Good morning! First, no, I do not apologize for that earworm; and second, welcome to Project Car Week! This week, we’re keeping the same price range as last week, between three and four grand, and looking for viable winter projects. Not all of them will run, but I promise none of them will be hopeless basket cases either.
On Friday, we wrapped up our week-long search for a decent used car, and wouldn’t you know it, that super-clean Mazda 6 from last Monday won by a country mile. That would be my choice too; it’s the best blend of practicality and fun out of the bunch, and it sure does look well-maintained.
As far as color goes, I don’t hate it in silver, but if I were to change it, I would go with one of two blues: either Mazda’s own Laser Blue, which was available on the Protege the year after I bought mine, or Ford’s Bimini Blue, which was the color of my ’93 Escort. I just like blue cars. I’ve had seven or eight of them over the years – but who’s counting?
Now, I know a lot of you don’t like it when I feature project cars, but I enjoy them, so it’s what we’re doing. I’ll keep it as painless as I can, and I’m trying to avoid the typical pickup trucks/Darts/Spitfires you see for sale everywhere, and focus on some uncommon choices. I think I succeeded today. Here’s what I found.
1948 Crosley CC Sedan – $3,500
Engine/drivetrain: 44 cubic inch overhead cam inline 4, three-speed manual, RWD
Location: Los Alamitos, CA
Odometer reading: unknown
Operational status: Non-running, but engine turns freely
The prevailing wisdom has always been that Americans do not like small cars. We’ll drive them, if we have to, to save gas, but very few car-buyers in this country actively go looking for a small car. (We have a disproportionately large number of such car-buyers here, it must be said.) That hasn’t stopped a few entrepreneurs from trying it over the years, however, with varying degrees of success. But only one of those entrepreneurs started out making radios: Powel Crosley. From 1939 until 1942, and then again from 1946 through 1952, Crosley made cars that were not much bigger than his radios, really.
Post-war Crosleys were powered by a tiny four-cylinder engine with a few notably weird features. The engine’s cylinders and head are one piece, brazed together from stamped pieces of steel, rather than a separate cast engine block and cylinder head like most other engines. It’s also a shaft-driven overhead cam design. A bevel gear at the front of the crankshaft drives a shaft that runs through what’s called a “cam tower” up to the top of the cylinder head, where another set of bevel gears turns the camshaft. This design was used in aircraft engines early on, but is rare in automotive engines. We have no idea how long ago this Crosley’s engine last ran, but judging by how clean it is, I bet it wasn’t that long ago. I can’t imagine it would be too hard to get this car running.
It seems to be in pretty good shape overall, especially for being seventy-six years old. We have no way of knowing how much is original and how much has been restored, of course, but I don’t see a whole lot of restoration work needed here. You could pretty much take it to Cars & Coffee as is, once you get it running. Make sure you can get there on surface streets, though – Crosleys realistically top out at about 50 MPH.
It looks reasonably straight outside, too, though obviously it has been repainted. I’m sure there’s some rust somewhere, but it’s a good twenty-footer as it sits, which is good enough for most casual classic car enthusiasts. You don’t see the sedan style very often; it seems like the wagon was more common, and looking at this car, I can see why. It’s proportioned like something out of a cartoon. Whether or not that’s a good thing, I’ll leave for you to decide.
1965 Toyota Corona – $3,500
Engine/drivetrain: 1.9-liter overhead valve inline 4, two-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Santa Ana, CA
Odometer reading: 85,000 miles
Operational status: Not running, needs some engine work
Toyota entered the US market in 1958, and… failed miserably. The Toyopet Crown, its first passenger car import, was slow and unreliable, and Toyota lost a ton of money. This car, the third-generation Corona, did a lot better. With more power than the Crown, and modern styling that took some cues from Oldsmobile and Mercury, the Corona looked like it belonged in America. And if it hadn’t been a success, there’s a good chance that RAV4 wouldn’t have cut you off in traffic today. But don’t hold that against this car.
As has become typical of imports, the US-market Corona got the “big” engine, in this case a 1.9-liter pushrod four, powering the rear wheels through a two-speed “Toyoglide” automatic. This one hasn’t been driven in a while, but we have no idea how long. The seller says it cranks but won’t start, which could be a few things, but it’s also missing the thermostat neck and upper hose, which means the cooling system has been open to the elements for who knows how long. You’ll want to flush everything out before you seal it all up again.
It’s incredibly clean inside, and it’s weird to see how American it looks. It has a wide rectangular speedometer and a pull-out headlight switch on the dash, just like American cars of the era. Some of them even had column-mounted shifters, though I don’t think there was ever a bench seat option.
The outside looks great too, and I bet there hasn’t been an early Corona this clean in most parts of the country in decades. Even the one I saw in Portland a few years ago was way rougher than this. It must have been kept in a garage; there’s no way it would be this clean and shiny if it had been sitting in this driveway all this time.
“Project” can mean a lot of different things to different people, and there are some aspects of fixing up a car that appeal to some of us more than others. Me, I’ll happily dive into mechanical restoration, if I don’t have to worry about the cosmetics. That’s why these two appeal to me: they both look great, but need some help with the mechanicals. Which one of them appeals to you?
(Image credits: sellers)
Late to the party, but I’m actually a Crosley owner. While the 1946-48 cars originally came with the copper-brazed tin block (CoBra), they were almost all rebuilt with the mechanically identical cast iron block (CIBA). This has the iron motor, which was a great engine that long outlived Crosley and was competitive in motorsports.
