Howza Bruthas- I am posting this here because as an Edsel guy, there is still so much about the car which has been buried by decades of those involved trying to bury it, wash their hands, and walk away. The Edsel has fascinated me since I was a youngster and til this very day, it still does. For the last few years, I have been pursuing and chasing down rare Edsel corporate and dealership items. In my pursuit of such, I have acquired some very interesting items and just added a very neat and rare find. Harley Copp was a Ford designer. He was the lead engineer and designer behind the Lincoln Continental Mark I and the Ford Falcon. He was also involved as the lead in the design of the GT-40 and Ford Cosworth program in England. As a major influence on design at FoMoCo, it is no surprise he was invited in April of 1957 to see the new and yet-to-be-released "E" Car., the Edsel. Well, a few weeks back, I watched an auction and was high bidder on a piece of Edsel history. These booklets were handed out to selected Ford executives, design staff, and members of the press. Only 100 were printed. Not only was this booklet numbered, but it had been stamped by a secretary working his incoming mail. #59. I am posting this here to show preproduction and designs that never left the factory, maybe to inspire someone working on one of these neat old cars to embrace and colour outside the lines. For example, the quarter panels of the Citation do not have the well-known Edsel "pickle"- the green coat of arms that was on the higher-end Citation and Corsair. The valve covers are smoothe with no letters tamped into them. The compass option was slated to be installed in the dash cluster, and NOT a free-floating item attached to the dash. Let me know what ya think- Enjoy!
Neat stuff @Spooky any full body pics...I really think the ole Edsels look real sharp when done right and there was one in my old neighborhood of Acton Ontario...it was a mild custom black in colour...it sticks in my mind really... I just did a quick snoop and low an behold here it is...
I look at Edsels as a factory Custom in a way and even though one may think as you have alluded a horse collar I think more a salute to the 30s in a way as grill shell... I also in an unexpected turn just noticed in the pic I shared the Owner has a horse collar leaning there... Here's the pic again with the info...I tryed to post the link but it was buggy... I was born shortly after the Edsel hit the scene but I suspect this connection to collars has a very long history... Despite all the negatives personally I consider them real lookers and I'm sure the owner of the one I shared did too...the collar was just part of the conversation... I never met him but always took the time to have a good look at the car every time I saw it... @Spooky being an Edsel guy have you ever found connection to horses with any of the Designers of the car...It may have just been a type of negative relation from comparative observation by the public but it might very well have been an influence in the design...
Horsecollar, vajay-jay- Olds pushing a toilet seat, Merc sucking lemon, I have heard it all. The truth of the design was that Ray Brown was trying to emulate the classic designs of cars from the 1930's and give it a modern twist.
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