History C'mon! EDSELS as STOCK Cars???

Man, THAT is an awesome post, Irish Dan! Whoa!

YOU don't seem to be the kind of guy to post comments idly or JUST FER FUN. (Not that that I don't get squirrily on the HAMB, so I am not throuwing any rocks! All I'm sayig is that YOU are bringing some serious commentary into the Edsel fray here.

For one thing, IT SEEMS THAT EVERYBODY SEEMS TO BE IN AGREEMENT THAT THE 1958 WAS THE TRUE WAY THE EDSEL WAS SUPPOSED TO BE, AS CONCEIVED BY FoMoCo/MEL. This is my belief, for certain. As I've said, I'd love to have a dead-stock, top-line Edsel and polish that ******* ALL THE TIME.

Not to be snotty to Ford, but the '59 and '60 Edsels (especially when you look at the progresion of events -- bear with me people) were only a means for Ford to somewhat GRACEFULLY get OUT of the debacle they'd created through a monstrously mismanaged marketing campaign, starting in '54 and ending in '60.

Boy, they didn't make THAT mistake again!

 

Hold on to your chairs. How about a rebadge Falcon? Or maybe a small Edsel wagon!

Holy cow batman!~

 

Got one more for you! A small Edsel sedan - The Edsel Comet as mentioned earlier!

 

The '60 was nothing more than a dressed up and rebadged '60 Ford Galaxie Sedan. But, it is still a good looking car. There was a prototype '61. I am still looking for the pics. Will post if I can find them.

 

Jeesh, Effie, YEAH, THIS is how I feel about my DeSotos.

Man, oh, man. We see it all in hindsight, BUT the INSIDERS in the auto industry saw the end of DeSoto coming after '57. They were NOT os polite after '58 about the Edsel!

At least, the Hudson, Nash (not AMC, though), Packard, Crosley, etc., nameplates were permitted to "fade away" gracefully -- without journalistic pundits publicly laughing at them (at least no unduly) in PRINT.

 

Considering the amount of interest in them today, Seems like the Edsel got the last laugh.

 

Neat post.

Yeah, some of us on here are Edsel freaks from way back....

 

Say Irish Dan-
The E-410 was in reference to the torque of the engine. It was Ford's FE series engine which was more like 332 CI.
The FE would grow to 352, 390, 410, 427 and 428.
Later on it would be destroked and become the 360.
"FE" stood for Ford/Edsel.

 

I think people are mistaken when it comes to Edsels... the misconception is that they were lemons, which is not the case. They may have been over-hyped, but they were a quality vehicle that came out at the worst time ever and got kyboshed as a result... tarnishing Edsel Ford's name.

... a few years from now and they might say the same about the Hummer.




If I'm not mistaken... Edsel Ford was also responsible for the 'Model A'... against Henry Ford's wishes...

 

its not an edsel(i think its cool) but its the car that me and my dad spent 3 years building and now we dirt track race it 61 ford starliner

 

Don't forget the 406 and 430 in the mix. Not to mention all the truck versions. 391 and so on.

 

Got a 58' Edsel bermuda wagon thats been in the family for years, grown into the ground now. Think its time to save a icon. Tons of bodyrepair, panel making and gl*** I hope I can find, but the guy did come out with the v-12. That deserves preservation, at least for his name. And who couldnt love that vag#%a front end?

 

Hey vetible59, where did you happen to see that car? My uncle was THE starliner guy on the east coast! I some what remember an edsel convert in the mix (i was young then). He made many molds of weatherstripping that I beleive the Steele Co. owns now.

 

Edsel's SURE getting a ton of notoriety today, for a car that was only around 2.5 years, eh?

 

KROWN Kustoms, I spotted the Edsel 2-Dr hdtop (Starliner) in High Point North Carolina, and the ragtop (Yellow) in north central Virginia. Both were in the mid 80s.

 

Did you also know that 1958 Edsel had 10 1/2 to 1 pistons and awesome heads that racers still look for today ? The guy I bought my 58 Ranger from used to like burning the rear tires through his small town until they would catch on fire, I'm looking forward to going back to Idaho next month with the car so he can drive it again (without destroying my tires) I think he well enjoy that , it does look allot different then when he last saw it 9 years ago.

edsel

 

10 & 1/2 to one! Holy ****!

Hey, "edsel," you are not only an exemplary rodder, you are a great friend. That is WAY cool what you want to for your old buddy!

He'll be shocked ****less, I bet, to see that car!

 

58 Edsel and 10 1/2 compression. My father added a 427 425 h.p. cam, lifters and rockers, cleaned up the ports, manifold and carter 4 brl from a 430 Lincoln. All in a 46 Ford. I have the trophy he won at Langhorne, B Street.

 

I forgot to mention, the 58 Edsel E400 is 361 FE, 4.05 bore and 3 1/2 stroke

 

By the way guys, I still have the engine.

 

Just to clear a few things up on the 58 Edsel engines, as I see a few question about them on this thread and a bit of misinformation.

In 1958 there were two engines available in the Edsel. The smaller series Edsels like the Ranger, Pacer, and all station wagons had the E400 engine. The name came from it's torque displacement and not the CID of the engine and was proudly stamped on the valve covers. The displacement of the engines was 361 cubic inches. This engine was based off the FE design which was a completely new engine design for 1958. Ford had their own version in 1958 also that was 332 cubic inches. This is the same design engine as the 352, ,360, 390, 427, and 428 as well as a couple other sizes that were specific to trucks.

