1955 Kaiser Manhattan 2 Door Sedan - Click on photo for much more info photo

Ken Leonard | all galleries >> George Barris "Cruisin' Back to the 50's" Car Show Vol. #2 > 1955 Kaiser Manhattan 2 Door Sedan - Click on photo for much more info

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May 7, 2005	Copyright 2005 Ken Leonard

1955 Kaiser Manhattan 2 Door Sedan - Click on photo for much more info

Culver City Civic Center

Nikon Coolpix 8700
1/213s f/6.4 at 9.5mm iso50 hide exif

Full EXIF Info
Date/Time	07-May-2005 10:00:39
Make	Nikon
Model	E8700
Flash Used	No
Focal Length	9.5 mm
Exposure Time	1/213 sec
Aperture	f/6.4
ISO Equivalent	50
Exposure Bias
White Balance	(-1)
Metering Mode	matrix (5)
JPEG Quality	(6)
Exposure Program	program (2)
Focus Distance

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BOB		19-Feb-2010 18:49
GLAD TO SEE THIS 55 2 DOOR KAISER,IF THIS IS #10 OF THE 44 BUILT I USED TO OWN IT IN THE EARLY 70s till the mid 80s. glad to see it still looks great.

Guest		07-Jul-2009 08:48
iwas in the army in ks. an i found a blue 4dr.54 manhattan looker like a plymouth. it had the packson supercharger may it was a mcculloch. car ran great for a big old car.traded it in on a dodge pickup.

amcramblermarlin		24-Jun-2009 21:35
While one hundred thousand cars might sound impressive, regardless of styling and mechanical innovation, the smaller US auto makers could not match the phenomenal production capacities of Ford and GM who flooded the post war market by churning out over two million cars each in 1950. One might mutter something about popularity, but the sheer volume of Chevy and Ford production tells a more realistic picture of what actually happened to the smaller auto makers. Nevertheless, each of the smaller US auto makers truly did make some unrecognized but very interesting models which otherwise demand attention as true collector cars. Thanks for building a Kaiser website. My website is

amcramblermarlin		13-Jul-2008 19:07
Kaiser automotive history is incomplete without information on the purchase of Willys Overland (about '53 or 4 in parallel to Nash Kelvinator and Hudson forming AMC) and it's imperceptible transformation into Jeep Corporation, the South American IKA cars and the ownership of Continental Motor Co; and industry wide supplier of engines from airplanes to tractors and forklifts. Continental Motors was plausibly sold in order to purchase Willys Overland. Apparently their budding automotive V8 engine design was absorbed by AMC through Dave Potter, a former Continental engine designer to help produce the '56 Rambler V8. Later on, Kaiser masked as Jeep Corp, released the OHV "Tornado" inline six that was raced with much success. No surprise, the Kaiser Jeep Wagoneers and Gladiator pick up models seem to offer additional proof of a certain relationship to AMC for featuring the Rambler V8. There was a rivalry between Kaiser and Packard in the speedboat racing arena, whereas the Rambler V8 (obviously following in the wake of previous Continental engine designs) found it's way into motor boats through "Grey Marine".

Kenneth Maki		22-Nov-2007 16:12
Nice car, my friend Fiona just inherieted a 1953 Kaiser Manhattan from here grandfather, I've driven it and I plan to purchase it. Kaiser might be gone, but it's not forgotten.

Gilbert		26-Jul-2007 01:43
Kaiser had developed a v-8, 1948 thru 1949 they had configurations of 232,255 and 288 c.i. and the final version v-8 of 327 in 1953 code named vh8-327. All of these versions were designed prototyped, dynoed and installed in cars for testing but were never put into production for cost reasons

