First Post!

My wife Liv made the short film above just about a year ago.  My wife is not a car geek.  Anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that I spend an inordinate amount of time looking at, thinking about,tinkering with, or talking about old cars.  Given that she gets way more of this than she needs under usual circumstances, she was mildly dreading the idea of spending a weekend surrounded by car nerds in Minden, Nevada.  To give herself a project (and fulfill a needed credit in her grad program) she decided to document the experience.  CrosleyKook is the result. 

My family loves CrosleyKook.  It functions as a sort of rosetta stone to understanding my obsession with one of the most obscure- and ridiculous- auto marques in history.  They still look at each other and shake their heads a lot.

There are a few minor inaccuracies in the film that hardcore Crosley nerds might get.  For one thing, Crosley tires do now cost a little bit more than twelve bucks.  Another minor goof is that I did miss one Crosley meet in the past 10 years-- in 1999, when my band had an offer to tour Europe.  As ridiculous as it might sound, I actually had to weigh missing the Crosley Meet vs. European Tour.  Tour won.  Barely.

And, the biggest inaccuracy is the impression that I still drive a Crosley every day.  The truth is that I haven't even turned the key in months.  I dragged that car out of a barn in 1998, got it running the next day, and drove the snot out of it for several years thereafter.  Other than eventually  rewiring it (keeping the stock 6 volt positive ground, natch), I didn't do anything other than general maintenance.  In 2000 I put the infamous $12 tires on (to replace the 40 year old bias plys that were on it when I bought it) and drove it 700 miles (rt) to the Crosley Meet in Morro Bay.   That whole story is documented on the website my friend RH created for me, the Crosley Report.  We've all forgotten the passwords now, so that site will just exist as is in limbo forever I guess.

the ole '49 (and yes, it's a '49 despite the propeller) is pretty tired.  I've been getting along with scavenging used brake parts for years, and the whole brake system is just junk at this point.  Plus, the rear main seal leaks profusely, and - lucky me- the oil runs back along the frame, down the axle and straight onto the passenger side rear brake shoes.   I did finally order a box of brand new brake stuff... so I need to pull the engine, replace the main seal, swap that bad ring gear you hear in the opening of the movie, put the engine back in, yank brake shoes, springs and cables, replace and readjust all, and then she'll be ready for the road again.   Oh yeah, and the original gas tank is gone and I've got a portable one out of a boat that's been sliding around in the boot for the past 10 years.  That should get fixed too.  It'll just take time, which, along with workshop space, is what I'm shortest on these days. 

So, a blog.  If I can't really spend as much time as I'd like working on the car(s) I can at least fondle them in cyberspace.