A Far Too Brief History of Crosley Motors
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- Опубликовано: 25 июн 2024
- #crosley
Crosley had a brief 13 year history of making cars, but their story is absolutely fascinating and the entrepreneural brothers touched almost everyone in the early 1900s with their varied products.
From radios to appliances to helping the war effort to finally small cars that could be sold in appliance showrooms, these were early 1900s innovators known world wide!
This is a far too brief history of Crosley!
Start 00:00
Crosley Brothers 01:09
Early Business Life 02:20
Early Business Success 04:18
Phonograph 06:01
Crosley Radio 06:30
Cincinnati Reds 08:23
1930s 09:20
Crosley Cars 10:20
Crosley in WWII 12:02
Crosley CC 13:46
1950s 15:46
Crosley Hotshot 16:27
Crosley Farm-O-Road 17:29
End of Crosley 18:15
Conclusion 19:00
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At 77, I remember my dad in the 1950's - a true odd car collector - he bought a Crosley Wagon Delux. It was red with "woody" trim. He then traded it for two Crosley sedans. One night on our way to a friend's house he spotted that red woody wagon with a for sale sign. We finished the trip to our friends place with TWO Crosleys, mom drove the beige sedan with dad proudly at the wheel of the wagon. We ended up with another grey wagon until one day my dad traded all four cars for two Studebakers. One time he bought all the cars from a funeral home - five 1949 Buicks...
Lol, that's great! If I had the resources, my wife is afraid this is exactly the kind of thing I'd be doing! :)
Crosley is a hero of mine. In the 1990s someone let me into his abandon factory, a couple of Crosley cars were in the basement. I went into his office which still had his AC unit in the window. I took the last unbroken tube from the WLW transmitter on the roof. Good job honoring an amazing man.
Thanks, and that's really cool!
That's pretty cool
are you talking about the factory located on 1329 ARLINGTON STREET?????. tell me the tube number of the one you took. I know who has the output tubes to the 500,000 watt transmitter( 6 foot tall/ water cooled), being that I knew the head electronic engineer for the radio station, this was the same person who designed/ built the "VOICE OF AMERICA RADIO STATION" in MASON OHIO
I've been in his office too! I also climbed up on the roof of the tower. It was pretty sketchy.
In the early 1950s, Dad was a volunteer fireman and the manager of a manufacturing plant in the Malta-McConnellsville area (SE Ohio). The annual Memorial Day celebration in McConnellsville was a major event, and the volunteer fire department always used that as a chance to raise funds. Dad got the idea of building a small firetruck and charging a dime for a ride (think Disneyland Fire trucks, but smaller). So they found a Crosley and converted into a perfect red fire truck, ladders on the side and all. It was the hit of the weekend. Still have a Kodacolor print of Dad sitting in the truck with a fire hat on.
Good video. My brothers' first car was a 1951 Crosley wagon. It was a cool car and easy to work on. When he needed to change the clutch, the two of us picked up the engine and put it on the radiator support. I held the engine while my brother changed the clutch and then we just slipped it back in. One of the common problems with the engine was the cylinders pulling off of the crank case. My brother drove the car for a couple of years while he saved for a 1968 El Camino. Then he sold it with a bunch of spare parts. Good Luck, Rick
Jon: I was born in 1945. My father, who was killed in a train crash in 1950, owned a Crosley. One of the few memories I have of him was driving from Albany to Long Island with him in the Crosley. I remember him barrelling down the Taconic Parkway in it. The floor of the car was just a few inches off the road and you coulod really feel the speed even though by today's standards it was fairly slow. John (Weeks) Stewart
Watching this I knew there would be a reference to the Crosley Icyball refrigerator and there was. I first saw an article about this innovative refrigerator in a 1980s issue of The Mother Earth News magazine but never expected to see one. Then in 1992 I moved to the small town of Bowie, TX which had a museum. While visiting the museum I saw an Icyball in the corner of a storage room. I asked the museum operator why it wasn't on display and she replied that she no idea what it was. When I told her what it was and how it operated, she was delighted and would put it on display right away. My little contribution to the knowledge of Crosley's history.
