2019 Crosley National

[Bulletin Editor]

NOTE: I am posting on behalf of Terrence Robinson who invites all interested parties to attend/visit:

2019 Crosley Automobile Club Nationals July 11-13, 2019
50th Anniversary of CAC and 80th for the First Production Crosley
Wauseon, Ohio
Spotlight Class 2019: Pre-War


Get the complete detailed meet schedule at http://crosleyautoclub.com/2019_MeetInfo/2019NationalMeetSchedule.pdf
Get a printable Meet Registration form at http://crosleyautoclub.com/2019_MeetInfo/2019RegistrationForm.pdf
Get a list of places to stay and eat near the meet at http://crosleyautoclub.com/motels-camping.html

Please direct any questions to Jeffrey Ackerman – Meet Chairman – Cell: 585-315-7005

Schedule subject to additional events and changes

ps: according to Terry, they had over 90 vehicles at their 2018 Meet!

[Bulletin Editor]

Personal comments from Terry:

I have been member of KFOCI since 1959 and Crosley Club now for 8 years since I found my red '52 convert. I have wanted a Crosley since I first saw one in our trailer park when I was 7 years old. These are a great bunch of folks. Almost like a family. The club is a happy group with a generous and kind  warmth  that is contagious.

They have an international membership with youngsters and some 3rd generational  family members. You will note the kids activities. My 10 year old granddaughter loves to go. Last year they had a pinewood derby competition and she and I spent 2 days together making her Mustang and she won!

Note the unusual activities for all. We have a memorial picnic the last evening of the meet. Teenagers come and take active enthusiastic part. We have a youth project car assigned yearly now for 3 years where someone donates a car and a teenager (first one was a girl) then they spend a couple of years restoring it-- bringing it to the national to show their progress--great results!

Note the many vehicle classes of presentations. We had 98 vehicles last year present. We always meet in the same place--a county fairgrounds in Wauseon, Ohio--Crosleys were made in Ohio and Indiana. We will have farthest driven and hard luck stories awards of those who make it. Jim Bollman does a terrific job with our internet communications--almost daily communications. He came down to our KFOCI  meet in TN last year for a gander at our club's presentations. We have a peoples choice as well as secret ballot  votes by anyone that is registered for choosing the winners. The cars are not expensive and really a lot of fun as is the meet.

I would hope maybe our vice president could come down (up) or a couple of days at our meet. It's always the week after July 4 and the week before the KFOCI meet. Maybe he could pick up on the atmosphere and get some ideas for our club.

Hope some of these ideas could be used to invigorate KFOCI --especially the judging situation.
Terry

edited to add:
This Fairgrounds is huge with hookups, bathrooms, large area for car display, and buildings for inside displays and meetings and banquets, etc. The cars have lots of roads to move around and the small town is where wehave rallys etc. Kaisers are bigger, but we had 98 cars there this year with trailers/motorhomes, etc. It is always at the same spot and same time. Possibly, this complete predictability has something to do with the constantly increasing participation. Also, Crosleys were made close. We have places near Willow Run that we might try out. I hope these suggestions might be considered by the KFOCI administration for consideration for our club also.

[Gordie]

Powel Crosley Jr. was famous for a lot of things but when he went into the car business in 1939 he made very small cars for the time but was quite successful and made many different models until stopping car production in 1952.  He was the first to use disc brakes on a car.  Crosley and Kaiser were the first to use the slab sided fenders in 1946 and most of the other manufacturers copied that styling.  I used to have a 1947 sedan, 1950 station wagon, 1952 Super sport convertible and a custom made Webers bread truck with a panel body and dual rear wheels.  They were fun cars and it is indeed a fun club.

[Bob L.]

My first car was a 51 Crosley Wagon...in parts.  My first stop for speeding was in Dad's 49 Pickup, on Tulsa Fairground property in 1968.  New lic. > joy ride with HS pal.  Security guard in 52 Chevy "ran us to ground" for exceeding 25 MPH.  Told him I doubted I could go that fast...no radar, no speedo, no ticket; tons of angst on trip home.   Huge plans to make a junior Cobra out of the wagon, never came to fruition (got all the crud scrapped off frame and brush painted with black Rustoleum)...  Crosley set the die..kept my "Cobra" study sketches..(not sure I realized the "Cobra" name first was use by Crosley for the Copper Brazed, sheetmetal engines...when doing it, just knew Shelby...funny how that relates...)   Move into Bugeye Sprites, including serious/long term racing H Production..

Crosley was similar to Kaiser, a true American "business man".... From a one tube (lowest cost) radio in college, to radio station (resulting in FCC regs on broadcasting power), to gasoline power washing machines for farms, to shelvadoor refrigerators, to  major league baseball, to automobiles (first production car with disk brakes in US, winner of first Sebring race on index of performance...), WW2 gen. sets and fire  pumps (like British Climax engines)..... did a lot of nifty things...benefited the rest of us...

Okie

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

Powell  Crosley sold most of his holdings in 1952 to the newly formed Avation Company of America (AVCO) which came about when Consolidated-Vultee Aircraft's management engineered a package to put C-V together with various other companies which included Bendix.  An acquisition that did not come off was getting Kaiser-Frazer Corporation during 1952.