Past Crosley of the Month Winners - Page 5

Powel Crosley, obtained a copy of Mignet's book "Le Sport de l'Air" in 1935. The airplane immediately appealed to Crosley and he ordered his personal pilot, Edward Nirmaier, to build one. With the help of Dan Boedeker and Herb Junkin, Nirmaier began construction on October 1, 1935. Funded by Crosley the plane made it's first test flight a month later.  Powel never intended to sell the Flea, just promote it as a plane for the common man.

This nice 47 Sedan is owned by Deanna Tipton of Ohio. 

Deanna has owned this Crosley since she was a teenager and has maintained it as close to the original state she bought it in as possible.  

Many original features can still be seen on this car, like floor mats and door trim that just don't survive normally.  The window sports an original CCOC window sticker from the 50s.

These pictures were taken at the 2006 Nationals.

"This is my 1949 HotShot. I bought it in 1969 and restored it in 1976.  I painted mine black because everyone else was using red. "

"Just added the wire wheels this summer, they came from a Fiat X1/9 I think."  David Eager - Evansville, IN

When they paved the field where my Hershey space is located a few years ago I needed weights to hold down the front of the canopy.  I picked 4 different style blocks so I can give lectures on the different styles. They get lots of attention and comments, from: "you ruined a rare block" to "that's about all they are good for".  It does deflate the question of how much a block is worth.  By the way they were not destroyed, I just need to put the upper tower shaft bushing back in and clean off the paint from the cylinders and valve area.

1949 Wagon owned by Cliff Read of Ontario Canada.  Cliff writes, "It's a very early '49 (February) because it was produced with mechanical brakes, round gauges ('48 style), and single rear taillight (on a bracket rather than the later molded-in type).

"Although the original car was exceptionally straight and solid, my twin brother, Larry, and I gave it a complete frame-off restoration over a four year period using many NOS parts from the various Crosley suppliers at Wauseon, and the engine has been completely redone by Service Motors including valve seals (no more smoke when starting) and hardened valve seats. We've done all our own body work, fabricating, welding, sand-blasting, and urethane paint (Parliament Green)."

So how do you draw attention to your new Crosley book?  Invite Tom Miller's 1948 Crosley wagon to attend the book signing at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati.  Even a Crosley can be a problem to get into a book store but it can be done. Two of the authors, Mike Banks and Rusty McClure were on hand to sign books. Banks and McClure gave speeches detailing various elements of Crosley’s history. Tom supplied some humorous Crosley anecdotes.

This Icyball and cabinet has been in Jim Dester's family since 30's, when his Father In-Law bought it.  It was used in the UP of Michigan, but is now in Illinois.

The front opening ice box is not very common in Icyball setups, the top loader is what you usually fine, if you find the cabinet at all.

Also check out the custom striping and a very nice engine compartment.

Gary Ellis wanted to relive his wild youth when he had a 51 SS with a Quicksilver engine so he bought Fred Syrdal's Super Sports.  Starting with a nice car with a hot engine, he made a few repairs, hottened up the engine even more with a 7/8 race cam and dual Tillies. 

Not sure if this wagon had a name and I don't know who owned it but I called it Wild Thing back in 1974 when it showed up for the second show we had at Wauseon.  What was really wild was it was completely stock accept for the axle extensions that were added to the stock brake hubs and the big tires.  If the tires look like they are sitting at a bit of an angle it was because of the flex in the ends of the axles.

Otto Binder and his two son showed up late Friday afternoon at the 1997 show.  They had driven two street rods from Alaska.

"The Crosley  was a father son project  we started when Landon was 14, his twin brother's project was  a 34 Terraplane.   They had just turned 16, having received their drivers license, we drove both cars down the Alcan hwy to the lower 48 and were heading to a Good Guys Street Rod meet in Medina Ohio,  when we spotted the Crosley meet and stopped in."

"Landon still has his Crosley,  he drives it daily during the summer months. The Crosley was given to him , it was minus the main mechanicals and interior.  We used the Crosley body and placed it on a very low mileage 90 Ford Escort which had been totaled.  We widened it 20 inches and also stretched it 20 inches to fit the Escort unibody.  The trip in 97 put a little over 10,000 miles on the odometer, and opened the door to many new friendships along the way."

This 4 man powered Crosley was spotted at the 1996 Nationals. They bought this nice Sedan in the flea market.  The seller assured them that it only needed paint and upholstery.  It was a real steal.

Shorty was made by Jim Welther from a basket case wagon, this photo was taken in 1985. The legs are on the pedals on the front wheel and go up and down when you drive.  Jak Phillips owns the car now with a different paint job.