Crosleys are wonderful hobby cars. Fun to drive in a slow-car-fast way. The Crosley Auto Club is a bunch of super-helpful folks and the national meet is family-friendly (they give away youth projects cars!). There are THREE vendors supplying affordable parts to fix and keep the cars on the road.
When tuned right these cars are more reliable and fun to drive than James May’s experience. And you’ll attract max attention at car shows with your cute little buggy.
Here’s a walk around and drive video of my ‘48 wagon, which still had the CoBra tin motor… https://youtu.be/q3621ap7Fic
I would by the Crosley just to have a look at that engine.
As a small car lover I would like to say I feel like I am amongst my people. Even my truck is small, being a S10.
Toyota all the way. My father had a Corona that looked identical to this one. My pop liked to drink and it didn’t take long before that poor Toyota had a dent in every body panel… yet it ran. Dad never did any maintenance, yet it ran. When he finally sold it in 1976, it had 200k on the odometer, dents all over, and he had painted over the rusty dents with house paint and a brush…. yet ir ran. I would still see it in the early 80s.. still running.
Ours was a 3 on the tree manual with, yes, a bench seat. I learned how to drive a stick in it when I was 12 years old.
The first thing that comes to mind with the Crosley is a Hayabusa swap, and that doesn’t seem like a good idea. Otherwise put a mowing deck on it and make some money.
The Corona seems like a far more solid starting point for something, so it gets my vote.
This one’s a no-brainer.
A fun 2-door with a clutch pedal vs a boring 4-door with a 2-speed automatic?
For me the 2-door stick shift wins every time.
I’m too big of a Toyota fan to pass up voting for the Corona. Aaaand at $3.5k I’d be writing a check for it today if I could convince my family we need a third car.
The Toyota is the much better, much more sensible choice, but for a project car of this age, that’s not very relevant.
Today’s choice is about novelty, so I picked the Crosley, not that I wouldn’t love both.
Corona. I would build it as a tribute to the Coronas that competed in the 1965 Bathurst 1000.
Crosley. I would likely never end up working on either, kind of like a Nash Metropolitan DT, but I feel like I could sort of want to spend time on the Crosley at some point.
Was gonna go Rona, but voted Crosley since it’s more unique and interesting. I also really like that engine. To actually be able to drive on the highway, I would eventually upgrade the engine (and maybe turn into a manual)
I was leaning Corona, even though the Crosley is adorable, because its exterior is so sharp, but the interior is so boring that I’m back on the fence. I don’t think it can pull off daily driver, I don’t think it would be any kind of fun to drive, so I think it loses to the yellow cartoon car.
The houseboat I more or less grew up on 55hp Homelite outboard on it, which used a Crosley motor flipped vertically as the powerhead. The antique auto parts dealer in town actually had tune up parts on hand for it… I’d go with the toyota.
Voted for the Corona, at least there’s 5¢ deposit.
(Also, now I have Calexico’s cover of The Minutemen’s “Corona” stuck in my head.)
That Corona’s a ’68 or more likely a ’69, not a ’65 like the ad says. There was a mild facelift for ’68, and the interior was updated to meet new Federal requirements for impact absorption—note that the window winders, knobs, armrests, etc. are all plastic/padded, not metal. Earlier models had a horn ring, too. Front headrests suggest ’69, as they became required that year.
Not sure about in the later years, but a front bench seat was indeed available on these Coronas through at least 1967.
You know, I noticed the side-marker lights this morning, after publication, and that had me wondering about the year…
My my my my my my my Corona.
earworm repaid.
edit: damn, A. Barth beat me to it.
I would have to go with the Toyota. By the time you get the Crosley engine running again, it’ll just grenade itself.
If Dr. Seuss were to design an Automobile, it would look like the Crosley. 😉
Toyota for me!
It’s a car that you’ll love!
It’s a car you’ll enjoy!
You need a key to wind it,
It’s the size of a toy!
I imagine seeing you driving your Crosley, with your daughter Cindy Lou- who, to Whoville for some rare Who-roast beast and Who-pudding 😉
Ha! very nice, Dr. Seuss would be proud!
Only one of these was designed by Michelotti.
Toyota, please.
Sheet metal. Engine block.
Yeah I’ll take the Toyota…
I’ll always go with the car that has the biggest mustache! Crosley for me!
I have to go with the Crosley. My uncle has a fully restored ’48 Crosley wagon, and top-ending at 50 is right on the money. In fact 45 feels remarkably adventurous. I don’t know that I like the cars, but I definitely appreciate them and I know he’d get a huge kick out of seeing this sitting in my garage (and would hopefully buy it once I get tired of looking at it).
The Toyota looks like a decent project, but it just doesn’t do much for me and would elicit a big shrug from most everyone I know.
I’m bringing that Crosley home to Cincinnati! Good to have you back buddy!
My vote goes to the Crosley as it has a much higher novelty factor.
Now I’m aware that for the 1948 model year, it likely came from the factory from the horribly unreliable CoBra engine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crosley#Crosley_CoBra_(1946%E2%80%931949)
And then the question becomes whether it still has the original engine or not.
And if it does, look if it’s possible to rebuild it or if a good replacement could be sourced. And part of the deal would involve having to join the Crosley club
https://crosleyautoclub.com/index.html