Langworth is a giant in auto histories. He's covered Studebaker, Packard, Kaiser-Frazer, and other's. Outside a car show, you rarely see these Kaiser's anymore, especially on the street. But, this past summer here in Louisville, there was a light grey 47-48 Kaiser parked on my street, rain or shine. It's all Victorian homes in Old Louisville, so it fit right in. The thing you noticed was how tall it was. It was like all the SUV's that surrounded it. Same passenger height, etc. Unusual feature, front and rear armrests for the time. Odd inside door release, never knew that. The only obvious difference was the high floorboards which would cause your knees to be pretty high. Sometimes I think that's why SUV's have been so popular. Humans have decided it's the optimum height for safe, efficient driving. I think the cars like the 53 Studebaker, and everything that followed in the later decades were too low for comfort, at least family comfort. I don't think I'd be comfortable in a Corvette now a days, or any other Italian, or other exotic supercar.
My father farmed in California during WWII, and there were few cars available post war. They took off a crop and drove a 1948 Fraser Manhattan right off the showroom, paying $3,000 for it. He later said the Continental engine was disappointing because it needed a valve job repeatedly.
Really enjoy these "orphan" videos! Your heartwarming affection for these old girls is a big part of what makes these posts so watchable and endearing. Keep up the good work!
My parents owned a Fraser and a Kaiser. My dad built a removable plywood "shelf" that they spread blankets and pillows on when they were traveling so as to save money so it would be more comfortable sleeping in the car. They were good cars. And affordable collector cars today. But kind or "quirky" ,best way to describe them. with OD you could get about 19-20 mpg
When I was in my teens, our mom had a friend who had a mint 1954 Kaiser Manhattan. Very impressive. That's what she wanted as a daily driver and her husband got her one at a classic vehicle auction.
Those 54-55 Kaiser Manhattan's put everyone else in the 4 door business to shake. Too bad they didn't have a V8 for the greedy public. Beautiful car, should have been a big seller.
My Folks owned a 1948 Kaiser, then a 1951 Kaiser. I was given the 51 Kaiser to drive when I got my driver's license in 1962. I learned to wrench on the Kaiser, didn't have much money to fix the engine properly, ran 50W oil.
My dad's first car was a '47 Kaiser. Finally had to give it up in '57 when an axle shaft broke and couldn't find a replacement. Lots of memorable road trips in that car.
Was always fascinated with the Kaisers and Henry himself. Quite a forward thinking visionary. When I was a little boy our neighbor had a Henry J car which was one of the first compacts. My Dad was always helping them when they got stuck somewhere with it. Apparently it had issues. I remember too it had only one taillight. Mr. Kaiser had an aluminum plant in Ravenswood, WV. It’s still in operation under different owners. He built an airport next to it so he could fly in there and gave it to Jackson County. It’s still in operation also. The smokestack to the plant still has the Kaiser name on it too.
So much fun to see one of your earlier videos. Before the glovebox test. Before the styling lines analysis, including drip lines and trim. I'm so happy to see one of your earliest videos and to appreciate the way you've built your brand and audience, Yes, I dig it! Andy
Thank you so much Andy you should go back and watch the very first episode we’re gonna hit 500 episodes next month and I’m planning on doing my truck as the 500 episode because I still have it very first episode.. it took Me two weeks to put together.. now I generally put these episodes together in about eight hours not including filming the car.. I think it would be really cool to do like a Q&A session at the end of the 500th episode as maybe a mini live event but I don’t know how that how to make that happen but I’m going to try. =)
My dad bought a used '48 Kaiser in 1951 while stationed in Philadelphia in the U.S. Navy. When his tour was up in 1954, we packed up the Kaiser and drove it clear across the country to Long Beach, CA, where Dad would begin his next tour of duty. I don't recall that car ever giving us any problems, but it sure was uglier than sh*t (stodgy unimaginative styling). It wouldn't be long before Dad would trade it in for a nice stylish '54 Pontiac Star Chief.
@@What.its.like. You're welcome. I forgot to add that we also towed a small one-way rental trailer behind that '48 Kaiser (from Philly to Calif) with some of our meager belongings in it.
Good video but I have to voice my pet peeve - it's pronounced "Fra-zer" not "Fra-zhur" Joe Frazer (not Frazier) was very proud of his Scottish lineage. You are correct that Kaiser had the first hatchback in 1949. A '47 Kaiser Custom is a rare model among the KF line. The hood ornament is an after market add-on. Very cool - KF did not offer a hood ornament in '47 so owners often added the after market units available at the time. The "AC" knob turns on the water to the heater. In '47 the heater was known as an "air conditioner" - great piece of yesterday to be sure.
