Some Kaisers for sale

[joefrazer]

Dredged craigslist and found these cars for sale.

http://saginaw.craigslist.org/cto/5327682937.html
49 Kaiser - looks like a decent project

http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/cto/5344376638.html
54 Kaiser - needs springs but the rest of the car looks good - especially for the money

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/cto/5309481406.html
53 Kaiser done in Rustoleum black

http://louisville.craigslist.org/cto/5346204362.html
51 HJ - I think it's appeared on our pages before

http://tricities.craigslist.org/cto/5300651406.html
Another 51 HJ - this one's a real fixer upper

http://lacrosse.craigslist.org/cto/5348472957.html
A 49 Frazer that needs some TLC

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/cto/5346673661.html
49 Traveler with a 2bbl engine transplant. Looks like it runs - a cheap project

http://omaha.craigslist.org/cto/5333019027.html
51 Kaiser - I know I've seen it on our page before but since it looks like a good buy, I'm including it here

http://fortsmith.craigslist.org/cto/5334252365.html
A nicely patinated 48 Kaiser

[Carpenter]

Thanks or doing the looking and posting.

[Fid]

Upon further review of the Henry J in that ad - the car is clearly a four cylinder model that someone converted to a six. It does not have overdrive. That means if the person who swapped the engine did not also swap out the rear end, it is worthless - 45 mph is all it will do and the engine will be screaming at that speed.  The '51 four cylinder non-OD cars all had the 41/9 rear axle ratio. A six without OD is worthless with a 41/9.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

Having once driven a 1952 Allstate (Lowell Johnson was nice enough to let me drive the one he had many years ago) at 50-55 mph I can attest to the limited and scary sounding engine thing.  They are great cars for running around town, but not road trips.  The RFC in their 1949 loan to Kaiser-Frazer only specified the car had to go 50 mph as proof that the car could be highway worthy.

Yes, there are a number of clauses in that recapitalization loan dealing with the design and specifications of the Henry J automobile in its basic form.  The government wanted guarantees that HJK could build the "car any working man could afford" and sell it retail for under Ford or Chevrolet. 

[Corsairdeluxe]

I drove a 1951,six cylinder Henry J with no overdrive,1846 miles from El Paso ,Texas to  Goldsboro N.C.. Never once was I scared. There was no speed limit  in west Texas  and I routinely drove 65 M.P.H.,accelerator flat on the floor during the west Texas portion, on roads that would be condemned today,no interstates then!

In addition the scary J made it without incident. A friend who was driving a 2 year old Oldsmobile      along with me on the trip ,was not so lucky. He burnt out his voltage regulator and had a shock absorber to tear loose from it's mount.

The trip would have been a lot faster except we spent a lot of time driving the scary J around looking for parts for the Oldsmobile.

[Fid]

My friend here in town has a HJ six without OD. It has the correct 41/10 rear end in it and he says it'll do 65 mph without problems.

[Roadmaster49]

Having once driven a 1952 Allstate (Lowell Johnson was nice enough to let me drive the one he had many years ago) at 50-55 mph I can attest to the limited and scary sounding engine thing.  They are great cars for running around town, but not road trips.  The RFC in their 1949 loan to Kaiser-Frazer only specified the car had to go 50 mph as proof that the car could be highway worthy.

Yes, there are a number of clauses in that recapitalization loan dealing with the design and specifications of the Henry J automobile in its basic form.  The government wanted guarantees that HJK could build the "car any working man could afford" and sell it retail for under Ford or Chevrolet.

Thanks Jack. I am always appreciative of these interesting historical notes.

[Roadmaster49]

Thanks for posting all of these mostly projects.  I found it interesting that a person could spend $3000, get 2 cool KF's to restore, spend a few years restoring them - which is a fun process in my opinion - and come out with 2 cars to enjoy club tours and the hobby with.  I have spotted a couple I will be following up on, and once again, there is a 1954 in the mix. 

[Roadmaster49]

The 49 Frazer, with the beltline moulding - would make it a Manhattan, correct?

[Fid]

The 49 Frazer, with the beltline moulding - would make it a Manhattan, correct?

Not necessarily. We had a '49 Manhattan (F496) and it did not have the belt line molding. I've also seen '49 standards that did have it. There's been some discussion on here about that before.  The 1949/50 Frazer Manhattans had a chrome bar across the steering wheel center that said "Frazer Manhattan" on it. The car in the ad does not have that. See picture of the one we had - you can kind of see the steering wheel trim.  Also on the Manhattan, there is a chrome strip along the bottom of the glove box door which extends into the door panel molding. That is not present on the picture of the car in the ad.  I attached a picture of it in the one we had.  There are no 'Manhattan' scripts visible on the flank of the car in the ad. I'd say it is not a Manhattan.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

Remember, when the factory started shipping 1949 Kaiser and Frazer cars to dealers & distributors, they were shipped minus various interior and exterior trim items.  Some dealers may have scrounged through parts department inventories or did a bit of "touch up" work on cars to get them to complete (or complete looking) in order to sell them.  An alternative idea here is that a prior owner could have done something because they didn't like the way something looked.

That's why the written judging standards under development will put down on paper WHAT IS CORRECT rather than what someone things is correct.

[Roadmaster49]

Thanks guys as always.  I did offer on the 49 Frazer, but I prefer Manhattans.  I suppose there is not much difference in the end, but going back I generally prefer top of the line models on the cars I buy.

I offered $500 on the car and was contacted by the seller. He was very friendly and said he had a local offer that was probably higher but he would let me know.

He asked about the doors. He wondered who had parts for the Frazer and he seemed to need doors and floor pans. I responded that the doors should all be the same Kaiser or Frazer for 1949-50 but that I would ask you guys. 

[joefrazer]

Adding to the list - here's a 52 HJ with a trunk lid and fold down rear seat. The price seems a bit steep...

http://dayton.craigslist.org/cto/5299399352.html

[joefrazer]

A couple more cars that appeared near me:

A 49 Traveler:
https://sandusky.craigslist.org/cto/5393409857.html

A 53 Manhattan:
https://cleveland.craigslist.org/cto/5399601661.html

[joefrazer]

About the 49 Traveler in my previous post, take a close look at the pictures and you tell me what's unusual about this car. Yes, this is a test!