At first glance, this micro car might look like a mini Corvette, but it is so much more than that. This little car is a 1948 Crosley with an Almquist body strapped to it. If you haven’t ever heard the name Almquist, then you don’t know about one of this country’s greatest speed pioneers – Ed Almquist. He built all kinds of interesting parts and upgrades, but the Almquist Crosley might be one of the more interesting and unusual products to come from Almquist Engineering. This tiny and lightweight sports car has been in storage for several decades and is currently housed with several other interesting little sports cars. The seller needs to make room, so they have listed the Almquist here on craigslist in Tallmadge, Ohio for $8,900. Thanks to Dan M for this tip!
Ed Almquist has been called one of the most important automotive pioneers, especially in the speed and performance department. He developed some of the very first speed parts, he worked with Hurst to develop the Hurst shifter, and he even invented the log style intake manifold for multi-carb setups! He really was a true genius when it came to increasing horsepower and performance.
Unlike most of his products, the Almquist Crosley wasn’t actually designed by Ed, but was originally the product of Clearfield Plastics. Ed eventually went on to buy the company after seeing what could be done with lightweight fiberglass car bodies. The Almquist Crosley wasn’t about increasing horsepower, it was about making better use of what was already there. By decreasing weight the car accelerated faster, handled better, braked in a shorter distance, and had a higher top speed. It still wasn’t a all out performance machine, but it was a blast to drive without being expensive or difficult to maintain.
This example is going to need work, but there really isn’t much to these cars. It shouldn’t be all that difficult to get this micro Corvette back on the road. With a few tweaks and some adjustments, it could make for a dependable driver that you can drive to the track, race all weekend, and drive it home at the end of the day without having to repair or replace a single thing! There is one I would change though and that’s the paint job. Would you keep the micro Vette look or go with a single color paint job?
I enjoyed talking with a Crosley enthusiast at a car show a few years ago. Apparently there’s many ways to improve the performance of the original engine. As far as the color, it would depend on if the body is actually coved. If it is, I’d go with a different color. Something more subtle like white/ivory or light gray/dark gray.
Need car, but the price is a little high
I’m the owner of this car if your still interested I’m going to be putting it back on the market
Just think how much better that little engine would rev and the ride quality would improve with the addition of some modern light weight alloy wheels.
LUST, I want ….a micro corvette….I cant tell what the spoted car is,the blue car seems to be an Abarth
There was one of those in the bushes by my house back in the 1980’s, it had a flathead ford v8 in it…
I’ve had old Almquist rod & custom catalogs around for years but I never noticed this mini-Vette body in them. I guess I just wasn’t in the market for a mini-Vette.
I’d really like to see one of these with a full race Crosley, maybe with the DOHC head that was developed for them. I’ll bet it would have gone well enough to surprise people back then.
This looks like it could be a whole bunch of fun. I wonder if a small block Chevy engine would fit in the engine bay. This thing would be a blast with a 327 and a four speed!
Looks like built on a crosley hot shot frame