1955 Crosley Special

The Crosley automobiles were economical, lightweight, and small. They were also slow, so after World War II they purchased the rights to a water-cooled, lightweight, four-cylinder engine designed by Lloyd Taylor of California. It was a small, 44 cubic-inch engine that was intended to be used in generators. It proved to be a rather impressive engine when used in small-bore road racing cars.

The first Crosley-Taylor engines were called the COBRA, for their COpper BRAzed construction. They had a thin-wall steel block, and head, ports, and water jackets brazed together from thin sheet steel.

Next came the CIBA engine, which was similar to the COBRA but had a cast-iron block and integral cylinder head.

Road racer recognized the engine's potential and became modifying and using it for small-displacement classes. In stock form, the engine offered around 26 horsepower. Racing versions, however, were often producing over 60 horsepower in the early 1950s. During most of the 1950s, the Crosley engine dominated the H-Modified racing class.

The H-Modified racing class allowed any closed wheeled purpose-built race car with a cubic displacement of 750cc or less to compete. In 1962, the SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) increased the size to 850cc. Most of the cars were front-engined. This class was designed to encourage low-cost racing and rewarded those with ingenuity and creativity.

by Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2019