This is not my car! Thought this was cool, didn't know Henry J made a convertible, did a little search looks like 2 maybe, 1prototype and this 52 built by kaiser/frazier, scroll down mid page: http://oldcarandtruckpictures.com/HenryJ/ Found this on Craigslist: http://syracuse.craigslist.org/atq/1434405369.html So it must be a Old Custom, very cool garage find, interesting none the less, would be in my garage if I had the $$$ Figured someone might know something about this Cool Henry J!!!
That is a neat Custom. Peaked headlight rings.. chopped vent windows... I read where 49 Ford hoods were used for the rear.. also.. there was a Fiberglass version of that , but with a different name than Henry J or Allstate.. a car worth getting though , for the $$$ ,, a good buy..
I always wanted to customize a Henry J. I owned one briefly and saw first hand how little sheet metal they actually put into building these things and then I understood why almost all of them either rusted away or became race cars. Got great mileage driving to work for six months though!
Wow That is really cool, now I really have seen it all. That CL find could be way cool also and price isn't out of line... Talk about "Dare To Be Different"
When I was a young punk in the late 50s there was one about 4 houses away on my street. It was more of an unfinished 2 passenger roadster. It was sort of a boat tail thing. It had a hood turned around for the rear deck but I can't recall what it was. I always wondered what happened to that car. I don't think that it got finished in the one car garage where I saw it. It really did look nice. He got the proportions right so that it did not look like a pieced together POS. It flowed well from front to back. I don't remember seeing a top for it at that time.
That looks like it might have some kind of continental kit on it, in the pic I posted, hope someone brings it back.
I am talking with the seller by phone and he is at work this evening. If he does not work overtime he will email me more details when he gets home. I am seriously interested in the car. His grandfather built the car and is 90 years old. It has sat for about the last 35 years. Yes, it has a continental kit. Gramps lived near a drag strip and saw the modified cars and wanted to build something and this is that car. Grandson also just sold his '54 Cadillac out of the same garage and that is gone. Gramps is still around but vague on details of the car these days. A Ford top was used to create the rear deck of the Henry J and possibly a Ford V8 roadster top was used for the convertible top. I'll post any developments tomorrow after grandson has some sleep into the afternoon as he works a very late shift.
there was a full custom J convert running the streets of Pasadena ca, early 60's the guy had a body shop a couple blocks west of Blairs Speed Shop
Anyone know if a "Skyline" was ever built in steel other than just the gorgeous artist rendition shown above? and did the Pasadena full custom east of Blair's survive? anyone have pictures?
There were at least a couple convertibles that were "fleshed out" in steel. Don't remember if they were custom built for/by Kaiser or if they really started production- if I remember correctly, it's the former.
The story goes that Kaiser built 8 convertibles to test to see if they could be made to look correct. All were built from different coach builders/ body shops. They come up from time to time on Evil Bay. Two came up last year one sold for $8500 the other didn't sell with it's reserve of $23000. I use to see a ultra beat up one around Detroit painted in a vomit neon green that had a ford flathead 8 in it. It later went up forsale on Henryjcars.com never found out if it sold. The "fiberglass Henry J" one person was talking about was the first production fiberglass car built sorry corvette guys kaiser beat them out by 3 months and it's called the Darrin. They made 435 of them the last 50 never sold and the designer Dutch Darrin put everything from flatties to corvette engines in the ones he bought. There are some pretty bad ass non-gasser ones around at sema last year there was a station wagon woodie. Here is mine it's not a gasser nor has a bbc in it still stock 4 banger gets 30mpg and it's lower still want to bag it some day. Here is another that will compete for the ridler if entered (http://www.henryjcars.com/hjc36/lhj/lh.html )
It was very common for guys to scalp Henry J's to become convertibles and roadsters in the '50s, I have old magazines with features of at least two different ones done that way.
The Skyline X-50 was vaporware. I haven't seen proof that any were built. They were supposed to have a retractable roof, and as you can see, the front end is radically different
By the way, that CL car is right here in town, if someone needs a guy to go look it over and maybe get you some better pictures, shoot me a PM -
Ill read the article where the picture came from.. it may shed light about this car.. artist drawings to real 1;1 cars changed ..
Its not the Skyline X-50 but probably one of the Kaiser dealership built Henry J convertibles created to fill the gap in the fact that Kaiser was not going to make anything other than the little 100" wheelbase two door sedan model. Interesting pic anyway...... http://www.henryjcars.com/hjc52/ned/convJ.html The pic on the page is a "gif" and I can't copy it. Can someone else?
I have been corresponding with the seller who is the grandson of the owner of the car who is 90 years old and I've received several additional pictures. The car had a transplant of a 346" Cadillac flathead V8 (1948 or earlier) and automatic transmission presumably back in the late '50s. Getting details from gramps is getting difficult. My personal opinion from the pictures is that the installation was never completed and I would suggest anyone insterested in this car get rustynewyorker to take a look at it because the grandson is not very familiar with the car but he has been helpful and easy to correspond with and also very good on the phone with me. His name is Joe and he is now 41. I think the car has very interesting potential as a hot rod or custom from back in the day. Sounds like the body is excellent. The black and yellow paint scheme probably was very cool and with the top down this car would have a fine profile. When grandson was a little guy he got into the garage and "added" extra black to the car which makes it fugly in some of the pics and it has sat otherwise untouched for many decades. Good luck to someone on this car and I hope some H.A.M.B.er puts it on the street again. Would be cool with a 331 Caddy and 3x2 under the hood, spinner caps and cruisin'..........
Found the Barlow car at: http://66.154.44.164/forum/showthread.php?t=325949 The coved wheel well is a great addition. Thanks!
Hey look what showed up for sale again: http://syracuse.craigslist.org/atq/2999635095.html Hell I thought someone would of snatched it up by now. Wish I could swing it.
The Jalopy Journal