I have an engineering background, so I couldn't leave out the icyball!! :)
Great story, so thanks for sharing!
I remember seeing Crosleys on the streets of my home town in the 50's. Also Hudsons, DeSotos, Studebakers, Nashs, Kaisers and even a King Midget. Post-war was an amazing time.
I grew up in Detroit, 3rd generation auto industry worker, and thought I knew my American auto industry history but I had never heard of a Crosley. So interesting, he was a remarkable man. Thanks for the great history lesson!
Nice to see a video with someone who can narrate without stopping and editing every sentence 👍
Sigh.... you haven't seen some of my other videos then. :) LOL
I clicked on this channel to learn more about a little known auto maker. For the first 10 minutes I received a history lesson on entrepreneurship in the first half of the 20th century. And thoroughly enjoyed it. Great job!
Wow, thanks!
I was fascinated by this guys story, but people click for 'cars'. Thanks for the positive feedback that the backstory interested you too! :)
A young lady in our town who was a school teacher had the station wagon version in the early to mid 1950s. I had several rides in the car and I being young, thought it was the perfect toy. I still remember that mounted just below the front of the hood there was a small propeller that would spin in the wind. I thought that was really neat.
One time I snuck in to the old Crosley factory when I lived in Camp Washington. His office was in the base of the tower. It was clad in wood, had a personal bathroom and a fireplace. Even in it's current state of decay, it was an amazing site to see.
My dad was a Crosley affectionado beginning in the late 40's. He could buy a ring set for a Lincoln V12 and have enough parts to overhaul the Crosley 3 times. I learned to drive on a 1952 Crosley station wagon. In 1984 I found a 1948 Crosley in Fresno, CA that became my Dad's last Crosley. When he passed away in 1998,the car went to my youngest sister and ultimately out of the family. They were indeed "A Fine Car"
Thanks for sharing the memories!
My wife and I have attended the Crosley convention when it was in Wauseon, Ohio fairgrounds. I highly recommend an event like this. It was fun and informative. They made forklifts, too!
Jon, This is your best historical video. Good job researching and presenting the story of Crosley (Henry Ford of Radio) Powel Crosley Jr. was a classic American success story. As you describe, there is much more to it than his auto business.
Hey, thanks for the kind words! This one took a long time and a lot of second-guessing to get it together. I still think I could have done better, but it needed to be released to the world. :)
When I was a kid in Cheyenne, WY, about 9 or 10 in 52 or 53, we often ate at Kelly’s diner, a couple blocks from our house. Kelly had a fellow working there named Earl, who everyone called Lightning because he was a bit slow-witted, who drove a spiffy Crosley station wagon. He kept it clean and shiny, so it looked very new. What was striking was that Earl was a very tall, skinny man-hard to say how tall, because of course I wasn’t all that big at the time, but I remember that he had to duck going through doorways-and watching him get in and out of that little car was sort of like watching clowns get in and out of a little car at the circus. He sort of folded up, scrunched in, and then he could stretch out once he was inside. I remember sitting in the car, but I never got to ride in it.
Thanks for the history lesson. Good information.
My grandfather's first car was a 1947 Crosley. In 1952 the football team picked it up and set it down on the steps to the school's front door facing sideways.
I saw a photo of what had to be the most interesting modification to a Crosley, ever. The body was replaced with a wingtip drop tank from a jet fighter. It had a bubble canopy, rear lights on the tank fins and a single centered headlight. This was around 60 years ago and is still burned into my brain.
Love the icyball refrigerator. My aunt lived without electricity and mentioned having one of these as it was her daily chore to heat it up on the kerosene heater. Then one end was placed inside the insulated container and for a time she had off grid refrigeration. Genius.
I am old enough to remember hearing the Crosley brand being mentioned, but had forgotten all the details of what sort of car the company sold. Thanks for your interesting history of this company. It was indeed a shame that the brothers never tried taking their concept to Europe,where I believe it would have indeed done very well.
We lived in Cincinnati in the 50's. We had Crosley appliances. Dad bought a new Crosley radio when I was born in 1955. I still have the radio and it still works. Dads first care in the late 40's was a Crosley. Though I never saw the car I knew all about it listening to his memories.
