Don’t let the size of this 1952 Crosley Super Sports convertible fool you, it would have a crowd of people around it every time you stopped for gas or groceries. The seller has this fantastic little car listed here on craigslist in Colorado Springs, Colorado and they’re asking what seems like a very reasonable $5,500. Thanks to Gunter K. for sending in this tip!
And a fun little grocery-getter it would be. I would argue or at least speculate that more people would surround this car in a parking lot or gas station than any new Ferrari or Lamborghini. Just so they don’t pick it up and move it. At 1,100 pounds, a half-dozen beefy folks could most likely move it over a few parking spots. Crosley came out with the doorless Hotshot in 1949 and the following year came the Super Hotshot. It had a permanent convertible top, unlike the Hotshot which had a top that had to be stored when it wasn’t in use. In 1951 and 1952, the car was renamed Super Sports. Yes, with an “s” on the end, that’s not a typo for a change.
Other than being crushed by an inexperienced, daydreaming and/or texting SUV driver in today’s crazy traffic (not bitter), this is basically the perfect car for me. Crosley had much success with the Hotshot and Super Sports in racing circles in the 1950s. Believe it or not, they had disc brakes at all four corners, that was pretty exotic for an American car in the 1950s. At 11.5-feet in length, they’re easy to store and I would imagine that they’re fun to drive. I’ve never driven one but if all was right with the world I would have had one years ago. Maybe in 2022…
You can see that this is a project car but according to the seller, it’s all original right down to the paint. If that’s the case, I wouldn’t change a thing, cosmetically. At least as far as a full restoration goes. Although, there is some rust on the driver’s side rocker panel and floor pan, so that would have to somehow be fixed without ruining the original finish on the rest of the car or making it look like a patchwork quilt. A new top is in order as you can see, that one won’t keep out much rain. The red interior looks great for being older than most Barn Finds readers and the steering wheel and gauges are perfectly aged, like a fine wine in a really small bottle.
The seller says that it runs and drives and the engine looks much cleaner than I expected it to. It’s Crosley’s 44 cubic-inch, 26.5-horsepower inline-four. This is the CIBA engine – Cast-Iron Block Assembly – as opposed to the earlier CoBra – Copper Brazed – engine. For $5,500 this one is incredibly tempting as it’s all original and is the last year for Crosley production. Have any of you owned or driven a Crosley Super Sports?
This looks fun. About the same length as a Midget, 500 pounds lighter and looks a bit roomier inside.
It will be a great restoration project. I am not sure where to get auto supplies since most shops like for example 4WheelOnline only sell products for new car models. I’m sure it’s going to take time for someone to finish this build, but it will definitely be worth it.
Even smaller than a Midget by almost a foot.
I have a Midget, but I really like this car.
There is a big following for Crosleys.
My ’76 Midget is 11’5″, same as this car.
Fabrication of convt tops isn’t as easy às it looks, I’m assuming this hasn’t one for pattern…I did a chopped model a hot rod once, days of trial and error and wasted material…not as fun as it looked…
In 1947, my parents took a pre-war, two cylinder, convertible on their Canadian honeymoon.
They needed to ship their luggage ahead by rail, because the Crosley couldn’t get over the White Mountains with the extra weight.
They stopped for lunch at a bar in Sherbrooke, Quebec. They watched the top of the car rise in the window above their booth. Stepped outside to find four strong men lifting the car in the air.
It was a very special little car!
Brad , PERFECT :) , LOL , thanks for sharing that. Cincinnati native here , Powell Crosley’s place “Pinecroft” is right around the corner from me. I keep looking Crosley’s , one of these days… CVG,Cincinnati Airport has two of his personal cars from Pinecroft on permanent display near baggage claim. My wife is getting tired of me stopping there, I’ve done it 100 times . cant help it.
Send in the Clowns !
Had a 1946 Pickup when I was in high school. People say they were slow but I outran a 1939 Olds with it. Used it for hunting, If stuck, 2 people could slide it around to get going again. 500 pound load rating but I saw 15 high school boys in it go about 2 blocks, tires did not blow.
I owned a 1950 Hot Shot… and it was a “SUPER”. I did not get the top frame with it… but it still had it’s top… there were “bolts” on either side to hook the frame to but someone had removed the frame before I got the car. The Super also had doors… sort of anyway… they were sheets of metal that hooked on the sides of the car with two small hinges that allowed the door to move UP when it was opened… and slide down “hooking” onto the bottom of the section of the body the went around the door. A little clumsy and awkward to use but worked. Mine had a “factory radio”… if you can find any Crosley with a factory radio… buy the car! They are very scarce… the radios. You can tell it is a factory radio because they have the name CROSLEY in relief across the front of the radio. Crosley was built by the fellow who owned the most powerful AM radio station in the USA… and he also built rather good radios before he got into the car business… so it follows his car radios were very good in their day.
I have a Crosley pickup with V8 60 Fordflathead,39 trans and xtra gitup ‘n go! Fun , small ,unusual equals hotrod?
Even smaller than a Midget by almost a foot.
I have a Midget, but I really like this car.
There is a big following for Crosleys.
There is a very active Crosley club, and also an outfit called “Service Motors”
that specializes in Crosley parts
While I owned mine, I was a member of that club… full of folks who knew how to fix anything on a Crosley, and I bought a lot of parts from Service Motors… they had new but old stock parts for the cars, and also did arrange to make some needed parts when their supply of the old stuff ended.
There are at least three major Crosley parts suppliers and manufacturers: Service Motors, Dave Edwards Crosley Parts, and Yankee Crosley Parts, plus smaller specialty suppliers. https://images.app.goo.gl/8MiSWwYVzt4yQ3Z48