Motor Trend and the 1951 Henry J road test

Someone from the KFOCI called me the other night to talk about literature and told me something I was not aware of. In the November 1950 issue of Motor Trend magazine there was a road test of the new Henry J. Most have seen that issue and noted the cover picture is the Henry J. But he had come across another version of that issue with a completely different front cover--the cover on it was of some custom car. The issue was denoted as Edition C which he suggested might have been for California. It is not at all uncommon to have regional editions of magazines now but I had never realized it was done back as early as 1950. He said the contents appeared to be the same as far as he noticed.

The most important new car in America--Special Issue of the Quarterly

I seem to be stuck on Henry Js. I was looking for a list of Quarterly magazines that I had published and ran across the special issue I did on the Henry J way back in 1987 (Vol 23 No. 2). Almost the entire magazine was devoted to the Henry J. We even reprinted the issue of the Dealer News that was done on the new cars (Vol IV N0. 20, October 1, 1950). This was used by dealers as sales literature and had a high press run. That is the reason it is fairly easy to find today. All Henry J nuts should have a copy of it in their collection.

Quarterly magazine list...

There was a discussion of bulletins and magazines issued by the KFOCI on one of the chats recently. I have complete sets of each (some early issues of the magazine are copies). I will say more about the bulletins in a later blog.

When I first started editing the magazine I had no idea about what had been published before except for the few issues done by Jack Edward some time after I joined the club. I found a few issues here and there and eventually came up with a list of what had been published up to my time on the job. This is in the Collector's Corner article in Vol 23 No 2 for 1987. I compiled the list and sent it out to a large number of long-standing members for their comments. The list as published is complete to the publication date. You can extend it to the last edition I published as editor (Vol 37 No 2 2001) along with the calendar issues done by the Barkers. I am not sure about anything past that as there were many attempts by various volunteers to publish and I am not even sure I could lay my hands on those--they are around here somewhere I guess.

Where are these Henry Js flying to?

I found this picture on an old hard drive. I have no idea of the origin although it may have been saved from an ebay listing someone made. I am not sure what is going on in the pic other than the obvious fact that some 51 Henry Js are being loaded on a plane. The plate on the truck is from Florida and the truck is obviously from a K-F distributor. The cars have plates also as you can clearly see in the pic. The plane is from Pan American which flew a lot of international flights so the cars could have been exports. Any ideas?

Allstate Postcard--rare collectible

Do you want to look for a very rare K-F related collectible? Here is a good candidate for you. This is the postcard for the 1952 Allstate which is super rare. I never was able to find one in all my years of collecting although I have known several collectors that did have them. I can't remember now who sent me this picture of the card. I ran across it on an old hard drive I was digging through.

Ripley Make-A-Bed

Way back when I found a little sales folder for the Ripley Make-A-Bed which converted a 51 or later Kaiser into a bed by allowing the front seat to fold down. I mentioned it in my Editor's Pages in the KFOCI Quarterly back in 1987 (Vol 23 No 3) and asked if anyone had any information about the item. One of the Canadian members replied that indeed he had a 1953 Kaiser his dad bought new that was still fitted with the device. I published his letter and some photos showing the item in the Collector's Corner column in 1988 (Vol 24 No 1).

The folder is described on my literature site.

Recently I learned more about the origins of the bed device on ebay. A literature dealer listed an issue of the Dealer News that I had never seen and it had a feature on the availability of it from the K-F dealer who perfected it. I am quoting the article below to complete the story on the Make-A-Bed.

Twist of a Wrist Turns Kaiser Sedan Into Bed Compartment with
Dealer Ripley's 'Make-A-Bed' Device

Ithaca, N. Y.---Sleepy?
Just draw up a Kaiser and take a nap.

That's what scores of motorists are doing in Ithaca, thanks to the new patented "Make-A-Bed" device the Ripley Motor Co. is offering Kaiser customers as optional equipment.

With a twist of the wrist a Kaiser owner can convert his car interior into a bedroom--equipped with one of the softest beds made.

K-F Dealer M. H. Ripley inaugurated the "Make-A-Bed" feature to meet customer demand for a smartly styled, powerful automobile which could double for sleeping quarters on long trips.

The "Make-A-Bed" accessory, which fits any 1951 or 1952 Kaiser 4-door sedan, is installed in two hours and permits the car seats to be converted into a double bed in just 10 seconds.

A lever similar to the seat adjustment rod--well out of site--permits the back of the front seat to recline until it fits snugly with the rear seat.

The seat can also be adjusted in a reclining position.

Ripley is wholesaling the kits, priced either in single units or in lots of six, to other K-F dealers.

His address is 602 W. Seneca Street, Ithaca, N. Y.

The Dealer News appears to be the issue for September 30 1952. (I saved the pics from the ebay ad but neglected to note the date.)

Special last minute prep for judging...

Some have a regular routine when giving the car a last minute prep before judging. Steve Carey likes to touch up the paint on his Henry J radiator cap. He has the technique perfected--he deftly holds the open paint can and the radiator cap in one hand and uses the other hand to load the brush to apply paint. Oops! This picture was made by Tom Stradt showing Steve's back-up technique.

Thoughts from the days when Henry Js and Allstates were new

I noticed on one of the chat pages that there was at least 15 Henry J and Allstate models at the just completed KFOCI National in IL. These were the featured cars and the number that showed up is commendable.

I was reminded that I did see an Allstate on display back in 1952 or 1953 at the Sears store on Shepard Drive in Houston. Last time I checked some years ago this store was still in business. When I was a kid we used to go there at times to shop since it was only a short distance from our home in Conroe although it seemed much farther in those days. Now it is hard to tell the difference in Conroe and Houston. This store had a separate service station with an auto department and the car was there. I can't recall now anything about the color or what impact if any the car had on me. I must have been aware of the Henry J but I can't recall any that were sold by the KF dealer where my Dad purchased the 51 Kaiser. In fact I can't remember anyone having a Henry J (and certainly not an Allstate) at any time in the 50s or 60s.

I remember another experience I had at this store. I bought my first new car in Houston, a 1962 Volvo 544 Sport. I was about to get my MS degree at Sam Houston State in Huntsville TX that summer. I think I took delivery of the car in late Fall 1961 or in early part of 1962. At some point after this I had to be in Houston and stopped in the Sears store to look at some tools they had on sale. This was a deal like they run now in that one got a supply of tools in a box of some sort for a reasonable price. I think it was something like $19.95 for a set in a nice metal box. After looking at the display set I told a clerk I wanted one and he said fine. They had them wrapped and ready to go. However once I paid the clerk picked up a box and said "here this goes with the set." I noticed the wrapped package looked to be almost exactly the same shape as the box. Well when I got home and unwrapped the package it had all the tools in a metal box identical to the one he gave me as an "extra". I gave the extra box to my brother. I still have mine to this day. The box is a nice size for carrying a set of basic tools in the car.