Denver or Bust: Part 2, There and back again

Continued from Part 1...

Leaving Minden, Tim's Transit cruised across Nevada like it was on rails, and we couldn't even feel the extra weight of the trailer.  We'd opted for Highway 50, the Loneliest Highway, since it had more stuff to look at along the way, and we made it to Eureka, Nevada (population 610) that night.  As luck would have it, Tim had a friend who owned a house there, and though he wasn't home, he was happy to let us stay - the key was under the mat.  We were out the door by 6:30 the next morning, and wonder of wonders, found a tiny coffee hut on the main drag that, A) was open; and, B) served fresh-brewed espresso!

Denver or Bust: Part 1

So I was buying another Crosley - cue frantic scrambling.

Oops.

I wasn't looking for another car - it just happened.

I've actually been getting rid of stuff.  Over the past couple of years I've come to terms with the fact that I have a pretty small garage, not much other storage and very little free time.  I got rid of my 'extra' Super Sports and sold my '48 station wagon project back to my pal Dean who had bought it from me years ago, then decided he couldn't take it, and then recently decided that he could.   I also sold off the '69 Ford van I used to haul my band around in.

That leaves me with PLENTY of Crosley projects: I still have the '49 convertible, '51 Super Sports and the Fibersport race car.  But, what I didn't have was a Crosley station wagon.

Ebay Watch: 1951 Crosley Station Wagon

I've been watching this car (listed as  'Crowley'?!) not sell via Craigslist for just about a year now - I don't know whether the owner finally managed to move it or if he's consigned it with this seller.  We'll see if Ebay improves its options.

I think it was listed for about $9-10,000 when I first saw the ads, and then slowly dropped into more reasonable - but still what I would call 'optimistic' - territory at $7000.  It was nice enough that I actually made a trip to Monterey to check it out when I went to Laguna Seca last summer.

Pile O' Parts in Redding, California

Got a call from a guy in Redding who was cleaning out his dad's attic and found some Crosley stuff that had been stored away fifty years ago: three transmissions, a pile of rear ends and a box of brake stuff (looks like mostly 6" plus one disc). He's hoping to get $375 for all- I told him that was a bit optmistic, so he's open to offers.

His CL ad: http://redding.craigslist.org/pts/1652948567.html

Man, That's Cheap

I don't know much about this 1948 sedan for sale in Vermont- seller says it has new tires, runs, the floors are good and there are a few dents. It also has a boat gas tank- a lil trick that kept my '49 convertible going for years. At $1500 seems like you'd be hard pressed to go wrong. And for the newbies- that hood ornament ain't rare, it's wrong.
Certainly puts this Phoenix, AZ ad for a 1948 sedan in a different light. Seller claims 30,000 original miles (not all that unusual for a Crosley, actually), but the five year old photos, lack of interior photos, missing hub caps (and is that a missing rear window?) don't exactly inspire confidence... especially when the asking price is triple that of the Vermont car. Maybe it's Braje equipped and the interior is really nice and we just aren't seeing it. Great color.
Those do look like CA plates, so it appears to have had a history of living in the dry country. Sedans are awfully cool- I'd never been that excited about them until I saw Dave Wheeler's Slo Cal Special at a meet a few years back- the economy of design in the sedans is really a thing of beauty.