2017 West Coast Crosley Meet Report - Part 2

Jewell Park, the site for this year's meet, is a one-block green space just off the main drag in Pacific Grove. It has a small activities building in one corner and a bandstand on another - the rest is grass, with big trees on the edges of the park. Club pres. Rick Alexander had worked with the local Chamber of Commerce to get permission for the show and I knew the cars would look great on the grass - like a mini Concours. I rolled up a little before 8AM and waited for everyone to arrive - This will go down as the first time in history that I was the first one there!

Is this Chuck Koehler's Fibersport?

I was poking around on Cliff Reuter's Etceterini site the other day, doing some research on Giaur cars for an upcoming issue of the Tin Block Times (the Crosley club newsletter I edit).  The site is a never-ending source of wonders - no matter how many times I visit, it seems like there is always another surprise awaiting...

Little Red Car: Gene Voigt's Crosley Special

Ohio's Gene Voigt was like many aspiring sports car owners of the 1950s: he didn't have a lot of money, he didn't have a lot of racing experience, but he had a dream and determination.

A Crosley-Based Mystery Special from the HAMB - H-Mod???

HAMB user 'Mr Forty' just posted some pics of a handbuilt all-steel race body a friend of his had acquired a few years ago. It came with some Ford V860 heads and matching tranny, but no other running gear - or even any wheels! The measurements match up with Crosley components, and, as John McKnight quickly noted, the steering wheel is definitely Crosley. Hard to say from the pics, but the two largest holes in the dash look like they'd match Crosley gauges too.

The body came with a story (ah, don't they always?) Here's what the owner was told when he bought it:

"Sometime in the late 60's a long haul trucker was in Midwest when he spotted this body in a warehouse. The guy storing it wanted it out of the warehouse, the owner had not been paying storage on it for some time. He said it was a prototype sports car that Ford commissioned but all that was left was the body and a few other items. The trucker made a deal and brought the car back to California where it was stored for almost 40 years before my friend acquired it."

Uh huh. Well, If you count Edsel's personal 1934 Speedster Custom, Ford did make one car that kinda-sorta-but-not-really looked like this, but no one, including the current owner, believes this is a Ford prototype.

But, what is it? The steel bodywork is all leaded (no bondo) and from the description MrForty posted, it sounds like the frame could be Crosley too. Some HAMBers came to the same conclusion I did: it was probably conceived as a Crosley special and then had a V860 stuffed in when the builder realized exactly how heavy all that steel was.

Don't know if we'll ever solve the mystery, but if any group of folks can it will be the HAMB.  One way or the other it's a neat piece of work and MrForty is hoping his pal will build the car based on specials of the period. I'll keep you posted.

Pickin' Up a Pickup, Part III

OK, so I've said before that the last thing I need is ANOTHER Crosley project car.  So, then what am I doing driving 700 miles to buy a partially-disassembled rusty heap of a Crosley that hasn't run in decades?

Ebay Watch: Hmod, a Hydroplane and a '48 Sedan Body

Thought I'd share some interesting and odd stuff I came across on Ebay while the auctions are still going...

First up is a neat unfinished Hmod in Vancouver, Washington that showed up on Bring a Trailer a few months back.  Fiberglass appears unfinished and that frame looks heavy, but this could be a ton of fun for someone. Comes with multiple engines and what looks like a spare steel crank.  Ends in a day with a $5500 buy-it-now and no bids yet.

In contrast, there is plenty of action in the bidding for this totally boss vintage hydroplane located in Ohio.  If you've read 'Inboard Racing: A Wild Ride' you know exactly how cool these Crosley-powered boats can be.. and this one looks really neat.  Everything looks original (ok, except the Pepsi bottle) - and pretty decent.  Note that the builder used a Crosley 4-in-1 gauge in the dash.  Two days left and it's at $1525 with 9 bids.

I'm actually stunned by the condition of the floorpans under this 1948 Crosley sedan body for sale in Oklahoma.  By all rights this should be a Flintstones special, but somehow this car escaped the fate of most rainy state cars- especially those missing a bunch of windows.  Ad suggests that it'd be a good candidate for 'Gasser-Bonneville-Salt Flats' - and a body this bare would fit the bill for a hot rodder.  It's probably too much to hope that this lil guy gets restored, but at least it'll be saved from the crusher - $152.50 with 3 days left to go.

