That’s racing: ’52 Crosley-Almquist

Ed Almquist, founder of Almquist Engineering, is one of the pivotal figures in the history of hot rodding. Less well known is that Almquist also offered a line of fiberglass kit car bodies that were very popular in the ’50s.The Almquist kit body program started in ’55 with a small Pennsylvania company called Clearfield Plastics that had developed a fiberglass sports car body to fit on Fiat Topolino and Crosley chassis. They got into financial trouble and sold the project to Ed Almquist. The first kit body, the Saber I, was a sleek sports car with a 72-92-inch wheelbase, a rounded nose, and an oval grille. The fenders tucked in behind the front wheels to provide ventilation for the brakes. Today’s featured racer is one of the nicest Sabers around.

Not the seller’s Almquist but another.

The seller bought it from the original owner, who built it in ’57. The chassis is a space frame mounting a ’50 Crosley suspension, and the engine is a Ford V-8/60 flathead mounting Offy heads. It weighs only 950 pounds so it’s an excellent performer on the track. The seller says the fiberglass is in good shape considering it is 56 years old. It has a rainbow of inspection stickers along the roll bar attesting to its racing prowess. Know that this little racer has been accepted by HMSA and General Racing so it can probably race anywhere with that certifcation behind it. The seller says clearly that this is an exciting car to race at speed no matter where you are in the field. We love it and think it is rather handsome but only when you put it next to something do you get any idea how small it is! Click here for the eBay auction.