jimkf

I own several Kaisers and while this one is NOT MINE - but I did know the late owner - I can say that it's probably one of the nicest I've seen in a while. Is it worth the $20K ask? You be the judge. Seller's description: Check out this beauty! This rare find is in excellent condition and ready to wow your neighbors and friends. 1953 Kaiser Manhattan. Runs and drives. Original interior with after market AC. My uncle collected Kaisers, took excellent care of all his vehicles, and won awards in many car shows. Mileage is unknown. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/5934541679939187/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3A69ece45a-9045-4ad2-be7d-cfe6c615a74c

I had one of these in a dark brown metallic. Sure wish I'd have never sold it. I just came across a spare set of keys to the car a few days ago. Maybe this ad is trying to tell me something...

It'll take $47,500 to remove all the junk glued, screwed and tattooed on that car...

We had a 60 Pioneer wagon in black many years ago - mom called it the hearse. Aside from its looks, the only thing I remember about the car was its ability to burn thru ballast resistors. Dad kept a couple spares in the glove compartment it got so frequent. One day, the car disappeared and in its place was a new 68 four door Dart.

I own a 70 Coronet wagon and I can tell you they're an attention getter, thanks to the front end being the same as the Super Bee and R/T cars. My 383 equipped nine passenger wagon sports original paint in Y3 Cream, just about the same shade as the top of this car. This one has had a repaint as the yellow bottom is just a bit too yellow for the color offered in 1970. Also, Mopars of this vintage had the under hood sprayed in the same color as the exterior so the black is not correct. I think bucket seats with the "buddy" middle seat were available as an option but given this car is probably a six passenger wagon, they're probably a transplant. The 440 model had 318 and 383 engines available and yes, you could get either with a three speed column shift manual transmission. I know of a couple of others with this setup. This one has manual disc brakes, mine has power assist as well but the standard setup was manual drums all the way around. Interestingly, in 1970 Dodge still used left hand thread lug nuts on the driver's side of the car. I paid roughly half this car's asking price for mine and it just needed a good cleaning and fresh carpet to hit the cruise-in scene. I think somewhere closer to $12-14K would be right for this example if it's as rust free as the pictures purport.

The Frazer line was the more upscale of the two with the Kaiser coming in at a lower price point. That said, items like overdrive, extra trim, and plusher interiors were standard while being extra cost on the Kaiser. This example appears to have a repaint in non-factory colors but the interior, aside from carpet up front instead of a rubber mat as it should be, appears to be close to correct. The hood ornament is aftermarket...KF would offer an ornament mid year after owners complained of the spartan exterior. It's rare to find a 47 or 48 Kaiser or Frazer with a nice dash. It seems the windshield gaskets leaked from new which discolored the paint and soiled the gauges. This example looks pretty good. I'm going to guess that the non-factory knob under the passenger side ash tray controls the fog lights - a dealer accessory that's not often seen on a KF today. The seller mentions wiring issues, more than likely the old cloth covered stuff has deteriorated. Fortunately, new harnesses are available and relatively easy to install. $8000 seems a bit high to me, I think something closer to the mid sixes would be appropriate given the non-standard paint and overall condition. At that price, just drive it and enjoy being the only one at any show you'd attend.

I've owned a bunch of these from 79 thru 83 and while the 80 and up car's looks stir opinions from many, the earlier cars have a more stately appearance in my opinion. The Custom Coach grille would have to go...fortunately, enough of these cars survive that parts cars are out there. The only downside from my experience is that the ECM (computer) used in them isn't very robust so keeping a spare handy is a good idea. The low miles and good price means is should sell soon. I like it!

This is car 409 of 435 originally built. KF had a program where a buyer could specify - within reason - special paint and interior trim - and this is one of those cars. With the 999 and 888 code, anything goes so the color you see, while nonstandard could be what it was originally delivered in. This particular car was built for a member of the Kaiser family. Darrins were built in batches of roughly 20 cars based on color. The four standard colors were Champagne (white), Red Sail, Yellow Satin and Pine Tint (light green). Special order cars were fit in, usually close to the end of a batch. This car's Schedule and Item Number tell me that it was scheduled for assembly on the 21st day of production and was the 38th car to be built. Most special order cars were built for high profile folks like celebrities or sports stars. If memory serves, around a half dozen were built. The cracking you see in the paint is fairly typical for these cars given the frame, a Henry J unit beefed up for the Darrin, still flexed more than it should have. Most cracks appear around the hood, top well and trunk openings as well as where the panels were bonded together. Being near the end of production, this car has features many of the earlier cars do not - things like upgraded venting into the passenger compartment, better door panel trim and overall better quality construction. I once owned a very early production Darrin and compared to the car I now own, the later is a much better car. With a good cleaning and detailing, I think this car would be fun to drive as-is. Price...it's in the ballpark.

The dash gauges are from a 1949-51 Frazer.

