The 1955 model year would be the last for Kaiser automobiles made in the U.S. (they would continue building Willys Jeeps here). The Manhattan was their top-of-the-line car and it had a supercharger as standard equipment by 1954. This 2-door “club coupe” is said to have been built in very low numbers and looks to have been idle outdoors for quite some time. With the same ownership for 60 years, the auto is in San Jose, California, and available here on craigslist for $5,500 firm. Kudos to Roger for bringing this tip our way!
Nash-Hudson and Kaiser-Frazer were independent automakers who felt the same competitive pressures from GM, Ford, and Chrysler after World War II. The former merged to form American Motors and lived on for another 30 or so years. Kaiser-Frazer had purchased Willys-Overland in the early 1950s and by the middle of the decade focused on Jeep production and not cars. From 1951-55, the Manhattan was the most opulent model they offered, first badged as a Frazer, then as a Kaiser. The addition of a McCulloch supercharger to the Manhattan’s 226 cubic-inch inline-6 increased output from 115 to 140 hp.
We can’t find online documentation that details down to the seller’s claim of 44 2-door club coupes being built in 1955, the Manhattan and Kaiser last year’s in the car business in the U.S. A total of 1,231 Manhattans in all body styles were produced that year, with the bulk being shipped to Argentina. The tooling followed and the Manhattans continued to be made in South America as the Carabella until 1962.
This car may be even rarer as the seller and the serial number suggest it’s also the first one built that way in 1955. It has stayed with the same owners since 1962 who have no doubt finally decided to part with the non-running car. The machine’s biggest selling point is the supercharger, which unfortunately has been removed and its whereabouts are unknown although the seller believes it can be found. Other than that, and one hub cap, the car is said to be complete and ready for restoration. The seller will not sell it in pieces, although a trade of some sort may be possible (but for what?). Some extra parts are photographed and may come with the car or sold separately as that point isn’t clear.
Because of low production numbers, the ’55 Manhattans are the hardest to find. This one looks to have left the factory painted white over green. The sheet metal looks sound in the photos with surface rust, and some might corrosion that would need patching. The undercarriage would be of greater concern as the car has sat close to the dirt for years. The floorboards look crusty in some places and possibly worse under the front seats near the rocker panels. Much of the upholstery has begun to turn to dust. With or without the supercharger, there is no indication of what it would take to get the car running again. With the power maker, Hagerty estimates a 1955 Manhattan to be worth $30,000 or so in top condition. Would you buy into this car at the asking price?
I don’t believe Kaiser built any cars in 1955 for the U.S. They simply re-serialed leftover ’54s as ’55s.
I am sure that 1954 was the last model year for the Manhattan. Saw one drive by our house in South Bend, IN at that time and I recall realizing and being very sad that the 1954’s were to be the last. Maybe the Henry J was made until 1955?
Patrick,
Just as there was a 1960 Edsel Ranger convertible, and a 1961 DeSoto Adventurer hardtop, there was a 1955 Kaiser Manhattan 2-door. The thing they all 3 have in common was a very short production run and a shortened sales year.
The 1955 Kaisers were produced as 1955 cars, with a grand total of 271 quoted for domestic [not exported] cars, of the 271, only 44 were 2-doors.
It would definitely be a labor of love if the restored value is 30K. You would have more into it when done. These were very unique in design and I always loved the styling, especially the roofline. He really needs to locate the supercharger. A replacement will not be easy to find, as well as some other pieces that will need replaced. A great conversation discussion everywhere you went for sure.
I do believe that KF used a McCullough Supercharger. There are many around to buy, not cheap. They are readily available thru Studebaker parts suppliers.
The only thing uglier than this one would be 2 of ’em. I agree without the Blower its not worth much, but someone might like it. Good luck and happy bidding.
Cheers
GPC
This one’s ugly because of its sorry shape.I saw a ’54 that was in excellent unrestored condition for 6k. It could have been bought and driven home.
When?
I’m imagining how good it would look without the front bumper.
