Talked to a gentleman that has finally decided to sell the 1949 Kaiser that has been sitting in his front lawn for about a decade. Says he'd like to get $900 for it (what he paid the old widow). I would like to get it on the road and just drive it. It will need a new floor, interior, window rubber, and some refreshing of drivetrain, brakes, suspension, etc. It is straight and relatively rust free except the floor (not sure of the condition of the frame). Am I nuts? Car has 45,000 original miles and has the continental flathead 6. Anybody know where a factory supercharger and overdrive could be had (probably worth more than the car). If I pass on it I will pm the info to anybody interested. I do not have the capacity to customize it now just thought it would be a relatively cool and unique daily driver. Let me know your thoughts.
Isn't that what this is...??? It will need a new floor, interior, window rubber, and some refreshing of drivetrain, brakes, suspension, etc....and has the continental flathead 6. Hmmmmmmm...sounds like a lot of work if it isn't 'customizing"... R-
New floor and interior? I'm with 40StudeDude on this one: that's a lot of work for someone who says they can't customize a car. Sheet metal and screws or pop rivets won't fix the floor if it's truly shot - you'll have to weld in new metal.
If it runs and drives it could be a good cheap everyday local driver. If it hasn't run in a while then you could be looking at puttng some money in it just to get it road-worthy.In that case it will probably need brakes, wheel and master cylinders, brake hoses, etc. along with any motor problems you may find. If it doesn't run, offer him less money, so if it doesn't work out you can get your money back. A lot depends on what model it is, although most seem to be four-door sedans. There is not a huge market for Kaisers, but they were a pretty good car and a good running one would be fun to drive .Bottom line, if you are going to wind up with a couple thousand dollars in it to make it roadworthy, you might be better off putting the money in a Ford or GM car.
I guess I need to clarify a few things. It is a four door sedan. For interior, I can re-do the seats and door panels myself for less than a couple hundred. I can bend new floor panels and weld them in no problem (have bead roller and welder), that is assuming they aren't too bad. If the floor is complete trash I will pass. By customizing I'm talking a nice chop and lower, shaving things and general body work (I don't do body work). I figured minor mechanical work and off the shelf replacement parts would run under a grand.
Be careful. I watched a friend go through this with a '58 Mercury Parklane 2dr hardtop. He bought it for $2,500 to fix up as a cool daily driver in the summer months. The body was rust free and it ran rough. No problem right. Well, it turned out to be a mechanical nightmare from neglect. 2 years and another used 430 engine, rebuilt rad, gas tank, gas lines, brake lines, tires, drums, shoes, rebuilt master cyl, new wiper motor, rubber, wiring, dozens of small mechanical issues, sanding, primer, etc etc. later it's finally close to being on the road. It has sucked thousands of $$ and hundreds of hours of time out of his other "main" project, his chopped '47 Ford business coupe, which sat for two years as a result of this. In the end he bought a low mile 1988 Ford LTD for $700 from a retired neighbor because he got tired of taking the bus. If it were me, I'd take $900 and buy a modern reliable daily ('80/early '90ss Ford/Chevy truck, or full size car (i.e. crown vic)) and save $$ for a car I really wanted to build.
The guys are right about the Kaiser not being a cost effective build, but if you like it, then go for it. Mechanical parts are available and the Continental 6 is tough and simple to work on, and yes, there were factory supercharged models built. I don't know if they were available in '49 though, but I'm sure all that info is on the net. Anyhow, you can bet that Kaiser will be a head turner on the street and you would have to answer questions everywhere you went! Also, have you seen the Kaiser build here on the H.A.M.B.? IT IS REALLY A GORGEOUS RIDE!
We had one in better shape a few years back and could only get $50 for it. Kaiser guys are notoriously cheap, they make AMC guys look like big spenders. I'd say wait on it, because if your friend really wants to sell it, the price will come down in a few months when no one else buys it. I think if it ran and drove and had good floors you'd have trouble getting the $900 for it, but at least then it would be worth $900 as a drivable car. The supercharger didn't come about until later, although I suppose it could be added if you could find one. But it would probably be easier, cheaper, and give better results to just put a V8 in there.
I think they have a couple of those sitting out at French Lake Auto Parts, in Annandale, Mn. Don't know your exact location, but may be worth checking into those. I saw them in November when I was there, something that ugly you don't just forget!
My dad has a '48 they are pretty ugly but I gotta say I drove it a few times and its a really nice driving car and has some pretty cool features
For 9 bills you can buy a running,driveable car here in Minnesota.It will be rusty but thats expected.Most likely what you end up with will be a off breed or a moredoor but look around and talk to a lot of people.Cars are out there for under a grand that are passed over by the mainstream buyers.
