Customs My '59 Edsel Wagon Custom

Mine has all the little rust spots in the cargo area in those fun little right angles too.

How do you like that gas tank? Is that a Drake? We have a radiator shop down here in Daytona that's been family owned since the '20s. They did specialty stuff for Nascar, like Fireball Roberts and Smokey Yunick. Anyway, I paid them $360 to clean out the old tank and solder up the holes. (Still less than half the cost of a new tank, but yours looks NICE) I'm envious. Haha

 

I have Aerostars in my '59 Villager (w/390) and it sits awesome.
unfortunatly its not finished.
I also have a bunch of miles on a '59 Ranch Wagon. 390 w/aerostars.
It drives like a dream.

Those progressive springs make a huge difference over cutting OEMs
and I paid >$60 at NAPA.

 

Well. You sold me.
The two other deciding factors at the time were 1: Even though I had chained the springs to the frame during installation, I was terrified of one getting loose and putting me on my ass. I treated it like I was handling a bomb. Haha. And 2: I had already returned the spring compressor to autozone, so when I learned about the aerostars, it was one of those "shrug and eff it moments."
But I guess I'll do it at some point now. Thanks

 

Can you tell me which springs you used. I was afraid it would set on the bump stops, but sounds like thats what i need.

 

Fender, yes its a drake tank. Its the nicest thing on the car.LOL
I have almost as much money in the tank and sender than what I gave for the car.

 

Hahaha! Yeah that was my major hang up... I only paid $760 for the whole car!

 

I just ask for Aerostars, theres lots of info on them on here.
Here is the '59 Ranch

 

Nice louvers in the roll pan, my dad would LOVE that! He was peer-pressuring me into doing a roll pan on the Edsel.

AND THOSE WHEELS! Exactly the tri-ribs I want on mine! Thanks for validating my good taste! Haha

 

It was after I got the engine compartment together that I noticed it needed a little extra something. "Something" being artwork.

Ok, so I'm a hopeless Cramps fan. Like, really, it's almost unhealthy. So I found a font online that mimics their logo perfectly. Now I needed something dark, timeless, and slightly morbid if it was going to be painted on my car. I was listening to the White Stripes' cover of "Black Jack Davey," a Bob Dylan song. And a lyric grabbed me: "Come on come on, my coal-black horse, you're speedier than the grave..." Perfect.

I also love Queens of the Stone Age and their psychedelic artwork. So I typed it up in Word, got a semi-trippy layout with WordArt, and printed it out to scale with the inner fender apron. After transferring it with masking tape, I painted it with my Mack pinstripe brushes in 1-Shot; White and a custom blend of Emerald Green and Lime Green, eyeballed to match the Sublime Green of the body and underhood. The last pic you can see it under the hood, before I took it back off to add the white border. I'm also adding simple pinstripes for a border around it, before the fender goes back on for the last time.

 

At one point I also needed a break from the headaches of the engine install and wiring. I used the same font as a guide and lettered the doors free hand. Partly for giggles, mostly because the doors will be the last thing I strip and repaint.
The Cramps' motto was "Stay Sick, Turn Blue, Drop Dead." for those not familiar.


Stay Sick

 

i NEED that gauge cluster!!!!!!

 

Awesome progress! Can't wait to see more!

 

Back in August of this year I got into a pretty nasty wreck; hit head on on the highway by a semi... Broke three bones in my foot, shattered my ankle in 3 places, fractured my pelvis, and fractured my wrist. I've been on the mend ever since. So I've lost a few months of Edsel time. Just this week I've started walking without a crutch, so I'm hoping to start picking up momentum and knocking this bad boy out!

This Sunday-Christmas day I was able to limp around the garage enough to finish the mini mural on the fender apron and get it on the car. Hopefully I'll have the front sway bar upgrade when the New Year comes!

 

Sorry to hear about your accident ! Get well soon! Love the the thread and your ingenuity ,keep up the good work !

 

looks good! get the areostars you will love them!

 

Thanks I really appreciate it! Every day I get a little bit better and a lil bit stronger.

 

Thank you! No one can ever say it isn't mine. Haha. And yes I'm sold on the springs. I'll save it for a "Spring" Project! Hahaha

 

hey, what green is that, Headache green ??

 

Looks like Zion National Park...is it...??? Is that Larry's '60 wagon ahead of you...???

The wagon is cool...so is the Edsel...Im working on a '60 Chevy two door wagon (rare) right now...just put a 454"/T-400 in it...

R-

 

Cool man, can't wait to see more

 

Work had kept me away from the garage for awhile, but I got to make a little progress this weekend. I sprung for a beefier 1-1/8" front sway bar (mostly because I couldn't put the original back in with the engine mounted and front suspension together... ) So I installed that today, and started remounting the driver's door. It was sprung when I got the car, so I don't have a good reference point to align it. I guess this will be a good lesson in technique. Haha

 

You mentioned missing hood S.S. trim early on. Did you ever find what you needed? Here is a photo of my Villager. They could have been the same car in the begining.
The Wizzard

 

I did, like a week after it was delivered. $10 off eBay. I laugh because it seems those pieces just never survive Time; every picture I see of a derelict Villager has them missing!

Your's is very nice. I like those wheels!!

 

It was funny. When I bought the car the P.O. swore he had them. Ya right. 2 years go by and I finally find and buy a pair. 2 days latter the P.O. comes in the driveway and says guess what I found. Damn, there went $25.oo.
The Wizzard

 

Well, if you ever feel like getting fancy, I've always thought they had the makings of nice "teeth" to tuck into a small custom scoop in the body. Or drawer pulls? Whatever... Haha

 

So I made progress in leaps and bounds this week! I had off Thursday and my buddy came over to help me, and I kept the momentum going all thru the weekend. I got the driver's door hung reasonably well, hung and aligned the fenders, the hood (I discovered that snippets of brake line make nice place holders setting gaps), grille assemblies, and bumper brace.

I also intstalled the mounting bracket for a Untiy H1-F1 spotlight w/ mirror. (I have two more of these if anyone has to have one...)

I decided to get fancy and tried hitting the borders against the white with some Mystic Emerald metallic, and I think it looks pretty good!

I've only got a small handful of details left, I'm optimistic and ambitious to put the car on the road by the end of the month, in time for BilletProof March 23rd!

 

Looking good. keep it going!!

 

Man, a 390 would have dropped right in there without all the fabricating. I wouldn't chuck the 332. Any chance you could get the numbers off of the heads and post them? Cool car...

 

Strong work!!!

 

That dash binnacle was used in 64 galaxies that were r/h/d imports into the uk oddly.
Fabulous job on a great wagon
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1814691&d=1355721306