IMO these cars are a perfect example of what would be considered a basic solid car for its time. Lots of room inside. Decent power. Not the most stylish looking vehicle, but not totally mundane either. If I had to describe it, I'd use the words middle of the road and or pedestrian to describe its styling, both exterior and interior. While definitely not a speed demon. I would say its performance is on par with most other models that it was slated to compete with. The interior looks large and I'll bet these were popular sedans for families with all that room inside. Thanks for posting this Jay, I really found it interesting.
Enjoy watching your videos. As a kid I lived near the original Harrah’s Auto museum in Reno where 1200 vintage cars and even a 7 car train were on display. Brings back fond memories!
Just watching this video as a comparison to your recent video on the Kaiser Special. Both the inner and outer door release buttons are features which set them apart. The Kaiser could well be the first brand to offer a hatchback. In the 1950s they sold their hatchback variant as the Vagabond.
I enjoy your videos very much. I love most any car from about 47 to 60. Olds and Buick are my favorite but anything from 47 to 60 is wonderful. I am old enough to remember seeing one Kaiser in my life. I remember seeing a Willis car and a couple of the Henry J's. Again, love your videos.
Thank you so much for the positive vibes and feedback.. I’m hoping to hit a lot of cars this year... =) I want to start going down the packard soon hopefully love packards especially 1936-1942 to me those ones are the best. Kaiser Darren is another Nash Healey lots of cars
@@What.its.like. Yes, I like the Packard's as well. Wish you would go from 1936 to say 1947 or 48. I'm not sure what year they made a major change from the 1942 model.
There was also an assembly facility in the Netherlands at the late Forties and early fifties in Rotterdam. The Cars were named Kaiser Rotterdam Deluxe. The built also the Henry J model. The plant was could the Nekaf factory. Greetings grom the Netherlands.
Awesome thank you so much for sharing that story thank you so much for watching from the Netherlands I love seeing where people are from I’m from north of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania welcome from here =)
Interesting cars, I was 6 years old when they debuted but was already excited about new model cars with these among the first - styling was controversial even then but at least they weren't chrome heavy.
My father, who knew nothing about cars & didn't care about that, bought a 1949 Kaiser that year. A junkbox straight from the dealer!!! It leaked all the time, and very frequently you couldn't shift from 2nd up to 3rd. And after about 4 to 5000 miles, the hooptie started using oil at like maybe 100 miles to the quart!!! And that in town driving, at no more than about 40 mph!!!! And about the only parts of the deathtrap that didn't rust were the window glass!!! KF lasted from the 1946 to the 1954 model years....I have never been able how they made it that far!!!!!
I’ve heard mixed reviews some say that it was under powered.. they did make a supercharged version (it was cheaper to do that then make a v8 option) but they are prone to head gasket failure
I love orphan cars. Kaiser is a favorite. Too bad they couldn't make a better run with it. I heard that in the 50s they just kept the same body style and shifting the trim and grill. It was never a car for speed. So when the interstate highway system was being constructed, these cars couldn't keep up, unless you had the gas pedal to the floor. Oh yeah they offered turbochargers as an option to boost power. Not enough to attract the public. The 54s were a great body style change, yet not enough. Still, I like them and would use on as an everyday go to work car, or grocery shopping. Most who have these, tend to park them as far back in the parking lot as possible, so as to reduce the chance of scrapes and door dents, if you know what I mean... Hey I like this channel a lot. You got in depth with classic cars, not just the 4 minute walk around. You do your homework. I noticed on this segment that you left out the spec chart, glovebox test and "Let look at styling" features. Perhaps you trying to streamline the content, but I like those features. Its what attracted me to the channel in the first place. You've got a passion for this subject. Don't let the corporate SOBs push you around. Maybe you can try to edit those features by just showing your camera in the glovebox. IDK, just a suggestion. So for now, Too-da-loooo! I like this one
I’m glad you think this episode this was an older episode I didn’t do the glovebox test in the beginning it was more or less to show how big these glove boxes are.. there’s some newer ones that don’t have the glove box test if I go someplace like to show or if I’m doing somebody’s personal car a lot of times I won’t do the call box test because the glove box usually filled with stuff. I’m hoping to find a Kaiser this year I would love to review more even if Fraser Fraser would be really cool..
I like the video. I've owned my '47 Frazer for 37 years now and may never part with it until I have to. Lol. I should tell you, the gentleman in the early part of your video, referred to as Joseph Frazer, isn't "Joseph Frazer". However, the other photo of the two gentlemen shaking hands, are both Joe Frazer and Henry Kaiser.
