# 414 of 435 made between January and August 1954
Benefitting from a full frame-off restoration
Sliding doors into the cowl and front fender
Full Fiberglass body
161/91 HP F-head Willys 6-cylinder engine
3-speed manual transmission with overdrive
Satin Yellow exterior
Satin Yellow 3-position convertible top with chrome Landau Bars
with color matched satin Yellow Side Curtains
Satin Pincrush Bucket Seat vinyl interior
Full Instrumentation with hooded gauges and optional tachometer
Optional heater
Large teardrop taillights
Correct Kaiser-Darrin badged wire wheel covers
15" Wide Whitewall tires
Coming to us from a prominent private collection, this well-restored "Darrin" is powered by the durable Willys In-Line 6-Cyinder 161 mated to a three speed manual transmission equipped with optional overdrive ideal for highway extended cruising, has full instrumentation with optional tachometer and hooded gauges for clear viewing while motoring in top down sun-filled weather. Satin Yellow color scheme carries through from the fiberglass body to the bucket seat equipped interior and the Landau Bar convertible top and matching side-curtains. A late production car, number 414 of 435 Kaiser-Darrins produced. Used sparingly an now showing very little wear
The 1954 Kaiser Darrin 161 was an immediate competitor to Chevrolet’s new Corvette of 1953. The Darrin was a fiberglass-bodied two-door convertible designed by Howard “Dutch” Darrin, and it rode on the contemporary, compact cross center chassis of the Kaiser Henry J.
Quietly developed without even Henry Kaisers knowledge the Darrin had been unveiled at the LosAngeles Motorama two months before the introduction of the Chevrolet Corvette. The beautifully proportioned two-seater also had tapering rear fenders and large teardrop taillights that smoothly blended with its lines. The doors did not open outwards, but rather slid forward into the cowl and front fender bodywork. A innovative new convenient and stylish feature, especially useful in a tight parking spot. The later BMW Z-1 offered a similar disappearing door opening feature.
The Kaiser Darrin was powered by a reliable but unusually designed Willys F-Head engine in which the intake valve was located overhead of the piston, but the exhaust valve remained in the engine block as in a flathead design. The six-cylinder engine displaced 161 cubic inches and delivered 90 hp. A 3-speed manual transmission was standard, but an optional overdrive or automatic transmission could be ordered as well.
Kaiser Built a total of 435 cars, production experienced delays ultimately delivery cars to customers in the 1954 auto year, made between January and August of 1954. Production was halted due to poor sales and increasing inventory. Over the next year, Howard Darrin bought up all the remaining Darrins at the factory, including 50 that had been damaged by snow, and sold them at his own dealership in California through 1957.
