Back in about1960 when I was 12, i am 74 now, my dad who was a mechanic found a 1950 Crosley station wagon that did not run, the engine and parts were stuffed in the back seat. I learned to be a mechanic on this. we rebuilt the engine, brakes, new paint job, you name it we fixed it. Lots of memories and fun. I have a few pictures if anyone is interested.
Thanks for posting! Powell Crosley really pushed the envelope on automotive engineering with OHC Engines and Disk Brakes. And, of course, an AM Radio was standard equipment since the company manufactured those too. Radios in cars were an optional luxury on many cars in the 40's and 50's.
No, AM radios were NOT standard equipment on ANY Crosley automobiles. Fact is Crosley did manufacture radios for automobiles prior to developing vehicles himself, however ALL Crosley automobiles that came with OPTIONAL AM radio (rare) were equipped with a radio that was manufactured by another manufacturer (ie; Zenith, Motorola). Crosley did not manufacture radios for his own vehicles.
In 1958 I was 14 years old and traded a calf for a 1949 Crosley station wagon. I removed the body and built a wooden roadster pick up body on it. It would turn 52 mph in 22 seconds at the drags. According to my MOTORS MANUAL it had 26 hp and the Hot Shot model had 26 1/2 hp. Possibly compression ratio??? It also had cable operated drum brakes but only on 3 wheels. Don't know what happened to the other wheel. But I was 14, didn't need no stinkin brakes. ---------- believe me --- good old days.
Not after market, the COBRA engines was replaced by the cast iron CIBA (cast iron block) in 1950, and those were such sturdy, high revving engines, they stayed in production long after Crosley stopped building cars for nautical and racing purposes.
I’m going to try and make that a part of the episode moving forward =) I have a couple cars in pipeline that I haven’t done that with but moving forward =)
@@What.its.like. I watch the Jay Leno's Garage RU-vid channel and I love it when they show us what the car horn sounds like. It's a thing not a lot of car enthusiasts pay attention to because it seems like one thing people would be likely to forget to fix when they're restoring a car. Thanks for the reply and have a nice day. Cheers buddy! :)
Powell Crosley was the "My Pillow" of marketing in the early days of radio. He made a fortune in radio. If you look at your video, go to 1:41 and see the photo of the one tube radio with Powell and the stuffed dog next to him wearing headphones. That radio was called the Crosley "Pup" one tube radio, and it made him a fortune. It was an affordable radio for the masses just as Ford's Model "T" made owning a car affordable. Unfortunately, his cars were not very good! RW Cheers!
Who is very innovative tho, the stamped steel engine was an outside the box idea saw those engines were good for 60,000 miles if well maintained.. it was a good idea just like concrete ships just not the best idea for longitivity
Interesting engine. Two quarts of oil and one gallon of coolant. The gas tank filler neck is strange. I'm thinking the extra height of that might add up to holding a half gallon of gas. The radio dial tuning numbers run opposite of what is normal. This is a signifigant car not only due to engineering but back then American cars pretty much just came in one size, while Crosley's offered sub-compacts prior to the main stream compacts that came out in 1960.
The gas filler on this particular car is a bit higher than would have been originally. There is a rubber connecting hose between the steel fill tube and the original steel gas tank, during restorations of these cars, often a piece of this tubing that is too long is used or the fill tube is not pressed down into the rubber tube far enough. Also original gas tanks for these cars in good useable condition are quite difficult to find so reproduction tanks are very often used and the entry spout may not be exactly as was or should be on correct original tank for this car.
Great job! Love the off beat vehicles. When I was in 1st grade in 1961. Our next door neighbor always had 4 or 5 Crosleys in his yard in various stages of disrepair! He loved them. They grew on me as well. Would love a pick up. Thanks again. jj
WOW! This reminds me of a CROSLEY station wagon, with a folding roof, my buddy RILEY BOX had mid-1950's... Somehow, this tiny car would hold a half-dozen of us and would 'roar off' to a hazardous top speed of 42 mph...
