[masraum]

Originally Posted by imaircooled

Definitely a Crosley. Made in Cincinnati. They had all kinds of body types.

This is the only Crosley that I can remember seeing. It was fantastic. The wind-up key on the back was on a motor so it spun.







Per the Internet, seems they used a 44 cubic inch 26.5hp motor. Again, according to the Internet, Crosley made the first American sports car, was the first American car company to start making cars after WW2, the first mass-market production car with SOHC and the first American car with 4 wheel caliper type disk brakes.

It also outright won Sebring in 1950.

Forgotten History: The First Sebring Race on 12/31/1950

Bobby had decided to sit out the race, because the MG TC could not be competitive against the Ferrari's. Just then Vic Sharpe had shown up in his Hot Shot, with tires for another friend Tommy Cole, who was driving an Allard Cadillac in the race. (Vic Sharpe had at the time owned the local Crosley franchise.) Tommy Cole had suggested to Bobby that the little Crosley might have a chance to win because of the little engine size. (The Crosley had to complete 288.3 miles, while the Ferrari had to complete 363.6 miles.) He would have to run the little car in high gear without shifting, and he would need the help of Frits Koster another driver with much racing experience. (Frits had just recently arrived in the U.S. from Holland) The next time Vic saw his car, the windshield was removed and a small piece of plexiglas had been bolted to the cowl rubber and the car was going around the track on practice runs. (Vic was good friends with Bobby, Frits, and Tommy Cole.) Since Vic did not hold an SCCA (Sport Car Club Of America) license, Frits, and Bobby would drive the car in the race.

The race track was marked with a few hay bales, a couple of signs, and the pits were just a row of folding tables tied together with 2x4s. 28 cars had shown up to the starting line. The cars lined up at a 45-degree angle to the track at the makeshift pits, the Crosley was in 28th spot, dead last. At the 3:00 pm green-flag signal the drivers were to sprint across the tarmac into their cars, start engines, and hurry off on the six-hour run. (Driver John Bentley, delayed at his car in last-minute preparations, was seen to then run in the opposite direction, toward the other drivers, causing much mirth among the spectators.) While the little Crosley was one of the slowest cars on the track, it's consistent lap speed quickly took the lead on the handicapping index.

After the first hour of racing, the handicap formula showed, to everyone's amazement, that No. 19, the little Crosley driven by Frits Koster and Ralph Deshon, was in first place. In a close second was Jim Kimberly's No. 55 2-litre Ferrari, and holding down third place was Bob Keller in an 1100-cc Fiat, No. 20. Fourth was a Cadillac-engined Allard, No. 34, driven by Tommy Cole, who had himself hours earlier driven the Crosley around the track.