Top 9 Cars To Turn Into Hot Rods: #8 Kaiser Henry J

Following up our countdown of the Top 9 Cars To Turn Into Hot Rod’s number 9 is the Kaiser Henry J at number 8. The Henry J was dreamt up on the same platform as the Ford Model T, increase sales with an affordable lower end car. Henry J. Kaiser, the car’s namesake, is quoted saying he built it for “less affluent buyers who could only afford a used car.”

But how does that make the Henry J a great car to build into a hot rod? Easy, low priced car means there are a lot of them. Low priced car means the materials used were thin and light. Additionally, they came with small motors designed for mileage, not power. That may seem counter intuitive but what ended up happening was a motor swap. A lot of them. Low budget racers and hot rodders could toss the small 4- or 6-cylinder and drop in an Oldsmobile V8 or even a Hemi fairly easily.

Left: Johnson Brothers’ 1951 Henry J “Quick Charge”, a purpose built gasser racecar with a Dodge 426 Max Wedge. Right: A blown and HEMI powered Henry J owned by Ted Dzus of Dzus Fasteners.


The Henry J was not a high profile hot rod back in its day. Being a cheap car mean it didn’t have the glamor of exclusivity. It was the everyday man’s hot rod, and an absurdly large amount of them were built, tuned and rodded out. There were however, a few famous ones.

Possibly the most famous is George Striegel’s Henry Honker. Striegel was the owner of Clay Smith Cams, who would later use create the iconic Mr. Horsepower woodpecker with a cigar. Later adds by the company used an artist’s rendering of a Henry J in conjunction with the logo.

mrhorsepower

Clay Smith Cams sign featuring Mr. Horsepower and an artist’s rendition of a Henry J racer.

The Henry J is an extremely recognizable hot rod for those who were out hot rodding cars themselves in those days. Not many have last through the years but many still hold fond memories of them. Stay tuned for the next installment on our countdown, you wont expect what we chose for number 7.

About the author

Jake Headlee

Jake's passion started at a young age wrenching on cars with his Dad. Obtaining that glorious driver's license sparked his obsession with grease and horsepower, and the rest is history. Soon, he was a general mechanic and suspension specialist, and currently designs and modifies products for the off-road industry. Jake enjoys rock crawling, desert racing and trail running, and writing in his spare time.
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