✅ SOLVED Anyone see a car like this one

oldbattleaxe · Nov 16, 2017

This mini car is titled as a 1951 Crosley. I want to restore it but I need to see another for a pattern. There are some added features that are not stock. The hood ornament. The front bumper. The steering wheel has been raised. The head lights were added as well as the signal lights. The engine has been changed to a 18hp Briggs. Behind the seats, there is a strip of metal that was cut out to make more room for the driver. The back is humped like a midget racer. It has a differential. Drive line with a brake drum for brakes. It has a typical transmission with a stick shift. I have been surfing the internet for weeks trying to find another like it. All; help is appreciated. Thanks, Bill

nhbenz · Nov 16, 2017

Wow, crazy little thing..
I'd have guessed wrongly that it was from a circus ride.

vpnavy · Nov 16, 2017

I searched Google and found...

Car of the Week: 1951 Crosley Hot Shot (May 15, 2012)

1st U.S. Sports Car: 1951 Crosley Hot Shot (DEC 2, 2016)

Gambrinus · Nov 16, 2017

And they had several different models,[I like this truck] but I could not find one that looked exactly like your model.

092116-Barn-Finds-1948-Crosley-Sport-Utility-Sedan-1-e1474515781763-630x394.webp

Tony in SC · Nov 16, 2017

Home built one of.

diggummup · Nov 17, 2017

A heavily modified version, whatever model it started out in life as. The hood looks like it started out as a ferris wheel seat.

tamrock · Nov 17, 2017

Possibly a creation by this group of radicals. There seems to be no end to their mini car Madness.

DCMatt · Nov 17, 2017

Cool car. I've been an antique car guy for 40+ years and, other than being tiny, nothing about this thing says "Crosley" to my eye. Or 1951 for that matter... The style seems more like late 30's or early 40's. Or a wartime build.

I'm thinking it is a custom job that some second or third owner titled well after the fact and simply guessed at what it might have originally been. Crosley was a well known micro-car so why not call it that.

Pictures of the frame and underneath might help tell the story.

DCMatt · Nov 17, 2017

For what it's worth, the hood ornament is from a '53 Olds. The front bumper is actually a bumper guard from an early 50's GM product like Chevy, Pontiac, or Olds. I would guess a '49, '50, or '51 because the chrome isn't peeling off like the '52 & '53 Korean war era bumpers and grills.

Somebody spent a lot of time and did a lot of welding on that beast. Very nice work, too.

The closest I found in body style is the Biscuter, Rovin D2, and maybe King Midget.

It's either a full custom or a kit car. Lots of those available from the back of Popular Mechanics magazine back then...

tamrock · Nov 17, 2017

DCMatt said:
For what it's worth, the hood ornament is from a '53 Olds. The front bumper is actually a bumper guard from an early 50's GM product like Chevy, Pontiac, or Olds. I would guess a '49, '50, or '51 because the chrome isn't peeling off like the '52 & '53 Korean war era bumpers and grills.

Somebody spent a lot of time and did a lot of welding on that beast. Very nice work, too.

The closest I found in body style is the Biscuter, Rovin D2, and maybe King Midget.

It's either a full custom or a kit car. Lots of those available from the back of Popular Mechanics magazine back then...

I've heard about cars like that.

oldbattleaxe · Nov 17, 2017

It is titled as a 1951 Crosley. The rear dif is dated 40's Crosley by researching the numbers. I do now that the only metal that has been modified on the shell is rear of the seat where it was cut to allow the seat to give room for a larger person. The rear and front clip are factory as well as the chrome fake pipes. The transmission has the brake band on the drive line like many of the Crosleys. I know that Crosleys got into racing in the early 50's. I know that Treasure net will provide an answer. Never fails. There is a lot of knowledge here.

oldbattleaxe · Nov 18, 2017

Maybe an amusement ride car? The metal on this thing is very thick. I am researching in the amusement park ride car or circus category. As mentioned above.

Icewing · Nov 18, 2017

You definitely found an oddball. To me it looks a little bit like a cross between a King Midget, a Roven, but it's likely something else entirely.

King Midget

Roven

3cylbill · Nov 18, 2017

They made three or ft different models a hot shot a pickup truck. , Station wagon ..i still have the back of a pickup as a trailer for my atv..crosley was the first American compact...I believe. The engine block was made of pressed steel ,petty much junk...

oldbattleaxe · Nov 24, 2017

More information. I am told by a huge collector of Crosley's out of Texas. He doesn't think it is a Crosley. The SN tag on this car has been added later. I am now looking at the drive line stampings. The 3 speed transmission has WG T 2 C WG may be Warner Gear? From what I had found they used that transmission in 1930 - 31. Now I need to get the differential stampings. This is quite a project.

cw0909 · Nov 24, 2017

all i can add is a cool little car, does it still drive

DCMatt · Nov 24, 2017

Please provide some pics of the frame and drive train and any numbers you can find. We'll get to the bottom of it.

DCMatt · Nov 24, 2017

oldbattleaxe said:
More information. I am told by a huge collector of Crosley's out of Texas. He doesn't think it is a Crosley. The SN tag on this car has been added later. I am now looking at the drive line stampings. The 3 speed transmission has WG T 2 C WG may be Warner Gear? From what I had found they used that transmission in 1930 - 31. Now I need to get the differential stampings. This is quite a project.

Warner Gear is a good bet. I believe Borg Warner had a WG Division.

Here is a B/W ad featuring Crosley from 1949.