Rick Johnson		11-May-2005 03:52
1955 Kaiser Manhattan 2 Door Sedan. This is the second generation Kaiser designed by Dutch Darrin and Duncan McRae. This design was first introduced in February, 1950 as a 1951 model. The 1955 2 door sedan in Ken's photograph is one of only 44 two doors produced and is the rarest of all Kaisers. American production of Kaiser automobiles ceased after a January through April run in 1955. Kaiser moved the tools and dies to Argentina in South America and marketed the car there as the Kaiser Carabela from 1958 through 1962. A brief history of Kaiser-Frazer follows, with additional information about the two Kaisers'photographs shown in the two George Barris Galleries that Ken has posted. Henry J. Kaiser was a west coast construction and shipbuilding tycoon who made millions building ships for the United States Government for the war effort in World War II. Shortly after the war, he entered into a partnership with Joe Frazer, who had vast automotive sales experience with GM and Chrysler, and was most recently president of willys and Graham-Paige. Together they wanted to build automobiles, and with some government loans and Kaiser's steel business to back it up, they bought a wartime bomber factory at Willow Run, Michigan and converted it into, at the time, the world's largest auto factory under one roof. With a remarkable combination of talent, bright ideas, and plenty of money, they defied all odds and were producing cars by June 1946. Kaiser-Frazer's "first generation" of cars were introduced as 1947 models and were the first production cars to feature smooth slab sides, with the fenders totally integrated into the body of the car. Ford's use of this same styling cue some two years later with the introduction of the '49 model was instrumental in Ford replacing Chrysler as the number two company in the Industry. But its noteworthy that it was Kaiser-Frazer who first featured this design. The first car was a basic four door sedan offered as two distinct models or series in the medium priced field, each named for one of the founders of the company. The Kaiser was the entry level car offered in two levels of trim. It was priced to compete in the Pontiac, Dodge, and Mercury segment at the lower end of the medium price category. The Frazer was the premium series offering designated to compete in the upper medium price bracket against the Buick Roadmaster and Chrysler New Yorker. The Frazer featured the Industry's first color-coordinated interiors. These cars were solidly built, rode well, and were lavishly offered in an unprecedented variety of color and trim. Called "Manhattans", they sold remarkably well, even at prices close to Cadillac territory. Both Kaiser and Frazer cars rode a 120 inch wheelbase, and were powered by an L-Head six cylinder 226.2 cubic inch "Continental" engine developing 118 horsepower, that was originally intended for industrial use. Immediately after the war America's demand for new cars greatly exceeded supply, and Kaiser-Frazer prospered, and by 1947-48 it had become the number one Independent automaker. By the time the "second generation" car was introduced in 1950, Kaiser-Frazer had sold 400,000 cars. In its first year, the second generation car designed by Dutch Darrin and Duncan McRae sold 139,000 units. But then, Kaiser-Frazer's fortunes began to change. By 1950, the Big Three had introduced their first all new post-war designs, and supply had caught up with demand. Henry Kaiser and Joe Frazer had gone their separate ways and even with orders in hand, the hot-selling Frazer production was canceled. Then Henry Kaiser made his biggest mistake that ultimately led to the demise of the car company. Instead of investing the profit capital from the early post-war years in new technology and models, he spent a fortune to get his small "people's car" into production. He named the new little car after himself, the "Henry J." Whereas Nash had successfully marketed their well-equiped, well-optioned "compact" Rambler, the Henry J. was a dismal failure. It was cheaply made with no ventilation system, no trunk lid, and no glove box, yet cost almost as much as a standard size Chevrolet sedan with all of those features. At a time when the buying public was clammering for overhead valve V-8 engines with more horsepower, and production of pillarless hardtops had surpassed that of the basic family four door sedan, Kaiser had neither to offer and was losing money. Precious little capital remained to explore new technology and models.There were experiments in attempt to develop a new engine and their were hardtop design sketches, clay models, and even a couple of protype convertibles, but none of these made it to production. Kaiser was forced to continue the same second generation sedans with minor trim modifications and the same basic engine orginally introduced on the first generation model in 1946. Kaiser did market a utility vehicle during some of those years that featured a fold down rear seat and a rear hatch . It might be called the first SUV. Marketed as the "Traveler", it was Kaiser's substitute for a station wagon model that would never be produced. Another high mark was the introduction of a fibreglass convertible roadster with sliding doors called the "Kaiser Darrin". Ken has photographs of this unique sports car posted in one of his galleries along with my history of the car. Perhaps Kaiser saved the best for last. The 1954-55 Kaisers were the result of one of the most successful facelifts in Detroit history. Herb Weissinger of Kaiser-Frazer Styling was responsible for this remarkable accomplishment. The inspiration came primarily from the Buick XP-300 show car. The 1954-55 models featured a concave, verticle bar grille, a matching hood scoop, and oval headlamp nacelles up front. At the rear was a wraparound window and unique chromy "Safety-Glo" taillamps with their longitudinal rear lenses atop the rear fenders. Another styling feature was the "widow's peak" or "sweetheart" windshield. It's low sleek beltline looks modern, even by today's standards. Inside was aircraft type toggle controls for the heating/ventilation systems and an "aero-style" steering wheel futuristically curved around the steering column. For safety, there was passenger crash padding front and rear. There was big news under the hood. 1954-55 Manhattans came equipped with McCulloch superchargers that boosted horsepower from 118 to 140 that resulted in performance equivalent to Hudson's Hornet and some V-8 competitors. The supercharger was the forerunner of the turbo charged models that were popular in the 1980's. The George Barris Galleries 1 & 2 features two outstanding examples of 1954-55 Kaisers. The beige Kaiser in Gallery 1 is a 1954 Kaiser Manhattan 4 door sedan. The tutone green Kaiser featured in three photographs in Gallery 2 is the very,very rare 1955 Manhattan two door sedan, one of only 44 made. All of the styling elements mentioned in this history are easily seen in Ken's excellent digital photographs. Both of these cars have been recognized and achieved milestone status by the Milestone Car Society. If Henry Kaiser had developed an overhead valve V-8, and had offered more models like a hardtop, or a convertible, this interesting and beautiful Classic might still be with us today.....it is one of the true American automotive artforms.

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