Our modern world has already brought the opportunity for ordering a car via the Internet, but that is not necessarily a concept that is a new. Sears, the department store powerhouse whose catalog arguably was Amazon before Amazon, used to sell cars too—its own brand, no less. One of these cars just sold at the Barrett-Jackson 2024 Scottsdale Fall Auction.
Allstate was sold by Sears for 1952-53, and then disappeared without a trace. Built in conjunction with Kaiser-Frazer, Allstate was basically a badge-engineered version of Kaiser’s Henry J. Four- and six-cylinder versions were available, all featuring styling and interior tweaks to differentiate them from the Henry J aside of the Allstate using Sears/Allstate-branded components like spark plugs, tires, and batteries.
Around 2,000 Allstates were sold in total, as Kaiser-Frazer’s contract with Sears stipulated 1,000 cars per year as part of a test-market. This one that showed up at the Barrett-Jackson 2024 Scottsdale Fall Auction was originally a 134ci Continental four-powered ’53 model that has undergone a transformation. Larry Barker, president of the Kaiser-Frazer Owner’s Club International (a club his parents founded), knows the history of this particular vehicle because he previously owned it.
This Allstate was sold new in Phoenix, a hub for Kaiser-Frazer’s operation as it owned a factory in Mexico City. It also holds the distinction of being the final Allstate built per the sequence number on the VIN. Larry picked up the Allstate in 2005, restored it (approximately $13,000 invested), and sold it to a gentleman in Glendale, a Phoenix suburb, for $7,500.
Due to circumstances that may boggle your mind, the owner then removed the body and placed it on a Toyota pickup chassis, dropped in a Ford Coyote V8, and changed the interior. It was later sold to a new owner in Arkansas, who happened to invest another $14,000 in it. Coincidentally, it found its way back to Arizona, upon which a broker purchased it and brought it to Barrett-Jackson. Larry estimates this Allstate has had $40,000 invested since he’s owned it.
With 17-inch wheels and other mods, this Allstate bears little resemblance to practical vehicle available through Sears in the 1950s—not unlike the company itself.
