Calling ALL EDSEL Owners

[jetcone]

I think it would be a lot easier to

restore that Pontiac or an Edsel today than back in the 70's. You had to wait for club meets to get linked up now the internet does that for you 24-7.

Soft trim parts are the hardest still , even for washers.

I remember there was a place in PA called Kanter Automotive you could wide white walls and suspension parts. It was a god send!

 

[qsd-dan]

"Just Dashes in Van Nuys can reproduce all that dielectric embossing on your Safari's door panels and seats, although they don't do the actual upholstery work - they just emboss the vinyl to get it ready for the upholsterer. Their padded-dash restoration process is supposed to be as good as it gets."

Wow, I'm familiar with Just Dashes as far as dash work (will be getting my dash re-done by them), but I didn't know they repro'd the dielectric embossing. I know that SMS will reproduce just about any material imaginable. However, since they're one of the very few gigs to carry out this type of task (and they know it!), their customer service is down right despicable. I hear that it usually takes 1 year from first phone call to door step service in order to acquire the goods.

"I think it would be a lot easier to restore that Pontiac or an Edsel today than back in the 70's."

That's probably the case for Edsel due to their very low and short production span. Back then, GM usually held on to their parts for many years, if not a few decades. I have acquired parts from very old GM parts stores that recently went out of business.

Back in the 70's, there was nothing BUT 50's and 60's cars in the junkyards, so there was more than enough candidates to pick from. I have heard of a few guys who bought an entire tri-power setup for $30 back in the 70's. A bloody tri-power air cleaner in somewhat OK condition ALONE usually runs around $500 today. I would love to have the abundance of parts and pay the cheap prices of the 70's today!

More modern day problems: Most of those old guys who knew how to work on/rebuild older transmission designs (4 speed hydros, dynaflows, ect.) are either retired, loss their marbles long ago, or are dead. Back in the 70's, a transmission shop on every street corner could rebuild a 4 speed hydro and do it right. Most certainly NOT the case today!! Thankfully, I found an older guy who is still very much active and mentally sharp to carry out that task. I'm actually going find another transmission and he agreed to let me video tape the entire rebuild process from start to finish. It's imperative that this kind of info is passed on to future generations before it's permanently taken to the grave!

 

[ironrite]

It Started With a Kiss

Right about the 5 minute mark you can see the Futura. Debbie Reynolds and Glenn Ford, fun little movie. If you like the movie, you can follow the rest of in on Youtube. And as they cruise the Italian countryside they run into Ava Gabor. Anybody recall the episode of Green Acres when Lisa learned how to drive and went into a story about the "pernandle" "PRNDL?"

And this is a wonderful car thread. Almost makes me want to get an old beast and start restoring again!

 

[rp2813]

Dan, that wagon is beautiful, and you got one in a great color combo.

I'll agree that the 70's were great when it came to wrecking yards yielding parts for 50's cars and trucks, but as with so many 50's items you might want to have repaired by someone else, you couldn't find anyone who was willing to do it. The standard advice was that whatever you had wasn't worth fixing, and if the wrecking yard didn't have the part, you were often S.O.L. because your average Kragen's didn't stock it either, and the guys at the dealer parts desk would double over from laughter. Such was the case when trying to track down parts for the '50 Jimmy. Not all of them were interchangeable with Chevy and my dad had one hell of a time locating a cylinder head when the neighbor borrowed the truck and cracked it. That truck came close to being junked more than once due to that type of circumstance, but it was a part of the family and remains so today because he wouldn't give up on it. It has actually become easier to find parts for the Jimmy in recent years, not only with the help of the worldwide web, but also, I presume, because manufacturers and retailers have recognized that there is still a demand for the basic parts used in routine maintenance and repair operations.

 

[112561]

We had use of a 1959 Catalina flattop for a while in the late '60s. It was that copper color, with a beige and copper interior, no power steering, but had the two speaker option in the rear, it was all factory. It had optional Bonneville side blips on it. I still miss that car. I will love to see pictures of the Catalina wagon!

