Messages

1

Parts For Sale & Wanted / Re: Parts for sale

« on: February 22, 2019, 10:00:10 PM »

I need the following pieces off any 1951 to 1953 Kaiser. The controls off the lower heater control panel. I do not need the panel or the handbrake part but would need the chrome bezel, nuts, and cables of the switches and controls. (hopefully not too rusty and decent chrome). I understand that the cables can be loosened and cleaned with penetrating oil. I live in New Mexico. 88312   Thanks, Bernard

2

Kaiser Forum / Re: Strange looking hood scoop on 54 Kaiser

« on: January 20, 2018, 08:53:45 PM »

If you look under Kaiser on their Online Store--They are also parting out a 1951 Kaiser. It must be a Traveler because they are selling a lower rear hatch. Lots more pix of the 54 and the 51 inside their building, but prices seem really steep.

3

Kaiser Forum / Strange looking hood scoop on 54 Kaiser

« on: January 20, 2018, 01:58:54 PM »

I came across a series of pictures of a ROUGH 1954 Kaiser on Ebay from French Lake Auto Parts. The attached picture shows a really strange hood scoop. Unless the hood is just bent, it looks to be almost a triangular shape. Taillights and chrome look really good--Comments?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1954-KAISER-CORE-ENGINE-ASSEMBLY-6-CYLINDER-SPINS-OVER-401583/132439673250?hash=item1ed60509a2:g:q10AAOSwAaJaOPy~

4

General Discussion / Re: KF Dealership Locations List

« on: August 27, 2017, 09:36:17 PM »

I can add some information to one of the dealers in Missouri.  My uncle Melvin Anschutz worked for Mr. Makin and I believe that the date of 1950 is not complete. Two uncles bought new 1948 Kaisers from Makin Motors on Main Street in Grandview (south of Kansas City, MO.) and my father bought a used 1948 Kaiser traded in on a 1951. As a kid of 10, my sister and I "explored" the 1951 Kaiser Traveler in his showroom by going in the back door and out the lowered tailgate which is how it was displayed in the showroom. I think that it was a gray color. My uncle Melvin bought a new 1952 Kaiser from Makin which was a light blue, and another uncle bought a "plain Jane" 1953 Kaiser (medium blue) from the same source. My first purchased Kaiser was a 1951 Kaiser 4 door deluxe that had been traded in to an Oldsmobile dealer in Kansas City that my uncle went to work for in 1954 after leaving Kaiser. He remembered selling the car new and got it for me for $75.00  The dealership building was there for some years afterward and I stopped to see about any parts in the 1970's but as told that they had all been put in a dumpster and hauled off some months earlier.

5

Parts For Sale & Wanted / Re: Help Identify Tail Lights

« on: January 27, 2017, 11:36:16 PM »

1952 Kaiser (not Virginian) and 1953 Kaiser, 1954 Kaiser Darrin

6

Cars For Sale & Wanted / Re: 53 Kaiser Manhattan Dragon

« on: September 29, 2016, 10:43:04 PM »

I don't see any evidence of it having a padded top. The pictures may be to blame but I don't see the chrome drip rails or any Dragon emblems. Too bad there is no picture of the interior or the engine. It would be neat if it had Power Steering.

7

Kaiser Forum / Heater Control Valve Leaking & Kaiser Darrin trivia

« on: September 29, 2016, 10:40:07 PM »

1. Does anyone know of a good source to get a Ranco heater (water) valve repaired. It is not off a Kaiser but off my 66 Chrysler convertible. Ebay seldom ever even lists any NOS and they are all ridiculously priced. It doesn't appear to be rusted but leaks badly and I had to bypass it to keep any antifreeze in the car Has anyone been able to repair one or could a member recommend a vendor that could fix it before winter gets here. Thanks for any leads.   

2. I just found an old license receipt in my papers from my old Kaiser Darrin. It was heavily modified due to having been in a wreck and it had been converted to accept an Olds windshield and a custom dash because at that time no one had any Darrin glass. I wonder what ever became of it. The serial number was 16100137 and it was originally sold to a guy in southwest Missouri.  It was converted to 12 volts and had a starter off a Buick straight eight that would move the car on the starter alone. It had a mounting plate on the engine block for the supercharger that was in the trunk when I bought it. but was not stock. It was originally Pine Tint Green with more cracks than a broken window so I had it stripped, gel coated over new woven fiberglass mat. primed and painted at a Corvette shop in Kansas City. By the time I got it home to put the chrome back on, there were several new cracks in the paint and the shop had also lost the original serial number plates so I had to have new ones made. After that much money wasted I kind of lost interest especially after I took a turn a little too fast and slid sideways through a front yard while popping all four wire wheel hubcaps off the rims. I guess the Henry J components weren't up to the job although the brakes were great and it got good gas mileage. It was fun to drive and got lots of attention plus a wife, but a true sports car it patently was not. It was still a neat car to own though and I am just curious as to what happened to it.

Bernard #511

8

General Discussion / Re: Why do I still care ?

« on: September 27, 2016, 11:44:29 AM »

Kudos and Many Thanks for a quick reply Chris. I could not get on the new site because I forgot my password. I made a request LATE last night. I got up this morning, used the link given, followed the instructions and got on right away. I changed my password and BINGO----here I am. I could not expect better service from a paid members and from a volunteer it was exceptional. THANKS AGAIN!
 
Now if only my wife would let me buy one last Kaiser to go with my 'soon to be an orphan' 1966 Chrysler 300. At least JEEP always soldiers on no matter who owns it!         Bernard 

9

Cars For Sale & Wanted / Re: Very clean looking early '47 Kaiser on ebay

« on: August 23, 2016, 10:54:15 PM »

Wonder how it would perform if they put the Supercharger on it? 

