1958 edsels are they were restoring?

are 1958 edsels worth restoring are they becoming more collectible? were they well made cars or were they junk? what about parts avalibility? might consider buying one.

Joe...This subject has been discussed quite often over the years. There are many good posts on Edsels in the "Search" archives.

Click on "Search" above and use Edsel as the search word.

Regards,

Peter J. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

My brother has a'58 Citation and loves it other than the extensive trouble with an oil leak that even today still has not been totally fixed after the engine was removed from the car twice......EDSEL = every day somehting else leaks they say.

Joe,

I think they're worth restoring, but then again, it's been suggested by those near & dear to me that I'm a "wacko"...

As with anything old and needing work, you need to evaluate the prospective project carefully and rationally (leave your emotions at home!), and make sure that said vehicle is:

1) indeed salvageable; some cars ARE too-far gone to justify restoration

2) something that appeals to you (if you're only luke-warm about it's lines and "fit", you'll like it even less when it starts comsuming your time and money!)

These two rules apply to ANY old vehicle you might be thinking about buying, regardless of make, model, and year.

Now, as far as Edsels themselves go...

I like the '58 models best of all, as they're the most unique. The '59 & '60 models are thinly disguised Fords; they're decent drivers, but don't have a lot of the nifty features that the '58's had (like the factory in-dash tach ! )

When looking at any Edsel, make sure that it's as complete as possible; there's a fair amount of repro parts available for '58 Fords, almost none for Edsel.

Examine the candidate closely for RUST, particularly over the headlights ("eyebrows"), floor boards around the body mounts, rockers, rear quarters.

Also, be advised that the higher-end '58 Edsels such as the Corsair and Citation had a gizmo called "Teletouch" transmission...this was a device that selected the driving ranges in the automatic transmission by a series of push-buttons in the center of the "horn button", which in turn operated a modified windshield-wiper motor which actually changed the gears.

This was the single biggest problem with the '58s (next to their styling ); the "Teletouch" can be repaired and made functional, but "it's one more thing to break".

The Ranger & Pacer are the cheap-model Edsel; these share a lot of mechanical parts with the '58 Ford. The Citation and Corsair utilize a lot of Mercury mechanicals.

I have a '59 Edsel Villager station wagon that I'm getting back on the road this winter; it's a neat car, but I'm really sorry that I passed on a '58 Edsel wagon I ran across while in college, 20 years ago.

As I said before, I think the '58s are the "best" Edsels in terms of their unique-ness (funky-ness?), but that does not mean that every '58 Edsel is "worth a million dollars"...

Do some research on the internet, check out the various Edsel websites and their classified ads, as well as the NADA website with their values on the Edsel...

I'd certainly rather see another '58 Edsel at a car show (or driving down the street) as opposed to another '55-'57 Chevy (or T-bird)...

In closing, bear in mind that three things "killed" the Edsel:

1) Its "unique" styling.

2) The "Teletouch" nightmare (gave it a bad rap for reliability problems).

3) Was created for a "price bracket" already covered by the high-end Ford and the lower to medium-priced Mercury; there was "no room" for it in the market place...A year after Edsel was dropped, Chrysler Corp. discontinued the De Soto line for the same reasons...

An Edsel is a genuine piece of automotive history and urban legend, and can be a lot of fun.

And like any other old car, if it's really rough or a basket-case, it can be a real money-pit.

Do your homework and see if there's an Edsel in your future !

Good Luck!