Jon, I love this style of video. I was surprised to see you have been at it for so long. Keep it up as I'm sure this channel will take off before long!
I appreciate that!
Very interesting. Back in the early '70s, my dad worked for a fairly well to do farmer in Arizona, near what used to be the small farming community of Queen Creek. This farmer had what I believe was a 1950-1952 Crosley station wagon stored in a shed. It was either white or a very light gray. It had chrome hubcaps with the word CROSLEY written on them in red. I was around age 13, and already a diehard car guy. Despite being too young to have a drivers license, I was allowed to drive my dad's '63 Rambler station wagon with a three on the tree around on local country roads. One day during the off season, I saw the farm mechanic, who I had a really good relationship with, had it out of the shed and was working on it. I had to go check it out. He worked on it off and on for a few days, and finally got it running. I ask him if he would take me for a ride in it. He did. I was quite impressed with this car. It had a wood dashboard, and a floor shifter. I remember the engine being somewhat noisy. It went back into the shed, and I never saw it again. This farmer had several old cars and trucks. One that I actually got to drive was a 1950s flathead DeSoto. I also got to drive an early '50s Ford flatbed truck that was still in use on the farm. I would tow cotton trailers from the field to gin with it. I remember it having a hole rusted through the floor on the passenger side. That was 50 years ago, and I have been a vintage car enthusiast ever since. I thought about that Crosley, and considered looking for one, but after doing further research on them, decided they were not something that could be safely driven on public roads, and there doesn't seem to be many parts available for them.
Thanks for sharing the memories!
Before my birth may 9 1946 there were so mucho automobile makers how often have I said who cares that all we need are the basic things in our lives since when I cannot say tho these days we need mucho nicer government for all of our fifty usa states not multiple laws for the same offenses they should be strictly enforced if volks here really cared you would hardly see mucho often volks arrested back on the making mucho troubles doing some things as I did do my business done properly I was better than those who only worked the easiest ways would watch me to steel from mucho things we do at times are only as nice as how we do them as I repeat I am a mucho rare person the way I work why because I learned how places want volks to bring what they buy certain ways or I cannot sell it I like to work keep busy do it properly when worth doing just sitting around doing what is so mucho dull boring unhealthy also I love the fact that not all senoritas are gold diggers after seniors $$$$$$$$dinero earlier see on this I pad was about 1st dates second dates kisses sex how sad girls expect mucho dinero boys sex without really getting to know each other interests employment jobs hobbies or whatever about families a first date should be simple not tv show style fancy ristorante dine and wine drugs myself and senorita no alcohol drugs we could careless this is not average volks dating first is to see if you two are well on the same waves interest who lives where works drives family sex who is loco not me hen go see the whore house call girls or go under your bed sheets and jerk off do you both own drive automobiles live where us two because of who lives where we both drove unless it was ok for one to dive now if one really cares enough as when I was Brooklyn army hospital senorita came to me visit from Suffolk county please see my past comments I have no use for self centered volks only for me myself and eye besides $$$$$$$$$dinero is only as nice as it is used it does not buy love happiness how mucho volks are full of it mucho miserable ome commit suicide my dad often put me down about girls dating my clothes worn girls boys mix or elsewise my line of work enviromental see on this I pad yes senorita has helped somewhat tho I do the worst of it usually when as we live now ten plus yerars distance I donot drive any more nursing home health not allowed need nicer rehabilitation small stroke Covid pandemic four year ju over love is a mucho splendid thing just if both are the right kind of volks same waves but something’s take time why rush dinero does not grow on trees what can one learn overnight enjoy yourselves remember Rome was not built in one day
I was reading about an car that could be converted to a plane and it mentioned the Crosley Engine. I assumed this was from the UK as I had heard of Crossley and motors. Note the spelling difference I subsequently found so now I know where the Crosley motor came from. It just drove the car on the road, there was a separate aero engine. Credit where credit is due, they were certainly first with the bug eyed sports car look. Excellent video and I have certainly learnt something I did not know.
That's the first respectful, thoughtful, history I have seen. The deep background was indeed relevant imo... And lastly, I also feel Crosely had the creative talent & ability! Alas, too early to sync with a soon emerging market.
