ClassicCar

First, there were TWO Manhattans in the Kaiser-Frazer stable. The first one was the model name of the top-of-the-line FRAZER, built from 1947 to 1951. From 1947 to 1950 the Kaiser and Frazer were virtual clones of each other, but with different trim and badges. These were known as the First Generation bodies. In 1951, the Kaiser was completely redesigned by Howard "Dutch" Darrin, and the beautiful Second Generation Kaisers were born. The 1951 Frazer was made to use up the old 1st Gen. bodies and components, since Mr. Frazer parted company with Henry Kaiser in 1950. After the Frazer was no longer built, the Manhattan name was used for the top-dog Kaiser from '52-'55 (the top-line '51 Kaiser was simply the Deluxe.) The '52 and '53 are really close in appearance. The '52 has a spear-like hood ornament and NO wings on the headlight bezels, with large, teardrop-style taillights. Hood and trunk emblems were a plastic block-letter "K" atop a chrome "V". The '53 has a jet-plane type hood ornament WITH side wings on the headlight bezels, and a chrome strip running atop the rear fenders just forward of the tips of the teardrop taillights.



The 1954 and 1955 Kaisers are virtually identical to each other. These are the heavily-facelifted (and most popular) full-size Kaisers. These have the large, oval concave Buick-like grille (Edgar Kaiser liked the '53 Buick XP-300 show car), oval headlight bezels with a plastic filler piece containing the parking light bezels. The rear end is a work of art, considering the taillights and the rear window were the only things changed, but what a difference!! The rear window on these cars is a 3-piece wrap-around affair, contoured around the dog-leg in the rear door. The "Safety-Glo" taillights are larger than the '52-'53 type and include a LIGHTED piece atop the rear fender, separated from the teardrop section by a large chrome divider horn. It was basically a taillight tailfin! Atop the hood sat a scoop instead of an ornament. This is where the '54s and '55s differ: the '54 has a small single fin in the center top of the scoop, while the '55 scoop has a taller center fin with four "bumps" along the top, two on either side of the fin.



The vast majority of the 1954 and '55 Kaisers had a McCulloch VS-57B supercharger, with a sealed airbox around the carburetor and an oil-bath air cleaner. The blowers were most often swiped and sold off when the cars were "out of service," so to check if the car originally had a blower, there should be a DOUBLE pulley coming off the flywheel (the blower belts were fairly wide), and the base of the carburetor might still have the bottom of the airbox, with some kind of jury-rigged air cleaner affair coming off the carb. I have a stock, blown '54 Manhattan with the stock 3-speed manual and overdrive. She makes a real nice whistle when you kick her down!!



A nice #2 driver '54 Manhattan, which is what I have, will probably bring about $15K; a pristine mint restoration about $20K to $25K. The stripped-down '52-54 models (Specials and DeLuxes) just a fraction of that. The supercharged Manhattan was the only model offered for '55, and only about 225 were made that year. A running Kaiser, and I'm assuming it's pretty weatherbeaten, from your description, is probably worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it, really. A Manhattan or '51 Deluxe (ALL '51's had a two-piece front windshield) are of course more desireable, so expect to pay more for them. Best bet, when in doubt, is pick up a copy of Old Cars Weekly's Price Guide and go from there.



I have pics of Kaisers, including mine, in the Photo section under Martin200.



Hope this helps,



Tom Markielewski, Oakfield, Wis.