New member looking for assistance with questions

[Bish]

Hello all!

I'm Rob Bishop (Bish) , a newbie, looking for some answers to questions regarding my '47 Kaiser Special. I rescued this car from sitting outside in a backyard for thirty years. It's running and driving now after freeing stuck valves and rebuilding the brakes. 54,000 original miles, onyx, radio, heater. I've registered the car with the club registry and joined KFOCI. I have purchased the blue service manual. I've lots of experience with Studebakers and Mopars ( hey Jim PEI!)

My questions are as follows:

1. Is there anyone who provides interior pieces - door panels, headliners, seat upholstery?
 
2. I am interested in used parts such as rust free headlight buckets, better bumpers, chrome trim, etc. from western cars. Whom should I contact?

3. immediate needs: lower shock cups for the front, WA 1 carb kit.

Thanks, Bish

[boatingbill]

If you put a notice (free) in the KFOCI Bulletin, I am sure you will get lots of reply's. A few
pictures would be nice for fellow members to see.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

Hi,

Let's see what can be done.  Where are you located so all of us can get a feel for who may be near you that can help?  Second, can you post the door post serial number and the information off the firewall body tag.  There were a number of running changes made to Kaiser and Frazer cars during  the 1947 model year; serial number or body number break points can be helpful.  You indicate you have the blue service manual (good choice!)...do you have the 1947-48 Illustrated Parts List book as well?  it gives a lot of the break points that I was referring to and will be helpful as you go on with the car as many vendors (even those in the club) often go by part number rather than general description and model year/make of vehicle.

How long ago did you join the club?  Have you received a copy of KFOCI HANDBOOK Version 4.0 on CD yet?  You will find some interesting historical information about your car in it.

[joefrazer]

Check ebay for the carb kit. One of our club members...our webmaster as a matter of fact...sells new kits to fit any year or model KF and Willys.

The parts you're looking for should be relatively easy to find. Keep in mind that early 47 Kaisers differ in many respects from later 1947 production. The early cars used a 3 piece bumper, later used a one piece style. The associated bumper guards mount differently too. There are many other subtle differences as well.

I also own an early 47 Kaiser Special. My car runs but is known in the neighborhood as the Flintstone mobile due to it's rusty floors!

[Bish]

 Here is my Special by the numbers:

Serial# - 014451
Paint - 751
Trim - 550
DR - 1
TR - 3
SCH - 67
ITEM - 191

Any info on when this may have been built would be appreciated. It has the front mounted fuel pump, turn handle trunk latch, "special" on the grille, 3 piece bumpers, plain hubcaps. So it has some running changes. It also has red wheels with silver? Pinstripes. Is this unusual?

I'm in northern Vermont on the Canadian border. I just barely joined the club as I wanted to see if this car would run and go without a major infusion of money. So far, including purchase price, I have $720 invested.

Thanks, Bish

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

If this is the door post serial number, the car is the 13,451st 1947 Kaiser Special produced.  It would have rolled off the production line in early February 1947.  The original paint is Onyx Black (751) and the Trim is the standard 1947 Kaiser (550), which would be the Green Sidewall and Rosetone Beige Cloth with Sandtone Beige Plastics  & Willow Green and Sandtone Beige interior paintwork.  The car was built for sale in the United States rather than export (DR1).  Please re-check the transmission number; it does not fit for a 1947 Kaiser. 

'special' was dropped from the grille after the serial number on the car. 

[joefrazer]

The red wheels sound like the rims may have been repainted. Check the backside of the rim. KF painted only the fronts so the back would be black. If it's painted as well, then chances are the wheel were repainted. Either way, I like the color combination!

My 47K is serial 16230...not far behind yours and it is also black but has black wheels with white pin stripes.

[Bish]

I'll take some pics of the wheels and firewall tag tomorrow.

Thanks, Bish

[r1lark]

Hi Bish, welcome. You will find more than a few people here that are also interested in Studebakers. I don't have a K-F product.....yet.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

Normally, wheels were body color with different color stripes based on trims.  The colors and information can be found in the 1947 Kaiser Section of KFOCI HANDBOOK Version 4.0 as well as certain Service Bulletins issued during 1947-1948.

[Gordie]

Early Kaiser and Frazer wheels could be a different color starting at about car number 5,000 for Frazer's.  The early ads show these different colored wheels and the Rogers Paint Products revised color code numbers page and  the Nason color chip page for 1946-47 Kaiser Frazer has color chips for the five different  wheel colors.  The wheel colors were Emblem Red, Alpine Rust, Buckeye Maroon, Indian Red, and Cabaret Green.  My first GP Frazer had different color wheels.  I guess that was K-F's first attempt at two-toning.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

Kaiser-Frazer wanted to "Color Coordinate" the wheels.  According to the Service Bulletin listing the trim stripe information, the intent was that wheels be body colors with different color stripes (the 1947 Kaiser and 1947 Frazer sections of the KFOCI HANDBOOK on CD will detail the colors used) but it is very possible that some cars may have been different from the factory in order to keep production going on a given day.  Also, as time went by, owners would swap out wheels to give the cars more of a flair, using wheels from a junker or parts car.

[Bish]

I cannot seem to upload my photos for some reason. The cowl tag does read TR 2 and RA 3. My goof.
I'll try again; I didn't think they were too large.
Bish

[dusty]

Bish, Here are some quality houses for carb kits Mikes Carb Kits 888-689-9758 and Rudy Phillips 760-789-3608 Antique Auto Parts Cellar 781-335-1579-- Shock absorber Cups go to Rudy Phillips Upholstery material and made up panels made to order SMS Auto Fabric 503-263-3535 ( information from Kaiser Parts Interchange & Sources) as advertised in the monthly news letter

[joefrazer]

The newest addition to my fleet. This is a barn find from southern Michigan. The wheels are the wrong color...but the car does run, drive and stop. I hope to have it at the national meet at the end of the month. It's Airway Blue and is s/n 14695.