This car is flat out awesome. It appears to have been build with surgical precision, it is clean as a whistle, and the quality appears unassailable. Yes, there are some things that true drag race history geeks would beef about like the presence of the big block Chevy engine, perhaps the wheelbase, and a couple other things but the reality is that those guys can go suck it. This car is a show stopper and it is the coolest thing for sale on eBay today. The body is about the cleanest Crosley body you’ll ever see and it even has the factory body tag on it. The chassis was built to look like an old piece along the lines that Chassis Research or Dragmaster would have constructed in the early 1960s and with touches like the rear disc brakes, drilled front axle, spindle mount wheels, and zoomies there’s win happening on all fronts.
The interior is cool and a bit curious that it has two seats, and it seems to be setup to be a cruiser but with some of the attributes previously mentioned, driving this thing to a local car show would probably land you in the county jail. This car raises all kinds of questions on use because it isn’t really a drag car and it isn’t really a piece to drive down the street either. It looks like an old hot wheels car come to life and we bet sounds insane with 14.5:1 compression breathing through those zoomies. We’d love to sneak it into the strip and see what it would be like to make those old hard wall slicks smoke for a time or two. It would probably be a handful and sound better than it ran, but would you just look at it?!
Here’s the text of the ad in the event it gets sold: (some of the stuff in here will make you giggle like the Wild Willie comment)
This 1948 Crosley C/A Altered dragster is what state-of-the-art in drag racing looked like in the early ’60s. Minimalist bodywork, an extended frame, and one big honkin’ engine. Along the way, you’ll discover some very clever tricks that make the car a fierce competitor, even today in the nostalgic drags and it’s virtually guaranteed to draw a crowd.
Modeled after the famous Wild Willy Borsh Winged Express, this cool Crosley altered wheelbase dragster definitely has an old-school look. Just about the only Crosley part left is the body shell, and it’s got a cool look with that little station wagon shape atop that wild chassis. Finish quality is exceptionally good, as if this dragster was built for show as much as going fast, and the bright red paint is as good as any show car we’ve seen lately. The cute little Crosley face peeking out from behind the gas tank has a wonderful appeal and you can see exceptional attention to detail everywhere you look. It’s likely that no in-period dragsters were ever finished to this level, but today it makes a statement no matter what it’s doing, and that’s really what matters. Lettering on the doors has a sentimental look, advertising Frog’s Hot Rods & Race Cars, but otherwise it’s rather restrained (well, for a race car, anyway). We’d be lying if we said we didn’t love how this thing looks.
The interior is pure race car minimalist, with old-school fiberglass buckets and every single component drilled full of lightening holes to shave weight. It’s actually pretty easy to climb in with full-sized doors that open properly, and once you’re situated behind the wheel, it’s reasonably comfortable. And there’s a lot of style here, not just functionality. The pedals and shifters are beautifully crafted from aluminum, the sheetmetal work on the floors and sides of the tub is very nicely done, and tricks like the giant connecting rod used as a steering column bracket are pure cool. Original Crosley gauges are still in the dash and yes, it does have an AM/FM/8-track radio that’s definitely from another era. With two seats and harnesses, you can take a friend along for the ride, but the rear compartment is full of cooling system components (fluids run through the frame, by the way) so it’s done being a cargo carrier of any sort.
The hardware is what this car is all about, and it all focuses on a 468 cubic inch big block stuffed in the Crosley’s nose. With a steel crank, H-beam rods, and 14.5:1 compression, it definitely qualifies as a race piece. The heads were, of course, ported and polished and there’s a sizeable cam in there, too. The stunning Hilborn fuel injection system with velocity stacks is as much art as fuel delivery, and the front-mounted gas tank uses a Hilborn pump and inertia to help feed the beast. A Vertex magneto lights the fires and 2-inch white-coated zoomies cackle and spit right out the Crosley’s front fender wells. A Borg-Warner clutchless 4-speed spins a Winters quick change rear end with either 3.75 or 4.53 gear ratios. The front suspension is 1940 Ford with wishbones and adjustable spring perches, while out back there are 48-inch ladder bars with coil-over shocks. The rolling stock is old school, too, with skinny magnesium mags up front and Radar 15x10s out back, all wearing whitewalls for just the right look.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE PHOTOS AND THEN HIT THE LINK FOR THE EBAY LISTING FOR ALL THE PHOTOS AND INFO –
Seemingly nice workmanship, but what a joke. Strip the body off it, sell the motor, rear, etc, and start again. Feirce competitor? What? In the car show coral? Minimalist interior? It’s a street car interior for goodness sakes! Hey, market it as a show car, hell; put a Rat Fink doll on the front chassis or something, but don’t call it a nostalgia altered….
I hate you today Brian! You posted this …. This …. uhm …. Blechhh
Now I”m blind. Yup I hate you Brian!
Judging by that hideously large fuel tank, I would guess this thing was supposed to be some kind of cruizer??? It is kinda cool. It needs to be shortened and the fuel tank made to be proper drag race size. Not sure what the car is good for except maybe car show/fairground queen but I kinda like it.
This is an example of how some one who knows little about drag racing and hot rodding spends way to much money to build a useless TURD.
hmmmm, not real popular judging by the comments…I thought I’d be on my own not really liking it. Build quality – check. Visuals? nope.. It just looks dumb. Why is the front 6 feet longer than it needs to be? I get they’re trying to get some kind of rail job / altered vibe going on but it just looks stupid.