Yes, I noted in my first post that the interior seat fabric was not correct, though the fabric was similar to the original but of modern materials and also it was rolled and pleated which was not on the original 53 Kaiser Manhattans. The rest of the interior is very original, the dark parts of the seats is the original brown boucle textured vinyl, likewise the headliner is original, and the bamboo on the door panels is original. The bamboo padding on the dash is new but authentic to the original bamboo. Not sure if the club's manufacturing fund offered it back then or what but the bamboo on the dash looked so new that I did not think it was original. I have to say however that the man I bought this car from (Dan Stockberger) told me that he bought the car from someone who had stored it unused for many years so the restoration start was very easy. Nonetheless, he invested considerably in rechroming, paint, restoration parts and labor as he was very particular and even replaced the wheel spindles, bearings etc. and restored much of the suspension components which explains why the car drove so well. He had the Hydramatic rebuilt. He said the engine must have been stored properly as he did not need to have it rebuilt, but detailed under the hood so as to appear new. It had 86,000 miles on it when it arrived and it had just over 102,000 on it when I sold it and in all that time it did not smoke or use oil and the compression remained very good as well as the performance. Also I must say that I know that some Hydramatic transmissions vary in their performance in these cars. I have owned 3 KF cars with Hydramatics, and maintained them properly with our local transmission guy who services all old cars including the strange Mopar early transmissions. This 53 Manhattan's automatic transmission must have been very properly rebuilt as it had much smoother shift points, up and down, than the other two that I owned.
It is hard to guess what the bidders are willing to pay but if this car is in comparable condition to when I got it (except for more miles on it) it may cross well over 20K. Just my guess. The color is a big draw and it was when I showed the car in open shows. Lots of people commented on it.
I remember at one big open show the guy who was parked next to me was getting irritated because he had a very expensive modified 37 Chevy coupe with bright Candy Apple Red metallic and lots of chrome and all the hot-rod attractions, but most people crowded around my Kaiser (instead of his) and wanted to know more about it. Also there were times when I was on a long road trip and stopped at a rest stop on the interstate to use the bathroom and before I could get to the bathroom people were stopping me to ask about the car. This was my first Kaiser and KF experience and I never cared really for trophies or showing much, but growing up in Detroit with KF employee neighbors and their beautiful cars, I always liked these cars for just what they are. So I intentionally took this car to many open venues just because I was proud of its tribute to the designers and engineers who developed it. Since my father was a lifelong Chrysler Engineer and administrator in product planning, I had reason to see cars in this way.
The photos do not do justice to what you call the cream color. That color is Australian Beige and it must have been digitally formulated for a perfect match when repainted because it matched very well the original dealer paint chips that I have. Australian Beige is hard to describe because it is a "light greyish" beige and in combination with the unique Sabre Jet Blue roof which has an almost Indigo like cast makes the color combination one of the best KF color schemes, I think.
I am including here a few attachments of the car during my ownership. It is hard to capture the true color in photos but at least this gives you some general idea of the car's look and condition.
