Well - its like Christmas! A fellow Hamber (THANKS JOSH!) Hooked me up with a Plethora of Trim. I now have a replacement impact ring, center grill, left and right grills, hood trim, fender trim, under gril trim, "EDSEL" letters for the hood, a set of standard edsel hubcaps, and turn signals. I also recieved in the mail my replacement lenses. There are almost NOS. They are in such GREAT shape. There were only three so I re-used the passenger side inner lens. Getting closer! Nothing more to report - am switching to some Stock Model T work for a while. Gotta keep the love spread out amongst the fleet!
No problem Ryan. I really am glad I could help! Looking toward to seeing some more progress on the Edsel!
So today was "Edsel Day" for me. I started out dropping the tank, and cleaning out what I could. I discovered the filler neck is probably supposed to have a rubber grommet over it and the tank inlet - well - just so happens I had an extra Radiator Hose that was the PERFECT size. So on it went - and in went the tank. I then got the brake light switch swapped and the lights working and headed out. What began as a "Quick trip" ended up being a 70 mile round trip event of fun. I drove into Bisbee and picked up some bungee cords at Ace to secure the hood for now (proper hood latch pin is on order). I then drove to the car wash and spent a good hour (and $5 in change) to get her all polished up. Then onward I went. Back roads - highways - and eventually into Sierra Vista for some hamburgers, and then home. The more she drives, the better she drives. The carbon / oil is being blown out, and the fuel system being clean sure helps! One old lady I came across exclaimed her family had one when she was little - and was happy to see another. I did discover the turn signal swich is there and just needs a lever installed. Slowly she's getting better. I think I may need some smaller jets in that carb - she sure runs rich! I STILL stink of gas! Had dinner - then went out to check the lights at night (still need a license light to be legal). Enjoy!
This morning dawned coolish - and bright - and the road beckoned. So I got dressed, and headed out in the wagon to the local market - and then on to the local resturant (Morning Star). Then a nice liesure drive back via Hereford Road Riperian Area. Then began the fun. I pulled the left and right front grills off. Amazingly the nuts were not stripped or anything. I got the center grill and impact ring off and compared them to the new ones Josh sent me. MUCH better. Then came the moment of "Crap." I went to take the underside aluminum trim off - which one of the PO's painted and crunched - and thats where I ran into problems. One of the POs (the one who painted this car) did NOT use the proper mounting clips for the underside trim - nope - Sheet Metal Screws - screwed in from the front. The side trim pieces (also painted - incorrectly) would NOT come off --- the trim nuts will NOT come off. So I will have to resort to a grinder - probably next weekend - or perhaps after work this week. I DID get the EDSEL letters mounted on the hood so I'd feel like I made progress. I also realized this car needs different jets. I dunno what is in this thing - but my milage is LESS than 8mpg. And I think I'm gassing everyone out behind me. Will look into that in the near future as well. All in all - a productive day - will need a grinder to get the backs of the old chrome clips off. Ah well - another tool will not kill me!
Thanks for sharing the experience of bringing this baby back! HAMBers LIKE looking over one another's shoulder! LOL
Unless you know for a fact that the jets have been replaced with something way too large, slow down a bit before you dig too far into the carb. Earlier you mentioned that you could "wiggle" the jets??? Are you sure you don't mean the idle mixture screws? Eye-burning exhaust and 8 mpg aren't likely to be an idle mixture issue. Granted, someone may have put bigger jets in it. But if the float is sunk or not properly adjusted, if the needle and seat have a piece of debris in them, if a power valve or power piston is sticking, or if the choke's not opening fully when the engine is warmed up, replacing the jets isn't really going to fix a thing. Might be time to find someone to inspect and rebuild the carb if you don't feel up to the task yourself.
LOL Good Advice Claymart. I'm really no expert in carbs. By far. Also - no fears - I haven't torn into it yet. In fact I was researching carb issues this morning and saw all you posted repeated elsewhere. And yes - I didn't mean wiggle the jets - I meant mixture screws. That was an easy fix - they were not screwed in properly. *sigh* Sometimes I need to just slow down. I'm going to try taking the carb apart again - double check everything - and make sure its right. If I still can get it right - I'll find someone who can. I did get the new hood pin in yesterday and got it installed so the hood will stay closed. Really I think someone took a decent driver, tore it down to nothing to repaint, and then lost a bunch of parts as they were putting it together and didn't pay attention when putting things back together. I think my main obstacle in this car is undoing what previous people did and replacing kludges with proper parts. I'm more of a Stock Model T guy - but I'm learning about "Modern Cars" on this one...
