Art & Inspiration The Edsel Raven

This floated around the internet a few months ago. What's weird, is that I found it because I had the same idea. I have a 59 Edsel Ranger 4 door, that I'm not going to really need in about a month. And I've had a hankering for an open car for a while. Of course, I would not do the porthole top, and I'd probably figure out how to make it with what I have, and with the least amount of work possible.



This is my raw material:



just how nuts am I? Photoshop help is welcome, of course.

 

lol ..... do it ... do it ... dooooooo ittttt ..... Yet another favorite thread, starts here.

 

Are you talking about a shorty Edsel? It would probably be the world's first and guaranteed to be worth at least $500. Give it a try....

 

Have sawzall will travel! Joe

 

You could leave the length, suicide the rear doors and add a Lincoln folding top.

 

It'd be some serious slicing-and-dicing to get the proportions right, but that prototype is pretty cool...

 

I played around with some ideas, and yeah, it would take quite a bit to get the proportions right. But I think I could fake it with only two cuts, one between the doors, the other behind the rear axle.

Also, the "prototype" in the picture is just someone else's photoshop of how they imagined this imaginary car would look.

 

"Nevermore" quoth the Raven. My guess is the story is a fake and the picture a photoshop job. Ford had already decided to discontinue the 2 seater Tbird and the Continental Mark II and replace them with the 4 seater Tbird. No way they would mess with a sporty Edsel based on a model they were scrapping. And they wouldn't mess around with something like that before they had the basic Edsel in dealerships and besides, it would not fit into the FoMoCo lineup in any meaningful way.

However if you wanted to build one, you could have a lot of fun with a cheap Squarebird by transferring the Edsel panels onto it.

 

I was thinking you may have to stretch the doors a bit if planning on any sort of roof (a shortened fiberglass copy of the stocker so you could lift it off?). The bodyside sculpturing will be an issue too...

 

I dare you.

 

Here's a quick cutup using the supplied '59 Edsel picture and a '58 Fairlane donated a section of it's roof. In this version, it's shortened in front of and behind the rear wheelwell, and a bit at the cowl too. It also uses 2 door hardtop doors for the extra length.



If someone who's better at Photoshop than me could clean up this image a bit, I'd appreciate it. Still just learning.

 

I have no interest in having a roof on it. At all.

That's a great start! thanks

 

Squablow your rendering is pretty sweet. The top is what is going to make it or break it, if the top doesn't "work" design wise then your stuck with just another goofy, shortened, four door. That 58 Fairlane roof looks way better than the T-bird deal, more natural if you will.

 

Think roadster...no top. No side glass. Easy to build.

 

I'm with ya now Squirrel...took me a minute to catch up...been a long day lol.

 

The mad scientists of the H.A.M.B. are coming out of the woodwork again.More power to ya all.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

You need 2 door doors to make it work. The rest is cut, weld, grind, and putty it up.

 

I have four doors already....and I can cut, weld, and grind.

 

I would look into parts interchange before I started slicing up an entire Edsel. Example; I've seen an Edsel front clip on a Ranchero (which would be based on a full size Ford). I'm not a Ford expert, but I'm pretty sure there are a lot of the same parts in a square-bird and the '58 Fairlane (and a Monteray and Ranger).

 

I did it to a 4 door stude ,I say go for it

 

Good idea... But I want to work with what I have, as much as possible.

 

It might be perspective of the "real" shot, but it looks as if the hood may be decked or even sectioned. It also looks as if the grille and bumper is lower and kicked back a bit giving it more of an aggressive forward look, which also snubs the front of the wheel opening. The rear of the car looks fairly straight forward, if you can get the top bump up in the right spot.

 

Sorry Jim, that '28 comes first

 

No roof at all, stock length 4 door front doors, stock length front fenders, shortened probably 10" in front of the rear wheel opening and another 10" give or take from behind the rear wheel.

 

neat! I wonder if it could go shorter? I guess the wheelbase gets crazy short, if you do.

I saved the picture!

 

yup, I'll do the edsel one week when I'm waiting for enamel on the 28 to dry

 

As a fan of, and previous owner of a daily driven '59 Ranger 2dr Hdtp, I'm tuned in!

You have mentioned leaving the four door front doors a couple times, but I think longer 2 Dr length doors is the key to making it look right. Even more so than shortening the rear.

I'm anxious to follow!

 

what about using both the front and rear doors? cut and weld them together. then don't have to weld up a door jamb.

 

send pics over to the main Photo Shop thread

 

Jim, I know you said no roof but here's a real quicky. I found a sedan picture to use instead of the hardtop.
I was thinking like you and thought the doors welded might be the way to good. I shortened it till the rear bottom corner of the back door was where the rear bottom corner of the front door was. This in effect adds the length of the dogleg to the back edge of the front door. The two tricky places I see are the dogleg and the "hump" in the rear door top edge that transitions the front quarters to the rear....
For what's worth:

Here's a nice large photo of a 4 door sedan if anyone else wants a go.