Kaiser Darrin in a nice location (Page 2): Floyd, thanks for the compliment. It's a very cool car! It's a great car for a beautiful summer day in Wisconsin. Almost 70 years old!!

flutin.foto.guy

Floyd wrote:

Beautiful car. Beautiful Photos. My first time to see one also.
The doors sliding into the fender makes this car even more unique

Floyd, thanks for the compliment. It's a very cool car! It's a great car for a beautiful summer day in Wisconsin. Almost 70 years old!! CHEERS!

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Excellent set of a beautiful auto!

terryMc Loc: Arizona's White Mountains

Mike D. wrote:

No worries, I was just wondering what was under the hood. Thanks.

From an article I found online:

"Construction of the glassfibre bodyshells was outsourced to California-based Glasspar, while power was courtesy of Kaiser's Hurricane F-head 3.7-litre in-line six which was rated at just 90bhp. There was a choice of manual or automatic transmissions, the former with or without overdrive. Pitched against the Nash-Healey Roadster, the Kaiser Darrin was more of a cruiser than a genuine sports car as its 90bhp engine couldn't quite get it to 100mph, but it struck a decent balance between affordability, usability, driver enjoyment and outright pace."

I found two of these at a local car show and photographed them with the hoods open, but didn't have the presence of mind to actually do the engine. Next time...

https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-785187-1.html

terryMc Loc: Arizona's White Mountains

flutin.foto.guy wrote:

Having seen terryMc's UHH post on September 4 of a... (show quote)

These are great!

This is the kind of opportunity I have often wished for: seeing a great car like this in an idyllic setting more fitting to a good photograph. I was a big fan of Arnold Newman and his "environmental portraiture," and I think is how these classic cars should be photographed as well; in a suitable environment. Kim Johnson, also here on Hedgehog, is a master of this type of car picture.

bcheary Loc: Jacksonville, FL

flutin.foto.guy wrote:

Having seen terryMc's UHH post on September 4 of a... (show quote)

Good set.

Mike D. Loc: Crowley County, CO.

Thanks for the info, Terry. Now I know why it didn't quite make it as a sports car.

It's too bad that they were so scarce. If one could find a spare motor, it is not out of the realm of possibility to double or triple the horsepower.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

terryMc Loc: Arizona's White Mountains

Mike D. wrote:

Thanks for the info, Terry. Now I know why it didn't quite make it as a sports car.

It's too bad that they were so scarce. If one could find a spare motor, it is not out of the realm of possibility to double or triple the horsepower.

Well, the Ford Thunderbird had a big Ford OHV V8 and still didn't quite make it as a sports car either, and was turned into a luxury car instead. Kaiser didn't last either, and turned to producing utility vehicles, dropping passenger cars altogether in 1955. Whatever potential the Darrin might have had was pretty much doomed from the start.

Mike D. Loc: Crowley County, CO.

terryMc wrote:

Well, the Ford Thunderbird had a big Ford OHV V8 and still didn't quite make it as a sports car either, and was turned into a luxury car instead. Kaiser didn't last either, and turned to producing utility vehicles, dropping passenger cars altogether in 1955. Whatever potential the Darrin might have had was pretty much doomed from the start.

You know, the De Lorean was another one of those that needed a whole lot more horsepower to pull it off but hey, it made an interesting premise for a movie.