Wouldn’t do it to this car, but I’ve always wondered how well a
Kaiser would perform with some type of V-8 in it. A 350 crate
motor would be the cheapest way to go here. Mate that to a
700R4 automatic and you could call the drivetrain done.
Restore the rest of the car to factory spec, and you’d have
quite a sleeper on your hands. Anyone ever seen a Dragon?
That was the top of the line Kaiser from ’51–55 and man were
they gorgeous! They had everything on them but the kitchen
sink including a vinyl top and gold anodized trim. It was sad
to say that the last few of them were literally given away. Last
time I saw one was 40 years ago and in the hands of an acquaintance of mine who was wanting to unload it after he
couldn’t find the parts he needed to rebuild the engine. He
finally sold it to someone I knew and that gentleman wound up
swapping in a 350 Olds V-8 and T-400 automatic to make it
more drivable. Saw it one or two times after that, and then the
car disappeared. Maybe it’ll show up on BF.
I imported a ’53 Dragon from Ohio 40 plus years ago and sold it in 1983 to a guy who still has it.Weird car,not a lot of BHP.It was not supercharged.
Hello Ken. I own a 1952 Kaiser Manhattan with a 1971 402 Chey big block in it and 700R4 and it run great. I left the Kaiser rear -end in it and it good great with that motor. And you right I’m trying to sell it but everybody love the car but no one will come up with the money. Plus U have a 52 Kaiser Henry Y all original .with th 161 Flat head 6 and again . the same thing .
How much for the Henry J
Sam Shive The Henry J is all Original with a I61 inline flat head 6. wish I could post a picture , but e-mail me at jkrolls@roadrunner.com but 12,000. or BO.
I have a 54 with a 327 +PS, PB, ft disc that really hauls.
You have to admit, and while legal MJ is all around today, you’ve got to wonder what THESE designers were smokin’? It’s unusual from front to back, and while the masses were clearly going for more conventional looking makes, like the Big 3, a few bold folks, you know the kind, like your dad’s friend that smoked a pipe, would buy one of these. They always looked sad to me. I get a kick out of the 2 door, is a 4 door with no back doors, and the supercharger was a meager attempt to keep up with the blossoming V8 camp, but failed miserably. I read, K-F was supposed to have Olds V8’s but the deal fell through, and they never did have a V8. Thing is, with a supercharger, it requires a motor that can spin, almost worthless at low rpm, and a flathead was running out of steam right when the supercharger was “kicking in”. There must have been some kind of governor, or these motors would blow sky high. Nothing more than parts here, I’m sure someone will pay $5g’s just to get the unavailable trim.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwVUeQvzbqU
You guys can say what you want! These cars clean up very nice!! Sometimes it’s just not always the money angle!!
Thought y’all might like to see a nice one, a 54 4-door that I saw in 2014 at an Atlanta area car show. Since we can only post a single shot at a time, I’ll post a couple more.
I would say not stock engine.
Missing front bumper bullets.
I didn’t get a picture of the engine (my bad), but I thought it was a 6 cylinder flat head engine. Since it’s really hard to see in this picture, I do have the information for the owner when I zoom in. His name is Don Kenney of Covington, Georgia, if anyone is interested.
A rear view.
I know this car, the Body is on a Oldsmobile chassis, Engine, it has A/C, power windows, p/brakes, power seats etc. drives really nice. Don’s Brother has one on a Buick Chassis, I bought the Kaiser Chassis and Engine with Supercharger with intentions of using the engine and S/C on my ’53, not done!
And what the interior should really look like
While I know that there’s no accounting for taste, I think that this is a beautiful design (Dutch Darin, I believe). The roof line is one that we see copied on a bunch of high end cars these days (MB, Lexus, BMW, etc) particularly the rear door line.. Compare this car to the 54 Ford or the shoe box masquerading as a 54 Chevrolet, or the 54 Plymouth. Even the stately 54 Cadillac isn’t as nice a design, IMO. Sure they needed a better engine, but the fit and finish were well done. Of course, you have to love all of the chrome front and back tarting it up.
