Kaiser Frazer Owners Club Forum
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Garage Philosopher on August 27, 2009, 07:33:36 AM
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Hello all!
New guy here, ready to share/show what little I know. I have an ex-Mike Barker '54 Manhattan two door that my father got to enjoy for a couple years before he passed. Dad also had a nice '51 HJ, would have liked to keep that too, but I made my choice.
I'll be posting pics and pushing opinions, all the while remembering this is supposed to be fun.
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Welcome to the forums. Glad to have you here. We'd all love to see some pics.
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Here's a start...
(http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh14/sagabaytrader/DSCN0502.jpg)
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A truly beautiful machine!
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Yes! Very nice.
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Thanks. What you see is the way it came, and I've done my best to keep it that way.
What has been work is improving roadworthiness and driveability. The SC was not in use when we got it, steering was sloppy, brakes were dodgy and it ran very hot. The fuel gauge failed on the drive home, etc. Over the years much of this has been made right, but steering and brake issues remain. Found an earlier (long shaft) steering box locally and will combine parts of the two in hopes of great improvement. Brakes, I ain't sure how to get better performance. There just isn't a whole lot of stopping power available from them, and now that I've found much more "go" from the engine, the lack of stop concerns me.
My Dad wasn't that guy, Fid. His HJ came out of Midland, Michigan as a clean running, driving unit. Very close to original blue, six without od, a pretty nice driver but it always felt somewhat "delicate", and seemed unhappy at speeds over 50mph. That was the major reason I didn't try to keep it, too.
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Thanks for the info. I did some searching through my records and found a photo of the '54 that fellow had sent and it was a different color. In any case, your '54 is a beauty! Here's the one that I saw in Saint Paul in June -
(https://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9d838b3127ccec732803957ee00000040O01SatmLdmyB7efAA/cC/f%3D0/ls%3D00203070160520090619202314805.JPG/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/)
I like that color combination.
On a side note, regarding the Henry J without overdrive; If it was originally a four cylinder that was converted to a 6 cylinder, then that would explain a lot. The four cylinder without OD used a different rearend than the 6 without OD so the gearing does not match up. Putting in a 6 and not adding OD won't work very well and as you point out, 50 mph is about all you'll get out of it without the engine screaming. Add OD or change the rearend and it'll go 75 mph with no problems.
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Hello,, Very Nice.. I do like that..