The Lands Crosley Family

By: Billy Joe Lands

I recall my dad, Bill, first getting a Crosley when I was about 12–13. In fact, I remember going to the first Wauseon in the early '70s, when it was combined with a steam-engine convention at the fairgrounds. I even recall singing around a campfire with other long-time Crosley folks — “You are my Crosley…” to the tune of “You Are My Sunshine.” 🎶

Tell me a bit about your multi-generational (four!) “affliction” with Crosleys.

In the very early '70s, my dad, Bill, was going through the local Bargain Mart ad paper looking for a Nash Metropolitan. He found one… sort of. When he got there, it wasn't a Metropolitan — it was a '52 Crosley Station Wagon! He bought it anyway and brought it home. That was the beginning. The second Crosley came a few years later while driving in Colorado; my mom, Juanita, spotted one from the highway and we got off the interstate. It was a '49 Sedan. We bought it and actually tried to drive it home — almost — before the brakes went out. That car is now painted pink, in honor of my mom, who died of breast cancer.

My dad's longest-running Crosley he bought in '74–75. It had a wood body built at a local vocational high school in southern Indiana — we call it the “woody.” (Warning: it was jokingly known to attract termites.)

All of my brothers, Tony and Tim, have Crosleys too. When I got out of the Navy in 1991, it was my turn to start. My first was a '49–50. I've had 12, but I'm down to 6 right now. I bought a Super Sports that was headed to the junkyard, fixed it up, and sold it to a guy in California. I bought one from a lady right here in Louisville, just 10 miles from me — then sold that one to a guy in Ohio. My brother and I also saved two wagons. A while back I was hunting for a hardtop Crosley — anything — but all I found were convertibles, which I now own: two Super Sports and a “Beep” (a one-of-a-kind fiberglass FOR). We even have a Crosley my brother found that was once owned by a monastery; to reach it you had to cross a 5-foot bridge, which only a Crosley could navigate to bring in supplies. My brother still drives it everywhere.

We all live in the suburbs of Louisville, within 25 miles of each other — I'm in Valley Station, and my family is in Brooks and Bardstown. My grandson, Michael — the 4th Crosley generation — lives with me. He has the green '49 sedan I got from Ted Della Camera of Yankee Crosley.

At a Louisville, KY exposition car show held as a fundraiser for the families of the 16 killed in the November 2025, UPS plane crash, my brother and I brought his fire truck and my Super Sports to the 250-car event. Being close to Christmas, Santa was walking the Expo sharing Christmas spirit. About 20 minutes before the end, Santa came up to me. We got to talking, and I invited him — a full-sized Santa, mind you — to sit in our car.

“That'll be cool — if I can fit.” Well, he got in — a little tight, but he fit! Santa said, “With all 250 cars at this fundraiser, you're the only one who invited me to sit in your car.” I, in true Crosley fashion, replied, “We let everyone sit in our cars.”

The combined Lands' Crosley enterprise includes some very unique models:

Do you have any “wrench-turning wisdom” from your family's engagement in the Crosley world?

“It's just something we do together. We all go to the shows and talk to people. We talk about everything and say nothing. They all — my family — call me to work on their Crosleys. I love talking to people about Crosleys, which turns into talking about anything.”

Bill, the Lands patriarch, recently finished a gorgeous Crosley Hot Shot. Upon completion, Bill declared:

“After four years of a frame-off, every-nut-and-bolt restoration, I'm pretty happy — considering I'm 86 years old and doing the work from my scooter! Special thanks to Tim Hamblin, Barry Smedley, and my sons Tony, Billy Joe, and Tim… and Juanita's cat. I'm not finished, though — I've got a '49 sedan already in the works.”

— Bill Lands