Features Let’s see Edsel’s

58’ Edsel Pacer convertible (rare column shift) frame off restoration in 1984 by my father in law, Bill Leggett -still looks and drives great! Let’s see pictures of your Edsel’s and 58-60 Fords.

 

Very nice! This is my buddy's Pacer ragtop. Restored in 81-82. 40k original miles.

 

From the Custom Car Revival at Indianapolis this weekend.First one is a "what Ford should have done"

 

Unfortunately no picture but I remember my Dad’s 1958 Pacer. Push button shift in the center of the steering wheel as I recall. Yellow with black inserts. Nice ride.

 

they grow on you after a while

DSC_0275_zpsl3k9cony by bedwards posted Jul 7, 2017 at 8:18 PM

 

Your 59 Edsel looks really interesting in that colour. Do you know what that colour is called?

 

This super low production car came out of a friend & neighbor's
Estate recently. I had tried to help get it running recently but the starter seemed hosed. Few people had seen this car the last 10 years but the Edsel people knew of it. The owner was a long time seller of literature at places like Iola, Jefferson & Hershey and suffered for many years with Parkinson's.. Never a frame-off but as perfect as a restored 50K mile TX car as you could get. It is now residing with a cousin and hopefully will get seen some.
Too bad the best year for Edsel was also the last.

Post Script: 11/2022, this car was sold by the Family member who was not really a car person. Hope it found a deserving home!

 

Bird man is right. The 60 is gorgeous

 

Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

All 3 years of Edsel’s are so different from each other,keep the pictures coming!

 

I"M in !

I had always heard of a column shift Edsel but had never seen one.

Appreciate the pics.

Oldmics

 

Never seen a 60 Edsel convertible in person they are supposed to be extremely rare any H.A.M.B. members have pictures?

 

That was the wagon I wanted the most, Edsel Roundup. Just not enough made, which makes them very hard to come by. Had to settle for a Villager.

 

If your talking about mine, its code HH Desert Tan. Thanks

 

Column mounted shifters were available as three speeds or automatics, as a rare option on lower price small body Edsel cars. I've seen a few in Pacers, Rangers, and wagons. Edsel "urban legend" says the automatic column could be special ordered in the big body Citations and Corsairs, but I've never seen or heard of that application, and not seen it on factory option lists. I wanted to find a column auto shifter for my 58 Corsair, but had no luck. I think a Merc unit is similar, but might require swapping the column/steering box, etc. due to peculiar design/connectors for the TeleTouch system. Remember, the TeleTouch was a marketing feature of the late 50s, and was one of the things which made the Edsels interesting., so column shifters in these cars wouldn't have had the same appeal.

 

I have had the steering box rebuilt in this lever action column and it is the type that has a solid shaft that runs all the way to the top nut at the steering wheel. It is completely different from the teletouch column. In order to convert a car it would have to be changed from the steering box up- even the pit man arm is different. Although the teletouch is cool the cars I have had them in I said a little prayer every time I pushed the buttons that I would make it home! I have never worried for 2 seconds if a lever selector would let me down. I can’t count the Edsels that I have seen with early mustang shifters mounted on the floor. But the teletouch is neat when it is working!

 

I've been watching this one for awhile.
https://wichita.craigslist.org/cto/d/wichita-1959-ford-edsel/6906618821.html

 

Haven’t seen many 59 wagons it looks really solid . The trim looks like it is all there and it appears to have air conditioning. Fun family cruiser.

 

I wonder if you could swap in Merc swing pedals and the steering column "3 on the tree" shifter and come up with the large series manual shift car ???

Oldmics

 

Yeah, but at least you got that hard to come by "Roof Rack".

Thats a really cool (and handy) item to have on a wagon.

I LIKE it !

Oldmics

 

Anyone have any interest in this one? PM me ( not mine )

 

Yup, Tri-power, you're right. The Teletouch column and steering parts are unique. I wanted to swap in a complete column to get the lever shifter, but am holding off until I determine which FOMOCO setup will work. I realize the steering box and arms will need to be changed. I had my Citation Teletouch rebuilt with NOS relays, etc., by a professional ex-Edsel mechanic, and it works fine. The Corsair is a mild custom with updated running gear, but I don't want a floor mounted shin banger. I have a spare complete TeleTouch system just "in case".
58 Edsel owners have well-founded phobias about many things.

 

I also remembered after my post about the differences in steering column stuff that the shifter arm sticking out of the transmission is also different. I have seen at the millions of car functions I have gone to the exact same steering column in other ford products. One of the differences I noticed is sometimes thier is a extra speed showing in drive as I guess some cars have 3 speeds in drive and some have 2. Also the collar where the column meets the dash seems to be Edsel specific as is the horn center ring, but both are easily interchanged between columns if you can find them. I think the columns I have seen in fords where T-bird but I will do a google search and see if I can find any pictures. I have been with my wife since we where 14 and her dad was a Edsel guru we went to many Edsel meets(some in Canada some in USA) over the years I am by no way a Edsel expert . He told me many years ago if you see a Edsel and it has a white steering column it is Canadian produced if the column matches the main body color it is USA production.

 

Whether the auto trans in the car is a two or three speed has to be considered, as does the number of gear detents on the column indicator. I put a 400/C6 into my 56 Merc, adjusted the shifter on the stock column to enable the PRNDL to work with the PRND21 C6. Edsels are a totally different animal, but I still hope to find a column setup which will swap into my 58 Corsair with its new C6.
The arm on the stock trsns matches the slave rod from the TeleTouch electric shift motor, but is immaterial on my project. I'll adapt the shift rod linkage that comes with the new column. My Citation has a white column, but was USA built. As you know, there are many "urban legends" related to Edsels - just another part of their mystique.

 

The column in the pink/black car is 56 Lincoln and looks a lot like mine with 2 speed detent but the steering wheel is totally different. The column in the blue car is 58 T-bird but appears to have 3 drive speeds but has the right steering wheel. I found on www.edsel.com where they state — Canadian Edsels have several distinct features namely white steering wheels and rims. And a 2008 article in Hemming classic car titled Edsel where they state — Canadian models distinguishable by their white painted steering columns.