshield. It also has (had until they fell off) armrests, backup lights, and passenger sun visor.

I have the original title that my uncle received when he purchased the car new in 1953. I am trying to figure out whether I should keep it and file for lost title or submit it to the license bureau. Any suggestions?

Thanks for the help. Kyle Shaw

[Fid]

If the car was equipped with overdrive from the factory, there will be an overdrive control cable, attached to the bottom of the dash, mounted to the left of the steering wheel as in the photo:

Also, the data tag on the cowl, will list which type of transmission the car originally shipped with. Under the column heading "TR."  If the number in this column is 2, the car did not originally have overdrive. If that number is 4, it did.
The other items it was equipped with really mean nothing as all of those you mentioned were options too and it depends on the accessory group and what the dealer installed. My '53 Corsair Deluxe was equipped with factory overdrive, but it did not originally have door arm rests (I added them later).
Outside sunvisors were a popular add-on to cars of the 1940s and 50s. KF did offer one but they were also available from Karvisor and Fulton and if I remember correctly, the KF ones were actually Fulton - perhaps someone can clarify that. Backup lights were often added on the 1952-54 Henry Js because the "K" emblem "plugs" that filled the holes left when the '51 style tail lights were removed were cheap and rusted out easily. Backup lights were an option so it was easier to replace them with lights than finding nice emblems. My '53 had those "K" emblems and they were shot already in the mid 60s when we got the car so we installed backup lights.

[AZ_HJ]

Clarification on the outside sunvisor for the Henry J. It was the Karvisor Model J-10 (w/ V-307 & V-308N Center Clamp) manufactured by Dieterich Product Corp of Oak Park, IL. Fulton was probally the most popular manufacture of the time and they did have several models designed to fit Henry J and other KF models. My research tells me that Fulton was not the official manufacture of outside sunvisor for Kaiser-Frazer.

I have the installation instructions for a Dieterich Model J-10 for a Henry J if anyone needs it.


Best,

Mark

[superk226]

I am interested in a copy of the sun visor installation instructions.

[JERRY L]

repLY TO THE HENRY j. I have alot of original parts from henry, things like complete front seat in allagator tuck,n,roll also back i really haven/t decided about the back seat yet for my own use. heater door handles the rolling frame, motor will  run , and misc. to many to list if interested contact e-mail or ph#918-257-4648. i'm in oklahoma, up in the far north eastcorner. all off of 53 corsair deluxe. hope we can help. hub caps tails on and on........... name jerry or cindy thanks have a great day jerry