A couple of important things you missed. They invented the SUV and they replaced all those faulty engines, that's what broke them actually.
A very interesting history Crosly has. Lots of neat stuff they did. A very dynamic and innovative company. The early to mid 50’s were death on a stick for small auto manufactures. The auto industry left the cottage industry origins behind and became the industrial giants of the future. Using the sheet metal engine probably gave them a black eye they could not recover from,and they did not have a product that appealed to the evolving car market. But their last engine lived on. It was that engine which was installed in the bearcat 55hp outboard motor. It was a 4 cylinder motor that put a fuel efficient and reliable outboard on the the transoms of boats decades before the major manufactures did. They were heavy, and they did not keep up in the horsepower race of the 60’s and 70’s. But they did have their own market niche.
I had a good friend who owned a crosley, wagon, he always wanted a Hotshot but didn't live long enough to get one. He was a ww2 vet and a great person. I smile every time I see a Crosley with a propeller on the nose and think of him.
I grew up around the old Crosleys. My grandfather was Nick Brajevich of Braje Equipment, he made all the performance parts for the Crosleys engines. We had Crosley cars and equipment everywhere at the machine shop in Gardena, Ca. My grandfather made the aluminum valve covers, aluminum intake manifold, aluminum oil pans, aluminum side covers and the cast iron headers for them. To this day, we still have the Crosley Hot Shot that he raced in the vintage auto racing association, that he made an adapter for and put a Mazda 5spd trans in. We have a Crosley pick up truck, 2 door sedan, a 3 wheel forklift powered by a Crosley engine, the number 1 and number 3 Miller race cars that are Crosley powered, we have an open wheel formula 1 car that is Crosley powered, and also a out board boat engine where the engine was stood on end to mount to the out drive. We also had a boat that was powered by a Crosley in a V drive configuration. I have one of my grand dads reproduction catalogs from 1952. We also have a farm-o-road , and a croftin bug, which was a Jeep type body with a Crosley power train in it. Don’t know how many of the croftin bugs were built, but the one we have is a right hand drive, and the story behind it from my grand dad was he was in the running for the contract for the postal service, they were testing out at the old LA airport, and he was screwing around doing doughnuts and broke the tie rod and blew the contract, and Jeep got it.
I have spent my whole life around the Crosley vehicles and engines.
I wouldn’t trade a minute of it for anything, as I grew up with My grandfather. When my dad would ship out for Vietnam, we would go home to live with grandpa till dad got home.
It still saddens me that we lost my grandfather in 2004. I have been a mechanic in the trade for 40 years and I attribute that to my grandfather and growing up in his machine shop in Gardena.
WOW! Thanks so much for the comment, that is amazing the collection y'all have and the deep history with them!
Man, I just LOVE your new way to adress a lot of either unknown or misunderstood brands, as always: you're absolutely a genius, Jon.
Wow, thank you!
Fascinating! I was born in 1946 and have been aware of Crosley cars since the early 50s and we once had a Crosley radio. I had no idea of the history of the company.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Such a great History Lesson of The Crosley and as I am in my 70's now I remember these little cars running around all over the place. I always thought how handy they must be to park and move around narrow road-ways. What a perfect town car they would make today. I'm a new subscriber and look forward to more videos like this~!
I had a 1951 3:45 Crosley Convertible. My father sent all the chrome off for recrome. Had it painted Robin Egg Blue, and recovered the seats with red vinyl. Found a new top too. It was a beauty. 36 hp. as I recall. Drove it on a trip from East Tawas, Mi to Winchester, IN and back. Would go 70mph. top end.
I bought a working, but rough looking 1950's Crosley fridge as a bar fridge 20 years ago for about $50.
My ex's Dad owned a company that painted prime movers and heavy vehicles.
As a birthday surprise... they sanded it down, put about 5 coats of candy apple red paint and a few coats of clear on it... it was awesome.
I lost the fridge in the divorce... I don't miss my ex... but I still miss that fridge.
It is still running like a Swiss watch.
