The 1947 Kaiser Special dates from a time of shining possibilities for its manufacturer. Ambitious, fast-moving California industrialist Henry Kaiser had teamed up with savvy Detroit veteran Joseph Frazer to do the seemingly impossible -- crack the U.S. auto industry "club" epitomized by the Big Three of General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. If it couldn't beat 'em, Kaiser-Frazer Corporation would have been quite content to join 'em.
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The time couldn't have been more ripe to try such an audacious thing. With car production halted during the World War II years, pent-up demand for new vehicles in peacetime was expected to be tremendous. Ensconced in Ford's former wartime B-24 bomber plant in Willow Run, Michigan, K-F was producing Kaisers and somewhat costlier Frazers by the summer of 1946 -- this despite time lost in an abortive attempt to introduce the Kaiser with front-wheel drive. The following year, the two marques' combined production made K-F the fourth-largest automaker in the nation.
But the high-flying times wouldn't last. When Kaiser borrowed heavily in anticipation of big-volume production for 1949, a wary Frazer walked away. The last of his namesake cars were made in 1951.
The gleaming freshness of the 1947 Kaiser Special pictured here is a metaphor in metal for K-Fs prospects in its early days. One of 65,062 built for the model year (plus another 5,412 later-arriving Customs), it is original in all but paint, which has been resprayed to match its factory hue. Clear-plastic seat covers now preserve the pin-striped cloth upholstery.
Underhood is the 226-cid Continental-built L-head six that powered Kaisers and Frazers. It made 100 horsepower in the 1947 Special. In the featured car, it is hooked to a Borg-Warner three-speed transmission with optional overdrive.
This Kaiser Special has been a Kaiser-Frazer Club award winner, and accessories like the radio and heater all work.
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