Been driving by this Edsel for a couple of years. It was down in a field behind two shops. Caught the owner outside one day. Chit chatted and BS'd for awhile. Long story short, son's car, here's his number, I make a call, now I'm an owner. Not in bad shape, pretty original except a repaint. 292 supposed to have some serious valve train clatter. I guess I'll find out soon enough. The dad is even going to tow it home for me. Got some ideas in the works already. Enjoy the pictures. Sent from my SM-N920V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Looks nicer than the one I had...but I managed to have a lot of fun with mine! http://www.roadkill.com/lemons-rally-recap/
It doesn't look like it's been sitting outside too long. The interior looks great. If you get a chance do you think you could post a pic of the data plate by the driver's door hinges so I can send it to a guy in California who maintains the largest Edsel registry in the country? Thanks and good luck with it....
Thanks for the pic of the data plate. If the guy in CA has any info on the car I'll pass it along to you. How long has it been sitting? Let us know when you get it running....
The inspection sticker in the windshield shows "06". Got some spindles, rotors, and calipers off of a 1974 Gran Torino Elite. How I understand it, these should be a bolt on upgrade. Sent from my SM-N920V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Love that dash. Could be from the starship Enterprise! The family car back in the late 50's was a '58 Edsel ...Pacer, I believe. Yellow and black with push button shift in the center of the steering wheel as I recall. Made quite an impression on a 10 year old kid.
I fixed the brakes on mine by replacing rubber parts and cleaning stuff, and they worked just fine. C9UF is the most common edsel model around. Do whatever you want with it, have fun!
Edsels had different color stuff, depending on which engine it had, etc. Some folks worry about that..
Wasn't there some kind of aftermarket kit to run an oil line up to the rockers for Y-blocks that clattered?
The lack of oil to rockers on the Y block is an old problem, with several fixes. I fixed mine by replacing the cam bearings (which appears to me to be the root cause of the problem)
J.C. Whitney sold a copper line kit that took oil from the oil pressure gauge port and piped it up to the valve covers. The oil was then sprayed across the rockers. Put a kit on a 56 292 for one of my neighbors when I was in high school. They made some 57 Fords that had Edsel drivetrain . No designation just pre-production cars. My mom drove one for years. Got it from an uncle that was a Ford engineer. That thing was pretty fast for a 4 door sedan. My older brothers street raced it ,when my mom would let them use it. My dad hated it ,because he was a Chevy man.
I heard back from him and here's what he had to say about your car.... "Dave, thank you for passing this car on to me. It was indeed a new Edsel added to the Registry. If you do contact the owner please share with him some of the details. This is the 1,334th 1959 Ranger 4-dr sedan that we have recorded. Out of that number I have color code information for all but 98 of those units. Of the remaining 1,138, only 18 have been recorded with this color and trim combination. Thank you for sending this information along!. Phil" Also, my first Edsel (back in the early '90s when I lived in San Diego) was a '59 Ranger 4 door sedan which is pictured below. The '60 I have now is my sixth Edsel. There are two serious Edsel clubs in the US which send out monthly newsletters and have annual conventions in various parts of the country. If you want more info on them let me know.... If any of you other guys run across an Edsel in a junkyard or wherever could you please take a pic of it and also a pic of the data plate (by the driver's door hinges) and PM them to me so I can send them to Phil out in SoCal who maintains this registry? Thanks....
Field car runs through the fields, drops cow shit all over the place to make the lettuce grow. Milner: I'm not surprised that your driving a field car. Bob: Field Car? Whats a Field Car? Milner: Field car runs through the fields, drops cow shit all over the place to make the lettuce grow
Yeah, cam bearings are the problem with Y's not oiling the rockers. Worse, there are 3 different sets of bearings available. Getting the right set is crucial. I ran copper tubing from the oil pressure sender to each cover and poked it in the drain tube on the rocker shaft. Did that on several Y's, they quieted right down and ran for years.
Terrific score. Glad you stopped to inquire-and were able to buy it. It's in remarkable condition. Did you get any history? I'd wager the Son may have purchased it from original or second owner and he pulled it from a garage/dry storage? I'd go through the engine, brakes, mechanical s, clean it up, add a carpet kit and drive it as a survivor. Maybe eventually repaint going back to factory color.
Edsels are neat, there seem to be a lot of them that were put away early in life, then sat for decades mostly ignored. Now that all the nice cars are worth money, the Edsels are starting to look attractive.
The shop where I learned the basics had a '59 4 door 6/automatic Edsel for a loaner/parts chaser. We tried so hard to break that thing ....
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