10

Cars For Sale & Wanted / Re: Very clean looking early '47 Kaiser on ebay

« on: August 23, 2016, 08:11:20 PM »

Two notes on looking at engine compartment. Cylinder head says Kaiser 226--wasn't that the designation for the 1954-1955 engine? Also the one barrel carb is clearly installed on a standard later model 2 bbl carb intake manifold with a block off and adapter plate for the single barrel unit. It may have had an engine replacement (or at least the head and manifold) but it is still a nice looking car.

11

General Discussion / 1955 Kaiser Owner's Manual

« on: June 29, 2016, 12:52:39 AM »

I am not sure where to post this but in looking through some old KF papers, I just found that I have an actual 1955 Kaiser Owner's manual complete with the two cards in the front. All through it the references say 1955 but I can't remember where I got it. It may have come from the K-W Kansas City Parts Warehouse when I helped Buchinger buy the remaining parts in the early 60's or D.B Pearson Motors who had been a Kaiser Dealer before going over to Studebaker. Does anyone know anything about these as this is clearly a factory issue with a copyright from Toledo. Were many printed since very few cars were actually made? I have never seen one advertised anywhere before and am just curious? Were they ever actually issued with the cars or just printed up before the decision to cease production was made?

12

Cars For Sale & Wanted / Re: 1951 Frazer Manhattan 4-door Convertible Hardtop

« on: June 23, 2016, 01:47:08 PM »

This is only an interesting side note and no connection to this vehicle is intended or implied. In Kansas City a few years back a similar situation occurred and it turned out that at some point in the past, the car had evidently been 'rescued' from an abandoned salvage yard in Kansas and per state law the original title had been surrendered to the state DMV by the deceased owner of the yard as required at the time. When the restored car was taken to be inspected, the guy could not get it titled even with a Bill of Sale because the title search showed a state voided title. He almost got it seized by the DMV as stolen property even though he had absolutely nothing to do with the past questionable issue noted and he finally had to remove the car back to Missouri on a trailer. He could have easily lost every dollar that he invested in the restoration.

P.S.   An old Quarterly that I have/had mentioned a K-F member who found a 1951 Frazer on an abandoned estate overgrown with weeds and thought about doing the same thing noted above but decided that discretion was the better part of valor and left it there. Not all states are cavalier and loose with titling old cars with only minimal paperwork especially if they are considered rare and carry a high taxable value in that state.

13

General Discussion / Re: What is this mysterious vehicle ??

« on: April 04, 2016, 07:38:14 PM »

I can clearly see the KAI letters now and if you look at the speedometer carefully it looks to be a 1949-1950 round speedo with the chrome ring and Stewart Warner gauges.The radio cutout and ashtray look just like my old 48 Kaiser

14

General Discussion / Received my KF packet today

« on: January 24, 2016, 05:04:38 PM »

I just picked up my renewal KF packet today and it is really impressive. I joined originally in 1964 as member 511 and believe me the club has come a long ways since having to use typewriters and  Xeroxed pictures that never came out quite right in pre-computer days. Both the Calendar and the Quarterly are definitely top notch as is the Monthly Bulletin.

The best feature is the CD which seems like it answers and documents the accuracy of a lot of the 'thorny' problem answers about what was original to KF that you used to have to ask Jesse Ehlers or Fred Walker about. The club has certainly come a long ways since the 60's and I want to give public 'KUDOS' to all of the people in the club today who have worked hard to assemble all of this. You deserve many thanks for your efforts!

I am really looking forward to seeing the new website as I was the Website Administrator for a Kansas City Missouri School District 'Charter School' as well as the Newspaper and Yearbook Editor for a number of years so I know how much work goes into the final products. Based on the previous website it will be a GOOD JOB!

Now to talk my wife into letting me buy a Kaiser again to go with my 1966 Chrysler 300 convertible. I may end up having to rename it a Chrysler DRAGON so it at least sounds something like Kaiser. In case you wonder about how ancient I am, my first Kaiser that I owned and also learned to drive on was a 1948 Kaiser that was bought used from Macon Motors in Grandview Missouri back when Kaiser-Frazer was still in business, although just barely!

For the young members who may that think that everthing modern must be fairly recent, it had 'Push Button" start.

Bernard

15

Parts For Sale & Wanted / Re: Vintage tachometer Possibly Kaiser 1950s 1953

« on: January 17, 2016, 03:47:43 PM »

As an interesting side note to the Darrin 'tach' used in my car and i assume used in all of them! I had occasion to take it apart once and discovered that the mechanism inside  was a 1950-1951 Frazer speedometer head that still had the holes in the frame for the gears and shaft to drive the odometer and to hold the odometer cylinder which of course had been left out. The plastic faceplate is custom made and is a different color as is the color of the speedometer metal face but the case, the needle and internals were nothing special. I always thought that Kaiser was a master of improvisation since all the instruments were based on the 50-51 Frazer and looked really impressive at night.

When the windshield broke and NONE were available at the time it required only slight modifications to fit a windshield from I believe a 1953 Oldsmobile without doing much changing except to modify the dash. The 12 volt starter was taken from a Buick straight eight if I remember rightly with the nose piece from the Darrin that fit right on it with only a new hole drilled for the locating pin. That was all it took and would it ever crank that little 161 over. Back in the day, Darrin reproduced parts didn't exist and the newbies have no idea what an advantage the Manufacturing Fund and vendors are.
Old member #511