1953 Kaiser Manhattan Project

[shadetree77]

Hello,

My name is Robert and I am new to the forum and new to Kaiser Frazer automobiles. I have admired them for some time and was finally able to purchase my first, a 1953 Kaiser Manhattan, yesterday. I wanted to introduce myself here and tell you all a little bit about me and my "new" Kaiser.

As I said, my name is Robert, I am 30 years old, and I currently live in North Georgia (but will be moving to Pontiac, Michigan soon). I also own a 1952 Buick Special and I am an active member of the Buick Club of America. I have had my Buick for 2 1/2 years now and I work on it almost daily with my Dad and my Wife. You could say that it's a family effort. We have a lot of fun and thoroughly enjoy our time together. I post regularly on the Buick section of the AACA forums. I have a thread over there now containing about 37 pages worth of my efforts. I try to document everything I do for the benefit and entertainment of everyone that needs help with their Buick. You can visit my thread by clicking here: http://forums.aaca.org/f163/1952-special-deluxe-project-315000.html. My efforts were recognized early on by the editor of the Buick Bugle club magazine and I was offered the position of Technical Article Editor, which I graciously accepted.

Enough about my Buick though, we're here to talk about my Kaiser. I found this car on Craigslist a few weeks ago and it stuck in my mind ever since. It was located less than a mile from me. I've always wanted one of the '51-'53 Kaisers. I viewed the listing several times a day and eventually I decided to give the seller a call. I arranged a time to go look at it and I did so. I crawled all over and under the car. The seller was asking a price of $1500. The car is all original and untouched with the exception of an old electric fuel pump added by one of the original owners back in the 70's when the mechanical pump gave out.

It is in rough shape but not too far gone to save. She's got some dents and dings in a few spots, a lot of the pot metal chrome has deteriorated and rusted, and the upholstery is pretty much shot. It needs front floor pans too. Pretty typical of an old project car that has been sitting for 30+ years. The trunk lid has been smacked by something right where the lock is. It looks like someone hit it with a sledghammer trying to get the trunk open! The hood has the typical rust along the lower, bottom edge too. Both tail lights are busted. It is 100% complete though and the seller stated that he got the engine to start and run for a few minutes last summer.

The car came from Old Fort, TN and has 1974 Tennessee tags on it. From what I've been told it was parked some time that year due to a minor starting issue. Probably an easy fix. It sat for around 30 years and then the car was sold by the owner to a gentleman in Dalton, GA some time in the last two years. It was then bought sometime last year by the gentleman that I purchased it from. The Tennessee title came with the car and is dated for 1957. The man from Old Fort bought the car used in 1957 according to the title. I wondered where the car came from before that. I quickly began finding clues. The first of which was an old map of Oregon in the glove box. Hmmmm...what would a map of Oregon be doing in a Tennessee car? Further inspection of the title revealed that the car was originally bought in Washington state. It doesn't say where or by whom. This car came a long way to end up in my possession! I'm imagining a young family moving cross-country in the mid 50's and trading in their Kaiser when they got to Tennessee. Maybe that's just my imagination but it could have happened I suppose.

After doing extensive research online (parts price, availability, resources, etc.) I decided to make an offer. I called the seller back and we settled on $1000 including delivery to my door. I am very happy to now be included as an owner in this car's history. I plan to restore the car back to original just like I'm doing with my Buick. I love the styling of the early 50's Kaisers. It might be a while before I begin to work on it regularly though. My Wife recently accepted a position in the dyno labs at the GM Powertrain division in Pontiac, MI and we are in the process of moving there from Georgia. This, and the cold weather, has put my restoration efforts on hold for now. Eventually, I will get this project rolling and will attempt to chronicle my efforts here as I do with my Buick on the Buick forum. I look forward to joining the Kaiser Frazer Owners Club soon and discussing my newest addition with fellow members here on the forum.

