48 Manhattan hood chrome/trim

[leorob51]

My 1948 Frazer Manhattan, serial number F486-016689, has a chrome strip down the middle of the hood, from back to front, with a hood ornament at the front. So far, I haven't seen any 1948 Manhattans with this setup. I have the "later" hood,  due to the serial number of my car, according to the OEM parts book, but I can't seem to find any mention of chrome options for the hood.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

This is aftermarket, not K-F.  Look at the pictures of the 1947-48 Frazers in KFOCI HANDBOOK.  The first hood ornaments were offered in the 1949-50 model run and the cars never had chrome strip (or strips ala Pontiac) down the length of the hood.

GOT KFOCI HANDBOOK?

[joefrazer]

What you have is a fairly common aftermarket hood ornament. I think Western Auto sold the one seen most...I had one on my 48K.

Attached is a pic of the ornament end of what was on my car.

[leorob51]

Yes, mine looks just the Western Auto one in your picture. Thanks for the information.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

K-F first put hood ornaments for Kaisers and Frazers on line with the 1949 model year.  This item will fit 1947 and 1948 hoods according to the P&A bulletin on the items.  Here's the introduction broadside showing the Kaiser & Frazer versions.

Please note that retrofitting an accessory item is normally considered incorrect item for judging purposes & points will be taken off in judging.  Reason is wrong model year part on the car.

[Fid]

Because the '47 and '48 cars did not have a hood ornament, and hood ornaments were very popular, you see a lot of the '47s and '48 with after market hood ornaments.  The '48 Custom we had was equipped with a swan with red wings - we liked it and left it on the car. We owned the car a couple of years before we found out it was not an OEM part.  There were a number of others and it is quite common to see after-market ornaments on the '47/'48 cars.

[custom]

aftermarket hood ornament ads

[joefrazer]

The Shelex ornament (first scan above) is the same as what was on my 48K. It's also pictured in an old Western Auto catalog I have.