1947 Crosley - $2,275 (North Hollywood)

[Guest]

 

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/cto/d/north-hollywood-1947-crosley/7491610954.html

Rare post war Crosley sedan. Complete and runs. New gas tank. Rebuilt starter. Seat frames etc. great summer project. Fun and cute!

Jack (818) 284-9305

[Leif in Calif]

Looks like a fun project that won't be too hard or take up much garage space! The first Crosleys had sheet metal engines!  

[supercub]

Sheet metal block?

[Xander Wildeisen]

My grandmother drove a Crosley on her mail route in Nampa Idaho. To far to walk, from farm to farm. And no need for a large vehicle to haul the mail.

[Gearheadengineer]

40 minutes ago, supercub said:

Sheet metal block?

I think the block was aluminum. If I recall they were called “cobra” for Copper Brazed. Innovative idea but I think corrosion issues were their downfall. I know that’s all kind of vague but my memory isn’t what it used to be. 😳

[TerryB]

From Wikipedia 

Crosley sales peaked in 1948, with 24,871 or 27,707 cars sold, depending on the source;^[7][12] however, the CoBra copper and stamped steel "tin block" engine proved a major misstep. Although it had proven reliable in military use, it fared poorly under less diligent civilian maintenance. The CoBra was replaced with a redesigned and more reliable conventional cast-iron engine in 1949, but the company's reputation suffered.^[29

[m-mman]

The Cobra engine was stamped steel with the joints copper braised. Yeah, A sheet metal block. 
 

The 4 cylinder overhead valve, shaft driven overhead cam motor was designed to meet military requirements for a generator.  
it had to provide just enough power for just enough hours AND not weigh over a set amount so that it (many) could be carried by airplane and dropped by parachute.  
 

the operating hours requirement was rather low.  (100?) It met the standards for a military generator.  
 

Postwar conversion to consumer products would of course opt for continued production of a known commodity.
Civilian automotive use far exceed the design service life.  But it gave enough time to create a cast iron version and that provided good automotive service. 
The cast iron version was made well into the 70s by Aerojet corporation and the name Aerojet replaced Crosley on the casting.   

[Leif in Calif]

1 hour ago, supercub said:

Sheet metal block?

Yes! Unfortunately there were problems (imagine that!) Here's a look at one: 

 

[supercub]

Interesting car, built on the cheap. Looks like a cast crank block, cast cylinder block with sheetmetal water jacket.

[Leif in Calif]

Correct. Similar construction to several (much more successful) Mercedes racing engines.

 

[supercub]

I can imagine as the sheetmetal heats up, it starts twisting and blowing out the brazed joints. It wouldn't be such an act of shame to put a better engine in this car, it's cool that it is small and oddly styled.

[Jim Bollman]

Most of the sheet metal block (CoBra) blocks have been replaced by now. The factory offered an upgrade kit for around $50 back in the day. The car that is being sold appears to have the cast iron block engine. By the time the CoBra was discontinued it had most of the bugs worked out but the reputation had been shot by then. Warping wasn't really a problem unless they were way over heated. With sheetmetal the cooling of the combustion chamber was much better than cast iron. An auto shop teacher I knew back in the 70s took a rebuilt CoBra engine in and put it on the new pollution testing equipment they were using to teach in his class. It actually passed all the pollution tests for that time in the 70s, I. think it was around 75-76 time frame.

 

Here is probably more than most will want to know https://crosleyautoclub.com/Mighty_Tin.html