Looking for an affordable entry into the classic car scene? Or maybe another fun and interesting ride to add to your stable of classics? If so, take a look at this 1948 Crosley sedan up for sale in Los Alamitos, CA. Listed on Craigslist for $3,500, this quirky sedan is a cheap way to get into this great hobby of ours. Thank you to Tony Primo for sending this tip over!
The first half of the 20th century produced many interesting car manufacturers and models. Anyone with a dream and penchant for mechanical design could bring a car to market and hope for the best. However, many of the marques didn’t survive the post-war boom as they couldn’t compete with the vehicles the large OEMs brought to market to feed the ever-growing appetite of the public for bigger and fancier cars. Crosley was one of these brands that didn’t survive the mid-century mark. But looking at what Crosley was trying to build, did we miss out on some great ideas in the timeline of automotive technology?
Crosley started their attempt to bring compact cars to the American public in the late-1930’s, but were not able to catch on before the start of the war. After the war, they continued their attempts to bring small cars to market, but after some bad publicity surrounding their engines, they were soon out of business in 1952. However, Crosley was the first American car manufacturer to bring many modern technologies that are still in use today. They were the first to use a slab-side, or pontoon, design. They were the first to have caliper disc brakes standard on a car and the first with a production overhead camshaft engine. Knowing this, you can’t help but think that maybe if these cars had a better looking design, they would have found more success.
Although only 6 pictures are provided of this sedan, we can see that this is an honest example. The body looks straight with no rust. The interior looks clean, and it appears to have no missing parts throughout the car. We are told that this is a Barn Find from an estate sale in the LA area, and not much else. Crosley sedans came in 3 colors in 1948: yellow, gray, and blue. Is this car original, or has it been through a restoration? It sure looks like it has gone through a restoration in the last few decades, but only closer examination would tell us the true story of this car. What do you think? Are you a Crosley fan? I have some family members that have one of these and every car show that they go to, they are always crowded by folks who want to check out their quirky car. For $3500, this would be a great way for anyone to get their own Crosley and enjoy the experience of having a unique classic. Check out this sedan here on Craigslist, and thank you again to Tony Primo for the tip!
Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe their engine blocks were made of stamped steel and were prone to cracking and corrosion. Still these cars were cool before economy cars were a “thing”.
I’ve read that most of the Crosley brazed sheet metal engines were replaced with the “CIBA” (Cast Iron Block Assembly) engines that became standard in 1949.
Correct. many of the earlier “COBRA” (COpper BRAzed) sheet steel engine blocks failed, and were replaced with the CIBA units.
The latter were terrific little engines. They were simple, reliable, cleverly engineered and could be hopped up easily. Many CIBA engines, with hotter camshafts, multiple carburetors and other mods, wound up in racing cars, and did rather well.
Yeah, the early ones were – the antifreeze at the time was salt-based. Not a good combo. I believe Crosley did a fair number of warranty exchanges for the CIBA (cast iron block) engine.
Needs an LS
Been there, done that, and lots of fun.
I just picked up a 1948 Crosley wagon. What a cool little car. Super simple car and parts are surprisingly available and affordable. I have the original CoBra engine and a spare CIBA block.
Looks like a pretty decent deal. Not exactly a high dollar car but I see running ones actually sell for 5-6k. If the motor is good you’d be ahead of the game for sure. You’ll get plenty of look at a car show!
The buyer of this should create a display board to use at car shows. The Crosley story needs to be told! This man was a visionary… way ahead of his time. Just think of how different things would be if gas was priced at $3.00 a gallon in 1950? That would have changed EVERYTHING!
I would also make a ’50s Crosley bakelite radio part of my display…
Some years back, at a radio swap meet in Cincy, six Crosley cars were on view. Two, as I recall, had the propellers in the grill. I spent part of my life restoring Crosley radios. Some were styled to resemble dashboards. The radios – and the cars – can and do hold up very well indeed. I know!
When I was a kid in the 1950’s, a neighbor on the next street who was our milkman, owned a Crosley station wagon and one winter after a big snow fall he towed our toboggan down the snow covered street in the Chicago suburb. That was the first and only time my father’s impulsive toboggan purchase was used.