1952 Crosley Almquist Vintage Racer Ford V8-60 Mill

Well. I'm not sure where to start. I have owned this critter for about 6 years. Basically. I bought it from the original builder. He started this project in 1956. got the body in 1957. got it running in 1958. then stored it in 1961. It came out of storage the year that I bought it. It had been graced with several different engines. including a Crosley. a fageol. a Harley Knucklehead. and a 60. I opted for the 60. just 'cause I love 60's. It's racing history is confined to local circle track activity in Ohio. where it was built. But that's all that is required to make it a "race" car.

Let's do the body. Basically the fiberglass is in very good shape. for being 56 years old. It does have stress cracks. but quite frankly. nobody notices. The grille is made from flat aluminum stock. and dovetailed together for strength. and has been polished at the leading edges. The hood is removable. and has several chips from use. There is a small windscreen. and two mirrors. The seats are handmade. and not real comfy. but who cares. The 5-point belt is current. There is not a belt on the passenger side. 'cause I could never find anyone crazy enough to ride with me. There is a Crosley gauge cluster. and the temp. oil. and fuel gauges work. The speedo is not hooked up. and the amp gauge is also not hooked up. From left to right on the Stainless dash panel is the hood release. steering wheel (cut down Crosley). tachometer. start button. key. fan. fuel pump. lights. water pump and indicator light. and electric shut-off switch (required). The doors open. although I have rigged the passenger door to stay closed. The roll bar is substantial. although thankfully I never had to test it. and what it does best is display many of the tech inspection stickers. They are priceless as they document the racing history. The taillights are 1958 chevy. and the fuel cap is a junk yard jewell. The license plate light and bracket are original and made by Yankee. The paint color is very close to the original. and the stripes are the same as it was when stored. I will add a picture which was taken in 1961. just before it headed for the barn. The wheels are Ford. with 4-lug in the front to match the Crosley pattern. and 5-lug in the rear. The tires are one year old and are Dunlop Racing. as required for the time period. They cost over $1. 00. 00 by the time they were installed. There is also an old flathead V 8 insignia on the rear. which covers the old gas tank filler hole.

Now let's get to the business end of this wee puppy. The steering box is a Corvair unit. reversed and rebuilt. I zerked the housing for easy oil fill. The drag link is solid bar using Heim ends. The spring perches were reversed for better steering and sway control. The springs have been re-arched and new bushings installed. Heavy shocks have been adapted. The radiator is a special built aluminum unit to maximize capacity and flow. It has a large radiator mounted fan. I used a small alternator. which is frame mounted. and provides more than enough amps to keep things running. The watering system runs from the radiator to a special Meziere pump. then back to the engine through the stock inlets. I made special aluminum plugs to replace the stock water pumps. as I wanted to maintain the stock motor mount plate. (It's great not having to worry about those stupid pumps) The water exits through Offy water manifolds on the heads. which are mounted backwards. The plumbing faces rearward. curls around. and goes back to the radiator. The high point in all this is where the water cap is placed. and the overflow tank. Adjacent to the overflow tank is the breather tank for the crankcase. The heart of this beast is a 1939 Ford V 8-60. I have always liked flatheads. but loved the 60's. It is probably easiest to just list the engine mods.

1939 V 8-60 block - checked for any cracks or bruises. boiled out. cleaned. drilled for adj. lifters.

Valves - all ground. lapped. checked for problems.

Camshaft - Clay Smith M 3 (WOW) Checked by Norm Rapp for profiles. wear. etc. Standard bearing journals.

Lifters - New Johnson adjustables. all set at a tight . 015.

Valve springs - NOS with spacers to improve tension.

Oil relief spring modified and spaced to improve pressure.

Fuel pump drive hole blocked off.

Oil pump - rebuilt. This mill pulls 50# hot at speed and 40# at hot idle

Bearings - Rods and mains both . 030 cams standard.

Rods - checked and ARP cap washers and nuts used.

Pistons - NOS Edelbrock aluminum racing jugs that use stock skirt configuration.

Rings - New Grant.

Heads - New Offenhauser that have been pressure tested and surfaced for contact.

Head studs - ARP using torque washers and nuts ($).

Intake and exhaust studs - i. l. o. bolts for strength and ease of removal.

Intake manifold - Made by Ken Austin for this mill. Aluminum 3 X 2

Carbs - Runs on two Stromberg 81's (like two little piles of gold) that I keep rebuilt and working great. Center carb is a '97. also rebuilt.

Breathers - Frogmouths or small filters. depending on the track.

Fuel Pressure Regulator - Carter adjustable usually set at 3 pounds.

Ignition - Mallory Electronic that works flawlessly.

Coil - Mallory Hi-voltage

Exhaust system - Headers from a 1948 midget. reversed and modified for 2" exit. weight. about 1 pound each. Exit through two 1936 Ford drive shafts (remember)

The combination of thinwall headers. and hard thinwall tubing (which are the inner driveshafts. one year only) produces a sound that most people refuse to believe is coming from 139 cubes. It really bellers. The cam provides a really kool idle (which is important) and wonderful power throughout the RPM range.

