Eric Minoff
Vice President, Head of Department - US
LOT 58 ¤
1947 Kaiser K-100 2-Door Sedan "Pinconning Special" Chassis no. 016889 Engine no. 56505
Sold for US$21,280 inc. premiumLot to be sold without reserve
Lot 58¤
Unique, factory-built special
1947 Kaiser K-100 2-Door Sedan "Pinconning Special"
1947 Kaiser K-100 2-Door Sedan "Pinconning Special"
1947 Kaiser K-100 2-Door Sedan "Pinconning Special"
Chassis no. 016889
Engine no. 56505
Chassis no. 016889
Engine no. 56505
226.2ci L-head Inline Six-cylinder
Single carburetor
100bhp at 3,600rpm
Column shift 3-speed manual transmission with overdrive
Coil Spring Independent Front Suspension, Semi-elliptical leaf spring live rear axle
Four-Wheel hydraulic Drum Brakes
* Built for Kaiser-Frazer Willow Run factory manager, Edgar Hunt
* The only 2-Door Kaiser K-100
* One of a kind interior
THE CAR OFFERED
Willow Run, built by Ford near Detroit to build B-24 Liberator heavy bomber aircraft, was empty, a massive factory of some 3.5 million square feet that was adaptable to a variety of uses. For Henry J. Kaiser, whose steel mills and shipyards were indispensable to victory in the Second World War, building automobiles after the war seemed reasonable. There was immense pent-up demand. Manufacturing skill, resources and facilities were plentiful. Ford had declined its option to buy Willow Run.
Kaiser teamed up with Joseph Frazer, an experienced auto executive from Graham-Paige. Their two marques, Kaiser and Frazer, launched in mid-1946 with modern envelope bodies designed by Howard "Dutch" Darrin, the first all-new postwar body designs in America. Conventional in layout but with coil spring independent front suspension and reliable side valve inline six-cylinder engines, they were priced at about $2,000 and were immediately well-received by the car-starved public. Over 65,000 of the base K-100 Special and 5,000 of the upgraded K-101 Custom were delivered in model year 1947.
Kaiser never built a 2-door sedan in the marque's first-generation body style but, if you were Edgar Hunt, the Willow Run plant manager for Kaiser-Frazer, a 2-door K-100 was possible. Named for Hunt's hometown of Pinconning, Michigan, it is a thoroughly personalized and purpose-built factory special.
The body is standard K-100 four-door sedan, but the rear doors are welded shut and the seams filled. The engine is the standard 262 cubic inch L-head six with a single carburetor. The standard 3-speed manual transmission is augmented by an optional overdrive. Turn signals, radio, heater and bumper overriders fill out the accessories while the wheels are highlighted with bright hubcaps and trim rings. Finished in two-tone green with "Barn Green" fenders and roof accented by lighter "Linden Green" hood, trunk and side window surrounds.
Its interior is even more unique and may have been intended as a specialized rolling executive conference room. The driver's seat is fixed but the righthand seat folds and integrates with a U-shaped fully upholstered rear seating area. Various nooks, crannies and cubbyholes accommodate tools and even a possible mobile bar. It is a privileged executive's rolling office finished in green with cream vinyl insert panels.
The Pinconning Special was acquired by the Harrah's Automobile Collection in 1963 through Bob Gehrig of Gehrig Rubber Company in Indiana and was given a Harrah's Red Star restoration in 1966. There is some overspray in the wheel wells, and the sound older upholstery shows some door panel discoloration.
"Unique" is frequently misused but in this case, it is absolutely appropriate, a testament to the power, authority and privilege of a successful manager of one of the largest factories in America in 1947.
Footnotes
Titled under its engine number.
Additional information
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