Messages

1

Cars For Sale & Wanted / Re: Allstate in Branson

« on: April 30, 2015, 07:46:30 PM »

I live in Branson, and that car has been sitting outside in the exact same spot for at least 4 years, probably more.  The owner has used it as a marketing gimmick.  I talked to him about it about four years ago, and he was asking somewhere around $20,000 for the car.  He knew the car war rare and assumed the rarity made it valuable.  I told him it was a ridiculous price, and he said he didn't care because it was a good marketing gimmick for him.  Later--maybe two years ago--he called me and wanted to sell it to me for around $10,000, but I told him I didn't have the money and still thought the price was too high.  I'm not interested in Henry J.'s or Allstates now.  I like the bigger KF cars. 

When I asked the owner about the car, he knew very little about it.  A friend of his bought it for him at an auction, and he's used it and a Henry J. as a gimmick for his 50's style restaurant ever since.  The last time I looked at the car up close (at least a year ago), it had a broken tail light and flat tires.  I was by that restaurant today, and I noticed that the car is facing a different direction and is in a different spot not, so I guess they've either started it up and moved it or moved it some other way.

It's interesting that after all this time, the car has made it to Craigslist and now to this forum.

2

Virginians, Hardtops, Convertibles, & Dragons / Re: 51 Manhattan Script and Speedomoter Cable

« on: July 03, 2012, 11:04:22 AM »

I do need the "Manhattan" script for the doors.  I have the "Frazer" script and am willing to try to remove it from my car and send it in if I can do it without breaking it.  Is that hard to do?

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Virginians, Hardtops, Convertibles, & Dragons / Re: 51 Manhattan Script and Speedomoter Cable

« on: June 07, 2012, 06:50:59 PM »

On my trunk, there is a longer script that says "Frazer Manhattan," and while it is complete, it is cracked.

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Virginians, Hardtops, Convertibles, & Dragons / Re: 51 Manhattan Script and Speedomoter Cable

« on: June 07, 2012, 03:36:35 PM »

That could be really helpful for me, and I'm sure others either need the script now or will in the future.

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Virginians, Hardtops, Convertibles, & Dragons / Re: 51 Manhattan Script and Speedomoter Cable

« on: June 07, 2012, 01:51:44 PM »

On the picture from the Handbook, it looks like this one that is on Ebay right now and is labeled as fitting a 1949 model: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Frazer-Manhattan-script-emblem-/290724078372?hash=item43b0816324&item=290724078372&pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr.

However, on the picture of the black and white convertible, it looks like it is not underlined, which would be more like the later models, though the font seems to be different.  So could it be like the earlier Frazer Manhattan script?  I think the earlier one looks better, anyway.

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Virginians, Hardtops, Convertibles, & Dragons / 51 Manhattan Script and Speedomoter Cable

« on: June 07, 2012, 12:29:52 PM »

My 51 Frazer Manhattan Hardtop is missing both of the Manhattan scripts that go on the back doors.  I'm having a hard time locating the specific script for 51 Frazer Manhattans.  However, I have seen the later Manhattan script (for the Kaiser models) for sale a few times.  My car is a good driver car and is pretty much original and complete, but it is not going to be a show car anytime soon (I have to save up some serious money before that can happen!), and I would really just like to find some script to fill the holes on the back doors for now.  People always notice those holes and ask questions about them.  Because my car hasn't had the script since I've owned it, and because I've never seen another 51 Frazer Manhattan in person, I don't know what the script is even supposed to look like.  Can anyone tell me how the 51 Frazer "Manhattan" script compared to the later Kaiser "Manhattan" script that went on the front fenders of those cars?  If they are different, would the Kaiser "Manhattan" script even fit in the holes on my car?  Or does anybody know where to obtain the original script?  I've tried Rudy Phillips and Mike Fleming.  Rudy has the mold but says he can't find a machine shop that will take it to make the script.  According to the 1951 Frazer Parts list, the KF part number for the original script was #207114, if that helps with the discussion at all. 

Also, I drove my car on its first long journey in a long time this weekend (about 125 miles total), and while it ran great and did well on the highway, the speedometer and odometer quit working suddenly.  I imagine I need the speedometer cable.  I looked in Rudy's catalog, and 51 Frazer with overdrive does not seem to be listed there (unless I'm mistaken, which is always a possibility).  Any ideas where I should check?  I didn't think it would be that hard to find a speedometer cable.

Thank you in advance!

7

General Discussion / Re: Overdrive Question

« on: May 18, 2012, 05:09:36 PM »

Thanks for all the helpful explanations.  I'll keep driving it with the handle pushed in all the time. 

