KAISER

by Chris Dugdale

 

This is probably an obscure name in the world of motor vehicles to many people, it was the brainchild of two successful American businessmen, Henry J.Kaiser, a millionaire shipbuilder and Joseph Frazer of Graham-Paige.

The Kaiser-Frazer Corporation came into being in 1946, the organisation took over the large Willow Run Ford Plant in Michigan in which during wartime (second world war 1939-1945) produced the B 24 bomber.

The first offering was a complete brake from the traditional production methods of Detroit in so far as unitary construction was employed, torsion bar suspension front and rear together with front wheel drive. By the time the car went on sale to the general public the design had changed to the norm, box section chassis frame, independent front wheel suspension with coil springs and drive transmitted to the rear wheels. Motive power was supplied by a bought in Continental 3.7 litre 6 cylinder engine which produced around 100 brake horsepower.

1949 saw a number of interesting models, an estate body (wagon) with two piece tailgate, a four door convertible with power operated top and a hardtop version, the latter being a forerunner of many such bodies taken up by other US makers.

The 1951 deluxe 4 door sedan model shown in this article was a complete facelift from that which went before, cruciform frame ( rigid X member type frame with five cross members - two channel, one complete box, one combination box and channel and one Z bar) and boasted narrow windshield pillars to eliminate blind spots and the "largest windshield of any car" (1096 square inches) together with a rear window of greater size than most front screens (1000 sq. inches).

The catalogue for the 1951 year states "Kaiser-Frazer brings you a brand-new completely new car,,,, a full year ahead of its time! Kaiser . . . triumph of Anatomic Design. Every feature, every part of the body and chassis incorporate the newest, most advanced developments in motor car making. There's never been a car like the `51 Kaiser! See it…drive it…today!"

Power was supplied by the Kaiser Supersonic high torque L-head 6 cylinder engine which developed 115 horsepower at 3650 revolutions per minute. Manual gear-box, with Overdrive or Automatic Transmission as extras. The wheelbase was 118½ and overall length 210¾ inches.

The 1952 models had the addition of crash padding to the dashboard, the Manhattan became the main model at $2,094 but sales were disappointing and the firm was forced to lay off 3000 workers. In 1953 the Company merged with Willys and more upmarket models such as the Dragon were made, with radio, air conditioning and automatic transmission all inclusive for $3,628. The 1954 "Manhattan" had the power of its Continental engine increased to 140 bhp with the help of a clutch controlled McCullock supercharger. These were troubled times for the firm and the last year of production, 1955 saw no new offerings .and production ceased.

Whilst this was the end in the United States, the Manhattan was still to continue elsewhere, the dies were shipped to Argentina and the model was then known as the Carabela. Kaiser formed IKA with the Argentine Government. The Carabela was to all intents and purpose the same as that produced in Michigan with the exception that the power was supplied by a 6 cylinder Willy's engine and the suspension beefed up to cope with Argentine road conditions. This model was made until 1962 when it was replaced by Ramblers which were built under licence. Rambler later became the American Motor Corporation.

Some additional information for this article was gleaned from The Complete Encyclopaedia of Motorcars by G.Georgano, a book published in 1968 and if you can find a copy it will be well worth whatever you have to pay.