Vintage Car Thread - Discussion and Parts Requests

[jamespowers]

Thinking about a 1947 Crosley but thank God the guy sold it---I think.

 

[Stanley Doble]

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.

One of the best built most reliable cars of its time. 2 things that surprise new owners: left hand threads on the left side wheel bolts and positive ground 6 volt battery.

Do a compression test before you buy , or have one done. Factory specs call for 120PSI in all cylinders. The car will continue to run smoothly in an advanced state of wear. If all cylinders are above 100 it's a good motor, if any are in the 80s or lower, plan on an overhaul no matter how nice it runs.

This is not a big deal as the engine is very simple, easy to get at, easy to fix, and all parts are available. If the oil pressure is good you can probably do a ring and valve job without taking the engine out of the car.

 

[David Conwill]

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.

 

[jamespowers]

Oh geez, the Crosley is still available but the engine looks like this:


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]

 

[LizzieMaine]

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.

 

[jamespowers]

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.

Yes, from what I gathered from my mechanic, the danged thing would cost me about $2,800 to rebuild and then you have the radiator to find at about $40, the missing passenger seat at considerably more, and a host of other missing parts and we are talking real money. That ain't a kid car anymore. It is probably too danged small for me anyway. When I weight more than the engine AND transmission there might be a problem. lol lol

 

[Gregg Axley]

I work with a guy that has a collection of them, including a Crosley fire truck.

 

[jamespowers]

I work with a guy that has a collection of them, including a Crosley fire truck.

That must be one small fire truck.

 

[LizzieMaine]

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. It would drive up and you'd expect twenty clowns to jump out of it. (and on and on the jokes went...)

 

[jamespowers]

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.

:rofl:

 

[Auld Edwardian]

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]

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!

 

[Stanley Doble]

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.

They used a double leading shoe setup on the front, with dual wheel cylinders. Conventional on the back. State of the art for their time, but more complicated than competitors' brakes. Very efficient if installed and adjusted properly which they seldom are. The shoes should be arched to fit the drums and the shoes aligned to the drums (called a major adjustment). Once this is done they are simple to maintain (minor adjustment to take up wear from time to time).

 

[jamespowers]

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:


High performance engine:

 

[Carl Miller]

that dual carb intake is kinda neat.

 

[Auld Edwardian]

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

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.

 

[jamespowers]

that dual carb intake is kinda neat.

It is indeed but far too much money to put into that.

 

[jamespowers]

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.

 

[Auld Edwardian]

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.

In PT boats? Really? I knew they used Packard V 16's, but a 4 banger? PT's with these in them must have been used to attack heavily armed Japanese sampans!

 

[Carl Miller]

It is indeed but far too much money to put into that.

You should see the going rate for an OKRASA aircooled VW engine. All for 40 HP

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Sometimes it is neat to see the engines most people would consider garbage be souped up. I've seen some neat Chevy inline sixes about.