nice ride! slam it , skirts, chrome wheels with spider caps and pinner whites! lace panels on the roof and roll out!
Hey folks! So did some more checking and ran by the car today as I was in the area - and found some things I knew about - and wanted to run them by you all. 1.) Radiator pic. I've attached a pic of the radiator. I can't tell if this radiator is for this car or not. Cap is in the center of the radiator - the fins look to be "modern core" style "high efficiency." But the tanks don't look right - the overflow - I can't remember seeing that on an edsel before like this - and also the transmission cooler is not hooked up on the car. 2.) Transmission cooler - this is NOT stock and needs to be fixed. 3.) Engine. It's the 332 (I'm pretty sure) - and a 2bbl carb. Non-stock air cleaner and new fuel pump. It "Ran." When I had disconnected the vacuum hose for the wipers the idle went WAY WAY down. So - there's ONE vacuum leak I need to fix. Also in going over starting the engine - I realized I think the "Stuck valve" is NOT stuck. As it was flooded and I would turn it over it would "stumble and hesitate on the same cylinder each time and pop through the tail pipe consistently on another. I think two plug wires are swapped. That would be good if that is the case. 4. ) Minor rust on the roof. That's the BIGGEST part I can find - see attached. 5.) Bent grill. It'll look good on the wall - eventually. The fender is pushed in. Will have to straighten the mounts (thats all that was bent there - can't find the pics I took of the mounts. 6.) Rear interior shot. Notice the chrome window trim. I can't find an instance of this in my research. Was this something Ford did - and someone put those pieces on an Edsel or what? 7.) Dash. Light overspray on the speedo - also that does not work. Will have to see if its a cable issue. Lights work - but here's the BIGGEST problem. No turn signal quadrant - and no lenses or housings in the front bumpers. I think the bumpers were pulled for the repaint and were never replaced. They're now lost. Will a ford signal quadrant work? Anyone have a good pic of one? 8.) Wheel. Are these stock? Will stock spinners work on these? I may be able to get a set! 9.) Side shot. I just like this pic. I am SUPER STOKED! But on to lenses --- do they make replacements? Anyone have a stockpile of them? I just need the red ones. I have an extra set of backup lights. enjoy!
neato The wheels might be stock, it would be easier to tell if you took the 80s ford truck hubcap off it first. The radiator looks pretty modern, I don't recognize it but it could be for a later ford or mopar or rambler, might have had the original bracket swapped onto it? Any numbers on the tank?
Radiator is definitely not stock. Wheels probably are. The chrome interior trim is interesting and not original. I don't recall if the higher priced Fords had that, or else someone had it plated.
Im guessing the chrome garnish moldings were done by someone who wanted to spiffy up the inside. From what I've seen, in that era car interiors were made to look uniform inside, so they painted the garnish to match the rest of the trim. Convertibles usually had chrome moldings inside around the windshield, but all the other body styles would be painted. But that's just a general observation, it's possible that FoMoCo did some weird stuff.
That 'Ed' is enviable. Wish my '63-1/2 Galaxie looked that clean! You scored a great find, glad to hear about the rapport with the seller, too. The play in the steering may be due to the pressure valve on the P/S drag link. Tom Watson in Chowchilla, CA., rebuilds them for a very reasonable price. Don't have his number, but Drugasm probably knows him. (Tom shows a red '63 Galaxie convertible at the local runs here, is always helpful with parts and assistance!)
Thanks for the complements Atwater! Just one thing ---- no PS. It's the tie-rods - I checked before purchasing. A little cheaper to fix....
Well done! Glab to see that you bought it. By far my favorite Edsel... Won't go off topic on this one I promise!
No worries Need Louvers! BTW Folks - I picked up my first "project" for the Edsel. I bought a carb rebuild kit - and will be soaking the "Extra" carb in cleaner this weekend - and probably on Sunday - getting around to the rebuild. Any notes on what to look for on this carb?
Great car. Just look at pictures of my Edsel wagon build and you will know how good of a car you have. Keep the updated coming. Mine wont be back in my shop till cold weather hits. Or till I cant stand it any more.