According to the KF club's vehicle registry, they are aware of 62 1949-50 Frazer Manhattan sedans. A total of 9248 were originally manufactured. Most survivors were long ago cannibalized to restore the more valuable convertibles and hardtops. Originally planned for just the 1949 model year, over production meant that leftovers were reserialed as 1950 model year cars. Strangely, most of the survivors seem to be 1950 versions. Fender skirts could be added to the sedan and dealers sold a kit to do so, but originally, they were only factory installed on the hardtop and convertibles for 1949 and 1950. I, too, suspect that the paint isn't correct. It looks like a metallic and in 1949, the red - called Dubonnet - was not. Somewhere just north of half the asking price is probably more correct for this car, although restoration costs probably meet or exceed the current ask. It is a nice car overall!

Paint 614 = Mineral Gray over Mariner Gray. Trim 2825 = Scarlet Dragon Vinyl The 51 Dragon was a trim line offering, rather than a separate model like the 1953 car. Not common then, and far less common today.

Looks like this car has the love it or hate it 8-6-4 engine. I had a couple of them and never had an issue with its operation, but I do know folks who were constantly tinkering with theirs. Curiously, this one appears have had the wiring removed that operated the valves as part of the overall system. The simplest way to disable was to snip one of the two wires connected to the transmission that told the system when to engage. Overall, it looks like a nice car and with that big 6.0L engine, it'll move right along.

I think the BAT Darrin was well bought. The first 50 Darrins differ from remaining production and that's made them a bit more desirable to some. The noticeable differences include an interior that used an 'X' stitch upholstery pattern, rather than the ribbed style of the later cars as well as foot wells that were configured with a deeper inset. This deeper inset caused tires larger than 5.90 to rub in turns. The footwell layout was soon changed allowing for larger 6.40 tires to be used, giving better road feel. In addition, vent routing changed, extra trunk, top well lid and hood stiffening was added to later cars which reduced warping, drumming and cracking. A few cars saw door locks added as well. And I'm sure someone will mention that Dutch Darrin converted 50 Darrins to Cadillac V8 power. The actual number was one. He did buy a small number of unsold cars from the factory but only one got a V8 swap. The others had minor cosmetic changes to make them more sellable..

Look at that! A 49-50 Frazer parked in front of Lois's Rambler...

Friedman Buick on Cleveland's east side had a dozen or so of these for sale in the summer of 1977 - just ahead of the 1978 model release - all priced at $3400, take your pick. I spent an afternoon trying to choose which one I wanted - then just couldn't pull the trigger. I left there and a few weeks later bought a low mile 73 Regal for $900 off another dealer's lot.

1947-48 Kaiser and Frazer park and tail light bezels.

Interesting...I never got an alert on this listing. The blades have been sold.

In 1951 Kaiser marketed the Special and DeLuxe. The Manhattan wouldn't appear in the Kaiser lineup until 1952. This car appears to be a mix of Special (bumper guards) and DeLuxe (wide lower door rub rails and tenite rather than hard rubber steering wheel). Given there's no padded dash, I'm going to call it a Special that someone dressed up. Overall, it looks like a decent car, incorrect interior and paint not withstanding.

Make it safe to drive and run it just the way it is. I have a true barn find 54 Kaiser Darrin that got a bath, brakes and an engine refresh and that's it. I take it to cruise night and park next to the newest Corvette. The Darrin always gets the attention, as would this Mustang. If we all bought for resale, there wouldn't be a hobby...

Neither series Special was fitted with a supercharger from the factory. The easiest way to tell an early series Special from the late series version is to look at the back glass. If it's a one piece unit, it's an early series car, if it has the three piece glass, then it's a late series car. The late series used the same body shell as the 1954 Manhattan. This car is an early series car, or as they're commonly referred to...an Early Special.

It's a 48 Kaiser Special in either Dubonnet or Cardinal red - I'd need to see the trim tag to know for sure. It looks reasonably solid so if it can be made to run and drive without a lot of expense and - if one can live with the seller's interesting choice of interior material - you'd have something different to drive. I've owned several 47-50 Kaisers and they are easy to drive and maintain. The radio would be the hardest thing to sort...

If the engine runs well and the transmission shifts as it should, you're basically buying the drivetrain and the rest of car comes along for free. Well priced even though it needs cosmetics...but that won't stop one from driving it. I'm glad it's on the other side of the continent or I'd be tempted. And yes, this is essentially the same supercharger that Studebaker later used.

Nice car, though the blue interior material isn't correct - but is close. It's also missing the thin stainless trim between the vinyl and cloth material on the doors. Easy enough to find. The engine and transmission should be painted Dark Olive Green, the same color used in late 60s and early 70s Mopar interiors.

Arguably one of the best riding in KFs lineup, the Frazer Manhattan was top of the company's sedan offerings for 1950. Though under powered, the overdrive transmission made it a good road car that did surprisingly well on a gallon of gasoline. This one presents nicely but would benefit from some wide whitewall tires. The $8500 ask is probably a tad optimistic but if it runs as good as it looks, something close to that would more than likely own it and guarantee that you'd have the one and only at a show field full of Corvettes, Camaros and Mustangs.

This looks like an incomplete aftermarket kit - the actual tuner itself isn't pictured so I'm guessing it's not there. Several companies, Motorola being the biggest, offered retrofit kits for many makes, Kaiser and Frazer included. Interesting that they spelled Manhattan incorrectly.