Henry J armrests

[porsche1914]

I am looking HenryJ armrests and a heater blower switch. Any help would be appreciated
Thanks

[HJ-ETEX]

HJs did not come with heaters. If your car has a heater it is either a factory supplied add-on dealer installed unit or an after market (Arvin, Allstate, etc). The HJ parts book shows 2 units that were factory supplied (one was the same as supplied for early KF cars and was rather large). The factory supplied add-ons had specific switches, but the after market units had generic switches. So, what sort of heater do you have? 

[HJ-ETEX]

Armrests: HJs did not come with armrests (they were a cheap car!). The armrests were supplied as add-ons. They looked like smaller versions of big 51-53 Kaiser armrests. In fact you can use big Kaiser armrests (as well as inside door handles, roll-up handles, and even sunshades) on a HJ. The holes are there. BUT the armrests are held on with long self-tapping screws. You screw on the armrests with the door glass up, then try to roll down the window. The window mechanism will hit the end of the long screw. Cut the screw to the point that it doesn't interfer with the window mechanism. And don't slam the door. HJ doors are flimsy and the side glass can be cracked if you slam the door.

[Fid]

Many Henry Js were equipped with heaters. Yes, they were add-ons so about half did not have them. There were actually three types built for the Henry J: The first was part number 100238. As pointed out, it is the type used for the 1949/50 Kaisers and it is listed in the 1951 Henry J parts book. . As can be seen in the photo, the switch mounted on a bracket under the dash which was included as part of the package. That type of switch is KF part number 212957.
Shortly thereafter, a different style, part number 100171 which is the most common one, was introduced and it too is listed in the 1951 Henry J parts book.
  
On this type the blower switch was mounted on a chrome hanger, usually mounted under the dash to the left of the steering wheel. It is KF part number 212426. My guess is, this is the type you have.
The third type, KF Part number 100302, is listed in the 1952-53 Henry J parts supplement. It looks like this

The switch for that one is listed as KF part number 213773.
And yes, there were a number of after-market units and sometimes people installed heaters from different cars in the Js. I've seen Js with Chevrolet heaters, Southwind gas type heaters and even one with an International Harvestor heater.
I think if you find any 3 position switch, which can handle about 1 amp, it should be fine electrically. If you're looking for an original type, Rudy Phillips lists them in his catalog. His phone number is 1-760-789-3608
Door arm rests were part of Accessory Group 10, 18, 19, 21 and 22 so if the car was equipped with any of those AGs, it would have originally had door armrests. They were also available from dealers so they could be installed in any J so if you're going for a truly authentic restoration, armrests would be considered correct. My '53 J did not have them originally but I added them. If nothing else, they make it easier to pull the door shut when you get in the car. The small handles bend and break when pulling the door shut with them so in my opinion, that's reason enough to add arm rests.

[AZ_HJ]

Correction to above- Door Arm Rest came on the Henry J with the following Accessory Groups; AG 10, 18, 19, 21, and 22. (Ref: Confidential Bulletin No 56 Dated Jan 26, 1951, Page 2)

Like HJ-TEX said they were available as stand alone accessory as P/N 100211  (Centry Brown/Plain Vinylite) for 513, P/N 100212 (Temple Grey/Plain Vinylite) also for 513, P/N 100213  (Burma Dragon/Dragon Vinylite) for 514, and, P/N 100214 (Cape Verde Green/Dragon Vinylite) also for 514 (Reference Part List Model 513 and 514 Issued November, 1951)

Note: 2 of my mounting screws were not cut and they measure 2-11/16" long and the other two were cut down to 2-1/2" long.

I have a 1952 Henry J Vagabond Deluxe.

[AZ_HJ]

Fid,

Looks like we answered at the same time. GREAT MINDs and all that. Hahahahaha

[Fid]

Mark is correct, if you use mounting bolts from a Kaiser, you do have to cut/grind them down shorter as the window regulator will hit them if you don't. Good eye!

[AZ_HJ]

If you need a heater switch for KF P/N 100171 Heater I would suggest contacting Larry Barker. I know he has a couple of them. He has the switch only. You can get the plastic knob from Rudy. Hopefully you already have an accessory bracket.

[AZ_HJ]

Until I read the posts above I thought the Herny J Door Arm Rests were the same as the ones used on the Kaisers. That is except for maybe the fabric that would be used to cover them. Can anyone comment further on this subject? Maybe some one has documentation that can clear this up.

[Fid]

The Henry J Parts List book lists an "Arm rest package" in the Accessories section. It also lists the "Door Arm Rest" in the Interior Trim section which indicates that some models had them, those with the accessory groups listed.  Anyway, the upholstery section lists "Arm Rest (Cloth)" as part number 210017 and vinylite as part number 210719 and Dragon Vinyl as 210956.  The 1951 Kaiser Parts List book lists the exact same numbers for the same parts so yes, Henry J and Kaiser used the same ones.
The "Arm Rest Package" listed in the Accessories section of the Henry J Parts List is 100211 for gray, 100212, 100213 and 100214 for each of the different trim codes. Those part numbers are for the entire package which would include the arm rests, the speed nuts and the screws - I'm sure the arm rests that were part of that package are the same ones listed in the Interior Trim section.  KF Accessory part numbers always begin with a '1'
So next time you see some Kaiser arm rests listed on ebay, go for it, they're the same as Henry J. You may have to recover them which is what I had to do get some green dinosaur vinyl ones for my '52 Henry J Vagabond.

Note: The Kaiser manual lists the mounting screws as part number 207454 but the Henry J parts book lists them as 212693 confirming that yes, the mounting screws are different. The good thing about it is, you can grind or cut Kaiser screws down and use them in a Henry J. 

[porsche1914]

Thanks to everyone for all the info, and by the way, is that vinyl available?
Thanks again.
 

[AZ_HJ]

Some people here will tell you that SMS has this material. The pattern that SMS sells is not be quite the pattern you see in Fids post. I have a 1952 Henry J Vagabond Deluxe with an all Green Dragon interior. The pattern in my car has rows of what I call Kidney Beans in groups of 3 to 5 running horizontal in a band. They are then space about 6" apart vertically. This is the same pattern that Fid showed in his post. I sent a sample of it to SMS and what they sent me lacked these Kidney Beans.  I know a guy who has some original Dragon Green Material. It is a full roll of 39 yards - 47 1/4" wide and a box of piping. He wants about $110 a yard. He does not want to sell yardage. I only need about 10 yds to do my car. I am looking for others that maybe willing to go in with me to buy the stock and share the cost of the full roll.   

He has two other rolls of KF Fabric that he want to sell with the Dragon Green. Back 2 years ago he wanted to only sell as a group and not as individual rolls. I think I can get him now to sell individual rolls that if he still has the stuff.

Please let me know if anyone out there might want to go in with me to buy the Original KF Dragon Green Vinly roll with box of Piping.

[AZ_HJ]

I almost forgot to tell you that Larry Barker (The Kaiser Store) has Door Arm Rests. He has a small amount of inventory of them in various condition. Call him at 602-468-1403 or cell 602-373-1456