- Messages
- 54,308
Thinking about a 1947 Crosley but thank God the guy sold it---I think.
I just saw one of these at an old service-station-turned-repair-shop on the west side of Bay City:
The mechanic had a Mercury S55 convertible on the lift, a vintage pedal car and a set of fresh Small Block Chevy heads in the office.
He said the Dodge is about to go up for sale after the owner decides if she wants to fix the leaky radiator. He said it was solid underneath with no apparent bondo. I’m going to drop off my card next week.
A ‘51 Dodge wasn’t my first choice, but it is hard not to love them when they’re right there in front of you. And it has plenty of room for kids and luggage.
My best friend grew up driving Crosleys -- her dad had four or five of them scattered around the yard, and he made one of them into a kiddie kar for her to drive when she was about seven. There wasn't a whole lot to them mechanically, which is why they sold so cheap -- sort of like an American answer to the Volkswagen -- but if a seven year old could drive one without problems, they must be equally simple to run. The engine, from the remnants I've seen around her yard, is supposed to look like that.
I work with a guy that has a collection of them, including a Crosley fire truck.
We had a guy in town who drove a Crosley when I was a kid. I used to look into it and wonder if it was a chain drive. He was the only guy around that Volkswagen owners used to make fun of.
Oh geez, the Crosley is still available but the engine looks like this:
View attachment 284
I can't see the car being worth more than a grand in its current state and he wants nearly twice as much. :eusa_doh:
Anyone know anything about these dimunitive automobiles? [huh]
Coincidentally, that's the whole reason it was at the shop where I spotted it to begin with - the mechanic had just re-done the brakes.
Are they still the old Lockheed-type non-self-energizing, or had MoPar gotten away from that by then?
Thanks for the tip on the compression check, Stanley! I knew about the 6V positive ground and the whacky wheel studs, thankfully.
Ahoy James,
That one there looks like it must be one of their special "high performance" models. It would be best to check and see if it has the special racing cams!
High performance? I doubt it being a whole 44 ci with 26.5 whole horsepower. You could of course, rebuild it and spend a fortune to get them to be twice that but we are talking 4-5 grand in parts and reworking.
Regular Crosley engine:
View attachment 285
High performance engine:
View attachment 286
that dual carb intake is kinda neat.
James,
That was me doing a test of the "Emergency Leg Pull System." This was only a test... Sorry I should have put a at the end.
Oh, I knew you were pulling my leg. I was playing along. It was funny. A high performance engine with 26 horsepower is hilarious. :rofl:
That dual carb setup would be high performance though. They used high performance editions of this engine on PT boats believe it or not.
It is indeed but far too much money to put into that.