12 replies to this topic

[cheapracer]

Good read here on the '49 - 52' Crosley Hotshot, enjoy.

http://auto.howstuff...uper-sports.htm

[Gary C]

This is the only Crosley I've ever seen. I snapped it at Summit Point Raceway back in 2006 :

[hansfohr]

Such a Hotshot (unless its poor unreliable engine, made of steel stampings!) won the Performance Index in the 1950 Sebring 12H (pictured), averaging a proud 52 mph. A year later it was leading the Index at Le Mans before it was sidelined by a failing voltage regulator.

Edited by hansfohr, 07 March 2010 - 22:05.

[Todd]

Such a Hotshot (unless its poor unreliable engine, made of steel stampings!) won the Performance Index in the 1950 Sebring 12H (pictured), averaging a proud 52 mph.

Crosley replaced the CoBra(Copper Brazed fabricated engine block) engine with the conventional CIBA(Cast Iron Block Assembly) engine in 1949. I think all Hotshots had CIBA engines, which were really rather sound and utilized in many small engined specials.

[maoricar]

Crosley based specials were fast and reliable; take a look at the race record of Chandler (Candy) Poole and his PBX
Nev

[McGuire]

Here's a nice enthusiast history of the Crosley engine and its variants. Be sure to click through all the pages -- the lineage is longer than one may think, reaching into the '70s.


http://crosleyautocl...y_Eng_Tree.html

[Lotus23]

As best I can recall, I never saw a Crosley race. However, I have ridden in a street Crosley: it was owned by a neighbor who occasionally gave us kids a ride home from high school ('51 - '55). It was cramped and slow, but it sure beat walking! (Same neighbor also had a Sears Allstate auto.)

At college, I was a classmate of Tom Poole, Candy's son. We young gearheads were most impressed to have such fame so near! However, istr Tom quit school after a year or so, and I lost track of him thereafter.

[Frank S]

Here's a Crosley practicing at Torrey Pines in January, 1956. The Crosley is partially obscured by the green flag.

The Austin-Healey 100S might be driven by Stirling Moss; I know he was there that weekend, and did a few "demo" laps in that car. Otherwise it's entered by Pringle and driven by Roy Jackson-Moore.

Edited by Frank S, 08 March 2010 - 01:49.

[dretceterini]

Crosley based specials were fast and reliable; take a look at the race record of Chandler (Candy) Poole and his PBX
Nev

Chal Hall's Crosley powered little digger H-mod won 10 out of 12 races (2 DNFs) in 1958 and was Pacific Coast Champion

[raceannouncer2003]

Harry Eyerly (father of Mike Eyerly) was very hard to beat in H-mod in the 50s in his Crosley Special. He did a lot of drilling to lighten the car. Photo at this link (note what he did to the wheels!)...

http://www.rspubs.com/photo41.htm

Vince H.

[hansfohr]

The Austin-Healey 100S might be driven by Stirling Moss; I know he was there that weekend, and did a few "demo" laps in that car. Otherwise it's entered by Pringle and driven by Roy Jackson-Moore.

The car Stirling Moss drove in practice was the 'Pringle' Healey.

[ggnagy]

This is the only Crosley I've ever seen. I snapped it at Summit Point Raceway back in 2006 :

Belongs to Jay Sevier, a real character who races/hillclimbs a H Production Bugeye, vintage races a Cream/brown TD, and often crews for other Washington DC area racers, including Randy Canfield.

I remember Jay tooling around the Summit Point paddock quite a few years back, driving the chassis of that Crosley around while the body was being restored. Seats were milk crates sitting on a piece of plywood.


Another person from the Mid Atlantic US who raced a Crosley was Ray Heppinstall of Howmet TX fame. It was a blue and white hotshot, that I last saw him vintage racing about a decade ago.

I have pictures of both, but heaven only knows where they are stored.

[David Birchall]

Harry Eyerly (father of Mike Eyerly) was very hard to beat in H-mod in the 50s in his Crosley Special. He did a lot of drilling to lighten the car. Photo at this link (note what he did to the wheels!)...

http://www.rspubs.com/photo41.htm

Vince H.

I recall that car 'falling over' in the chicane at Portland during practice for a vintage race. There were virtually no turn workers around and myself and others ran across the track and helped the driver out.--Probably mid eighties. (Nineteen eighties...!)

Edited by David Birchall, 11 March 2010 - 03:17.