A Crosley For Street & Strip

[rab71]

I think the front end looks great! It gives it that old drag car look back when they used to "race what ya' bring" sort of thing. I for one am impressed.

 

[bob w]

Gastrick,
The rear wheels with the M/T slicks are Keystone Klassics, 15" by 10". I'd like to find a narrow pair for the front. The Weld Rodlites on the front in some pics were what I put on the car when it was a Fiat. The huge Hoosiers on Weld Rodlites seen in the chassis pic were on it then too. The steel wheels with the screw-on Moon discs are from another car in the back garage. They are taller and get my oil and trans pan high enough to pass tech.

 

[donsrods]

Hey, that dog should have a crash helmet on!! PETA will be all over you.

Your Crosley is TERRIFIC ! I love the whole car, especially the door art. What a cool altered you have recreated.

Don

 

[Tripper]

Cut city!!!

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

Bob,
Believe me... I definitely have the gettin' cut, abrased, burned, bruised & assorted emergency room visitations down pat! I always take lots of pictures & have to knock out my PU B4 startin' but am excited about cruisin' my Crosley wheelie machine!!! ; - >

BoB

 

[maddog]

Great story, great car.

I bet the next chapter is gonna be good too.

 

[22dodge]

Nice Project.....

That's a great little wagon, really like the way it has turned out.
Glad you were able to adapt everything, I look forward to seeing more !! '22

 

[24dodge]

Are you planning on putting a hood on ? maybe someone could photoshop what one would look like , looks great like it is , I`m just curious what it would look like.

 

[bob w]

24 dodge,
There's a Crosley wagon around here with a '35 Chevy radiator shell and a hood and it looks really good. It is done in a surf wagon motif (in Minnesota?). I actually distroyed a very nice hood to make the top of the nose piece you see. Fretted over it a long time. Maybe I'll make a posterboard hood and see how it looks. Oh, by the way, the hokey scoop goes away. I can do better.

To you two Dodge boys; I'm currently working on a '25 Dodge 5 window coupe. I've named it "Big Dodge" since it is 7 feet long from the firewall to the rear axle centerline. It's proving very hard to get decent proportions on it. I also built a '27 Chrysler 2 door tub out of a 4 door sedan a few years ago. That was before I got a digital camera so I can't show construction pics. Might have to get a scanner. Thanks for your interest, suggestions and compliments. It is much appreciated.
Bob

 

[ratty 46]

Fantastic job.......keep us posted on the updates, progress & time trials......if you tired of the drag strip it looks as if you could set it up for Bonneville without to much effort.

Ratty 46

 

[shizzy]

awsome looking ride. I actually think those Keystone classics look good. Must be the gold paint.

I have seen that Surf themed Crosley a couple of times. its kinda neat even though I dont really like "theme" cars all that much.

 

[bob w]

ratty 46,
I'd have to see the Wizard of Oz and get more courage before I'd run it at Bonneville! With the Fiat body on it I only ran 1/8 mile. Best was 7.52 @ 94mph. I would idle at the starting line and just floor it on the last yellow. Went perfectly straight, but I prefer to go quicker in small steps. The rashness of youth has long since been replaced by the caution of old age. Darn it!
Bob

 

[bob w]

Here's the Fiat body that came off the Crosley chassis. It's so wild it has to be fenced in! The hood & grill are stuffed in the rafters of the back garage. Why do I keep seeing it on a new frame with a 292 Chevy inline 6 with a bunch of carbs running as a nostalgia altered? It's a sickness I tell ya.

Shizzy - we're practically neighbors. The Keystones are from a swap meet at the Blacksmith Lounge. Bet you've been there.

 

[24dodge]

Bob what do you think this grill would look like on the crosley , with a cyclops headlight were the emblem is............

 

[bob w]

24dodge,
Is that the one on eBay? I tried to find it but didn't know how to look up by item number. I don't know about on the Crosley, but I like it. Might have to get in on the bidding. I'm pretty committed to keeping the front looking like a Crosley. Someone on RRR suggested a full hood. After the snow melts and I can get it out of the back garage I'm going to make a posterboard hood and see what that looks like. Thank's for the idea though.
Bob

 

[24dodge]

yup , just type in that number in the box at the top left on the start page

 

[bob w]

I thought some of you guys would like to see what the Crosley looked like when it was a Fiat. I just got a scanner and this is the first photograph that I've scanned, so I thought I'd post it. The pic was taken in 2006 at Brainerd at the Minnesota Street Rod Assn. "Super Secret Fun Run". The tech guys let me run 1/8 mile but told me not to bring it for a regular program cuz I wouldn't pass tech. That's why the Crosley body now resides on the chassis.

 

[maddog]

I allways wondered what a Crosley that used to be a Fiat looked like. It looks just like a chopped top fiat!! I like it.

Nice scanner job. I need to get one of those.

 

[Gastrick]

It looks good as a Topo too. Did you weigh the car before and after the body swap? I need to get me one of those scanners.

 

[bob w]

Gastrick, No, I never weighed it as a Fiat. It weighs 2,200 as a Crosley. I figure the Fiat was about 150 lbs. lighter. Gotta add some horsepower to offset the extra weight. If I decide to make it drag only, I can take about 150 to 200 lbs out of it.
I got a free scanner (they're about $90 new) but the install software was too old for my computer. Fortunately, my son was able to download HP software for Windows XP and I was in business. Now, I've got to get DSL because dialup is painfully slow putting pics in Photobucket.

 

[bob w]

I dragged the Crosley out of the back garage and started working on it. A year ago I had the machine work done on a high compression 406 to replace the very low compression 406 that is in the car. Never got around to putting it together. Well, this fall/winter the Crosley is getting a bit of a makeover to make it more drag race oriented. It won't be street driven anymore.
The pic shows the home made four link which I changed from parallel to an angle that puts the instant center at the front axle. Also the front mounts were beefed up from single shear to double shear.
Other work so far includes removing the full size aluminum street rod radiator and replacing it with a lighter Geo radiator and electric fan. The 14 gallon fuel cell was discarded in favor of a 3 gallon unit.
On the "to do" list is a yellow paint job. Probably Rustoleum, probably brush painted.