Author Topic: "the pink one"  (Read 15946 times)

Carpenter

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Re: "the pink one"
« Reply #30 on: April 16, 2016, 11:20:48 PM »
John Parker parted out this car and some members have parts to it.  Would you please let us know what part you have.  Specifically trying to locate the seats, doors or door panels.  Thanks.

Carpenter

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Re: "the pink one"
« Reply #31 on: April 17, 2016, 09:01:32 AM »
Rudy has some parts.  I've talked with him.  I was told that someone in Texas bought the front seat or seats.

MarkH

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Re: "the pink one"
« Reply #32 on: April 17, 2016, 03:28:36 PM »
I'm curious what your goal is. Re-connect parts scattered to the four winds decades ago, make a registry of who owns what parts, or gather photos?
Fully restored '54 Aero Lark
Rusty '58 Austin Healey 100-Six
Barely running'74 Chevelle Malibu

Carpenter

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Re: "the pink one"
« Reply #33 on: April 17, 2016, 08:14:54 PM »
It was a one-of-a-kind and reconstructing it with just photos is something I would like to do for the club.

Carpenter

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Re: "the pink one"
« Reply #34 on: May 31, 2016, 08:19:32 PM »
(I just emailed the following to Jack)

Please tell me as much as you know about this car that John Parker had.  It belonged to Henry J. Kaiser.  He gave it to Jayne Mansfield at some point in time.  He died in 1967 and she was killed in an auto accident here in Louisiana in 1967.  John bought it at a sale in northern California in 1968, had it in his yard for several years, then parted it out.  Rudy has some parts, and Larry Barker has some.  Do you know who else has parts...seats, doors or panels?

I think you can see my interest in this car, since I live in Louisiana.




Aeroman

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Re: "the pink one"
« Reply #35 on: June 01, 2016, 12:56:47 PM »
After John stripped the car out in the late 1980's, he cut up the shell and got scrap value for it. The car was a power steering car. Haven't a clue where any of the parts went but I do remember him telling me that he sold the power steering.
Rick Kamen
KFOCI LM4314 since 1979
Willys Aero Survival Count
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1954 Willys Aero Eagle "Old Toby"
1964 Ford Econoline panel van
Once owned 11 other Willys Aeros and a Willys wagon, 2 Kaisers, 1 Henry J, plus Studebakers, Hudsons, a Nash and others.

Carpenter

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Re: "the pink one"
« Reply #36 on: July 24, 2016, 01:23:31 PM »
Just checking to see if anyone remembers more since the last posting.

Roadmaster49

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Re: "the pink one"
« Reply #37 on: July 26, 2016, 08:15:11 PM »
No, but I am just picking the topic up.  It would be  good idea if you have not already done so - to mail a letter to each KFOCI member in Texas asking about the whereabouts of the seats and trim.  You could do a form letter so you don't have to do 100 plus letters individually.  That might be faster than updating here.  Plus, people may know who has them but may not want to reveal.

For me, my fascination with this topic is in regards to John Parker.  He must have had so many KF cars and many rare ones, that they were all $500 cars to him!  Celebrity owned cars with provenance always seem to be collected by enthusiasts so it is remarkable that this car had NO VALUE to the greater community.

As a Continental Mark II enthusiast, I can tell you of the 3005 made over 1 1/2 years, many went to celebrities and titans of industry, and that is part of the fascination of owning them.

So, I find it remarkable that a car so ordered and originally owned by Henry Kaiser, then given to a celebrity such as Jayne Mansfield, becomes worth price of scrap when people in the KF world had TOTAL control over the outcome of the car. Amazing.

Finally, my 2nd thought was how much trouble Henry must have gone through to keep the gifting of the car to a buxom Jayne Mansfield out of Mrs. Kaiser's awareness!  If I gave a car to an attractive female celebrity Mrs. Moran would NOT be pleased at all. 
No old cars owned.