Thank you for pointing that out I had a hard time finding pictures of joe frazer. What do you like the most about your kaiser and what do you like the least
To my knowledge the 38' Citroen 11CV Commerciale was the first known hatchback but the rear glass was the only thing that opened, the 47 Kaiser-Frazer vagabond and traveler models had the glass that lifts up and lower rear hatch that goes down but yea I would say it's the first modern concept of a "Hatchback".
Correction: The Citroen DID have a lower hinged section (like a normal hatchback), apparently they were marketed for salesman and tradesmen in mind but it doesn't seem it was directed towards normal family use.
There is an orphan car coming for today’s episode I am super stoked to share it I went somewhere super cool yesterday the plan was to try to do 30 cars I ended up doing 12 but 12 cars in one day is a lot.. that’s just shooting the cars with the B roll and light commentary
My dad had a very similar car (Kaiser, not sure which model) that he bought when he got back from the war. He said it was underpowered and dreadfully slow.
My auto mechanic when I first started driving said that his dad had one and it stalled on the railway track and they couldn’t get it started again and the train took it out. He said his dad didn’t have the car for more than a day
Awesome what did you think of the car? Did you like it? I think these are drastically underrated for what they are. I never got to drive one, but the bamboo interior is really nice and durable, but I’ve also heard that if you have to restore the interior, it can get really expensive really fast.
I can’t locate your previous vlog on the Kaiser. That being said, during WWII Kaiser built the infamous 𝑳𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒚 ships used during the war to haul gasoline & diesel across the English Channel for D-day and afterwards to supply our troops with gasoline & diesel for tanks and trucks.
I’ve only done two kaisers they’re harder to find I would love to cover more I was looking for a Henry J while at Hershey but I didn’t see any Kaiser there.. Thank you so much for sharing all that insight and information greatly appreciate it Henry Kaiser definitely deserves an episode within his own right he was an incredible guy. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TYm8oYfMzP0.htmlfeature=shared
@@What.its.like. I think was in touch with you when you did your video on the rambler I live in Colorado I also have a 54 packard patrician a 65 checker which my dad bought in 1967 and a 49 international kb3 my car friends here are all Camaro and mustang guys they think I am nuts but they don’t know the fun they are missing out on
I totally want to hit Crosely so bad as well as American bantam Austin.. Messerschmitt I really want to do a Crosley hotshot but I can’t find one at the moment I found a Crosley wagon that I might go shoot if they didn’t sell it already
@@What.its.like. Another auto brand that is gone is the Desoto too. The Ford woodies would make an interesting story plus the Chrysler woodie with that strange transmission. BTW, I think the Sarasota FL Car Museum has a Bantam and a Crosely in its collection too. If you ever get to FL that collection is quite interesting and diverse.
List of cars I want to feature is a long one de Soto is on there as well I saw a really nice 55 De Soto wagon at a local car show last year only bad thing is is I like to shoot as original as possible to show what the cars are and he redid the interior with a small steering wheel and the whole bed and I’m not about that which sucks but the de Sotos are getting hard to find around here
Surprisingly basic dash and interior. I wonder if this was an economy model. Since Kaiser built “Victory Ships” in only a few days. I would think they could have built a “Victory” car that was a little fancier inside.
The Kaiser was the top car so I can only imagine what Frazer looks like, I honestly thought that all kaisers were the traveler style I thought that was their claim, their thing was hatchback styling because every single Kaiser that I’ve ever seen at a car show around here had that feature it wasn’t until I did an episode on this one but I realized that, that wasn’t true.
Every single one that I’ve ever seen here aside from that one had that hatch tailgate thing so when I did this car was shocked (shocked is a bit of a stretch) to see just a regular trunk
Fortunately, the interior was in good shape. Didn’t have to do anything to it. The car wasn’t worth a whole lot due to not having the original engine. Someone had cobbled an old Oldsmobile V8 into it so I just kept it running for a few years and then sold it.
Thanks.. interestingly, year of my Birth…. My Parents having a *1948 ( Chevrolet? , uncertain Cheap model), until buying a 1953** Buick(DYNAFLOW, Black/ yellow) until getting 1959:**Dodge Coronet //9 Pass/Station wagon/ push Button),,,,,,,,,
... You call the door pull an arm rest ... ... My father had a 1949 Kaiser Traveler ... ... The back seat door behind the driver is where the full size tire attached which did not open ... ... It was part of the structure for safety ...
Good catch stupid autocorrect... sometimes I just leave them up there one gold star for you for noticing it but nobody has noticed that the 57 Fairlane is misspelled too because it auto corrected for that it says Fairline and I just left it there to see if anybody noticed =)
