With the 1951-54 Henry J, Kaiser-Frazer created a cute and memorable car for collectors to enjoy today. But when they were new, the company could barely give them away.
At Mac’s Motor City Garage, we don’t necessarily do things in the most logical order. For example, in 2018 we did a feature on the 1948 AMP prototype, the father of Kaiser-Frazer’s low-priced compact, the Henry J (you can find the story here). And we’ve also done a story on the 1952-53 Allstate, the Sears department-store version of the Henry J (read it here). But somehow we never got to the main attraction, the Henry J itself. Until now.
Named after Henry J. Kaiser himself, founder of Kaiser-Frazer, the Henry J was unveiled to the public in the spring of 1950 with a formal introduction in September as a 1951 model. All along, Kaiser had wanted to produce an affordable compact car for working folk, but his original plans hadn’t worked out. When the Kaiser and Frazer were finally rolled out for the 1947 model year, the price had crept up into the Buick range. With the Henry J, Kaiser was circling back to his original goal, aided by a $44 million loan from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to cover the development costs.
The Henry J’s chassis, above, bears a striking resemblance to the 1948 AMP prototype. The main difference: The production car used conventional steel channel for the frame rails rather then the round steel tubing of the AMP car. And while the prototype used a Continental four-cylinder industrial engine, K-F went to Willys-Overland for the two available Henry J engines: the same 134 CID flathead four used in the Jeep, rated at 68 hp, and the optional 161 CID flathead six with 80 hp. Wheelbase was just 100 inches and curb weight was approximately 2300 lbs.
The Henry J was engineered throughout to minimize manufacturing costs. The exterior sheet metal closely followed the AMP prototype’s almost egg-like shape but with a few K-F styling gestures added on, while the combined roof and deck stamping was said to be the largest one-piece pressing in the car industry at the time. Originally, there wasn’t even an opening deck lid, so obsessed was Kaiser with cutting costs. No glove box or opening rear side windows, either. But Sears Roebuck and the export markets clamored for an accessible trunk, so an optional deck lid was made available.
Sales were fairly brisk at first, but then fell off at an alarming rate as the initial demand was satisfied. As the inventories piled up, K-F tacked on a continental spare (above) to create the Vagabond model for ’52, which the company bravely described as “America’s finest sports car.” From nearly 82,000 cars in 1951, production plummeted to barely 30,000 in 1952. Fewer than 17,000 cars found homes in ’53, and the 1,123 sales listed as 1954 models were apparently leftover ’53s. When Kaiser Motors bought Willys-Overland for $63 million and change in April of 1953, plans were laid to discontinue passenger cars altogether.
This factory photo (above) of the Henry J’s cabin provides some clues as to what went wrong. The appointments were spartan, to say the least. Penurious, some would say. To keep the price down, the product was as plain and bare as possible. And even at that, Henry J pricing started at $1363, when a new ’51 Ford V8 was $1411 and a new Chevy was $1450. With its relatively low production volume, Kaiser-Frazer lacked the economies of scale enjoyed by the big automakers. Meanwhile, Nash was far more successful in the compact field with its nicely appointed Rambler, which cost a little more but included more standard equipment. (See our feature on the Rambler here.)
But all that is now water under the bridge. In the ’60s, the Henry J was prized by hot rodders and drag racers for its light weight and simple construction, and it still enjoys cult status on the street rod scene today. Meanwhile, the Henry J is equally admired by the vintage car crowd. For example, when this ’51 model (below) in fabulous Aloha Green—an original Kaiser-Frazer color—appeared at the Ypsilanti Orphan Car Show, appropriately enough, the audience gave it a round of applause. You might never know that when they were new, Henry J. Kaiser could barely give them away.
The engines were substantially weak at about 1/2 Horsepower Per Cubic Inch. Other than that, I am inclined to ask: How can something that was so right-fall victim to the wrong ending?
Enjoyable story. You are the first to suggest that the Henry J was not the most handsome car ever produced, and you did so with subtlety. I wouldn’t say the car is beautiful, but it is rather interesting to look at.
How we looked forward to the Sears catalogue! Enough reading for weeks of entertainment on rainy days and with 2 issued a year, it exactly matched the number of times a day they would send a truck round to your home with your purchase. Order and receive in the morning- send it back in the afternoon! Moms Sears card # was H4O969B…
When I was a kid in NW Ontario, we had a 1953 Henry J, with a 4 cylinder. It was a fine car, very spartan, but it did the job. We lived 120 miles from Winnipeg, 70 miles of that was gravel. We hit a huge snow bank with it, during the 1966 blizzard. It survived to make some more trips between Werner Lake and Winnipeg. We eventually upgraded to a 53 Plymouth Suburban 2 door wagon.
Which came first: The Henry J tail light hump ( fin? ) or Cadillac’s?
I suspect part of the problem was that Kaiser was trying to build a small big car. Most successful small cars saved money by taking a fundamentally different approach to engineering. Air cooled engines, often in the rear. Unibody construction or a platform chassis.
The Henry J had some original engineering — the one piece roof and deck stamping — but it was mostly a conventional body on frame car, shrunk down. That doesn’t really help — a small motor has about the same number of bits and takes the same amount of labor to assemble as a large one, for instance. You can save a bit on materials by making the car smaller, but a lot of the savings comes from cutting corners, making it “spartan, to say the least.” I suspect that its looking like a conventional car made it feel even more spartan. No one expected a Beetle to be luxurious.
Joe Frazer warned Henry Kaiser not to over produce the Kaiser-Frazer so as to cause a surplus of cars. In other words, build cars to meet the demand. But, Kaiser didn’t listen and he was stuck with cars he couldn’t sell. Then, Kaiser had the brilliant idea to make a small car at a time when small cars weren’t that popular. The Crosley stopped production in 1952 due to low sales. I wonder if Joe also warned Henry not to build a small car, but by the time the Henry J was released, Joe had left the building.
Interesting. I don’t know if Frazer warned Kaiser about this beforehand, but years later he said the car was fitted and trimmed too cheaply for American car buyers. That appears to have been proven out.