Crosby were one of the more interesting American car brands. This is a definite pre-cursor to the cheaper models of British sports car that came to be marketed in the fifties and sixties. It even reminds me of an Austin Healy Bug Eyed Sprite.
Mid-1950's I had a buddy - Riley Box - who had a Crosley similar to the cloth top Lois Lane drove. It was SO tiny he could barely fit in the seat..with 2-3 other people it did little but crawl down the road.
One of my favorite "What Its Like" videos. I remember reading about these cars in Popular Mechanics magazine in my youth, never saw one in person. Always wondered about the sheet-metal engine. Thanks for posting this!
Thank you so much it really means a lot this is one of my favorite episodes as well.. we love the orphan cars on here.. this is the new home for orphan cars =)
It would be a great car to have now want to hit American bantam some point as well they were same concept a little sooner produced in butler Pennsylvania American bantam was the company that gets credit for the first Jeep lots over lapping stories..
First time I listen to your show video in 5 minutes in I just love it it just just you just sound so interesting and your platform of your show just sounds absolutely great first time I ever subscribed and liked 5 minutes in to a platform keep going buddy I love it
Good job! Crosleys were unique. Now, go find and research one of my favorite little cars: the King Midget. Truly fascinating! You're developing a style like Tom McCahill from Mechanix Illustrated. He measured the size of a car's luggage compartment by how many dogs he could fit or how many camping tents he could get in. Your glove box test reminds me of Tom's road tests.
The original engines were "furnace brazed". Anti-freeze didn't cause the original engines to rot from the inside out. It would have been caused by electrolysis and/or not changing the anti-freeze when it should have been. This plagues even engines today. Anti-freeze becomes acidic over time. Powell Crosley introduced the first car radio. He also introduced a one-tube home radio. Crosley products were sold on price, but their electronic products were very well built. The Crosley we see today is both sold for price but really cheap quality. Of their modern products, the only thing I can think of is their miniature bubbler CD-player with FM-stereo jukeboxes, maybe because the Wurlitzer name was on the original ones and it was a miniature copy of the Wurlitzer 1015.
Thank you so much for those corrections I really appreciate it and the added information =) Super underrated car company as well as the man behind it Powell Crosley should be a household name like Henry Ford what’s the whatever reason history doesn’t remember him as such
NEVER USE TAP WATER OR WELL WATER IN "TIN BLOCK" ENGINES **************USE DISTILLED WATER ONLY**************** These "tin engines" were used extensively by the U.S. Military in WWII, with never a failure due to pin-hole rust-thru. That was because the field manual for servicing these engines was followed religiously, and it specified DISTILLED WATER ONLY. Why? Because the mineral content in undistilled water caused some sort of electrolysis that substantially shortened the life of this engine design. Use that with a really good antifreeze/rust inhibitor (like Prestone), and change the coolant every year, and your engine should out-last you!