 

[112561]

Show Cars

Remember the Chevrolet Biscayne show vehicle from 1955? It went to Warhoop's salvage yard after the circuit days were over, and of course, all kinds of blasphemy was performed on it. Years later, one of the top show car collectors acquired the remains, and here is a fairly recent picture of it after a certain amount of reassembly was done to it. Look real hard, it is not a period photograph.

 

[rickr]

Anyone remember the movie, "The ghost and Mr. Chicken?" with Don Knotts as Mr. Chicken? He drove and Edsel in the movie, and even made mention of the fact that he drove and Edsel.

 

[112561]

Barney Fife drove an Edsel convertible after he moved out of

I never saw the entire movie, but if the whole thing is on YouTube, I'll be watching. Not only is Dick Sargent in there, but one of the Mayberry elderly women is in it too, and probably a lot of other CBS personalities.

 

[westie2]

Oler Cars

My sister just sent this to me this morning. These are minitures but look real. Acouple of Edsel Station Wagons in this flicker.

Photos of my models

Our past is a powerful draw and in so many ways we try to capture it in order to explain it to ourselves. What started out as an exercise in model building and photography, ended up as a dream-like reconstruction of the town I grew up in. It's not an exact recreation, but it does capture...

www.flickr.com

 

[112561]

I love it!

This is what it's all about! Incredible!!

Yat Ming makes a 1:18 scale Edsel in hardtop and convertible. I wish they'd make a 1:18 scale Bermuda wagon. I'd settle for 1:24 scale though.

 

[rp2813]

I can see quite a bit of treatment used on the '62 (I think) Buick Skylark in that Biscayne concept.

Interesting that the Biscayne turned out to be the BOL Chevy. My sister had a '65 Biscayne (I think they only came with 6-cylinders) that had 3-speed column shift and a factory AM radio without any pushbuttons. I have never seen a more stripped-down Chevy before or since. I must give credit where it's due, though. That Biscayne allowed me to finally get the hang of working a clutch. My dad tried to teach me in the '50 Jimmy but the clutch on that thing was just way too unforgiving.

 

[hydralique]

Chevy Delray . . .

I believe the Delray was placed below even the Biscayne in Chevy's family tree, though I don't know how long the Delray lasted - I know for sure they were made from '58 through '60. Back in the early '60s you could tell how fancy a full-sized Chevy was by counting the taillights on each side: three meant a TOL Impala, two meant a MOL Bel Air, while one meant a BOL Biscayne. The Delray also had one light per side; it must have grated on Chevy bean-counters that they couldn't differentiate the Biscayne and Delray by having no taillights on the latter!

 

[rp2813]

I had forgotten about the Delray. And it's been forever since I've seen one out there. I guess maybe once they dropped that line, the Biscayne took over the bottom rank.

 

[112561]

rp2813

My dad had a 1965 four door Biscayne with the buttonless AM radio, six cylinder, three on the tree, AND factory in-dash air conditioning! Not the hang on dealer unit, in the dash! I always loved the design of the 1965 GM lineup.

 

[thor]

Donna Reed Show

Wasn't the family car in the Donna Reed Show an Edsel? I have never seen re-runs of this show, but I'm almost sure about this. The car was driven up the driveway up to the garage door, and the kitchen back door opened just to let you see the front of the car, and I loved every scene where the car could be seen!

 

[qsd-dan]

What was really great about buying cars back then was that you could customize ANY of the many options that were available to be installed. Nowadays, you have a very limited amount of specific choices without being forced into buying a higher end model that's loaded with a bunch of options that one doesn't care to own.

 

[112561]

Alex and Donna Stone's family car (first season) was an Edsel wagon. One showed up on a rear view in Leave It To Beaver.

 

[rickr]

Don Knotts driving the 58 Edsel!

The start of Ghost and Mr. Chicken. So funny!! He even pushes the wrong button on the Edsel, and backs into the trash cans! Worth watching.

 

[gansky1]

Very nice, Jon. Love Gwen, she was a real treasure.