Saturday, May 03, 2008

The 1951 Kaiser "Blew Me Away"


I noticed the articles on the blog about two individuals that drove Kaisers. I remember Dick Stasser, but when I knew him we were both too young to be driving cars. I also have a Kaiser story with a Haigler connection.

In 1955, after graduation from The University of New Mexico, I spent the summer in Haigler with my aunt, Dorothy McKay. On 15 JUN 1955 we drove to Denver for the day, and as we passed through Fort Morgan on US 34 I spied a 1951 Kaiser Deluxe 4-door sedan on the used car lot of Meng Motor Sales.

I was in the market for a car, as I was entering the Army in September and needed "wheels" for the adventure. I had admired Kaiser designs, and each summer I was in Haigler I would visit Vic Stasser's showroom to look at the latest model. The 1951 just "blew me away".

On the way back from Denver I bought the Kaiser and took it with me that September to Fort Knox. I went to Germany in 1956, and the Kaiser returned to Haigler where Dorothy kept it and drove it around town for a number of years. It was Caribbean Coral with a tan top. The tan top was courtesy of the original owner, as the 51 Deluxe did not come as a 2-tone.

In 1986 I took it out of Dorothy's garage and had Stanley Smith in Imperial do a restoration - returning it to all original Caribbean Coral. It went with me to St. Louis, then to Oklahoma City, and finally to San Antonio.

On 15 June 2005 I sold the car to a Kaiser collector in Waco, Texas exactly 50 years to the day that I bought it. It did, however, spend the majority of it's life in Haigler, and I suspect many who remember Dorothy will remember her driving it around town for a number of years.

The attached picture was taken while it was in St. Louis - a year after it's restoration.
Kent
San Antonio, TX USA


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