For Sale Always enjoyed the Edsels
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" Always enjoyed the Edsels""
Me too. Never understood the hate or the dislike of the car. To me, cool as Hell...
Me too. Never understood the hate or the dislike of the car. To me, cool as Hell...
CBODY67
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I thought the Edsels were neat when new. Probably a few too many "electronics" for the end of the "space age" cars? TeleTouch Drive, for example.
One segment of "My Classic Car" mentioned the differences in the two cars. The smaller one was built in a Ford Plant, the larger car in a Mercury plant. Additional assembly line complexity, I suspect, led to the quality/assembly issues?
By the time the '60s arrived, not a very good adaptation of a '60 Ford. BUT distinctive as all git out!
CBODY67
One segment of "My Classic Car" mentioned the differences in the two cars. The smaller one was built in a Ford Plant, the larger car in a Mercury plant. Additional assembly line complexity, I suspect, led to the quality/assembly issues?
By the time the '60s arrived, not a very good adaptation of a '60 Ford. BUT distinctive as all git out!
CBODY67
O.K. 'til you see it comin' at you. It waz referred to back then az looking like an "OLDSMOBILE SUCKING LEMON" Very appropriate then and now I think, lol
Good Morning My Friend, we agree to disagree, Hope to see you and your Clan next July. Stay well, Jer
Love the Starliner styled Fords and Mercs and the final Edsels.
If I had the dough I'd buy that in a heartbeat (and see if a Ford big block could be made to fit like those found in contemporary Galaxie cars).
Fabulous looking car.
If I had the dough I'd buy that in a heartbeat (and see if a Ford big block could be made to fit like those found in contemporary Galaxie cars).
Fabulous looking car.
Edsels are cool.
I like pretty much all American cars from the 50's, 60's, 70's.
I like pretty much all American cars from the 50's, 60's, 70's.
twostick
Senior Member
They came with FE (390 style) and MEL (430 style) engines. A 429/460 engine will fall right in with a slight mount modification.
Kevin
traintech55
Senior Member
Back in my early days of being a mechanic, I heard the oldsters tell stories on the electric shift in the steering wheel shorting out, and the cars changing gears from forward to reverse in turns. That could prove very interesting to say the least.
Mother Made the push button 727 right AND ON THE DASH. The Phord engeneerz thought they had a "better idea", WRONG. And it bit 'um in the A$$ for all 3 yearz of production. The factory rats in Pico Rivera, Ca. Phord assembly plant laughed about the trouble Phord waz having with those transmission shifters thru' '58, '59. & '60 And those Edsels weren't even assembled in that plant. I know because I tried to join those unionized ranks in '58 and again in '60 for 87 dayz each time. I learned slow, It took getting jammed twice. Jer
CBODY67
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Before Ford/Edsel, it was Packard that had an electric pushbutton automatic trans shifter mechanism. They had their problems, too! Basically not changing when "P" was pushed.
The Dallas (TX) HIstorical Soc. has a car blog/bulletin board section. Subjects usually center on cars people have owned and related stories, plus the various dealerships in Dallas in the 50s and later.
One Packard story related that the mother and son pulled up in to the front door of the local A&P grocery store. As was a somewhat common practice back then, after she pushed the "P" button, she revved the motor a bit (for better charging of the battery?). As the trans wasn't yet in "P", the car accelerated through the front doors, continued to the rear of the store and the butcher's meat area. The son said she calmly put the car in "R" and went out the same way she came in. Once parked, everybody came out of hiding to see if she and the son were ok. The son said the store manager called his father and requested he come to the store, and to bring his insurance agent. That was a '55 era Packard they were in.
Chrysler went with a cable for their pushbutton shift. Edsel wanted a more upscale approach and went "electric", probably knowing the issues the Packards had had.
I remember seeing a JCWhitney "conversion" to a floor shirt for the automatic trans, in the '60s. There must have been a similar kit for the Packards as I saw one with a floor shift a while back.
CBODY67
The Dallas (TX) HIstorical Soc. has a car blog/bulletin board section. Subjects usually center on cars people have owned and related stories, plus the various dealerships in Dallas in the 50s and later.
One Packard story related that the mother and son pulled up in to the front door of the local A&P grocery store. As was a somewhat common practice back then, after she pushed the "P" button, she revved the motor a bit (for better charging of the battery?). As the trans wasn't yet in "P", the car accelerated through the front doors, continued to the rear of the store and the butcher's meat area. The son said she calmly put the car in "R" and went out the same way she came in. Once parked, everybody came out of hiding to see if she and the son were ok. The son said the store manager called his father and requested he come to the store, and to bring his insurance agent. That was a '55 era Packard they were in.
Chrysler went with a cable for their pushbutton shift. Edsel wanted a more upscale approach and went "electric", probably knowing the issues the Packards had had.
I remember seeing a JCWhitney "conversion" to a floor shirt for the automatic trans, in the '60s. There must have been a similar kit for the Packards as I saw one with a floor shift a while back.
CBODY67
Carmine
Old Man with a Hat
The recession of '58 had a lot more to do with end of Edsel (and Desoto) than any shifter issues. That wasn't even a feature across the line, it was an option.
Add in the car's enormous cost to FoMoCo, "controversial" styling, and separate dealer network. It launched with a thud, soon became synonymous with failure and shareholders demanded the bleeding stop.
The car itself was not a lemon, it was more/less on par with any other late 50s D3 offering. But it had a stigma that lasted a generation. The closest modern example might be Hummer. Seemed like a great idea when launched, soon flopped and became a joke. The vehicles themselves were just GM truck platforms underneath. (except obviously the H1)
Add in the car's enormous cost to FoMoCo, "controversial" styling, and separate dealer network. It launched with a thud, soon became synonymous with failure and shareholders demanded the bleeding stop.
The car itself was not a lemon, it was more/less on par with any other late 50s D3 offering. But it had a stigma that lasted a generation. The closest modern example might be Hummer. Seemed like a great idea when launched, soon flopped and became a joke. The vehicles themselves were just GM truck platforms underneath. (except obviously the H1)
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