Crosley Project

Crosley has 12 inch wheels that are 4 inches wide with four lug bolts. If you search for wheels in this size, pretty much all you get are wheels for trailers. Same with the little tyres, they are trailer size. There are a few specialty wheels and tires for vintage little cars if you look hard and pay much more. Tire manufactures used to have little 12 inch car tires for the Geo Metro and a couple of other small economy cars but those seem to be done for now.  It's probably fine to use trailer tires, since the performance of the Crosley is not that great and it does not weigh very much. The Crosley speed and weight is less than the load and speed rating of most trailer tires in 12 inches. Ratings for new Supercargo Lucky for me the wheels were is pretty good shape. Not enough rust to ruin the tire bead or cause a leak around the stems.  The rotten tires included two tubeless tires and two with the tubes. The wheels under the tubeless tires were in much better shape becaus...

This Crosley had not been serviced since 1960, the brake system was in poor condition. The brake fluid had converted into an acidic sap like substance. Most of it seemed to have evaporated or seeped out by 2018. The rubber dust boots were crumbly and dry, The pistons were jammed, the drums rusted, and the lines were clogged. Old crusty brakes Necessity is the mother of invention  All the drums were removed with great effort, the adjusters were loosened first and then hammering removed the front drums. The rear drums required more effort because the axle was frozen in the drums. That was solved by soaking with solvent and oil for a few days, making a puller out of a length of heavy scrap 1/4 thick angle iron, drilling two holes and a couple of longer bolts that matched the lug bolts. The castle nut was used to help support the threads on the end of the axle. Effective braking surface much less than possible Rust ring on axle My 1950 has 9 inch hydraulic brakes si...

When restoring an old unused car where all systems are no go, the re-builder can fully disassemble everything or work on one system at a time. If you have space for boxes and the separated body and chassis, then you can do the former. You can organize by system  or by area removed from; engine compartment, rear, etc. You can clean, evaluate, order replacements or recondition as parts are removed or as you reassemble. Processing during removal is better if you have to wait for replacement parts. In the garage, but on a trailer Working on one system at a time, might be the way to go if you do not have space for a fully disassembled car or some systems are go while others are iffy. You might be able to start the engine, but critical systems are in no condition to go for a drive. You will need good fuel, cooling and lubrication systems to start the engine. You will also need parts of the electrical system to test the engine. In any case, first time dissemblers, should photograp...

not too far How did you get your car here from Miami?  I was asked by a neighbor. I got it in the Arizona version of Miami, which is a copper state boom town with old seemingly derelict buildings in it’s downtown on Highway 60 East of Phoenix. It was stored at an old Mobile gas station garage. All I had to do was drive it the 100 miles back to Carefree. I had a little trailer to match the car. This is the newer bigger CD model, with the 44 cubic inch cast iron block engine. weighing a little over 1000 pounds and a width of 50 inches, so it should fit on my little trailer if I add a couple of boards to span the 80 inch wheelbase. I strapped the wheels to the trailer frame and strapped the loose hood. I think I lost a few parts that fell through the holes in the floor pans. too small trailer limited speed to a max 45 mph The seller has pumped up the tires for the photos used in the online advertisement, they were flat on arrival and one was petrified flat. I winche...

Since becoming underemployed, aka semiretired, and now a caregiver for my mother in Arizona, my spare time has been spent doing various things; painting, volunteering, reading books, listening to podcasts, etc.  Being a sort of restless person, working on an old car sounded like a good use of a couple of hours a day. Now I have been spending a lot of added time researching restoration, since I am a novice at it, I like learning new things and getting breaks back bending work. The basic task is making a 1950 Crosley into a sort of Morris estate style substitute. Good luck.  Who or what was Crosley? See wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crosley In a nutshell he was an inventor and made economy small cars from 1939-52, a bit before the Morris Minor and before the VW bug. My spouse loves the Morris Traveller. It's kind of a beach car. The Crosley Station Wagon comes close. Does it look like a Morris Traveller? Not exactly. The Morris had external ash wood fram...