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2023 Toyota Venza: Making the Right MovesCool Car Find: 1954 Kaiser Darrin 161
This Kaiser Darrin 161 is beautifully maintained and among only a handful of the American sports car made in a single year.
A Storied, But Short, History
If you’re struggling to recall the name Kaiser Motors, it’s no surprise as the now defunct car company was only around from 1945-1953. American industrialist Henry J. Kaiser made his fortune constructing roads and buildings before moving into shipbuilding and eventually into the automobile industry.
The switch from sea to land transportation was just another one of Kaiser’s forward-thinking moves, anticipating post World War II needs and seeking to produce a car that was compact, lightweight, and affordable for the average working man. Kaiser motors produced several sedans including the Frazer, Kaiser, and Henry J, before trying their hand at a sports car.
Today’s cool car find is a 1954 Kaiser Darrin 161 and is one of only a handful produced in a single year. Let’s take a look at what makes this American sports car so special.
Playing European Catch Up
In the years following World War II, Detroit automakers realized the value of adding a sports car to their regular line-up. There was an ever-increasing number of European imports gaining popularity like the Volvo 1900, Jaguar XK120, Nash-Healey, and Triumph TR2, but American automakers lacked the time and resources to develop sufficient competitors from scratch.
Ford and GM had already begun to develop their own sports cars – among those being the Ford Thunderbird and the Chevrolet Corvette. Style trumped performance on these new automobiles as the number one goal was to boost showroom traffic.
“The Sports Car Everyone Has Been Waiting For”
In the years after the war, a man named Howard “Dutch” Darrin was heading up the design studio at Kaiser Motors. Darrin, who is also attributed with the design of some of the most attractive Packard models throughout the 1930s and 40s, had a shaky history with Kaiser Motors—cutting ties twice due to differing design opinions and known for his tendency to be temperamental and cantankerous in his professional dealings.
Despite the severed relationship, Darrin took it upon himself to design a sports car for Kaiser Motors based on the chassis of the compact Henry J. saloon that had been introduced in 1950. He made a mock-up out of clay and commissioned Bill Tritt to make a running prototype which he then presented to the Kaiser big shots who rejected his offer. Darrin didn’t give up, though. He secured another meeting in which Henry Kaiser himself handed him the rejection saying that his company existed to make family cars, not sports cars.
Darrin was so confident in the potential of his car that he determined that if Kaiser couldn’t help him, he would take matters into his own hands. He didn’t have to go to the trouble, though, as Henry Kaiser’s younger wife—who was also in the meeting—persuaded her husband that his company should produce Darrin’s convertible. Kaiser relented and the rest is history with the first Kaiser Darrin prototype.
The Kaiser Darrin debuted at the Los Angeles Motorama in September 1952. The introduction of the Kaiser Darrin was met with great enthusiasm from the media, with its sporty design being seen as “The sports car everyone has been waiting for.”
Beautifully Innovative
The Kaiser Darrin was the second (behind the 1953 Corvette) American car equipped with a fiberglass body. Fiberglass was a more durable material than aluminum as it did not corrode or rot, was lightweight, and more pliable than steel to mold into shape.
The Darrin also had doors that slid on tracks into the front fender wells instead of being hinged to open outward. Howard “Dutch” Darrin was not a fan of conventional car doors, so he patented the idea of a sliding car door in 1946. To simplify production, side windows were not built into the door assembly.
The Darrin was powered by Kaiser’s Hurricane F-head 3.7-litre in-line six which output only 90bhp and paired with a standard 3-speed manual transmission with an optional overdrive or automatic transmission. Other available options included power steering, power brakes, seat belts, air conditioning, a heater, wire wheels, whitewall tires, and tinted glass. With an engine that couldn’t quite make it to 100 mph, the Kaiser Darrin was more of a cruiser than a genuine sports car, but it eloquently balanced affordability, driver enjoyment, and usability.
Only 435 production cars were made between January and August of 1954, production ceased due to poor sales and increasing inventory. Over the next year Howard “Dutch” Darrin bought up the remaining Darrins, including 50 that had been damaged in a snowstorm, and sold them from his Hollywood, California showroom. The power of the roadster was increased through the addition of superchargers and multiple carburetors to its original engines, resulting in better performance than the original.
Our Cool Car Find Example
Today’s Cool Car find, a 1954 Kaiser Darrin 161, is number 22 of 435 ever produced. It’s not only a rare classic, but it has been well cared for and is in pristine condition, ready to turn heads at the cruise and car shows.
This Darrin is powered by its original 161ci Hurricane Inline 6-cylinder F-Head engine numbering (3495010) and with factory Carter YF carburetion producing an approximate 90 horsepower, and 3-speed overdrive manual transmission. Other features include BF Goodrich Silvertown 5.90-15 wide whitewall tires, wire spoke wheels, side turn signals, full dash instrumentation, an engine oil filtration system, Plexiglas windscreens, front and rear bumper guards, and fitted side curtains.
The fiberglass body is finished in a combination of factory code correct (153) Champagne White over factory code correct (7200) Scarlet Pincrush vinyl upholstery with a tan convertible top. We also can’t overlook those cool singular sliding doors that open and close from the wheel arches along the side of the vehicle, which is an inventive idea. for sure that will make this rare beauty a fine addition to anyone’s classic car collection.
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