"I don't miss my ex... but I still miss that fridge"
Dude, that deserves to be on a T-Shirt. :)
@@AllCarswithJon Ha ha!
I received a Crosley fridge from my aunt who bought it with their wedding money in 1937. it is still working to the day and has never been repaired.
@@ron9381 Wow! They built things to last back then.
The Crosley Flea at 9:30 looks like a US version of the Mignet "Pou de Ciel" (Flying Flea) that was a single seat home built that was very popular in France and Britain in the 1930's that was sold as being so easy for anyone with no experience to build and fly. Until they dived into the ground on landing. A wind tunnel test found that the rear wing kept increasing lift that pushed the nose down beyond the power of the front wing to rectify. It then got banned, so was never going to make anyone any money.
when I was a kid in the 1950's my dad decided to race midget racers and Crosley cars provided parts for the homebuilt cars ... with a ford flathead v8 and no transmission or even a flywheel all on a shortened Crosley frame and suspension ... being direct drive they pushed them to start and killed them with the brakes .. they raced on a eighth mile dirt oval track ... it was great fun ...!
Thanks for an excellent video! I really appreciate the history lesson about Crosley. I knew about the radio and auto business, but had no idea of the significant contributions they made in other business lines. I learned how to drive (and powerslide) in a Crosley pickup. My friend’s dad had been an auto recycler/wrecker, and had two Crosleys. One was a pickup that had been a runabout for a shoe repair business per the faded signage on the doors, and the other was a convertible without an engine or fabric top. He also had what was was called a racing engine that was brand new in a crate. At 14 years old, my friend, and I were allowed to drive (on the property) any dilapidated car we could get running. That meant that we went through a lot of batteries, oil, and copious amounts of ether to satisfy our lust for driving automobiles. Unfortunately, a huge brush fire in rural San Diego burned the aircraft hangar they were stored inside. Thanks for the walk down memory lane.
Thanks for the comment!!!!
A few years ago i was at a car show in Fairmount Indiana, the owner converted the 2 he had on display to Diesel engines . He did a excellent job !
My sister had a friend who had a Crosley 2 door. She drove me in it several times. A really fun car. The sliding windows were cool.
I grew up in the 50's, and i remember the Crosley appliances and cars. However, i did not know all this other stuff about the company, thanks for telling their story.
Waukesha is usually pronounced with emphasis on the first syllable, like the city in Wisconsin. Good history by Jon. I'm old enough to remember riding in a Crosley and a Bantam in the '50's
Thanks for the comment and how cool you remember them!
Sorry about the mis-pronounciation.... I'd never heard of them and thought I'd gotten it. :)
WALK-ah-shaw
@@DGillyy Good thing the company wasn't based in Lac Vieux Desert lol
@@tomkiefer2386 can't even fathom anyone unfamiliar trying "Oconomowoc", which is really close to Waukesha
@@AllCarswithJon You did good. There's two different prevailing pronunciations depending on what part of the midwest you're in: WALK- ish- AH or wah-KEESH-uh
Very interesting story....i remember seeing a crosley at a car show...tiny car with a unique background.
My Mom worked at the old AVCO plant in Richmond Indiana, which was where Crosleys were built when it was later the Design and Manufacturing dishwasher plant when she met my Dad. My Dad was working at the Connersville Indiana Design & Manufacturing plant. Connersville was where Cords, Auburns, and Deusenburgs, along with the McFarland automobile was manufactured. In addition to my Mom working at the old AVCO plant when the D&M dishwasher plant, my grandad from her side of the family was an air conditioning repairman at the company.
Wow, cool!
I’m old enough to remember seeing a few Crosleys on the road.
The exchange of the thin cast engines in place of the Taylor design Cobra engine cost Crosley over a million dollars. That says something about the man and his integrity. That same engine design lasted into the 70's as the Bearcat 55 outboard boat motor. I have read the book that tells his life story. It's quite interesting. I would love to have one of those engines.
I have a 60 hp Crosley motor in a 12 ft jet boat made by V boats with an experimental Jacuzzi jet. I have the paperwork from Jacuzzi on the experimental jet that was to be your return to Jacuzzi after the testing it was built in 1957 and I bought it from the original owner of Vboat.