Moving back. The flywheel is a stock unit that has been machined down to about half it's original weight. and was resurfaced this year. The clutch is actuated by cable. and works perfect. There is a trans adaptor that was made to work with a Ford Mustang II Cobra 4-speed. This is a great tranny. as it was made to handle 185 HP. is close ratio with a tall first gear and three evenly spaced gears to follow. and weighs in at 48 pounds. It looks like a miniature T-5. and is NOT an OD unit. I repeat. NOT an overdrive. This tranny connects to the rear with a balanced driveshaft about a foot and a half long. with new u-joints. The rear is a Ford 8" that has been narrowed and carries a 3. 0 gear. non posi. I had a posi unit in it at one time. and did not like the way it handled. The diff is all new. as are the bearings. seals. and brake components. The rear suspension uses stock Crosley springs. which are quarter eliptic. and mounted behind the axle to provide more seat room. There are trailing arms that. with the springs. act like a 4-link. A panhard rod centers the unit. Heim joints are used everywhere. so it's all adjustable. Again. new HD shocks are utilized. The fuel tank is a stock Crosley.

The front axle came from somewhere. I'm just not sure where. I realized that my first axle. again Crosley. used 1/2" kingpins. The Crosley Hotshots used a 5/8" kingpin. The "somewhere" axle used the springpads out to the ends from the Hotshot and a center fabricated from heavy wall tubing of some sort. Great. except it was too wide by about a foot. so it was probably some racing or trailer application. So I narrowed the thing to fit. It was fun. as the center of the axle mimicked the original. which had a bow in it to clear the pan. It works great. and actually tightened up the steering considerably.

Not many people realize that the last couple years of production. you could buy Crosleys with 4 (four) wheel disc brakes. They were just like modern day discs. and made by Goodyear - Hawley. Soooooooo. I run front discs from a Datsun B 210. which are the same size as the originals. I am the only racer that can legally run discs in my class.

Now let's get down to the fun part. This wee racer has been accepted by General Racing and HMSA. That means it would be accepted anywhere. with any organization. Anyone who has vintage road raced under the scrutiny of Steve Earl knows that he is very strict when it come to provenance. I considered myself lucky to be racing with General racing. HMSA is a great racing organization also. and Cris Vandagriff runs a well oiled organization. My last race was the Monterey Reunion in August of this year. Over 600 racers. with probably 4 times that number sending in entries. I hadn't raced there for years. and was more than happy to be selected. Correction. the wee racer was glad to be accepted.

I have raced this puppy in San Diego. at the Coronado North Island Vintage Races. at Sears Point for the Sonoma Historics. in Portland at the Portland Historics. and at Reno-Fernley for HMSA club events. I cannot begin to describe how much fun it is to pilot this little bugger around a race course. The feeling that you are racing with very famous cars and drivers is a real mind trip. and a hellava privilege. Not to mention the butt suckup when you realize that you're going faster than you thought coming into turn 2 at Sears Point. which is off camber. and you're in a crowd. Holy crap!!!!!!!

Kinda like barreling into the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca. and you can't see over the crest. Yelling works. as the adrenalin is squirting from your ears. and your suspension goes light. Holy double-crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now. don't get me wrong. as much fun as this critter is. it doesn't come in first place. ever. First. the class it runs in is 1947 to 1955 Sports Racing Cars over 2000 cc. This includes big flatties. corvettes. porsches. jags. all kinds of big motha's. But. when asked if I won. I always say yes. I figure I win every time I leave the hot pit and enter the track.

I race to have fun. period. Now don't get me wrong. this puppy pushes 110 MPH on the straight at Monterey. at 5. 00 RPM. I'll leave it to your imagination to figure what that sounds like. in a 1000 pound car. about 6" off the track.

Just for the record. every time I have said "I" in this description. it means that I had a professional shop do the work. I know well my capabilities. This includes all of the chassis and suspension work.

The wonderfull little "60" was done by myself. but with lots of help. That help came from Norm Rapp and Jim Corriea. These two really great guys have more than 130 years between them working on and racing 60's. I could not have made this little bird sing without them.

And that's no bull!!!!!!

I have a clear title for this racer. I also have the original sales information from Almquist Engineering. and the letters referencing the purchase.

Contact me if you have any questions. Bruce

On Oct-04-13 at 16:12:35 PDT. seller added the following information:

I've added a couple pictures. One is factory info showing the "hydradisc" brakes. and the pictures of the wee racer taken in 1961. I also have the Service manual Supplement which give service information on the brakes. I can add a picture of that if need be. The disc brakes look identical to disc brakes on all cars today. The second picture is the letter sent to the buyer from Almquist engineering showing pick-up informaton. I will include this letter with the name shown. and also the original envelope in which it came. There is lots more paperwork that will go along with the car. including the racing logbook. which is like gold when it comes to documenting the car.

I also have many dash plaques from the races it participated in. Thanks for looking. Bruce

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