So read up on adjusting the carb (aside from the idle mixture screws), and checked the float setting in my 1965 "Motor's" Manual. 29/64. Took the top off the carb and WOW --- that thing was set WAY too high - had to lower the float. So I set it as close to 29/64 as I could with that little plastic guage, and went for a quick run. MUCH better. Acceleration is MUCH swifter and smooth. MUCH happier with it now. I did have to re-set my idle screw and mixtures too. I never would have guessed that the FLOAT level could be that far off. I always though you just adjust the float so it's level. Thanks for the hints ClayMart!~
If you need a hand figuring stuff out (and can't get it done by reading the helpful advice here), let me know....
LOL! You probably just doubled your gas mileage right there! I'll split the savings with you! I can just picture the thing sitting there idling with fuel dripping out of the main nozzles and I'm thinking to myself, "If I could just get my hands in on that job." But I figured that a little posting here might be the next best thing. Now, while you had it apart, did it have a brass float? And if it did, did you shake it a bit and listen for any fuel sloshing around inside it?
Now, while you had it apart, did it have a brass float? And if it did, did you shake it a bit and listen for any fuel sloshing around inside it? Er no - I didn't pull it of. Yes it had the brass float - I didn't think to check it. Then again. Will check tomorrow. Didn't know the top of the carb could come off while it was ON the car - AND it would still run! Thanks again - and my wallet thanks you! Squirrel - no worries - i will DEFINATELY have questions of locals soon. Once this thing is pretty darn close to road worthy I will need help tracking down parts for <movie announcer voice> MANUAL STEERING </movie announcer voice> lol!
Most of them wouldn't...at least not safely. I can't picture the carb that might have been on there originally. What model is it? Maybe some pics?
"Most of them wouldn't...at least not safely. I can't picture the carb that might have been on there originally. What model is it? Maybe some pics? " Um - well I found out by accident. Once I got the top of the carb off, I went to just "bump" the engine over to make sure it was full - I THOUGHT I took off the coil wire - I didn't and it started. No big gas spill or anything - but I got it off real quick! Its just a plain old Ford 2100 2bbl. So for today's small projects: Test fit chrome for the front, and remove AC unit. Where can I find the chrome trim clips that bold on? Are these the same across all chrome trim and Fords from 59? On these AC units - anyone have any luck getting them working / restored - or is this just a conversation piece? Thanks all!
If ever a carb was designed to run without the bowl cover on it, this is it! With the exception of the choke valve, anything else of any importance is mounted in the bowl. And even the float pivot pin is locked in place. I'd forgotten how stone-axe simple these carbs were! If you haven't found them already, here's a couple of good links covering the Autolite 2100's and 2150's. http://hurtle.com/cars/mustang/fixes/carb/ http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/pdf_documents/motorcraft_2150_carb.pdf
It's the little things.... So today I realized that my chrome trim clips are the wrong ones so I can't yet go about installing the new trim moldings - but I CAN do little things. For instance I just got a bunch of parts from a local for my Edsel. They may not be 100% correct - but they work. I confirmed the "new" air cleaner fit, that the turn signal lever fit, installed a new "E" on my passenger side, got a good pic of the hubcaps, and confirmed BOTH brake lights work. For now this is a pic of the passenger side front wheel - found out I'm missing a lug-nut. Sheesh! Don't think this wheel is for an "Edsel" - the stock Edsel cap does not clear the spindle hub cap.
I'll throw my congrats in for you. Funny how many people don't even know what they are. Welcome to the family.
