A Crosley For Street & Strip

bob w · Jan 10, 2008

About 6 years ago I built a fiberglass bodied Fiat for street and strip. After driving it I found I could hardly see out of it and it made me nervous to change lanes, etc. At the strip, the NHRA tech guys didn't want to let me run. I had all the required safety stuff. The problem was I had to get in and out through the roof (no doors!). As a result,they clsssified it as an Altered. Meeting the NHRA rulebook for Altereds was not going to work. So, I searched for a different body to put on my chassis. As luck would have it, I found this almost perfect Crosley wagon body in a central Minnesota junkyard where it sat for 25 years. In December, 2006 pried the body out of the frozen ground and trucked it home. I started the body swap May last year.
Gotta go get parts for the current project now, so I'll continue this story later.

Gastrick · Jan 10, 2008

I'm glad you posted this one Bob. I saw the small picture that you posted in another thread and wanted to see more.

Tripper · Jan 10, 2008

Awesome!!!

bob w said:
Gotta go get parts for the current project now, so I'll continue this story later.

Bob,
Awesome... can't wait!!!

BoB

bob w · Jan 10, 2008

A local Crosley guy sold a pair of doors to me cheap. I made sheet metal pieces to replace the parts of the front fender and cowl That were missing. Also made new door sills and rocker panels. The roof was caved in but I managed to move it back where it belonged with a dolly and slap hammer.

Tripper · Jan 10, 2008

Local Crosley guy!?

Bob,
Nice body work & a local Crosley guy... that's a good one!!!

BoB

bob w · Jan 10, 2008

I'm lucky to have a local Crosley guy. I called him for a top rear tailgate but he was out of stock. Darn it.
Here's the body after it I gutted it. It had rubber, glass, leaves, compost, animal skeletons, etc. in it. About a hundred pounds of crap. The most difficult part was making a drivers door post and getting the hinge mounts located so the door would fit the opening. At this point it was about ready to trial fit on the chassis.

bob w · Jan 10, 2008

Since my Crosley guy was out of upper tailgates, I made one. I snuck into my friend's welding shop and bent up the sheet metal. It has a 3/4" angle iron framework. Then he graciously showed my how to use his Pullmax. So I was able to make the window opening bead.

24dodge · Jan 10, 2008

Another cool build , looking forward to the rest of the story...`24

bob w · Jan 10, 2008

Here's the chassis. 95" wheelbase, 1-1/2'X3" rectangular tubing with a 12 point roll cage. Narrowed Magnum front axle, Willwood brakes, Aldan coilovers. 9" Currie rear end with 3.70 posi. Coilover springs but not coilover shocks in back. Home made 4 bar suspension front and rear. Geo rack & pinion steering.
It has a very low compression 406 sbc with a 350TH with trans brake. Dart heads, MSD ignition, Comp Cam, Air Gap manifold with a 3310 Holley. There's really nothing special, but it wasn't a thrifty build like everything else I've done.
In order to fit the Crosley body I modified the roll cage and firewall. Had to relocate the fuel cell and extend the frame in the rear to pick up some body mounts. I had surprising good luck in how easy the Crosley fit a chassis designed for a fiberglass Fiat body. I guess since both are very small cars thay had a lot of dimensions in common.
In this picture the roll cage is done but the mods to the rear for the frame are not.

bob w · Jan 10, 2008

The body fit quite nicely. The width at the roll bar was just right. Of course, the front wheels were quite a bit forward of where the Crosley wheels would be. But, I thought the proportions were good. I put 26.5" slicks on the rear and they were inside the body line, which I liked. Unfortunately, the oil pan and trans pan were less that 3" above the ground. NHRA wants at least 3". Something had to change.

bob w · Jan 11, 2008

The larger slicks stick out a bit but I'm happy with the look. I welded 3/8 rod around the new wheel openings and duraglassed them in. Removed most of the old paint with 3M paint stripping discs and spray bombed a coat of primer on.

bob w · Jan 11, 2008

The interior sheetmetal is steel, all hand formed. My co-pilot is Willie, the arrogant poodle.

bob w · Jan 11, 2008

Kathy Weeks did the lettering. It is a tribute to my grandfather. I spent 10 summers on the farm and learned a great deal from him. Learned to hate turkeys though. Even though I think the front of a Crosley is kinda ugly, I wanted the car to retain it's original identity. The hood is an eBay item from an antique shop in Last Chance Gulch, Montanna. This spring I'll try to reposition the front tin for a better appearance. It looks better in person than it does in the pic.

Bonehead · Jan 11, 2008

I think it looks great, thanks for the thread!

bob w · Jan 11, 2008

In Ausust we hooked the tow bar to her (same as I did in the 60's) and hopped in the S-10 and went to the Minn. Street Rod Assn. Super Secret Fun Run at Brainerd Intl. Raceway. The Crosley passed tech. and I got in the staging lanes. Then, it started to mist. The mist turned to drizzle, the drizzle to rain. We sat for hours, visiting with old friends and talking to passersby about the goofy little car. The picture shows two of my grandsons, Zach and Justin after they had removed the slicks and put the towing wheels on. I picked up a rotating assembly with 12.5 pistons off Craig's list, so next spring the engine (currently 8.25-1 compression ratio) should have more power. That should more than make up for the extra weight of the Crosley body compared to the Fiat body.

HotRodMike · Jan 11, 2008

Wow! What an awesome Crosley. Nice job, it looks great. One of our Tampa Poor Boys is currently buildng one too. Wild, wacky looking cars. Congrats on a cool build, Mike

bob w · Jan 11, 2008

HotRodMike,
Thanks for the kind remarks. I expect to have a lot of fun at nostalgia drags in the area this coming summer, including the drags in Joplin, Mo. sponsored by that "other" hot rod site. Sorry to hear about the deadly accident one of your members had and the other sad event too.
Bob

Tripper · Jan 11, 2008

Really nice!!!

bob w said:
The picture shows two of my grandsons, Zach and Justin after they had removed the slicks and put the towing wheels on.

Bob,
Very kool ride & it's always good to have extra help doin' the do!!! Thanks for postin'... hopefully I'll have my Crosley altered done by years end!!!

BoB

bob w · Jan 11, 2008

Tripper,
Take pics as you build so we all can enjoy your project (without getting dirty, cut, burned, etc.).
Bob

Gastrick · Jan 11, 2008

That turned out really cool Bob W. I like it! Are those "Rocket" wheels that you have your slicks mounted on?

A Crosley For Street & Strip

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