Posted by: @kristtboda

Guys I wonder if anyone could please tell me what car this is.

It's a postwar Crosley, from the look of the grille a 1946-1948 model. This was a subcompact car featuring a 4-cylinder overhead-cam engine with a block made of brazed sheet metal. Due to reliability problems the sheet metal engine was redesigned in cast iron for 1949 and that year the car also received 4-wheel disc brakes. Station wagon, pickup, and sports models were also sold. The last year for Crosley automobiles was 1952. (You will never have a blown head gasket in a Crosley because there is no head gasket.)

https://www.crosleyautoclub.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKhAqlm9-iI

Crosley Series 4CC Sedan 0.7 Manual, 27hp, 1946

Trivia:

Crosley was a small, independent American manufacturer of subcompact cars, bordering on microcars... Crosley Motors Incorporated, the Cincinnati, Ohio, firm was active from 1939 to 1952, interrupted by World War II production.

...

Crosley introduced several "firsts" in American automotive history, including the first affordable, mass-market car with an overhead camshaft engine in 1946; the first use of the term 'Sport(s-) Utility' in 1947, for a 1948 model year convertible wagon; and the first American cars to be fitted with 4-wheel caliper type disc brakes, as well as America's first post-war sports car, the Hotshot, in the 1949 model year. All of Crosley's models were lightweight (1,100 to 1,400 pounds (500 to 640 kilograms)) body-on-frame cars with rigid axles front and rear, and engines with less than 1 litre (61 cubic inches) displacement. With exception of the late introduced Hotshot and Farm-O-Road models, the vast majority of all Crosleys were built on an 80-inch (2.03-meter) wheelbase,[nb 1] and with leaf-springs.

Posted by: @mmj

Trivia:

Aside from the ox-cart suspension they were advanced cars for their time. The disc brakes were a 1949 feature only. Unfortunately that was also the year that salt became popular for dealing with winter roads in the U.S. and Crosley used off-the-shelf Goodyear-Hawling aircraft brakes that locked up solid when exposed to salt. Additionally, being designed for aircraft use they did not hold up well in the continuous usage demanded in an automobile. Drum brakes returned for 1950 models.

The pre-1949 engines were made of brazed sheet metal with an aluminum crankcase and previously had been used to drive generator sets during the war. Minus accessories the engine weighed only 58 pounds. Durability problems led to Crosley developing a cast-iron version in early 1949. In both versions the overhead cam was shaft-driven.

https://www.crosleyautoclub.com/Mighty_Tin.html

Pre-war Crosleys were a different animal entirely, sub-sub-subcompacts with tiny two-cylinder engines. No one really took them seriously until wartime gas rationing suddenly made them appealing.

Posted by: @chucktobias

https://www.autoweek.com/car-life/classic-cars/a31070092/dont-mention-the-46-crosley-around-grandpa/

.

With all the GIs returning from the war with money in their pockets and a suddenly booming economy, America in late 1945 suffered from a real shortage of new cars. If you wanted a Ford or Chevrolet or Plymouth at that time, you had to pay a hefty premium—anathema to a thrifty Luxembourger—or wait for many months. My grandfather learned that Crosley Motors had plenty of new cars on hand, priced at a tempting $905 (about $13,000 today) for the two-door sedan.

So, about 6 months of wages for a factory production worker back then.

Today 6 months of wages will get me a 200hp Camry that goes at least 200k. We've come a long way.

Posted by: @chucktobias

Durability problems

"By 1947 the COBRA was reasonably dependable. If serviced properly the engine was good for 60,000 miles or so."

"They don't make 'em like they used to"

Well that was well before my time. Though. The front looks a little like a old Saab when they had two stroke engines in them

Posted by: @kristtboda

it seems to be a DKW

DKW was German