One of my Dad's favorite books when I was little was "They Laughed When I Sat Down to Tune Up My Crosley."
Really cool little cars.
Cool 😎 that you are doing the histories of small orphan makes!! Keep up the great work!!
Morning Tom! I don't know how many I'll end up doing but found a couple that really interested me. This one, the back story about brothers who made such a huge mark on the early 20's & 30's America really grabbed me... especially since I'd never heard of them! :)
About 10 years ago, a customer offered me a Coke on a hot day. In his bar, was a Crosley Shelvador, still working, icey cold Coke, thanks Powell. My dad was born in Cincy. He and my aunt Kate, were regulars at Crosley Field to watch the Reds.
Amazing! My grand mother had a Crosley refrigerator in the 50's. Later I heard of the cars, but knew only that they were small and not made anymore! Thanks for the history lesson! We are so government "protected" now that such a venture would be unthinkable. That is really a shame!
Love the wood siding👍
My uncle drove a Crosley wagon for several years in the 1950's. The engine was so small he pulled the motor with his bare hands and carried it up 25 steps or more up to his basement to overhaul the motor.
I saw a Crosley driving around town the other day. It's a cute little car.
There’s a good collection of these in the Martin Auto Museum here in Phoenix. Had to look them up when o got home. Forget Chargers, Falcons, Mustangs and GTO’s, these are now my dream classic cars
Very interesting. I kept thinking of a new auto merger, Crosley Stills and Nash.
*groan* :)
@@AllCarswithJon sorry :)
Crosley washing machines are built in Louisville Kentucky. Very nice. We have a new one
My uncle had a Crosley wagon when he was a teenager. He told me that he worked at a sohiogas station here in Columbus Ohio. He told me that someone used to come into the station with a Crosley that the hood wouldn't close . He checked it out and said it had a Ford flathead in it. I remember the car being in my grandfather's garage it was a small car.
At one point, my father raced a little 'special' that he built that was Crosley powered. He raced it in SCCA events in the central California area.
My earliest memory of a brand name was our Crosley Shelvador. Words always interested me, and I thought that was a cool name for an appliance.
Years ago I took a photo of a small red car in a parking lot off the highway. My father recognized the car in the photo as a Crosley and told me he owned one before I was born. He said it went as fast as the German Shepard that would chase and barked into the window when he drove down the road on his way to work. He never was able to outrun the dog. One time the dog snapped a handkerchief out of his hand as my dad was trying to distract the dog from getting at him. That was when he decided to get something with a little more metal and power to protect him from that dog.
LOL! Great story! Thanks!
I learned to drive in a Crosley at 8 years old. My dad collected Crosley's and had cars with both engines. He had a Hot Shot and most of the other body styles.
Back in the 50s my aunt and uncle lived in a very small town in Arkansas. A neighbor that lived across the road had several Crosleys. During summer visits I remember watching him work his garden with his Farm O Road. Now and then he would take me to a nearby general store for a Nehi orange. We would go in a red convertible Crosley.
Cool! Those Farm-O-Roads were pretty darn rare too, so amazing you'd seen one!
My father had a Crosley station wagon when I was 8. It was a project car that he never got registered. I loved it because it was small enough that I could reach the pedals while pretending to drive it.
My father bought a new 1950 Crosley Station wagon in 1950. I remember it well. It was grossly under powered and on a fairly steep hill it was first gear all the way. I drove it some myself and it had a super sensitive clutch that took some getting used to, but it got good gas mileage and my father loved it.
Thanks for sharing!
My dad had a Crosley car when I was young. It was a station wagon model, and what I remember the most, I was sitting in the back compartment when my father crashed the car, and my head went through a model airplane wing. That probably took place around 1960 or 61 when I was nine or ten years old.
I'm 78 years old I was 10 at the time .my Dad was a mechanic my first car I overhauled by myself was a 49 crosley wagon . It cost $25:00 for everything to overhaul it .
Starting in 50's thru the early 70's in the northeast (pinebrook speedway in nj etc.) 3/4 midget racing was very popular with the Crosley engine dominant.
