Thursday, January 12, 2012

Ebay Watch: Gasser Heaven - Dual Draggin' Wagons

While Crosleys never achieved the must-have gasser status of Willys or Fiat Topolinos,  there was no shortage of Crosleys (well, bodies) on the track back in the heyday of drag racing.  One look at a Crosley sedan told the early drag racers all they needed to know: that thing was smaller, lighter and more aerodynamic than whatever '20s/'30s/'40s body they had in place.  If Crosley wagons weren't quite as light, they were easier to find, so many of them made their way to the track and the salt flats.
A half century later there are still folks who dream of recreating the drag cars of the fifties and sixties, and a Crosley with a big ole V8 under the hood is just the ticket.  There are a couple of hopeful hotrod/gasser project wagons on available Ebay right now, both in New York state.
First up is this flat black '49, already sitting on a boxed Model A frame with a Chevy 350 with a neat intake mocked up in place.  The front clip is off but comes with the car, along with a box of assorted hotrod bits like a Grant wheel.  The same seller has the original frame available at another auction if you're looking for a set of the late Crosley 9" drum brakes.  All in all this appears to be a well-conceived project that just never got finished.  Current bid is only $1000, so this might be one to watch if gasser wagons are your deal.
The next Ebay gasser project takes quite a bit more imagination to picture as a completed car, but then, that gives you more options, right?  The pictures are pretty crappy, which might be a blessing - this thing looks pretty scary.  It's listed as just a body.  I don't think the wheels in the pictures even come with the car.  You'll need lots of imagination (and parts, and money) to make this anything other than lawn art. Bidding starts at $800.   Hmmm,  I recently bought (and then sold) a wagon body in about the same shape for $50.  Caveat Emptor!
Just so we don't end on a bummer note, here's some pictures of some cool old drag Crosleys...
   

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The John Batto car is one of my faves, and the original body was being run on a pretty faithful recreation until a few years ago. For reasons unknown, John wanted the body back. There is a guy in So Cal who still runs a Crosley bodied car at the ANRA meets.

Dean

Jesse said...

Hey C.K., great website! Coincidentally I just met a guy with a Crosley truck that he's making into a pro street or drag race machine... he's a Pittsburg part time resident, he winters here in San Diego.