Carpenter

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Re: "the pink one"
« Reply #38 on: July 27, 2016, 11:38:53 PM »
Thank you Jake and Aeroman for responding, and Roadmaster, you have made some excellent points.  Thank you too.  This car is ties to Jayne Mansfield and she met her death ere in Louisiana.   I hope some of you see the connection.

Aeroman

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Re: "the pink one"
« Reply #39 on: July 28, 2016, 12:35:08 PM »
I think I need to restate a point about the '55 Kaiser with the pink leather interior. When I saw the car for the first time back in the late '70's or early '80's at John Parker's shop, he never told me any of the story because he didn't really know anything.

Around the same time, I was talking to another SoCal member, the late Stew Whittsett, who told me about Jayne Mansfield having at least one Kaiser (a '53 if I recall Stew's conversation) and her favorite color was pink. He was going to get me a copy of a newspaper article about Jayne and her Kaiser but he never did. Our conversation reminded me of a b&w pic that I had seen a few years earlier of Jayne with a light colored or white '52 or '53 Kaiser. That conversation with Stew led me to the thought that perhaps the '55 was once Jayne's also.

I approached John about it and he said he didn't know, though he supposed it was possible. I also spoke to my actor friend, the late Sal Ponti, who was a good friend of Jayne's in the late 1950's and early 1960's but, not being a car guy at all, had no recollection of her Kaiser(s).

Consequently, I would talk about the car and ask questions of anybody, hoping someone might know something that would tell us one way or another if the car once belonged to Jayne. No one could ever corroborate my hypothesis and, because of this, I may have inadvertently started the rumor that the car was actually Jayne's. To my knowledge, there has never been any proof, only suppositions. I have never heard the Henry Kaiser link until this thread of conversation.

So, as far as I am concerned, it is only rumor that Jayne or H J Kaiser actually owned this car. However, there is a good chance this rumor is true on one or both counts.
Rick Kamen
KFOCI LM4314 since 1979
Willys Aero Survival Count
aeroman@aol.com
http://clubs.hemmings.com/willysaero
1954 Willys Aero Eagle "Old Toby"
1964 Ford Econoline panel van
Once owned 11 other Willys Aeros and a Willys wagon, 2 Kaisers, 1 Henry J, plus Studebakers, Hudsons, a Nash and others.

mbflemingkf

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Re: "the pink one"
« Reply #40 on: July 28, 2016, 07:31:08 PM »
Me thinks this whole thread is a fairy tale.  "Caca" we say!!!   :) :) :)
« Last Edit: July 28, 2016, 09:06:21 PM by mbflemingkf »
KFOCI #4818, Since 1982

Rear view mirror:
1954 Kaiser Manhattan, 4 Door (Now in FL)
1955 Kaiser Manhattan, 2 Door (Now in TX)
1953 Kaiser Manhattan, 4 Door (Now in Australia)
Thousands of parts & literature (All over the world)

Carpenter

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Re: "the pink one"
« Reply #41 on: July 28, 2016, 10:50:45 PM »
Some people know how to "moon" without dropping their pants.

Carpenter

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Re: "the pink one"
« Reply #42 on: July 28, 2016, 10:55:05 PM »
Aeroman, Mrs. John Parker (June) told me in telephone conversation that the '55 did indeed belong to Henry Kaiser and was given to Jayne Mansfield.

mbflemingkf

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Re: "the pink one"
« Reply #43 on: July 29, 2016, 07:55:40 AM »
Carpenter, did you get a response from our club Historian and what did he say?   ???
KFOCI #4818, Since 1982

Rear view mirror:
1954 Kaiser Manhattan, 4 Door (Now in FL)
1955 Kaiser Manhattan, 2 Door (Now in TX)
1953 Kaiser Manhattan, 4 Door (Now in Australia)
Thousands of parts & literature (All over the world)

Carpenter

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Re: "the pink one"
« Reply #44 on: July 29, 2016, 07:57:16 AM »
Nt sure who that is, but if I did it would be here on this thread.