Here are some pictures of the car once I got the insides vacuumed out and picked up. As you can see in one of the pictures, I got a LOT of stuff out of there besides the usual dirt, dust, rat nests, rat turds, squirrel turds and other assorted nastiness. Lots of parts, tools, and papers. I haven't washed the outside of the car yet. I've included pictures of the body tags. The larger tag is kind of hard to see so I'm going to get under there and take a closer look soon. I've decoded a few of the numbers but there are a few I can't see in the picture.  I also want to make a little plug for my new shop vac. I got it at Home Depot and it's called a "Buckethead". It's a wet/dry vacuum and also has a blower function. You simply snap it onto a 5 gallon bucket and go to work. It works great and it's only $22 compared to the $50+ you'd pay for a larger unit. Highly recommended if you need a light duty shop vac.

[shadetree77]

More.

[shadetree77]

More..

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

I assume that you have joined the KFOCI, so Welcome!  Regular Members get a new member packet that should include a copy of KFOCI HANDBOOK Version 5.0.  There is historical information on the 1953's, a copy of the 1952-53 Kaiser supplement to the shop manual & the parts list supplement that works with the 1951 Kaiser illustrated list. 

Besides the tail lights (that I know you are aware of) another tough part to find for the 1952-53's are the bananas (the wrap around the fender) grille trim parts.  These rust out for some reason (it may be design radii) and are not easy to find.  Otherwise, it should be a straight forward project.

[BigDave LM6174]

Welcome, what a great project.

[joefrazer]

Welcome to the club forum! Yes, by all means join the club. We have several active members in Michigan and they include a fellow who I'm sure will have the parts you need to get your 53 back on the road.

[mbflemingkf]

Dang, just when we get some young blood in the South, they up and move!!!   LOL.  Welcome Robert...I'm not too far from you in Winston-Salem, NC.

Welcome future club member.  I'm been in the club 31 years...if'n I can help, please let me know.

Mike

[JoeKeys2010]

I live in SE Georgia and was delighted to read your post although I wish you were able to stay in GA. I don't know anyone around that has a Kaiser except me and it turns heads ever where I go.  Mine is a good daily driver but am working on it to make it a little more than that.  Good luck with your car, I too am new.  hope you enjoy it as much as I do my 49.

[shadetree77]

Thanks guys. It's good to be here. I'm looking forward to getting started on this one. I learned a lot of valuable lessons working on my Buick which will be put to good use here. The first of which is to drop the oil pan, trans. pan, and gas tank to be cleaned first thing. Learned that lesson the hard way last time around!

Jack, I just joined the KFOCI online and look forward to receiving my handbook. I'm glad that you mentioned the fact that the '52-'53 supplement is included because I was about to purchase one. I am definitely aware of the tail lights being hard to find. There are a few listed on EBAY right now for around $250-$300. My "bananas" seem to be in OK condition. They are rusty but there doesn't seem to be any serious rust. Won't know for sure until I pull them off of there. Thanks for the heads up on those.

Joe, Thanks and I look forward to meeting this Michigan gentleman as I've got an increasing list of parts that I'm going to need. As of right now it looks like it will be some time in February when we move. Bad time of year to be moving but as they say, "Ya' gotta' do what ya' gotta do."

Mike & Joekeys, I've been here in Georgia for about 16 years now and I've enjoyed every minute of it. I wish we could stay but my Wife's contract with Volkswagen has ended and we could not pass up the job opportunity with GM. Not looking forward to the winters up there. I spent a good part of my childhood in and around Chicago so I know what we're in for!

[shadetree77]

Quite a size difference between the two! And my Buick is a Special, which is the smaller model. No wonder Kaisers got such great gas mileage!

[shadetree77]

I assume that you have joined the KFOCI, so Welcome!  Regular Members get a new member packet that should include a copy of KFOCI HANDBOOK Version 5.0.  There is historical information on the 1953's, a copy of the 1952-53 Kaiser supplement to the shop manual....