The car is looking good Ryan! Glad to see it all coming together for you. Those wheels don't look like the stock wheels. I'll take a pic of a stock one tomorrow for you. They have a different offset and the hubcap will fit over the hub. Again, glad to see the car going and good luck in the future! -Josh
Thanks Caddy! I would appreciate the pic - that way I at least know what I'm looking for. I sort of remember how my old 58's wheels were - but that was 10+ years ago. On a side note - I actually talked to the current owner of my old 58, and he's looking at getting it going - and is selling off a bunch of cars in order to gen up some cash for the project. We may see him on here sometime!
Hey all! I just wanted to take a second to thank my fellow Hambers out there for all their support. In particular 54 Caddy and Pist-N-Broke for their help in hooking me up with some sweet deals when it came to parts! This is one heck of a community. I couldn't imagine this kind of "Edsel Support" back when I first started in Edsels in 1997.
Glad I could help Ryan, a lot of people have helped me out on here so its the least I can do to help the community. I took a couple pictures of my Edsel wheels. These are the stock wheels that were on my 59 ranger. These are 14" wheels with a 5 x 4.5 bolt pattern. If I'm not mistaken, Edsel also had a 5 x 5 bolt pattern, so be sure what you have. Sorry for the crappy cell phone pics, Its been dark when I leave for work and dark when I get home. If you need any measurements just let me know. They are mounted on my shoebox right now but I can pull one off this weekend if you need backspacing measurement or something.
Hey Thunder Rocket - a 60 Villager!? AWESOME! Thanks for the post Caddy! Cool - well - at least I now know what to look for as far as wheels. I know where there are some junked Edsels around - and may be able to score some rims - maybe. I'd definitely like to find something close to stock if I can't. I love the old spinner hubcaps - but - they are a little hard to find. And when you do - boy-howdy do people want a MINT for them. Now as far as wheels on this thing. I'm thinking stock would be nice. If I could run medium wide whites - that would be awesome - dunno how it would look though. Odd - most old cars I've had are of the "Wood Spoke" variety. My old trucks in HS had baby-moons (or stock in the case of the 53 IHC R110). So I've never really through much further than stock hubcaps. Just thinkin... Anyway - I got my gun sights from Pist-n-Broke and got the passenger side installed. PERFECT Match for the drivers side. So now I have an extra drivers side should I need it. Just one thing a week / day - and I'll get there. I'd work on it today - but it is just to dang windy (40-50mph sustained winds - and it's about 43 out right now - not the best weather). I'll work on it through research and trying to find parts online. Here's a pic of the fender with new gun sight I took on Weds.
Nope that is a '60 Ford. Larry has the same tire on his '59 shod on a set of Radir's. looks smokin' The Ford and Edsel wagons had windowless wheels in 14" I am running 15" Police Interceptor wheels with Edsel dog dish caps. also have some from a Merc Marquis that don't have poverty titties.
Hey Folks! Not a lot to post. I FINALLY got some clips to hold the trim on. I havent had much time to work on her as I've been VERY busy with "Life Commitments" - such as my sister giving birth to my first niece! However - Today I did pick up something to tow behind the Wagon... A 1966 Shasta Camper. Not exactly a 59 - but 7 years is CLOSE.... It's not in the greatest condition - but the interior wood is about mint! No dry rot - or busted wood - just a lot of "dings" from use. Ok - a LOT of dings. But - I'm not too worried about that. I once did a full restoration on a 71 Westy - first time out camping - a kid gouged a 12 inch scratch in my NEW Paint! I swore after that to never have a pristine camper again! So this one will fit the bill - I'll tidy up the outside - get some of the "BIG" issues fixed - and just use it. And at around 1880 pounds it should tow just fine! Gotta get rid of that "TV Aentenae" ICK! Unless I can find a late 50's TV - hrm - Philco Perfecta?
I have a 59 villager as well, going full custom on it.. almost have the taillights done and lowered it 4"+ all the way round. Mine has the big 361 in it. I need the drivers side stainless side piece for the rear window if anyone knows of one that can be had please let me know!
That camper is cool. I cant imagine a camper behind that long wagon. You would have to plan your route when driving, thats for sure. I just last week got back working on my 59 wagon. I will be bringing back my build thread soon. quick story. I went to a swap meet at indy last weekend and ask a vender if he had a edsel manual. He said he just had a guy ask about one for a 59 wagon. Whats the odds of that.LOL . I guess there are still several out there.
The Jalopy Journal
