Todays cars are a pair of 1953 Kaisers. It is rare to see one, but two is well — really rare! Especially when they are not at a car show or a Kaiser event. I first one I saw was at Caffeine Cruisers in Torrance, CA and the second one in a gift shop in Los Alamos, CA as a center piece for their store. The 1953 Kaiser’s big selling point was The Worlds First “Safety First” Car. The had safety mounted windshield designed to push outward on severe impact, padded dash board, no jutting knobs, slant back corner posts, and no “blind spots”. Even though the Tucker had many of the same safety features 5 years earlier.
The first one is a 1953 Kaiser Club Coupe, actually a 2 door sedan, finished in Stardust Ivory with a Black vinyl top. It is dressed up to look like a Kaiser Dragon with all the 14-carat-gold hood ornament and badging, whitewall tires, chrome wire wheels, dressed up with a “Bambu” vinyl top, and an automatic transmissions. It is a well known fact that Kaiser Dragons only came as four-door sedans. The name Dragon came about from the name “Dragon Vinyl” that resembled alligator hide. For 1953, the Dragon swapped Dragon Vinyl for a combination bamboo-patterned vinyl and “Laguna” cloth—a heavy-duty Belgium linen with a midcentury-modern pattern of overlapping rectangles. It is powered by the “Supersonic Six” L head six-cylinder with a 226.2 cu in, 3.7 L, and producing 140 hp with the aid of a McCulloch VS57 Supercharger. Transferring that power through a 4-speed GM Hydra-Matic automatic transmission. The 0-60 times 15.4 seconds with the hydra-drive transmission. The original MSRP for a dragon was expensive for the time $3,924.00. Total Kaiser production for 1953 was 31,272 and Dragon production was 1,277. Someone went out of their way to make this faux Dragon with a supercharger this nice. I think it is very nicely done and deserves 👍👍.
The second one is a 1953 Kaiser Manhattan 4 door sedan finished in Copper Dust. Known for the famous heart-shaped front windscreen and unique style. Powered by “Supersonic Six” L head six-cylinder with 226.2 ci, 3.7 L, breathing through a Carter 2-barrel and producing 115 hp. Transferring that power through a 4-speed GM Hydra-Matic automatic transmission. The 0-60 times 17.6 seconds with the hydra-drive transmission. The original MSRP was $2,650.00. Total Kaiser production for 1953 was 31,272, the total Manhattan production was 20,945 and the total Manhattan 4 door sedan was 18,603. U.S. car production ceased in 1955. The design was sold to Argentina where they were built from approximately 1958 to 1962. Nicely kept original car.
Fun to see 2 1953 Kaisers, Both rare and well kept. Thanks for riding along. Frank