1949 Frazer Manhattan convertible
In the years that followed the Second World War, automotive
consumers In the United States were starved for new cars, as the last cars off
the assembly lines had been 1942 models. Many drivers held onto their old cars through the war and survived scrap drives and the rationing of gasoline and tires and now that
the war was over, they were more than ready for something new. Enter Henry J.
Kaiser.
Kaiser had amassed a fortune as a contractor as his firm had
built the Hoover, the Bonneville and Grand Coulee Dams and he had built an
empire of construction material companies. With the onset of the war with Japan
and Germany, Kaiser with no prior shipbuilding experience established seven
shipyards on the West Coast that produced ships faster than previously
imagined using faster construction techniques such as welding instead of riveting and the use of sub-assemblies.
Long-time automobile executive Joseph Frazer, a young
college graduate, started his career in the auto industry as a mechanic’s
assistant in a Packard dealership before he moved into sales. Frazer then
jumped to General Motors (GM) where he helped establish General Motors
Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) that pioneered automotive financing.
While at GM
he met Walter P Chrysler, and followed Walter to Willys-Overland then to
Maxwell, which later became Chrysler Motors. While at Chrysler, Frazer
convinced Walter P. to start a lower-priced line of cars called Plymouth.
Frazer eventually got his own chance to turn around a
struggling automaker at Graham-Paige Motors, and he planned to change the name
to Frazer, but he needed financing. Frazer met Henry J. Kaiser, a larger than
life super-successful businessman well known to the public who had an interest
in the auto industry as well as a $10 million line of credit from Bank of
America.
It seemed to be a marriage made in heaven – Henry Kaiser had
ideas on how to streamline automobile manufacturing but needed an industry
insider knowledgeable about sales and marketing, and Joseph Frazer needed financing
and the notoriety of a respected public figure. The Kaiser-Frazer Corporation
was born in July 1945, obtained the assets of Graham-Paige in a stock deal and
set up shop in the massive Willow Run Michigan B-24 bomber factory, then the
largest building in the world. An initial stock offering raised $54 million for
the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation.
In early 1946, the company debuted two prototypes at the New
York Auto Show, a front-wheel drive Kaiser and the conventional Frazer sedan.
The front-wheel drive design never went into production due to engineering
hurtles, and the 1947 production Kaiser and Frazer sedans were all but
identical.
The new cars styled by Howard “Dutch” Darrin were conventional with
two new concepts – all-welded construction, a wider rear seat that was between
the wheels as the result of moving the rear wheels behind the passenger
compartment. a large luggage compartment, curved wraparound bumpers, dual
horns, twin sun visors, automatic dome lights, and large, hydraulic
self-centering brakes.
Mechanically the new Kaiser and Frazer cars were quite
conventional for its time, with a pre-war design L-head 6-cylinder 226-cubic
inch Continental ‘Red Seal’ engine which developed just 100 horsepower with a
single Carter carburetor, while dual Carter carburetors boosted output to 112
horsepower at 3600 revolutions per minute (RPM). The slow-turning Continental engine was prone
to overheating and failing head gaskets, and coupled to a manual three-speed
transmission with overdrive, a Frazer sedan typically accelerated from 0 to 60
miles per hour (MPH) in 19 seconds with a top speed of 85 mph.
Due to production delays, the first production Kaiser and
Frazer automobiles did not roll out of the Willow Run factory until May 29,
1946, and were shipped to dealers in mid-June, registered as 1947 models. In a
hot market, Kaiser-Frazer ultimately sold 70,474 Kaisers and 68,775 Frazers during
the 1947 model year, giving the company the best market share (4%) of any of
the American independent manufacturers.
The Frazer line which was billed as “America’s
Largest-Selling Fine car” was led by the luxurious Manhattan, in addition to
the Standard and Deluxe models. Kaiser-Frazer sales remained strong through in
1948 despite relatively high prices, for example, a Frazer Manhattan had a
manufacturer’s list price for $27 higher than a Cadillac Series 62 sedan.
In late 1948 at a Kaiser-Frazer board meeting, Henry Kaiser
pushed for an increase in production for 1949, which was opposed by Joseph
Frazer. Although sales had increased slightly and the company maintained 4% of
the market in 1948, profits had dropped. The board voted with Kaiser and Frazer
resigned his presidency, but remained with company for more three years a sales
consultant.
In 1949, Kaiser introduced the “Virginian,” a faux
convertible built on the 123-inch wheelbase sedan chassis which featured a
nylon top over a steel roof. Frazer on
the other hand that year introduced a hand-built convertible based on the Manhattan sedan body, but
not without some problems. Edgar Kaiser, son of the founder, who took over the Frazer presidency after
Frazer’s resignation ordered engineers to not add reinforcement after they cut
the roof off the sedan. Edgar eventually had to admit his error, and the production car’s
boxed frame was reinforced with a giant X-brace.
The additional bracing took the car’s curb weight up to over
3700 pounds, and the anemic Continental engine was no match for the car’s bulk. To add more rigidity, the Manhattan’s window
frames and the “B” pillar between the front and rear doors remained fix in
place and were not retractable, so this car cannot be considered a true
“convertible.” Experts differ on production numbers, as some of the unsold
Manhattan convertibles were re-badged as 1950 models, but this car’s owner
states that only 62 1949 Manhattan convertibles were sold.
Joseph Frazer’s instincts were proved correct, as the “Big
Three” brought their new models to market which fed the public’s appetite for
new cars. Kaiser-Frazer’s original body style looked dated, and the lack of performance and durability of the Continental engine did not help.
Kaiser-Frazer sales dropped to just over 100,000 units (2% market share) and at
the end of the 1949 model year, there were 20,000 leftover cars which the
company was forced to re-brand as 1950 models. For 1949 the Kaiser-Frazer
Corporation posted a loss of nearly $30 million dollars.
After Joseph Frazer’s
departure, the Frazer nameplate was soon dropped, and the 10,000 1951 Frazers
sold that were leftover actually 1950 models that used up the company’s remaining stock
of bodies and high-end upholstery materials. In 1952, the company changed its name to the Kaiser
Corporation and began selling Manhattans as a luxurious member of the Kaiser line.
In 1953
Kaiser bought Willys-Overland and its Jeep brand. Although Kaiser stopped
building its eponymous nameplate in the United States in 1955 after total 1954
sales of only 7,000 units, it continued to build Jeeps until it sold the brand
to the American Motors Corporation in 1970.
The 1949 Frazer Manhattan as displayed at the Automotive
Driving Museum in El Segundo California is one of the few examples remaining and is resplendent finished
in Indian Ceramic with a black top and interior set off by the gleaming chrome trim.
All photographs by the author