I have it's brother, a 48 Frazer. Hence my screen name. They're right about the stock KF ppl being cheap, that and the repop parts they have are EXPENSIVE! Conti 6's were in all kinds of stuff besides them, look around. Olds Rocket motors are rumored to fit with minimal effort. And a *shudder* SBC is sposed to also be a decent fit.....ugh, I can't believe I said that, I feel soiled.
The first car I remember of Dad's growing up in Chicago..was a '48 Kasier...looked exactly like Russco's Dad's. I was maybe 5 years old..when I was riding in back..standing leaning on the front seat. "I can see the ground..!" Then my foot got stuck in the floor ..at least the part that didn't just fall out.. We got a 50 Chev fastback..a few days later..
Well this guy is no freind, just a neighbor that lives about five miles down the road from me. He happened to be getting the mail when I pulled up and talked to him a little. I don't need a cheap daily, this just seemed like a weirdo car that would be cool if I could get it on the road cheap. I have researched basically everything I would need for the drive train, and it is only a few hundred for thorough tune up (these engines were industrial generator engines, lots of parts still around). There is a guy that bought out local kaiser dealer locally and has lots of parts and info but body parts will be hard to find and not cheap. Brakes can be rebuilt with new lines for less than $50 per wheel. I'll give a good look and check out the trunk, floor and frame better this weekend. He's not in a hurry to sell, and just realized he will never get to it. If the floor is the only rust, I will probably try and low-ball him. The better deal I think is that the guy is kind of lonely after his wife died a few years back. We chatted for a good half hour and he complained that his son was supposed to come help put a new master cylinder in his 1968 340 valiant for a road trip last fall but never did. I may help him with the master cylinder and see where it leads.
Just remember this. Make sure the man that plunks down the greenbacks to buy, license, tag, fuel, etc. is happy.........................Thats all that is important.
I was going to do a Kaiser one day. Found one in a junk yard here in North Dakota. It is a Kaiser Traveler. It does not have a trunk but a rear opening hatch with a really cool wood floor like a pickup bed. I guess you would open up the hatch and snap in a canvas and use it for camping or traveling. Cool cars.
believe me i have an all orig 53 henry j that had the 6 w/ od....... parts a very few and very far btwn. so it all got junkd for a blown smallblock gone up gasser style..... all done by me and my dad
We had two '54-'55 sedans, complete, stuffed full of parts, both supercharger cars, that I tried to move a while after the '48 sold. They had belonged to a guy who was a dealer for K-F and either didn't sell or he took them back as trades. One had the alligator skin Dragon interior in fair shape in it. One had a full set of decent factory wire wheels on it, with the right caps too. I think both had the bumper guards with the bullets on them. Both were probably too rusty to restore, but had a lot of good parts in them no one reproduces. The one guy interested in them tried to offer $400 for the pair, which was basically scrap money at the time. The damned wire wheels were worth that alone - and the bumper guards I've seen go for $200 a shot too. I could have done $1500 out of them without breathing hard if we'd parted them out, and still got the $400 from the scrapyard for what was left. Which is pretty much what I told him, sort of the polite version of fuck off. Eventually a third came in - a '54 supercharged car with a manual trans, no less, that ran and moved - and we ended up trading them to a guy for 3 or 4 other cars, including a Chevy Caprice wagon that brought about $3000. Of course that guy bitched about it later because when he sold them he lost his shirt on them, but... he learned what we'd already figured out - Kaiser guys are cheap. The last junkyard we worked in buying cars, there were two or three - I just pulled bumpers for the guards and let them scrap the cars. Not worth the hassle - It's too bad, too, I kind of like the 54-55 cars, they look pretty decent.
IF it has a fresh/clear title that you can get transferred to your name immediately (a titled car is always worth something if you decide to bail in a year or two) then it might be worth that. When somebody says they "would like to get", I immediately take off a third of what they stated when I'm ready to make a firm offer................. Cool, yes, but think about new glass, etc, and with your skills as stated, then each part of the job is going to be a learning experience. You might not realize that, but a project like that would take a couple of years for someone that's done it before. Do you have a space to take the body off the frame? etc. etc.
Coolest thing about em is the buffalo and big K horn button..I saved that and basically gave the rest of the car away..a family took it away from the old man when he eventually bashed in all four corners getting in and out of the garage..did they make that car in a two-door?
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