53 Henry J question

[KenL]

Hi
I just bought a 53 Henry J Corsair Deluxe with the fold down rear seat, the car seems very complete but I have a question. Is there suppose to be any kind of package tray behind the rear seat or is just an open area?
Thanks

[Terry T]

If you had a fix seat, one option was a package tray.
Fold down seats do not have one--no place to put one.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

The dealer ordering information that came out in the fall of 1952 when the 1953's were introduced listed three configuration choices that could be ordered for the Henry J:

1.  4 cylinder Corsair with fold down rear seat, no trunk lid
2.  4 cylinder Corsair with fixed (non folding) rear seat, package shelf and deck lid
3.  6 cylinder Corsair Deluxe with fixed rear seat, package shelf and deck lid

As far as I know this is it for choices;  if you have a 6 cylinder Corsair Deluxe with the combination of fold-down rear seat and deck lid, please post the door post serial number, and the information off the large body tag, especially the AG number or if it has it, the SPEC-FO, SCHED and ITEM numbers as well.

While I have no info on such a set-up, I won't say my information is complete.

Thanks

[KenL]

Thanks for the replies. I have attached a couple of pictures of the tags on the cowl, the car has a color change and did not see any tags on the door post. I may be wrong on the year as I was told it was a '52 but after checking the tag numbers it appears to be a '53. It has a dome light which I understand is only available starting on '53. Let me know your thoughts.
Thanks Ken

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

The body may indeed be that of a 1952 HJ.  According to a translation of the tag, the original car color was Stardust Ivory (PAINT color 214) and upholstery was Beige Whitman cloth with Burma Vinyl (TRIM 5602); the cloth was an insert as shown in 1953 HJ literature.  Accessory Group (AG) listed on the tag is 39.  This calls for a NON-FOLDING BACK SEAT AND DECK LID.  1951 and 1952 Henry J 6 cylinders had the combination of folding back seat and deck lid, NOT 1953 or 1954.  The body fabrication date looks to be first week of December 1952 so it would be covered under the original dealer ordering information (which I have) and only shows AG 39 as available for the Corsair Deluxe.  Only the seat back folds forward not the cushion.  Also, cars with AG39 have a package shelf between the top of the rear seat back and the rear window area.

If your car has a fold down back seat and a deck lid, since there is no special order information on the body tag or non-standard type interior (TRIM number needed to be 888 with a SPEC-FO number of special prefixing) the car body was that of a 1952.  Does your speedometer have a more squared look or is it more rectangular (the speedo dial not the entire instrument cluster)?

Another concern is the lack of door post serial number tag.

My guess is that someone had a 1952 Henry J and used it to swap parts back and forth.  It may be a nice car but it's not factory.

[KenL]

Where is exactly would the door post serial number be located, is it a decal of a metal tag. I have attached a photo of the dash, as it has a padded dash isn't that a '53 option?
Thanks

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

You have a beautiful 1953 Corsair Deluxe type dash with 1953 cluster and the padded dash which was a 1953 item for the Deluxe. 

The door post serial number on a Henry J is located at the same place where a Kaiser tag would be found of the same year.  When you open the door, look between the 2 door hinges on the body side of the hinge.  The tag should be metal and riveted in place (like the body serial number tag on the firewall) around half-way between bottom of the upper hinge and top of the lower hinge.  It will start out with K534 and the serial number itself will be greater than "1001" with a couple of zero's ahead of it (example:  K534-0003475).

[Corsairdeluxe]

The percentage of Henry Js in the current population with both fold down rear seats and a trunk vastly exceeds the percentage in the as sold history.Two of the eight Henry Js I have owned, had fold down rear seats that were "Owner Design Evolutions".Didn't bother me none.

[KenL]

Here is the dooor tag# K534 0078632. So what does all this mean,is this a '52 or '53 Henry J?
Thanks

[pnw_oldmags]

K 534 says 1953 to me.
http://circlekf.com/kfcars/kfmodcls04.html

[Fid]

Pardon my absence HJ fans - I have been recovering from an injury last Feb. Anyway, a K534 means it's a '53 Corsair Deluxe (6 cylinder model). Regarding the package shelf - I've never seen a '53 J without one but that doesn't mean they don't exist. Installing a folding rear seat in one would not be that easy as you'd have to drill it for the hinge mechanism. It could be done though. Look at the floor in front of the rear seat and see if it has the hold-down rods (see them in photo). If it does not have them, then someone likely installed that seat in one that originally had a stationary rear seat. If it does have them... well then we still don't know unless indicated by the tag as Jack points out.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

The serial number is a bit high; well under 30,000 HJ's were built so a serial number in the 78,000 range is not right...Serial numbers start at 1001 like body serial numbers do.  Can you post a picture?

Also, to the poster indicating that percentage of survivors is higher than number sold that way as new...do you have any factory stuff on this?  I would love to trade legible photocopies of your stuff for something that I have.

Lastly, I have correspondence from a K-F dealer in Texas who wrote to the factory about the parts needed to make the "conversion" from fixed to fold down seat and the reply from Willow Run was that it is not recommended because of the extra drilling, cutting and other work needed to mount the fold down rear seat and remove the back panel sheet metal so the trunk opens into the passenger compartment with the seat folded down.

[Fid]

The records I've seen (KFOC Handbooks, Last Onslaught On Detroit, Automobile Quarterly and other KFOC literature)indicate there were approximately 115,000 Henry Js produced - over 81,000 nineteen fifty-ones alone. That aside, I agree, that serial number is not correct as there were just under 17,000 Henry J s produced in 1953: About 8500 four cylinder (Corsair) and 8100 six cylinder (Corsair Deluxe). This means the highest numbers for 1953 would be K533-009500 and K534-009100. Check it again, it's likely a typo in the number.

[Corsairdeluxe]

Vern Hunt added a fold down rear seat back to the ALLSTATE I bought from him. It looked totally "store bought". He said the only tricky parts were the retainers on the fender wells. Admittedly he was a craftsman.

[KenL]

Sorry, yeah it was a typo the tag number is 007862. I have attached a couple of pictures of the rear seat as it may help figure out if it is original. There is a photo of the front of the seat area and there is no hold down rods just a clip under the seat bottom. Thanks for all the input.