I948-1954 My parents had had 2 Crosleys. One for each of my parents to go different directions. My Dad had a number of horror stories related to the Crosleys breaking down
I own one of the outboard motors with an improved CIBA engine. These were manufactured and marketed ultimately by Homelite before being sold to Fisher Pierce, maker of the Boston Whaler line of boats. Wonder if there could be any connection to the previous Fisher? Anyway, owners of the Crosley Autos sometimes cannibalized one of these outboards for the motor, giving their car a significant performance advantage. These outboards were the favorite of commercial boat operators using mid size (then large?) outboards. They lasted forever and used half the gas of similar sized two stroke engines. The weight penalty was small. Cost was greater, but they lasted seemingly forever. Indeed, it was said that Honda purchased some of these to reverse engineer when they decided to start making these 'larger' engines. And even then took several more years before they could equal the weight of these excellent outboards. These Bearcat 55 outboard motors might have absolutely ruled the market had Fisher Pierce been able to hold on another six months. For like the rest of us, they didn't see the big fuel crisis coming. These were by far the most economically operated engine made at the time. There would have been virtually no competition for a decade or more.
When I was a Kid in calif circa 1968 my friends dad has 3, a wagon and 2 sedans. We got the keys 1 night when his parents went to see a movie, neither of us had a DL, 1 hour cruise around Walnut Creek and back home. Was no GTO but fun to drive and simple to work on.
I knew about Crosley Motors, but I have never seen a Crosley car in person, even though I was alive when Crosley cars were being sold.
The white FIAT 500 on the shelf added to my interest in your podcast.
My first boss, Ben Jordan, in Denver had three Crosleys: A hot shot, a truck like your picture and a sedan.
Lol, thanks. I'll probably add a few die-cast to Command Central here this year. :) Did you notice the Fiat 500 book over my left shoulder?
Thanks for the great work ! A very well researched, excellently presented story....
My Dad has a 1946 Crosley. It was long ago converted to an A Gasser
My family had a Crosley Shelvadore fridge from about 1955 to 2010.
Not many fridges last that long in Australia these days.
The cars would have been up against small British cars here if sold here.
I find it puzzling that you never heard of Crosley cars until recently
Many surviving Crosleys were disassembled for parts. The parts were used to build open wheel racing cars, that were small enough to race in doors. Most 3/4 midget racing cars used crosley engines, axles, brakes, etc., as well as "souped up" Crosley Engine4s. A minoritiy of TQs used modified motorcycle engine4s or highly modified outboard engines. .
A great history video,well presented about a "jack of all trades" company, being a Brit the only Crossley company i knew about was a Lancashire bus builder.
A realy interesting company history.
Glad you enjoyed it
and of course the Crossley V8 in the slightly ugly Co Bo locomotive of the 60s. But we're talking about Crosley with one S not two.
I never owned Crosley car but when I was kid many were still around and many had been converted to golf carts. When courses started outlawing them you could buy them for almost nothing. I could have bought one for $100 in about 1970, but the doors were missing. My real interest in Crosley goes back to about the same time. Crosley had a huge property just south of Vernon Indiana which he donated to the state. It became Crosley's Fish and Game. It was several thousand acres and was a popular "parking" spot for teenagers. I had one of my most memorable teenage experiences there!!! I've joked about going back and recreating it, but now it is gated and I'm not sure if the two of us could fit in a back seat anymore. But it would be fun to try!
Crosley is great, inspiring American tale.
My Dad was a Crosley buff. He built his own garden tractor from scratch with a Crosley engine (4-cyl., 44 c.i.d., 26.5 HP), transmission and differential, linked with a 4:1 reduction gear box. He made the pattern for the gearbox, which was cast in iron. Later he made a Crosley Farm -o-Road Jeep type vehicle from a junk Crosley. He chopped and channeled the frame to make the wheel base the Crosley dimension. He then hand made the body from 3/32" cold rolled steel. I cut a lot of the pieces with a Wen hand jig saw. He painted it yellow and added a yellow and white striped surrey top.
That is awesome, thank you so much for sharing!
