Henry J better with age
Jack Tanner's first encounter with a Henry J coupe left a sour taste in his mouth. "My dad had a '51 Henry J and I remember riding around in it as a kid. I hated the way it looked. I thought it was ugly," Tanner recalled.
To make matters worse, he said, "Dad's car was Plain Jane, a heater and a radio and that's it. My uncle had an Allstate, a '53, and it was a 6-cylinder and he used to outrun my dad's little 4-cylinder all the time."
Both cars were built by Kaiser-Frazer as post-war compacts and were virtually identical, except for the badging — and the fact the Allstates were sold by Sears, Roebuck and Co. That's right, you could buy a fully functional automobile from Sears back in those days, outfitted with Sears brand tires, spark plugs and radio.
A total of 115,000 Henry J's were built from 1951-54, while 2,300 Allstates were cranked out from 1952-53.
Memories of his father's '51 Henry J faded fairly quickly, until Tanner got involved in drag racing years later. He started seeing the little coupes jacked up, running straight front axles and big V-8 engines, running as gassers. Suddenly, the Henry J didn't seem so stodgy.
So when Tanner spotted a '51 Henry J project for sale in Chanute a little over four years ago, he took the plunge. "The body was pretty much done on it... the guy who had it wanted to buy a Harley-Davidson," he said.
A custom frame, built of 2-inch by 3-inch rectangular steel tubing, was set up for a Mustang II front suspension and a small block Chevy V-8. Tanner rebuilt the 355 cubic inch engine, which runs Dart high performance heads, an Edelbrock Performer air gap intake manifold, 750 cfm Mighty Demon carb, MSD electronic programmable ignition, a Comp Cam and a set of homemade tubular headers that he built to snake around the steering box.
The handmade firewall has a removable panel to allow access to the MSD distributor. A Summit radiator was added to keep the car cool on longer drives. And just for good measure, Tanner had a set of "Kaiser V-8" decals made up for the valve covers, which tends to further confuse some folks who may have figured out what the car actually is.
"Some think it's a Studebaker. You tell 'em it's a Henry J and a lot of 'em think 'Henry Ford,' " Tanner said. Taking his cue from the confusion, he added a vanity plate that reads, "WHATZAT."
The coupe employs a Chevy Turbo 350 transmission equipped with a B&M shifter. Power is routed back to a narrowed 9-inch Ford rear end that can be fitted with 3.50, 3.73 or 4.30 gears, depending on the driving situation at hand.
1951 Henry J - News
Jack Tanner thought his dad's 1951 Henry J was too ugly to ride in when he was a kid. Today, he is kind of partial to his own slightly more stylish and way more powerful '51 Henry J street cruiser. Jack Tanner's first encounter with a
Though considered by some to be an ugly car, Demoors really liked the Henry J and wanted to own one. He first spied the 1951 Henry J coupe featured in today's column some 30 years ago in a parking lot at the then Harbour Park Mall.
He is a 1951 graduate from the US Merchant Marine Academy and earned his Juris Doctorate degree in 1967 from the University of Baltimore Law School. He is admitted to the practice of law in Maryland and is a proctor member of the Maritime Law
Dolores was born June 9, 1924, in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of Frank J. and Celia C. (Meyer) Brockling. She was united in marriage to David Henry Herleth on November 22, 1951, in St. Louis, Missouri, and to this marriage six children were born,
The European Coal and Steel Community was formed in 1951, and signed by France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Newly released documents from the 1955 Bilderberg meeting show that a main topic of discussion was “European
1951 Henry J - Bookshelf
Advance service information, 1951 Henry J, models 513 and 514
Popular Mechanics
Of the owners to whom I talked, more than three fourths declared they would buy a Henry J again. 1951 HENRY J Condensed Specifications ENGINE 6-Cyl. 4-Cyl. ...LIFE
Henry J. Kaiser stands on balcony of new hotel unit as familiar crane and ... Kaiser and his pretty wife (his first wife died in 1951) sail on one of the ...Consumer reports
Thus, the graphs for Kaiser and Henry J cover only the years from 1947 and 1951, respectively. Also, where no repairs were reported, there is no bar. ...LIFE
Style-conscious Gracie naturally goes for the sleek, smart Henry J! It's the Fashion Academy Gold Medal Award car for 1951! 11:45 am. ...Everyday News Directory
Welcome to Dave Granger's Remember When Racing
1951 Henry J Top Sportsman - Driver Dave Granger - Co Owners John Wiley and Dave Granger ... E2 (J Vettel ) 0.085 7.428 0.368 (T Donovan ) 0.008 7.595 0.005 ...
The 1951 Henry J was introduced at a Chicago showing in early ...
The 1951 Henry J was introduced at a Chicago showing in February 1950 as the "Red Car", but was not officially on sale till Sept 28, 1950. ...
1951 Henry J Street Rod - Home
The 1951 Henry J is 4-Sale ( $39,995 OBO ) Specs. Engine : 383 Stroker Chromed Out. Transmission: 350 Turbo Automatic. Rear-end: 350 Positive Track Camero ...
HowStuffWorks "1951 Henry J Standard"
The 1951 Henry J Standard was the low-end automobile in Henry J's 1951 model lineup. Find out more about the 1951 collectible car.
1951 Kaiser Henry J Image Gallery, Blog, and Items For Sale
1951 Kaiser Henry J Image Gallery and Blog. Named after Business tycoon Henry the 1951 Kaiser Henry J is a low cost sedan built by Kaiser-Frazer Corporation is 1951. ...