Jack, I received my handbook cd today and I've been thoroughly enjoying the incredible amount of information packed into it. However, I can't seem to find the '52-'53 shop manual supplement that you mentioned. Am I overlooking it?

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

The Parts List supplement for 1952-53 Kaisers (except Carolina models) is in Version 5.0.  Because of a scanning problem the Shop Manual supplement did not make that edition.  It will be in Version 6.0 if & when it gets released (no projected release date available at this time).  I have attached it here.  It is a .PDF file.

[shadetree77]

Ahhhh...OK. Thought I was going nuts there for a while as I couldn't find it anywhere! Perfectly understandable Jack. Technical difficulties can and will happen often! Thank you very much for posting it here for me. I really appreciate it. I also appreciate all of the hard work that went into the handbook CD. I am enjoying it immensely.

[shadetree77]

Been a while since I posted here on my project thread. Guess that's because I haven't done anything at all with my Kaiser since I bought it other than move it to Michigan from Georgia. That was quite an adventure but that's a story for another time. I've been thoroughly enjoying my summer here in Michigan. My wife and I have taken the '52 Buick to a LOT of shows and cruise-ins. This area has more car guys, car guy activities, and car museums than anywhere I've ever seen! Let's just say Michigan has been keeping us busy.

So busy, in fact, that I haven't had time to even touch the Kaiser. Well, I was sitting around the other day and I got the itch. So I scratched it by doing some tinkering and getting the car started for the first time since 1974 (see thread here:http://kfclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,6225.0.html). I only let it run for a few minutes and I'm having a few issues. First off, the starter isn't working right. It keeps kicking out and spinning. Secondly, a lot of people are telling me I have a stuck intake valve.

I'm planning to work on the intake valve by pouring some marvel mystery or ATF in there but first I need to get the oil pan off and clean the sludge out. I don't want this engine to suck up all that crap and clog up the passages. I learned my lesson on that when I bought my Buick. Might take a while seeing as I was informed that suspension components must be removed, front motor mounts unbolted, and the engine lifted to even think about getting the pan off. Not looking forward to that but it must be done.

In the meantime, I've started ordering parts. They are arriving here and there and I'm starting to get more excited. Like a kid on Christmas! As a matter of fact, I got my reproduction spark plug wire set from Carl Hering today. Haven't checked them for fitment yet but they look really good. I also got the front end up on blocks so I can start working under there. I love bringing old, neglected cars back to life and I can't wait to show people what a Kaiser is! I'm shooting for having it back on the road and following my Buick to all the shows by next summer. Anybody have a steering wheel or tail lights for this car? My tail lights are busted out and the steering wheel is crumbling before my very eyes! They don't have to be perfect, just useable.

[shadetree77]

As the weather turns colder and colder day by day here in Michigan, I've been spending a little less time driving my Buick and a little more time in the garage with the Kaiser. I've made quite a bit of progress just getting the oil pan removed. I've basically had to disassemble the entire bottom and front of the engine just to replace the pan gasket. I plan on doing a step-by-step write-up of that process at some point so that other new and unwitting Kaiser owners that wish to remove their oil pans won't be lost like I was. By the way, thanks to all of you that have been giving me help and advice on that issue.

So far I have gotten the pan and filler blocks removed (a Herculean task of patience and endurance). I have pressure washed the top and bottom of the engine bay and spritzed it with oil in an effort to preserve the original look. The wife and I have cleaned every part I've taken off the car and lightly oiled them. I've gotten a TON of parts new and used lately (used parts pictured below). Had to remove my timing chain cover during the oil pan fiasco and discovered my chain was shot so I got a new one. Really excited about the parts I picked up from a local KF guy. Had a great day visiting with him and digging through his stuff. Great guy that Mike Barker. Can't wait to go back!

So that's where I'm at now. Next step is to pull the trans. pan and clean it out. Then I'll be ready to start putting things back together. Got to get some form of heat for my garage. Starting to get a wee bit nipply here.