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The Kaiser Henry J was an economical compact named after the company's chairman, Henry J Kaiser. Kaiser had the idea of recreating the success of the famous Ford Model T with one of their own cars. The Henry J was created with the goal in mind of being a car a person who could only afford a used car could buy. However it was stylish for the time by incorporating details like tailfins and a bullet nose.
Henry J's were pretty bare bones cars in base form. The standard came with a very economical but under powered Inline-4 but the more powerful 6 cylinder De Luxe version cars came with with arm rests, roll up rear windows, a passenger side visor, more trim, and more!
To cut costs on creating the cars, the car was designed to have the least amount of body panels possible so early Henry J's did not have a trunk. To access the luggage area, you had to fold down the rear seat. The lack of a trunk lid and the car's basic nature unfortunately didn't make it a success because for about $2-300 more, you could buy a base model Chevrolet or Plymouth. The time wasn't right for the little Kaiser because American buyers wanted large cars.
From September 1950 till the end of 1954, Kaiser built a little over 7,000 Henry J's. The car has earned fame by being a popular choice for Gasser-style drag cars and for being the genesis of American compact cars.
Engine: 161cid. (2.8L) "Supersonic" Inline-6Henry J's were pretty bare bones cars in base form. The standard came with a very economical but under powered Inline-4 but the more powerful 6 cylinder De Luxe version cars came with with arm rests, roll up rear windows, a passenger side visor, more trim, and more!
To cut costs on creating the cars, the car was designed to have the least amount of body panels possible so early Henry J's did not have a trunk. To access the luggage area, you had to fold down the rear seat. The lack of a trunk lid and the car's basic nature unfortunately didn't make it a success because for about $2-300 more, you could buy a base model Chevrolet or Plymouth. The time wasn't right for the little Kaiser because American buyers wanted large cars.
From September 1950 till the end of 1954, Kaiser built a little over 7,000 Henry J's. The car has earned fame by being a popular choice for Gasser-style drag cars and for being the genesis of American compact cars.
Horsepower: 80
Transmission: 3-speed on the tree manual / RWD
Weight: 2,341lbs. (1,062kg)
Top Speed: 78 mph (126 kph)
0-60: 17.6 sec.
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