Carb has soaked in cleaner. Did some of the preliminary assembly. Accel pump - econ valve. I did notice this carb has been rebuilt. The float was plastic. In fine shape - but still! I hope this carb is right for this engine. Any big way to tell? It is stamped Motocraft - and did NOT come on the car. It's a 2100 2 barrel.
I almost bought that!! Loved it but hesitated and it was gone...to someone from Palominas no less. (I'm from SV originally) Nice lookin ride. Maybe I will get a chance to see it in person one day.
Hey coasterbrakecustoms! LOL - Az is small (really) and the car scene is much smaller. No wonder someone on here recognized the car. In reality it was MUCH better than it looked. I am stoked. It'll be here tomorrow (via shipper) so will have pics tomorrow / this weekend. Cheers!
How's that carb rebuild going? I will be tearing mine down soon. It's a 4bbl Holley and I think it's a 700. I bought an aluminum intake for it too before I realized on an FE you have to pull alot of the valve train out to swap an intake! Damn goofy cars. Good luck and keep on truckin'. Time spent on all those little things will make it a much nicer driver in the future.
So - the Edsel arrived around 7pm last night. Delivered safe and sound. Now the fun begins. It looks like this WAS a PS car - and all the PS equipment was removed. So my question is - which is easier - swap a non-ps steering components in - or replace the PS components that are missing? It also has the dreaded TicTicTicTic coming from one cylinder. I think I've got a bent pushrod / stuck valve. I also need a new radiator with built in cooler - the cheap non-stock tranny cooler is leaking fluid EVERYWHERE. In reality its in pretty good shape - looks like all lights work (minus turn signals - switch and lever is missing) and it moves. I have my work cut out for me making this beast a driver though. Radiator Valve job Steering fixes Brake rebuild (original system) Grill replacement I may have to buy that parts Ranger I posted about after all.
So - on to today's findings - Day 1 with the Edsel. After the last post - I got the idle down to a reasonable level (found one last vacuum leak - pencap in vacuum hose fixed that) and took it for a drive. Holy crap I'm driving my Edsel! I also noticed MAN - this thing is SLOPPY. Like BAD sloppy. So thats going to be project 2. Why 2? Because I need it to run under its own power first - and not kill every mosquito within miles. You KNOW it's running rich when you stand behind it and your eyes burn. So - Into the carport - up went the hood - and off came the carb. I checked the carb that was on it with the one I rebuilt. Different carbs for sure. WAY different. So it's off to the parts store for a rebuild kit (again). I also noticed the old mechanical choke was "STUCK" - so I think that's going away - and I'll replace it with the electrical one from the later carb - looks like it will work. Once thats done - I'll pull the valve covers to see what needs to be done with the valves. I'll pick up some cleaner and get the carbon off the valves. I'm just stumped about the steering. I'm no Edsel expert (coming from the world of VW's and Model T's). I'm attaching a pic of the linkage that I can see without jacking it up. What do you think - PS or Non PS car? I'm thinking PS. I'm also missing a side mirror (passenger is missing). I remember seeing the hooded "Edsel" mirrors - but don't remember these - are these normal for 59?
Aaaannnddd.....I just noticed the brake pedal "Power Brakes" And found the crimped off vacuum line.... So someone removed the power brakes - and power steering systems. grrrrr At least the Power Brakes are easier to retrofit.
My '59 Villager had the one on the left. Not sure on the steering but I have mine in the air so I may can help. if you get better pics of whats in question. Mine is a no PS/PB car.
Hey Thunder rocket! Thanks. The big thing I noticed is a threaded bolt like appendage coming off of the tie rod / drag link. I think this is for the Ram. What are the big differences between a non power steering system and a power steering system?
