Customs My '59 Edsel Wagon Custom

Beautiful job, really like what you're doing, cool build

 

Nice work man, never met a wagon I didn't like. I had a 58 Bermuda Edsel wagon, still have the title. Enjoy that thing ~sololobo~

 

Thanks! I just ordered a few tidbits to finish it up. (Brake vaccum hose, hood release cable, speedo cable, and a 17" fan)

 

Thanks for the compliment! A 390 may have dropped in, but I didn't have any free ones of those lying around... >_< Haha. Besides I think the 429 has about another 100hp over it.

Really there wasn't a lot of fabricating. I had to drill a 2nd hole in each mounting location because the 429 mounts use two studs vs one. The tranny crossmember had to be notched and boxed to clear the C6's pan regardless. And the drive shaft was shortened a few inches for the longer trans. The core support I modified to the bigger 429 radiator. Even still, 4 things, no biggy.

Sure I'll get the numbers off the 332's heads. It may be Thursday and if not then the weekend for sure. If someone can use them that would be great. I'd hate to see it scrapped entirely. I already parted out the rocker shaft assemblies and oil pan to an Edsel fan. But anything else anyone want let me know. Thanks again!

 

Thanks! I like those spider webs in your avatar! I'm going to lay down a '60s lace paint job on the dash with a Halloween spider web tablecloth, for more retro horror!

 

Thank you!

 

Stray Cats, nice!
And thanks! 3 years of weekends are about to pay off!

 

Man I love wagons! Really anything with some utility aspect... the Ranchero next to it is mine too. I have to confess I like the '58s way-out styling better than the subdued '59s... Oh well. I'll just have to make this one stand out!
Thank you!

 

fender -

I went with the 59 Edsel Villager because "its an unloved car" or it was when I was a kid. I remember one of the first Edsel's I saw in person was a 59 Villager that was 100% restored (back in the 90's) and it was gorgeous. I think they have more interior room - or they seem to anyway. Also the parts options on a 59 are a little more ford friendly in my mind.

Course I was dying for a 58 Villager that was in a junkyard when I was 16 but my dad wouldn't be "Caught litting my kid drive an Edsel, let alone a WAGON!"

 

Dude I can totally relate! It's just in my personality to love anything that's been cast off by the mainstream; obscure cars, obscure music, broken instruments, Edsels... haha. The best quote I ever saw regarding the Edsel was in a local car magazine: "What was seen as the ultimate loser-mobile now enjoys the ironic hipness of, say, bowling shirts and a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon." PERFECT! hahaha

The first Villager I remember seeing was a 59 at a show in 2008. I was walking behind and those fins caught my eye. My friend and I walked around to the front and I saw the grille and then the letters and I was like "Whoah! It's an Edsel! This thing is badass! I thought they were supposed to be ugly!"

I have a vintage Motor Trend or one of those from the late 50s comparing the "New Wagons." It's pretty cool and hits all the makes, Pontiac, Ford, Edsel, AMC, etc. It gives the dimensions of interior space and other fun silly stuff. I'm pretty sure Ford and Edsel finished towards the top. If you're interested I can scan the article? Fun stuff!

 

cool build so far

keep the updates comin'

 

Fender - very cool on the article. I do have a few Edsel related articles in my collection of old magazines! I think I have a copy of the Popular Mechanics review of the 58s.

My dad was a "cool guy" in the 50's and was pretty anti-Edsel. But that wasn't why I was hooked. In the early 90's I think it was MTV showed vintage ads every now and then and they showed an old ad for a 58 Edsel and I remember being fascinated by the car and asked my dad what it was. And I was hooked!

I spend days scouring books on the Edsel. I remember my dad was a member of some "video of the month" club that featured historic films and such on Fords - and the Edsel was on one of the tapes - I about wore it out!

Yours is definately going to be different with that paint! AWESOME! And a 429!!!! An Edsel with guts - so cool!

I remember driving my old 58 Corsair 4 dr ht in the neighborhood when I was about 22 or so - and once - just once - I dropped it into Low (manual floor shift) and mashed the pedal to the floor just to see what she had left in her after sitting for 30 years....

Thats when I learned that "For every action there is an equal but opposite reaction" --- I was pushed back into my seat as that old E475 roared to life....and I also learned the value of good brakes - as I had very lilttle pressure - I made the corner at the and of the street where it T'd at about 55 or 60 - squeeled around the corner and hit the newly installed speed hump at about 50 or so - which caused the 30+ year old right front tire to blow into three pieces OFF the rim into the front yard of a neighbor....I drove home on the rim and retrieved the remains of the tire to some pretty sour looks from the neighbors. Last time I Drove the old girl before selling her.....

Your 429 will do just fine!

