Kaiser Frazer Owners Club Forum

General Category => Kaiser Forum => Topic started by: mbflemingkf on August 09, 2011, 08:03:07 PM

Title: Unusual seats in 53 Manhattan
Post by: mbflemingkf on August 09, 2011, 08:03:07 PM
I went to look at a new members car this past weekend and his saets were pretty un usual.  It was a 53 Kaiser Manhattan 4 door with the traditional bleached bambu boucle and bambu vinyl that I've alwayts seen, but instead of the Luxura fabric, the inserts were a solid flat/smooth vinyl (in this case burgundy).  The seats had been replaced as the data code on the firewall supported a green luxura (car was originally green over stardust ivory).  My initial thought was that someone had replaced the fabric with the vinyl, but we tued over each section and they looked totally original.  No 2nd set of hog rings, no double holes, etc.  It appeared that the seats were as original from the factory in every way and appearance.  So far I've had 2 theories; 1 was these are from a Taxi, and the 2nd was these were from a Deluxe.  Looking at the old paper handbook, did not appear the Deluxes came with bambu and boucle vinyl.  Taxi seems pretty remove for 53 seats and the liklehood that there were even any made.

Other theories?  This is pretty interesting!  
Title: Re: Unusual seats in 53 Manhattan
Post by: joefrazer on August 09, 2011, 08:29:35 PM
Get some pix Mike!
Title: Re: Unusual seats in 53 Manhattan
Post by: mbflemingkf on August 09, 2011, 10:30:40 PM
Pics are coming per the owner "in a couple of days."  Of course, I won't know how to post them here... :-[
Title: Re: Unusual seats in 53 Manhattan
Post by: kaiserfrazerlibrary on August 10, 2011, 05:05:48 AM
No Kaiser Taxi models were ever made other than the 1949-50 version.  Does the car have any M NUMBERS listed on the Body tag?  If it was factory and there is no 888 999 type numbers for paint & trim,  one or more of those M headers were used. 

When I first started in the club, I had a dragon that had vinyl inserts instead of Laguna cloth; a club member did this prior to my getting the car because he could not find Laguna cloth and the inserts had worn.   Looked good, but was not correct.
Title: Re: Unusual seats in 53 Manhattan
Post by: Jim B PEI on August 12, 2011, 06:13:52 PM
WHICH cloths are being repro'd?
Title: Re: Unusual seats in 53 Manhattan
Post by: pnw_oldmags on August 16, 2011, 02:02:15 PM
I got Bambu and Boucle from SMS ... Look Great.
They also dyed another cloth for me which I found close for the inserts on my 53K ... I think that is call laguna cloth.
My coloring was in Pea****** Blue if this helps.
Title: Re: Unusual seats in 53 Manhattan
Post by: dusty on August 16, 2011, 06:32:29 PM
you showed the material on the internet it looked like the material we used to use on steel case office furniture in the 50s and yes it was died PEA****** BLUE pea****** blue was the proper color.