The larger series 1958 Edsels like the Corsair and Citation had the E475 engine. Like the E400 it's name also came from the torque displacement which was also stamped on the valve covers and had a cubic inch displacement of 410. This also was a brand new engine design for 1958. The Mecury counterpart for this engine was a 383 cubic inch engine. This design of engines would later grow to 430 and 462 cubic inches.

Also in 1958 the smaller series Edsel were based off the 58 Ford ch***is and the larger series Edsel were based off the 58 Mercury ch***is.

HTH

 

Jeff, THANKS for the specifics on the two Edsel engines. As the one who POSED the question at top of the thread, I find I've been taken in by a generalization I read by someone about Edsel. I took their exaggeration to be founded; you have presented the facts to show otherwise. Good post, buddy, and THANKS in behalf of EVERYONE who enjoys the wacky-looking (beautiful?) Edsel!!!

 

Actually the original plans for the 1959 Edsel had been in place well before the 1958 model was even introduced. Because of the disasterously low sales volume of the 1958 model, costs had to be slashed on the 1959 Edsel. In a series of money-saving measures, the Teletouch Drive transmission that was originally planned as an option on the 1959 Edsel, was eliminated. Unique design elements were cut, and the Edsel began to lose some of the features that made it distinct. Taillights from the 1958 Continental were used, the ch***is was the same as the Fairlane, and the dashboard became almost identical to the Ford.

 

weatrmn I bet that engine is a fire breathing draggon !! what project do you plan on putting that into ?

edsel

 

Bruce, with only 60+,000 Edsels actually SOLD for '58 (when at least TWICE thta many was the TARGET!) . . . YOU pretty much hit the nail on the head as to WHY the '58 was the only TRUE Edsel, as the designers & engineers intedned it to be!

 

Edsel, I don't know what I'm going to put it in. My dad woudn't let me have it when he gave me the '46. I sold the car many years ago. My current project is a 40 coupe w/ a mercury flathead. Also a 39 tudor with a 427 m.r. I'm sure something will come along for the 361. Tony

 

Does ANYBODY besides me find this a little bit ironic?

The EDSEL becomes the dictionary definition for FLOP, right? But the COMET was an Edsel concept, by Edsel designers. As the first MERCURY compact, it sold like hotcakes!!! Ironic?

And, isn't there at least a LITTLE element of REDEMPTION for the Edsel Division in this???

 

Call me crazy here, but I'm not sure the Edsel name needs redemption. It may have negative ***ociations as a cultural reference, but when I tell people I have an Edsel, they don't say "Oh, you mean the fail-boat!" Even after 50 years, people (even non-car folks) still are familiar with the name if not the car itself. Other defunct marks like DeSoto, Packard, Stude, etc. have faded far from memory as far as the general population is concerned.

I love my big old car, whether a 59 is a "real" Edsel or not. I think it's a great car, and the cultural significance of the car appeals fully to my odd sense of humor. If the rest of the world doesn't get it, I really couldn't care less.

 

In the first year, 63,110 Edsels were sold in the U.S., with another 4,935 sold in Canada. Though below expectations, it was still the second-largest car launch for any brand to date, exceeded only by the Plymouth introduction in 1928.

I'm not sure I would consider even the 58 a TRUE Edsel as the design for the 59 was in place before the 58 went on sale.

I have to agree with Cosair, although the Edsel will go down in business history as the biggest American automobile flop, it still is a very unique car and each one is a cherished cl***ic. All totaled, 118,287 Edsels were built (including 7,440 produced in Ontario, Canada) spread across three model-years.

Today it's estimated that less than 6000 Edsels survive. While the design was considered "ugly" fifty years ago, today there's no mistaken it for anything other than what it is, an Edsel.

 

There is no single reason why the Edsel failed, and failed so spectacularly. Here are some of the reasons that led to the name "Edsel" becoming synonymous with "failure". One popular misconception was that the Edsel was an engineering failure, or a lemon, although it shared the same general reliability of its sister Mercury and Ford models that were built in the same factories

-By the time the first Edsel hit the showroom, the country was in a recession. (For comparison, 1958 DeSoto sales were down 54% from 1957. Buick was down 33%, Mercury 48%, Oldsmobile 18%, Dodge 47%, Pontiac 28%.. probably the worst year since World War II to unveil a new car line!)
-Car-buying habits had turned toward smaller and more fuel efficient cars.
-Edsel's styling was radical, and not to everyone's liking. On the ***embly line, Edsel was run between Fords or Mercury's, causing the ***embler to have to interrupt his routine and sometimes forget to install some parts.
-The Edsel also suffered from parts that wouldn't fit together correctly. Because of problems with suppliers, many of the early cars arrived at the dealerships with parts missing. Many dealers were poorly equipped to replace the parts or add on accessories.
-Ford Vice President Robert McNamara offered little support to the Edsel Division.
-The Edsel was more expensive than other comparable cars, and the price of the loaded, top-of-the-line models that were first on the showroom floor scared many buyers.
-There was no owner loyalty to count on.
-And, finally, it had a funny name.