Yeah, it's a power steering car. I can see the control valve on the one photo, it's the part just to the left of the pitman arm off the sector. The original power steering setups on these were OK but over time had lot of places for leaks. The power steering on these have a slave cylinder under the car that provide the assist via the control valve (the part just to the left of the pitman arm on the drag link. That means you have four hoses, a pump and a slave cylinder that can leak. To convert it to manual steering is not very difficult. All you should need to do is swap out the drag link, idler arm, and possibly the pitman arm. The biggest reason you have all the play in the steering right now is probably because you are running a disabled power steering setup. HTH
Your welcome, glad I could help. My 59 has manual steering and it's not that bad to steer at all. BTW the mirror on your car looks to be from an early 60's style Ford mirror. The hooded mirror that you were talking about was available in 59 too. Also exterior mirrors were NOT standard equipment, but an option, thus the reason you see several different styles of mirrors on cars from this era.
Hey Jeff! Thanks for the info. I actually did a search on Ebay and found a matching mirror - yikes - ad says they're rare. Hrm...we'll see. If they are, I'll try to find something a little more useable. So...on to Day 2 of the Edsel Chronicles. LOL Today, after being productive (mowing the lawn and such), I got into rebuilding the carb. WOW - this one is a LOT more simple to rebuild than the other Ford 2100. I did use the electric choke off the newer carb instead of the old mechanical version and also used the mixture screws as one of the stock ones was bent. I checked the float height before the rebuild and after. They were identical (never had THAT happen before) - installed and fired her up - fired right off without a hitch. I did adjust the mixture screws a little. Still running rich - I'm wondering if the jets are far too big for this engine. The carb does look like it was rebuilt sometime in the past. Next I'll be pulling the valve covers to see which rods are the culprits. BTW - is it possible to just "unbend" the pushrods in order to "just get by" to see if this causes the car to run better? Or am I asking for trouble? I also posted a vid - post carb rebuild so ya'll can hear how she's running. It has a single exhaust with a cherry bomb on it (for now). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ez5AvgehSM Will report back later with Lifter Info. Enjoy!
Conclusion day 2. Well after about two hours of work - I managed to get the valve covers off and fix the pushrods. Um....the inside of those valvecovers was GRODY. I mean seriously funky. I had to get a shop vac out and clean out all the gunk and flakes of "God-Knows-What." I soaked everything down with brake cleaner - and then soaked with marvel mysery oil. I found two bent push rods. Number 6 exhaust, and number 2 intake. Neither valve was stuck. I unbent the pushrods as best I could for now. The one issue I noticed is when I put the pushrod back in number 2 intake, it dropped in a little further than I thought it should. I got it lined up pretty well - and fired the engine back up - and the tic noise was there for a second and then disappeared. *shrug* Dunno if that was from the lifter pumping up - or what. It still seems like I have a miss somewhere. I did put MM down the carb as I was running it - BOY did it smoke like hell - then cleared up. I also put a little in the crank case and in the tank. I was going to go out for a second voyage when I ran out of gas at the end of the driveway. Let me tell you - I was NOT prepared for that. I only had a gallon gas can with a half gallon in it. I then went to the local store for more (5 miles away) and came back and put the other gallon in. That allowed me to ALMOST get back to the carport. Guess I need a bigger gas can. Anyway - I uploaded another vid of the engine running post push rod fix. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_Ndh5x0He8 And now this week I'm ordering a new radiator, water pump is on the way, and I think I may try to locate some of the steering parts. Cheers!
Quick Update Folks... I went to move the Edsel yesterday - and it tried to start - then would NOT turn over. And I don't mean "wouldn't start" I mean would NOT turn over. I just get a "click" from the Solenoid. The engine DOES turn by hand - so it isn't stuck or anything like that. Just a click is all I get. So I'm thinking either the original starter gave out, the solenoid gave out, or something else. Mostly the starter. I do know that if I "hold" the key in the start position - the wire going from the solenoid to the starter gets hot. So - the starter is drawiing juice - but not doing squat. I also seemed to notice a "dead" or "slow" area during start. Wonder if that indicated a dying starter. That being said - can a starter from any of the early FE engines work on this? Mostly I ask because the local auto-stores cannot look up FE parts by referencing EDSEL - I've had to reference 65 Fairlane with 352 FE. I figure that's close enough - same family - right?
The Jalopy Journal