8

General Discussion / Overdrive Question

« on: May 17, 2012, 09:58:23 PM »

I'm new to KF cars and am a bit confused about how to use the overdrive on my car.  I heard that I should only move the overdrive shifter when I am stopped, but guys who remember the 50's say they used it as a regular shifter on their Fords that had overdrive.  What is the proper way to use it?  I've been leaving it in all the time, and the car just shifts into overdrive on its own and shifts out when I stomp on the accelerator, but I would like to make sure I'm using it the correct way.  This question seems so basic that I'm almost embarrassed to ask, but I don't want to tear it up or something. 

Thank you.

9

General Discussion / Re: Anyone know anything about this key blank?

« on: March 19, 2012, 05:04:14 PM »

Alright, thanks.  I'm gonna order those key blanks.

10

General Discussion / Re: Anyone know anything about this key blank?

« on: March 19, 2012, 09:54:23 AM »

Thanks, guys.  That information is helpful.  So is there a separate key for the doors?  What if my car didn't come with one?

11

General Discussion / Re: Anyone know anything about this key blank?

« on: March 17, 2012, 07:23:31 PM »

I've seen the original Kaiser keys, and they are great.  But what did an original Frazer key look like?  I have a 51 Frazer.  It came with two Yale keys, but I thought it might be good to have another spare, just in case.  So far, I have not been able to find a blank that would work. 

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Cars For Sale & Wanted / Re: 1953 Onyx colored Dragon for Sale

« on: March 17, 2012, 07:16:34 PM »

Roadmaster49, everything you say makes sense to me.  Kaiser-Frazer cars are special, and they have a special following, though not a large one.  There's an Allstate for sale here in Branson, MO, for $17,500 because the guy got it out of a museum and thinks it's rare and should be expensive.  Meanwhile, he has it sitting out in front of a restaurant here in town, and I can see it slowly going downhill.  I told him that even though Kaiser-Frazer cars are rare, they don't go for high prices, and I told him that the longer he lets it sit out there, the worse it will get.  He didn't seem to hear anything I said.  Since I've been watching it in recent months, the tires are getting flatter and flatter, and a tail light lens is now busted. 

I do not know Mr. Lance personally at all, and I only posted the notice because I thought somebody else might be interested.  I think you're right about the 30 $100 bills having an effect on Mr. Lance though.  When I looked at the car, I was fairly new to the KF world, but I knew I didn't want a car that was a huge project.  The 51 Frazer I got was a great price, and it runs very well, and I'm hooked.

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Cars For Sale & Wanted / Re: 1953 Onyx colored Dragon for Sale

« on: March 14, 2012, 07:17:39 PM »

Here are some other views of the car that wouldn't fit in the last post.  I do have more pictures, but I don't know if anybody is that interested.

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Cars For Sale & Wanted / 1953 Onyx colored Dragon for Sale

« on: March 14, 2012, 07:13:46 PM »

This car is for sale near Kansas City, MO, on I-70, near Sweet Springs, MO.  I think there may have been some discussion about this car back in the fall, but I don't think anyone had pictures, and I couldn't find the thread. I went to look at this car at that time, but I didn't think about posting the pictures in case anybody else is interested.  I recently came across the pictures on my computer and thought I would post them.

The car is at Lance Auto Investments, and when I called yesterday to see if it was still there, Mr. Lance said he has not had much activity with this car and that it is still there.  He says the motor and transmission have been rebuilt and that the car will come with about $1,000 worth of spare parts.  He said the price he has marked on the car is $11,000, but he said he would take $6,000 for it.  He said he had been driving it around yesterday.  I am trying to attach the pics of this car, and one of them has the firewall tag, which shows it is a true Onyx Dragon.  The interior is in very bad shape, and the paint is too, as well as the top covering, but it could be a very nice and rare car for someone who wants to fix it. 

Now, when I went to look at the car last fall, Mr. Lance told me over the phone that the price was $6,000, but when I got up there, he showed me that tag he had on the keychain that said $11,000. He said he had misquoted me the price, and if I wanted it for $6,000, I had to buy it that day.  I'm not sure what to make of that, but I was never looking for a car that needed much work to be enjoyable and left it alone for that reason.

If anyone is interested, I have two phone numbers for Mr. Lance: (816) 807-7753 and (660) 335-2255.  One of those is his cell phone, but I don't remember which one.  Also, Mr. Lance is hard to hear on the phone at first because he has an artificial voice.  When I was calling him last fall, I didn't know about his voice, and I hung up on him several times because I thought the phone was malfunctioning and giving me static.  If you know to listen for that, you can understand him just fine.

I'm not a mechanic or an expert on Dragons, but this seems to be a rare car that might make someone in the club happy.  Just thought I would post it to see what you all think and to see if anybody is interested in buying it and restoring it.

15

General Discussion / Re: Bakelite 51 Frazer

« on: December 29, 2011, 02:11:00 PM »

Thanks, guys.  I guess I'll just keep my eyes open for the bakelite on the shifter.  I may try the JB Weld thing eventually.