The Crumbling Crosley Building

Here's a report on the sad, sad state of the Crosley headquarters from WKRC in Cincinnati:

Once the home of Crosley's radio and auto empire, the massive complex was condemned in March.  The building's current owner, Hosea Worldwide, has been cited for neglect- they currently owe over $168,000 in back taxes on the property.  Both the owners and preservation activists are working to save the building, but it's going to take a lot of doing.

Cincinnati.com has the full story (with lots of great photos) here...

Thanks to Lou Rugani for keeping up on this story...

Always a Good Read

 

Just got the new issue of the Crosley Quarterly yesterday. This issue of CQ is packed (as usual) with interesting stuff, including the cover story- a German auto writer's take on Crosley history and his visit to Tim Freshley's Crosley farm, notes on Michael Banks' new Crosley book, updates on the regional meets, piles of classified ads and more. Editor Fred Syrdal does a great job putting everything together.

Reading through, it struck me how much I've relied on CQ to keep me connected to the Crosley Crew over the years. Yes, I've got the internet and I follow the Crosley Gang bulletin board most days, but there is something special about the official club newsletter... probably something to do with the feeling that as I read, I'm among friends, and all of those friends are Crosley kooks too.

Too Good to Be True? $30 Les Schwab Powdercoat

Last year, I had an epiphany:  The best way to finish my '51 Super Sports project is to start from the ground up.  And by that, I mean tires.  And wheels.  And then axles. And then the frame.  And etc, etc, etc...  I'll just restore pieces in order and keep bolting stuff back together until there's nothing left to bolt on.  Simple, right?

Now That's Funny

Picked up a copy of Addams and Evil, cartoonist Charles Addams' 1947 collection of cartoons from The New Yorker, this weekend and was happily surprised to find this gag involving a prewar Crosley on about the third page.  (The rest of the book is good too!)

Watkins Glen 1951: Seneca Cup in Color!

The Chicane posted a link to this great 10 minute movie showing the Seneca Cup Race at the 1951 Watkins Glen.  Most of the action centers on the duel between George Weaver in his Maserati and John Fitch in one of Briggs Cunningham's Ferraris, but there is plenty of other neat iron out there as well.  This originally came from Speed Vision, so you might want to fast forward past their intro... but don't go too far or you'll miss the only good* Crosley sighting: a nice shot of G. Vilardi's #4 Super Sport blasting by at about the two minute mark.
*Pretty sure I saw a black Hotshot in the background about a minute later, but the angle and distance makes it hard to tell for sure...

Crosley Rides Again!

 One of the reasons I started this blog was to give me something to do when I couldn't be working on the cars in my garage.  We'd recently moved into this house with its tiny, overstuffed garage, and money was tight enough that I couldn't embark on any of the big stuff my cars needed.  And they all needed big stuff.

So, I started a blog so I'd have a place to put all the mental Crosleying that was taking the place of actual Crosleying.  It's been very therapeutic!

Three or so years later, things have kinda reversed.  Now I spend way more time working on the blog than I do working on the cars, but that's mainly because I really enjoy blogging and also because it's a lot easier to write about restoring and driving a Crosley than it is to actually do it. 

That said, it's time to get back in the garage.  My work schedule is somewhat back to normal, my finances are, if not regal, at least regular, and I've managed to bump a wall on the garage out to accommodate some real work space. 

First order of business was to get the '49 vert running again.  It's been sitting for a few years now, battery dead, covered with dust.  I found FOUR wasp nests inside, telling me I'd really ignored it way too long.



I soaked the cylinders with penetrating oil, drained the old gas, got some new gas, gave everything a quick cleaning and bought a brand new 6 volt ($100 now - WTF?).  With a little bit of coaxing and a lot of starting fluid it fired up.  Unfortunately it doesn't want to stay running unless the choke is way out, so I need to figure out what's going on there.

Filthy, rough, and shabby...but, it ran!  more to come....

Jalopnik Names Ten Slowest Sports Cars of All Time

One guess what took first place.

They list it as a two cylinder, but at least they don't say it came with a sheet metal engine.  Could someone get all of their facts straight just ONCE in one of these lists?

Full results here.