CC Outtake: All State the Obvious: That Snow Henry J

Southeastern Washington State has had an unusually severe few weeks as of late with multiple heavy snowstorms. My brother, Terry sent me these three recent photos, taken in the area of Walla Walla by him and his grandson, Dante, with the query, “What is it?”

Definitely a ’51-’54 Kaiser, but hard to tell for sure which variant of their compact Henry J it might be, as Mother Nature has playfully covered indicators like a trunk lid–or lack of it, chrome rear window molding–or lack of it, and whatever badge might reside on its rump.

 

Look around front, and things start to clear up. The separated badge under the grille peak, if original, identifies this one as an Allstate, sold by Sears Roebuck.

From the front, the grille bars that end at the (missing) edge moldings on the fenders confirm that this Kaiser was probably sold through your local Sears department store. That is, if you lived considerably south of Washington State, as Allstates weren’t sold in northern climes.

For more on the Allstate, see this post by Nigel Tate.