Good job Jay. Interesting video. I was somewhat aware of Crosley but you did some serious research. I remember seeing some when I was very young (in the ‘50’s). Also, we had a Crosley refrigerator apparently made in the ‘50’s that worked into the ‘80’s, until the insulation on the wires literally crumbled off. I should have rewired it. Keep up the good work Jay
There’s honestly so much that I could’ve talked about I left a lot on the cutting room floor so the speaks when we do Crosley again it’s not repeated information Glad you totally dig this episode =)
Thank you so much I’m glad you like this channel I really really try.. I haven’t done a willies anything that really wanna hit that make it least once before year is over =)
There are some really funny ones if you really listen you could tell where I got frustrated I have a speech impediment problem so sometimes speaking is an issue I’m getting better but I’m mostly voiceover because it’s so much easier specially if I write a script and read from the script I can usually get through the whole lot better I’m hoping one day that I could start doing it without the script there are areas where I do it without the script but gives me a greater appreciation for people that can get in front of a huge crowd of people. And just talk without a teleprompter I couldn’t do that
@@What.its.like. Sorry. I didn't know you had a speech impediment. I just thought it was funny from a technical standpoint. You are lucky to have the dub-over mic. I don't have one for my video editing software, so if I am making a video and I want to say something in a sentence, but show a few different pictures, I have to break up my speech and then try to piece the video and sound like I am saying one continual sentence through 2-4 different video clips. That means I have to remember my mood and my tone and carry that through those clips..so if I am talking in a mellow tone, I have to carry that through 3 clips perfectly, so that can take a few filmed attempts to get that to match. These technical issues can be a pain. :D
I use in shot it’s free there is a version with lots of options might buy it… I don’t have a mic yet that’s just me talking into an iPad so much goes into RU-vid video production than most think.. I’m not an audio guy that’s a learning curve I need to tackle.. I did buy a drone haven’t got to use it yet I’ve been so busy lol I took a job at jkgalleria I got everything that I had going on plus this now lol =) before taking the job I didn’t have access to the classic car world now I do and so stoked to see where this road leads
My 49 came with a factory heater and radio. Both were options. And because of this, working heaters and radios are very sawt after and expensive options to buy today.
They are rare here too I’m hoping to do an American bantam this year which was the precursor to Crosley they were made not that far away from me in Butler Pennsylvania
I'm surprised. Despite the Crosley car's small size. That it has plenty of room for a tall person to sit down. Engineers need to build vehicles that everyone can drive. Not impressed about certain small vehicles.
I been waiting for you to do a video on this car, great video. Crosley was the father of the Japanese kei car and the hot shot was basically the precursor to the Austin Healey sprite and what would to modern MG midget which was the same size. My opinion is if Crosley did not make his car I don't think that we would have the mini, yes there were the Austin 7 and Fiat tipolino in the late 20s and into the 30s, but they were not as innovative as the Crosley was ,Crosley also had a had in the farm-o utility vehicles in the mid 50s, if Crosley had better luck with the cobra engine I think that Crosley would still be around today. The cobra engine is really what killed the company.
Thank you so much for all that added information I’m glad to finally do a Crosley for the channel it’s a long time coming I’m looking for an American bantam I really like those they came up before Crosley.. Butler Pennsylvania is it far away from where Im from powered by the same engine that’s in the Austin seven it was essentially an Austin seven that was made in the USA to my understanding There are so many cool quirky cars that I want to do on this channel that often gets overlooked
I think if it came out around the time that the beetle came out, they would’ve had a much better chance of survival. They were just too early to the party. Also too early to the party was Nash Metropolitan
No but I want to there’s a guy that goes to a local car show he has nine of them I’m hoping to run into them this year.. classic auto mall has a few but they aren’t for sale they are kind of behind glass if I ask I might be able to get access.. they are super interesting very underrated company.. =) I’m going to make it a point to try to feature them this year if I could get with the guy that has nine of them I think that would be the best way because I might be able to take some b roll of it going up and down the road and get the ride in the backseat giving everybody the experience of ride/driving these =)
If you have a lot of time to kill I went to the Gilmore auto museum and did a virtual tour of that place that video is about an hour long give or take might be an hour and a half long there is a whole building of Franklin 5,000 sub video virtual tour of Gilmore auto museum ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ovQ468ZCN6I.html
The original corvette wasn’t much faster 0-60 12 seconds the Crosley super sports is almost fast the speed of anything vw even the karman Ghia which came later.. 0-60 32 seconds
QuickSilver Quick Silver Option Anybody know what was involved in the eng modification dept to get the added compression? Was it pistons or milling the block or what? Was there a cam change, did it get a steel crank? What did the set up look like under the hood? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From what I've read: The pistons were 10:1 compression and an alcohol injection was used that was either under carb or part of it. All other parts were standard. Although no horsepower increase was claimed by the factory it is figured that it maybe made the 26 into mid 30's; probably at the same rpm as cam was the same. Seb.
