Author Topic: 54 Frazer Gotham Convertible  (Read 2202 times)

dragondust

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54 Frazer Gotham Convertible
« on: January 15, 2018, 10:46:37 AM »
Here is what KF might have considered doing if the market and the money was there in 1954.

dragondust

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Re: 54 Frazer Gotham Convertible
« Reply #1 on: January 15, 2018, 11:10:48 AM »
Here are some of the styling particulars regarding the Frazer "Gotham"--named bearing a suitable model name, I think, to the "Manhattan" series stolen by Kaiser years before. The turn signals have been designed for the lower part of the headlight shrouds. Instead of a "K" above them, there is a trapezoidial "F" just as in the often-used corporate logo. The grille is a combination of the earlier 51 Frazer production car, and ideas that materialized in styling when a Frazer was to originally appear on the newer Kaiser body. An egg-crate mesh divided grille would be set off with the Frazer heraldry above in a lucite insert similar to the 1951 production car. Instead of a false hood vent, a hood ornament would be fashioned similar to earlier Frazer ornaments which were available. The canted front bumpers have been enriched with two convex wraparound mouldings which echo the more ornate bumpers used by Frazer in the 46-50 models. There is a side fender crease running from the headlight hooded shroud and a "kick-up" crease at the back fender (both similar to the last production Frazer). The tailights are enlarged versions of those which appeared on the original 51 Frazer. The chromed side dip features an adjacent cloisonne Frazer coat of arms, which again appeared on the first Frazers of 46-50. Most importantly, this prototype represents a true 2-door convertible. Can't you just hear Henry or Joe (or both) giving the directive to styling: "Give us some G.D. windows without any f...... frames or glass B pillars! We want this to be our version of the Packard Caribbean."

Geoff Hacker

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Re: 54 Frazer Gotham Convertible
« Reply #2 on: January 15, 2018, 03:56:31 PM »
Beautiful job here Dragondust (don't know your name).

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and design.  Very cool.

Best..

Geoff

dragondust

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Re: 54 Frazer Gotham Convertible
« Reply #3 on: January 15, 2018, 05:24:01 PM »
Thanks, Geoff. I am John McCall, a newer member of a club I should have joined years ago. I got the KK-F's bad!!!

Gordie

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Re: 54 Frazer Gotham Convertible
« Reply #4 on: January 15, 2018, 08:01:46 PM »
Welcome to KFOCI!  We all have it bad!  You are in good company!!
Member #3151 Since June 1974
Vice President K.F.O.C.I. 2013-2017  President 2018-2019
'47 Graham Paige Frazer                                   
'51 Kaiser Deluxe club coupe       
'51 Kaiser customized convertible 
'52 Allstate serial#39
'53 Aero Eagle
'54 Aero Eagle Custom

Hercules

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Re: 54 Frazer Gotham Convertible
« Reply #5 on: January 17, 2018, 10:52:58 AM »
its not bad. Its an Addiction that is well loved by us all ;D ;D ;D

dragondust

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Re: 54 Frazer Gotham Convertible
« Reply #6 on: January 17, 2018, 05:53:03 PM »
You probably are not a hard-core Southener. When we love something, we have it "bad." And I have had love affair with KF since I had to stay after school for drawing cars in class.

Carpenter

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Re: 54 Frazer Gotham Convertible
« Reply #7 on: January 17, 2018, 10:18:09 PM »
I'm old enough to remember having Study Hall in school.  I too drew cars, but mostly there.   The teacher who kept Study Hall noticed this.  He asked me to draw what I thought cars would look like in 10 years.  I did.  Then he asked me to draw what I thought they would look like in 20 years.  That was in 1957.  I waited 20 years to see that I  had drawn the 1957 Corvette line for line.

dragondust

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Re: 54 Frazer Gotham Convertible
« Reply #8 on: January 19, 2018, 08:46:20 AM »
Amazing...and I had similar experiences, especially with accessories and mechanical enhancements which later came to be. A recent issue of the Packard Comorant published my brochure I did while at the University of Georgia for a 1970 "Packard"...and many of the enhancements I listed, though unavailable on cars at the time, became bona-fide accessories much later. I wanted to go to the Art Center Design school in California, but my parents would not hear of it. Now I am content to just draw "what might have been" for K-F and the like. What a starting point! Their styling was simply years ahead. Like Studebaker, they were a relatively small company and had the flexibility to push the envelope.

Carpenter

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Re: 54 Frazer Gotham Convertible
« Reply #9 on: January 19, 2018, 11:16:36 AM »
I still see the 54-55 Kaiser Manhattan styling way ahead of anything being produced today.

dragondust

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Re: 54 Frazer Gotham Convertible
« Reply #10 on: January 20, 2018, 08:15:11 AM »
Agreed. It is interesting to me that the Kaiser's 51 body shell just got better and better with each successive year. Like the 61-69 Lincoln's, it could have soldiered on for many more years. There was much to work with in that body configuration and it could have continued to evolve--perhaps more in the interior as by 1954-5, the exterior was just flat right!