Available in either a 4 or 6 cylinder, and Sears sold these as ALLSTATES, Same car just a different name! I remember these from the 1960s when they were still around!
We owned two of those back in the 50's. Back seat laid down for more trunk room. Fins on back. Ran great. Never had engine problems. Wish I had one now.
My mother had one when I was a child. It was the most reliable little car ever. Ours had a cream colored steering wheel, and matching radio knobs. I still remember how nice and comfortable the seats were. The paint was so faded out it was a non color, pale faded grey which might have been some other color at one time. It had a tiny knob on the top of the dash in the middle to adjust the speed of the windshield wipers.
I remember in my town Fremont California, Someone in the early 1970's had one of these cars done up Gaser Style. Straight front axle, narrowed Ford nine inch rear, flip open front end and a sweet 327 Chevy with tunnel ram. And of course primer gray paint. Sounded very cool. Funny the things you remember in life as a 9 year old.
What a nostalgic beauty! My dad while living in post-war Japan bought two of these new a 1950, and a 1951. Back then to boost the post war economy of Japan the Japanese government forbade citizens from buying new imported cars from America to encourage them to buy Japanese. Only thing was the Japanese cars back then were pretty crappy. They could buy used American cars though that were at least a year old. Many enterprising Americans stationed there (my dad included) would buy an American car, drive it for a year, then sell it to a Japanese citizen at a nice profit. He really liked his Henry J but wound up selling his second one when my mom got pregnant with sibling #2 (eventually 6 total) and Dad bought a larger 1953 Ford Fairlane which he kept until 1958. Both times he ordered the flat-head 6 engine but he said in hindsight the 4 would have been more than adequate as the Henry J was a relatively light car especially in the tail, and back then half the roads outside the majpr cities were unpaved dirt or gravel so very easy to spins the rear wheels in the torquey 6. I would love to own one of these classic in memory of my dad but the few I see most times have a small block Chevy V-8 under the hood. I'd prefer an original flat head. Thanks for sharing.
According to the "Illustrated History of Ford" the Fairlane first came out in 1955, replacing the Crestline series. Lower price series were the Customline and Mainline. I believe the Henry J used a Jeep derived flathead 4 and an F head 6 cylinder, intake valves in the head, exhaust in the block. Circa 1980, a friend of my father owned a 4 cylinder J. He told me after he sold it that it was too slow to take on the freeway. At that time, my father was not shy about taking his all stock, 1930 Model A Ford on the 101 freeway.
The Japanese government didn't stop there in their war against our cars. In the mid 70s, they passed taxation rules against any car that was over a certain width and over a certain length. While there were some European cars that fell into that, it was obviously aimed mainly at our cars. Our lilly-livered politicians did absolutely nothing in retaliation. By the the 2000s, there were no more American car dealers, as far as I know, and the Japanese have almost totally destroyed our auto industry. I refuse to buy a Japanese car. Even if they hadn't been so protectionist, I still probably wouldn't - I don't like the cramped interiors and I don't like the rough ride.
My mother sometimes mentioned the Henry J she had for a while before I was born. She said once she was driving up a hill, and the Henry J started rolling backwards. That was the end of the Henry J.
what made this car so poplar with us kids in the late "50" and early "60" was that could shove almost any V8 under the hood, there was gobs of room and the steering shaft could moved well out of the way for the exhaust system.
Our family handyman in the late '50s-early '60s had a Henry J. I always thought it was a "strange looking little car", compared to what was on the road then. :)
That is strange that I have seen a 1951 Henry J compact car with an aftermarket fender skirts. Fender skirts usually hide partially the rear wheels for more sleeker look, but for 1936-1948 Lincoln Continental and Zepher cars, fender skirts does partially hide the rear wheels for more streamlined look. It look awkward without the rear fender skirts with a very big wheel cut outs and not looking good. Fender skirts are incorporated with a rear fender quarter panels can be found on 1942-1948 Buick Roadmaster and Super models, 1941-1948 Nash Series 600, and 1948-1954 Hudson cars with step down design.
Nice ride 👍 I told my roommate bout the Henry j and she was like the Henry what lol? So I showed her this video and she loved it!!! She never heard of the Henry j til I recently mentioned it ,,but a beautiful car take care of her,,and it's way much better then this fiberglass cardboard computerized crap junk they build today,,today's cars are fakes,,the old ones are GOLD!!!!!
My first car in '60 was my neighbor's '47 Henry J. The clutch had gone out so I bought it for $15. Two friends and I replaced the clutch plate. I drove it for a few months and sold it for $50. It wasn't as nice as this. It was a Jeep with a car body on it; very utilitarian. Worse thing was the MECHANICAL BRAKES.
There was no 47 Henry J. 1951 was the first J. No Kaiser made car had mechanical brakes. Ever. Sure you are not thinking of the Crosely? There was a 1947 model of those.
@@michaelbenardo5695 You are probably right. My mother drove a '50 Kaiser, and the Henry J was considerably more primitive. I think the neighbor I bought the Henry J from said it was a '47, and my mother identified it as a '47 on this photo. I bought a Model A after the Henry J and probably remember the mechanical brakes from that. My friends and I were convinced that the Henry J was a WWII jeep underneath. RU-vid won't let me post a pic.
Sockie Socko Correct. A four cylinder would not have originally had bumper guards, chrome around the windshields and the lip molding on the hood above the grill would have been painted the same color as the car. Four cylinders also did not have a horn ring, just a button. Many restorers added these items because they look good and let's face it, they're nice to have. It looks nice.
mrsgstd You know your stuff. I have an original 4 cylinder and it is original except for the paint. No - nothing - as far as accessories. Kind of like it like that.
How come here in the good old USA they can’t remake these early 50’s Henry J’s again with all of today’s technology stuffed into them , they would sell like hot cakes I mean these are really hard to find but anyway its just a thought.
my father had one when you started it you couldn't see the car from the smoke .they had a contest to name them he called it my car but Henry kaisers first middle name one .some became Toyotas afew became dragsters in the day .100$going price once.
I appreciate your video, but your technique has a lot of room for improvement. Let us see the dashboard from the driver’s seat, a clear shot of the entire engine compartment for 10 seconds or so. Same for front, side, rear, trunk, back seat.
My dad drove a Henry J. One day he hit the brakes at a stoplight and the engine, which was glued to the chassis, slid into the radiator destroying the car. Other than that it was a Cadillac. Total junk!
I remember seeing these on the roads in South Africa as a kid! We all thought it was the ugliest car ever made. On seeing it again now, well... I still think so!