West Coast Crosley Club 2009 Meet in Buellton

This past weekend was the 25th Anniversary meet for the West Coast Crosley Club.  The location for the meet usually moves around, but this year we were back in the same location as last year, Buellton, California.

The turnout was good- we had 20 cars this year, and lots of people.  Though we've had a few more cars at one or two of the past meets, this was by far the highest quality turnout I've ever seen- all cars were in very good shape, and all but one ran... and that one just had a dead battery I think.

There was a very wide variety of cars too.  Dave Potts brought a nice prewar  from Arizona, there were two Farm-o-Roads, two Croftons, two Hotshots (one of which changed hands at the meet), a bunch of sedans, convertibles and wagons and of course our small but devoted Hmod contingent, this year consisting of Kip Fjeld and his Miller Crosley and Lee Osborn and his Shannon Special.   I opted not to bring my mystery Hmod this year- I haven't made much progress since last year, and besides, there was no room on the trailer.

No, I didn't buy another car.  

When Frank Bell passed away earlier this year I was very sad for his family- and I was very sad for the club. Frank and Shirley have been two of the most devoted members since the very first meet- the only one they've missed was in 2001 when they couldn't get back from Europe after 9/11.  I called Shirley a few weeks ago to see if she was going to be at the meet and she said that she and their daughter Donna would be there.  She also mentioned that Frank had planned on bringing the '50 wagon this year- he'd been bringing his Crofton Bug for years- but that she didn't feel comfortable hauling it to Buellton.  

Frank and Shirley had driven that wagon to the very first meet I ever attended, coincidentally also in Buellton, in 1997.  It is one of my favorite cars on the West coast, perfectly straight and serviceable, but road-rashed enough to drive without worry.  Wheels turned in my head as I talked to Shirley and I offered to find out if someone could trailer it over to the meet if she'd like to have it there.  She was happy at the idea, and I worked on finding the wagon a ride... in the end I realized that I could do it- my Crosleys have been to plenty of meets and Frank's wagon is WAY nicer than any car I would bring.  I called Shirley and arranged to pick up the wagon in LA on Friday.  

It took a bit longer to load the car and get from LA to Buellton than I'd expected, so I got in after 8 on Friday night. That meant that I missed one of my favorite parts of the meet- the Friday night get together.  I love having the chance to connect with old friends, many of whom I see only once a year.  Friday night also gives me an extra chance to remember the names of the new folks I meet- I'm terrible with names, so every little bit helps.

The meet started at 9AM, and though I was too busy getting the Bell's wagon off the trailer to be first in line at the swap meet I still got some good stuff including a steel crank, strapped main crankcase and a Special Interest Autos mag with a long feature on Ardell Johnson's '52 Crosley wagon.   I've known Ardell a long time but I never knew that he'd been in a magazine!  

The Funkana was great this year- with so many well-prepared cars it was downright dramatic!  Here's a look at David Dinsmore's Hotshot doing the speed trial/brake test:

After the meet wound down we met up for the club dinner at a local pub- the sunset and archetypal California backdrop made for great photos of the cars that drove over from the hotel.  

After the dinner I had to hightail it for LA.  I'd promised to be back in Sacto in time for Liv's birthday dinner with her family Sunday night.  As luck would have it, the meet fell on the same weekend as an annual art event that Liv helps organize, AND her birthday, meaning that there was no way for her to make the meet this year.  I got into LA around 1AM and got six hours of sleep before I started the process of getting the Crosley off the trailer.  It took a while to get the wagon on the ground and tucked back into the Bell's garage, but I was on the road to home by 9:30.  I was so glad to have been able to bring the car to the meet, and I think it would have made Frank happy too.

With the lower speed limit for cars with trailers, the drive from LA to Sac takes about eight hours with no traffic.  That was a lot of time to reflect on the weekend and plan the impending redesign of my garage.  In the middle of my daydreaming I spotted an unmistakable shape in the distance- Ardell Johnson's magazine-star '52 wagon on its way back to Oregon.  I zipped past, honking and waving, and made it home just in time for a shower before dinner.