They are beautiful cars. Look at the crap the `big three` were producing at the time. Kaiser had been produciing cars with this basic body since 1951. It was only around 1955 that Chev and Ford started to produce a decent looking car. No accounting for taste I guess.
The styling probably looked a bit outlandish at the time, but I think it has aged well. This car could be an absolutely killer resto-mod, and a nice change from the usual suspects. It’s pretty much in my backyard, so I’m slightly tempted; then I run down the list of cars I already have sitting around, and reality descends like a heavy, wet fog.
Our high school auto shop teacher was into these. He had several Kaisers of all years. He had three of us load car batteries into the trunk of one. The trunk would not stay open so we jammed a motorcycle battery in where the hinges were. We forgot it was there when done. We tried to slam the trunk lid shut. The trunk lid promptly flew off. Now the problem was who was going to tell him.
Howard,
It’s quite rare when I can suggest you are wrong, but for this car, you are indeed wrong.
Kaiser made exactly 44 of these cars, and most of them ended up being exported. It’s rare. It’s a production car built by an independent manufacturer, and by 1960 a 1955 Kaiser of any type had little value. This is probably the main reason they are so hard to find today. I would estimate that there are probably less than 3 surviving examples, and it’s not inconceivable that this is the last surviving. I’ve been to several K-F national meets, and have never even seen a 1954 Manhattan 2-door, much less a 1955.
The VIN’s number sequence shows this car is 5001. The Kaiser serial number for 1955 has the sequential numbers start with 5001. THIS IS THE FIRST 1955 KAISER. [Info courtesy of https://www.mango-madness.com/personal/Kaiser/%5D
The supercharger is not difficult to find, but it’s not cheap to buy. You can buy fully rebuilt ones from Studebaker parts suppliers, as both the 1957 and 58 Studebaker [and Packard] superchargers and Kaiser superchargers are series VS57. However as this car is serial number 1, if it is indeed possible to find the original unit, that will have a minor positive impact on it’s value. The VS57 units have serial numbers, but I don’t think Kaiser kept track of the serial numbers per car.
While a typical Kaiser for 1955 will sell in #1 condition for around $30k, I can guarantee there is insufficient data to put an accurate price on a 2-door Manhattan because of their rarity, but it will be more $. Add in the fact that this IS serial #1, and this car deserves to be restored, or at least put back on the road as a survivor.
I would love to hear the history on this car, where it went, who bought it, was it kept by a Kaiser executive?
I’ve sent a link to the Craigslist ad, to the K-F owner’s club.
Bill – aren’t you the least bit curious as to why that serial number tag has the rivets ripped out and then attached to “wherever” with screws ? I’m old enough to remember seeing these and all the other makes mentioned, and these certainly were different (and shiny) enough to attract attention. One of the first things I noticed in the pictures here was the “kink” in the rear roofline, so similar to the trademarked BMW one… Thanks for all the comments from those that own or owned one..
Bog,
I looked carefully at the rivets, and what I saw was one rivet missing and the other not far away from breaking. K-F used aluminum rivets with stainless stee,l and that should have been ok, but what they forgot was the rivets also contacted the regular steel body. And while painted, the rivets were prone to chip the paint at the holes, hence the galvanic action would begin.
K-F realized this, and sent out a special notice to dealers to re-attach with screws if the rivets became broken or loose, so because the right rivet is still hanging on, I’m reasonably confident it’s numero uno.
You surely will not see yourself going the other way on the road. A different and interesting car to restore providing its not rotted out. I’m assuming a Kaiser forum is on the WWW.
Frank,
I’ve let the KFOC know about the car and they’ve sent out an online notice it’s available.
I absolutely love the style of these cars! If I had the money and room I’d go right for it.
Eric X2! I’m quite sure you’re right about Dutch Darrin. Indeed, the Kaiser Darrin sports car was named after him. I remember seeing a new Kaiser Dragon at the annual new car show in Minneapolis where I grew up. It had a most distinctive bamboo-covered dashboard. I thought these cars were beautiful then, and I still think so. I suspect that Darrin’s original concept was in the four-door format – it did not look right in the two-door version such as this one. I didn’t care for the silly tail lights in the final year of production. The previous year was simpler and cleaner.