 

I'll try to find the article this weekend. Very cool story! Just driving this thing around the yard makes me appreciate that! How fast did you spin that big ol' wheel to make that corner?! And that's my Dad's and I's thinking with the 429, should be enough torque to get this barge out of it's own way! (And then the 12" Merc discs and dual diaphragm booster to stop it!) Hahaha

 

Well - the Corsair had PS - but I did have to crank pretty fast --- along with my right foot on the brake - left on the parking brake - I had enough brake left to slow down - but the right front would just skid (probably very rusty) which is probably what assisted in causing the tire to fail. The rim left a good mark in the pavement.

Those discs will really help. The more I think on my wagon and what I want to do, the bigger the project becomes. Right now I'm just saving my pennies so that leads to dreaming for sure....but I gotta keep on budget!

 

See at Don's place!

 

Solid work Fender, can't wait to see this at Big's next month, wait, NEXT MONTH, I've got to get to work! You too, get back to work!..Brian

 

Don't worry, that 429 will move that wagon very well! Looks good, I may do something like that, what color did you paint the engine? Mike.

 

The heads are numbered what looks like "575" and "2143".

 

Anything brewing Fender? MO PICS PLEASE!

 

Oh man, have I been BUSY! I feel bad leaving you guys hanging, but I've been thrashing on the Edsel every minute I haven't been at work. It's going to come down to the day to make it to BilletProof! I just got it insured and a temp tag for it this morning!

First thing I'll catch you up on is the door panels. I wanted to give myself at least the illusion that I'm not driving a tetanus death trap. So I schemed up cheap, simple, cool door panels. I'm not sure if anyone's ever done this before, but I came up with it myself in my sick little head:

In all my vintage little pages guys were stoked using "new and exciting plastics," so I wanted to do something in that vein... I bought two $19 sheets of plexiglass from the home improvement store, a $15 foam tri-fold display board (like for science projects), and a 3'x6' sheet of lime glitter vinyl I've had for a few years (I think it was $18 or so...)

As luck would have it the face of the door measures 36"x24", close to the plexiglass size for minimal cutting. I set the plexiglass in the bottom retainer on the door and traced out the shape of the door with a Sharpie and also marked any screw holes, the cranks for the handles, and holes for the door pull. I then used a fine toothed hacksaw for straight cuts and a coping saw for the curves. After cutting and trimming I used the plexiglass as a template to trace on the foam board and vinyl. Then I spray adhesived the vinyl to the foam board and positioned it on the door, and laid the plexiglass over it like one big lens, giving depth to the color of the vinyl. So it's layered: door, foam board, vinyl, plexiglass, handles and such. I spray painted the original door pull in lime metal flake to match. I think it looks awesome. Well, better than the bare metal skeleton of the door... the chicks on my Facebook dig it anyway! And isn't that what really matters?! Haha

 

Every kustom needs a trick dash! All three '59 Edsels, the Corsair, Ranger, and Villager, shared the same dash. The high-series Corsair however had 8 cool chrome fins/teeth running across the face of the dash (as if smacking your face on the steel dash wasn't bad enough...) I always thought those teeth break up the color of th dash really well. Luckily, I got my hands on a set of those fins. Also I was really impressed with Norm Ricardo's blue 59 Ranch Wagon and the panels on his dash (again, same dash) so I used that as inspiration. So I set out customizing my dash...

I measured about 14 different ways and drilled once to place the fins in the stock position across the face of the dash. Once I had the holes drilled I put the dash back in the car and drilled for the spotlight handle. I pulled it back out and scuffed it up for primer. Then I laid a base coat of Championship White lacquer from the auto store in the approximate layout of the white borders and topped that with Testor's White Lightning metalflake lacquer.

After that I taped off my panels. I wanted work in some lace stenciling as well. But, being horror themed, grandma's doilies and paisley patterns wouldn't cut it. So I picked up a Halloween surplus spider web laced table runner. I sprayed the panels in Mystic Emerald metalflake lacquer (also Testors), laid down the lace, and fogged that with Lime Ice metalflake (Testors). And it. Turned. Out. Awesome!

 

I realized that the stock looking two-tone job I did on the tailgate was not gonna cut it. I wetsanded it down a little, then taped off a panel job off the top of my head. I used the Championship White and Sublime Green Pearl Metallic faded with the Mystic Emerald. I was literally giggling peeling the tape off, it turned out so sweet. Pretty good I think for rattle cans and Preval sprayers.

 

Finally, for my birthday I my buddy came over and we changed the oil and plugs and tweaked the carb. Then we fired it up for some donuts and drifting thru the sugar sand on my property. I posed it for a few pics to prove that it does move!

 

Cool project!! Keep havin' fun!!

 

Thanks! I plan on it!

 

That tailgate and dash are awesome!! Everything looks great!

 

It amazes me how many awesome projects and builds I miss on this site. Today is the first time I've run across this one. Great job on your wagon. I love it.

Makes me feel like a total failure with mine. Got it delivered almost 3 years ago and I haven't done crap on it, except figure out that my driver's side lugs spin opposite of normal lugs.

Oh, I am subscribed to this!

 

Nice wagon! Man I would love to see this one in a full paintjob!

 

Sweet dash Fender, you have been busy, looks great, see you at Billetproof! Brian

 

Thanks!