A good read. Writer Stuart M. Kaminsky authored a series of humorous detective fiction novels. Set against a Hollywood background mid 30's to mid-40's, Peters helped famous folks solve their problems, tooling around town in is Crosley. Narragansett Bay
That's cool, thanks for sharing!
Crosley's transmitter in the late 30's was 500,000 watts by day, at night they would up the power to almost 1 million watts and was heard all over the world. Hitler feared Crosly's radio station WLW cause the people in Germany could listen to the truth, not Hitlers propaganda, Hitler wanted him killed. Crosley also owned the Reds and due to Crosley's idea to light the field for games at night so no one would miss work to attend and his Reds became the first professionial sports team to play under the lights. Powell Crosley was an amazing man shame so many have forgotten him
My parents had a Crowley refrigerator they bought new in 1941. It ran without breakdown until 1990.
I built a welder from a Lincoln motor generator set and drove it with a Crosley engine from a B29 app. Never a problem.
you should have repaired the "FRIDGE"!!!!!
Your channel is great to learn about Super Interesting stuff that I never knew about!!
Thanks for watching!
Well done on the video! Here are some random fun facts about the cars( I just recently rebuilt one).
The COBRA engines could be frozen solid, and would not crack. When they started to rot out, you could take your car back, and get that CIBA block. These later cast blocks, also had exhaust vales that turn 1/4 a turn , each time they move.
They used several off the shelf parts where they could( generator from a Nash) Auto lite for the engine electrics. Some areas, the company really cheeped out on. They knew the low cost radiator was too small, so hard flat baffle plates were added to funnel the air through it.
The disc brake design was borrowed from his love of Aircraft. They would seize, leak, and just not stop right from new, without constant maintenance( my car had these put on it). Most cars fitted with these, went back, and had hydraulic drums fitted. The 48 and earlier years all had cable drum brakes.
The transmission was not designed for a car(came from Borgwarner at a discount for farm stuff, used in small tractors, has no synchronizers).
The rear differential gears are from Cushman. For what ever reason the bolts holding the ring gear in place, back out. Causing a catastrophic failure.
The wheels were made by a trailer wheel manufacturer. Modern 4 lug 12" trailer wheels bolt on.
Lol! Thanks for adding the info!
I was well aware of the cars and military vehicles, barely scratches the surface of this fascinating company! Great work, I'm very happily a new subscriber.
Great show. When I'm entertained and learn something at the same time, it's always worth it. Thx.
Glad you enjoy it!
Great overview of a really cool little car. There are a bunch of clubs around the country dedicated to them.
What a GREAT story !!
Thanks!
I had a 1951 Crosley for awhile. It had a spare engine that I could carry. The throat on the carburetor was the size of a quarter. I lived near Cincinnati many years.
I first heard of Crosley cars from Stuart Kaminsky’s Toby Peters mysteries. Good to have some background.
Drove a Hotshot once...startling weird, but very appealing...
Your erudition on strange and offbeat iron is refreshing.
Subscribed today.
Thanks, sir.
Good job!
Thanks for your kind words!
My dad and grandfather had a couple of Crosleys. My grandpa's car broke the crankshaft. He took the engine apart and brought the crank to a welder friend who brazed it back together, he put it back in and drove it for a while but soon sold it without mentioning the broken crank... My Dad owned a couple of them and got into a wreck with one, the steering wheel was pressed into his chest and he was trapped for a bit, but he was a big strong body builder back then so with Brute strength he Bent the steering wheel back and got out.
Thanks. This made me look up whom Crosley Field was named after in Cincinnati, OH. Yep - same guy.
I used to read about them (and all the other defunct manufacturers) back in the 70s when I was a car obsessed teenager!
Great presentation! Loaded with interesting information. I've been familiar with Crosley for years, but Jon knows far more than I do! I enjoyed the education.
I remember the first electric refrigerator my mother bought was a Crosley.
Powell Crosley renamed the baseball park after he bought the team, the Reds. It was Highland Park. He renamed it after himself, Crosley Field.
"JR" grew up in "COLLEGE HILL / CINCINNATI" the house is still there!!!!!
We bought 3 Crosleys at a sale in Nebraska, not much left of them .
Fantastic history lesson!! Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for being here!