Little doubt that the lack of a V8 killed the Kaiser, and that was only part of a more rudimentary problem: no funds for R&D. Other factors included a lack of variety in body styles. Hard-top convertibles (no B-pillar) were all the rage in the early ’50s, as well as real convertibles. Not from K-F. No station wagons either. In the original 1940s body styles, they had a sedan that worked like a station wagon. The rear seat would fold down to extend the flat floor from the trunk all the way up to the B-pillars. I don’t recall if they continued that feature into the final ’50s body styles.
Allen, you’re one of the few people who remember that they were called hardtop convertibles. Most think of them as just hardtops versus sedans.
As to the ‘station wagon’, that was called the Traveler and it had both a hatch with the rear window, and a tailgate. The rear seats folded down and you have a long mostly flat open area for toting things. The Traveler continued with the new design from 51 to I believe 53. I personally prefer the 4 door versions of all Kaisers. The 2 door looks weird to me. I did see recently (perhaps in BF) a 51 or 52 Kaiser convertible. Since K-F didn’t make them, this had to have been a custom job, and not a great one at that.
The Frazier version of the Traveler was called the Vagabond…
Eric,
In my opinion, the reason the 2-door Kaisers look bad is because unlike ALL the other circa 1930 and newer American car manufacturers, who ALL designed longer doors for their 2-door cars, Kaiser, having no real budget to create longer doors and door posts, it appears the Kaiser 2-door cars simply used the front doors for the sedan, and the only new exterior metal was the longer rear fender and quarter window area.
I’ve never seen a Kaiser Manhattan 2-door in real life, nor have I been able to measure the door lengths, so this is only a theory, but based on photos I’m 99% sure the front doors are the same as the 2-door versions.
So imagine taking a typical 2-door front seat assembly with folding seat backs, put it in a 4-door sedan, weld-up the rear doors, and tell the rear seat passengers to get inside from the front door areas. I suspect the driver has got to slide the front seat as far forward as the adjusting rails will allow. And for all but the skinniest drivers, that means getting out of the car, or getting crushed by the steering wheel!
Once seated in the back seat of a 2-door Kaiser Manhattan, imagine how claustrophobic it might feel, and imagine if you had to get out quickly.
Americans in the 1950s would never stand for that. I think this was the number one reason so few 2-door Kaisers were sold.
Bill, I believe that you’re exactly right. The 2-door doors look exactly right those on the 4-door cars. What you say makes sense in terms of K-F being right on the edge of it. I was Googling some images of the Travelers (we had a 51 that Pop drove and wound up giving to Ma to drive after they bought the 54 Chrysler Windsor) and I was surprised to see the Traveler in some of the pictures as a 2-door model. About 10 years ago or so I corresponded with a guy had a number of Kaisers including a Traveler that he was willing to sell me. Didn’t take him up on it at the time. If I found one for a good price, it’s an oddity that should be preserved.
Eric,
I’ve always liked the ’54-55 Manhattan. Love the concave Grill, Peaked glass, the “over the top” taillights [pun intended], the Supercharger, and now a 2-door that I thought had been offered in the brochure, but never actually made. If this car had come on the market 20 years ago, and the price was a little lower, I would have added it to my “unusual cars” collection.
Here’s what one guy did with a similarly styled ‘51 model…
https://youtu.be/QEvMSkRWOK0
Thanks for the video . Kool 51 very nice !
Ron you beat me to it! That guy did an amazing job and saved a scrapyard bound car. One more on the road
Not a Henry J, 1955 Willys Bermuda.
I have always seen these cars as 1955 models and I was a fan at the time. But I have not investigated the model years at all. I did own a 1951 at one time and always thought the 1955 was an improvement on it in terms of its styling. The six cylinder flat head engine was always called a “continental” at the time. I think it was used in industrial vehicles.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Motors_Company
Robert,
Not really a Continental, but a Kaiser Kopy of a Kontinental…