A TOTALLY Different Kind of Ranger

[Louisville86]

So I was up in Adams County today looking for an ash tree to plant in my front yard when I spotted an unusual Ranger:

Hey, I've never see that nameplate before! What is this?!:

OK, so it's a 1959 Edsel Ranger 2-door hardtop. It probably isn't worth the $3,500 they're asking as it looks like it's been sitting a while and the interior and chrome don't look great. But the details are are awesome!

Gunsight "E" fender trim is found on right and left sides:

I think that this is called the "pickle." The horse-collar grille is toned down on the '59s but still makes quite a statement:

E D S E L lettering spans the doors and front fenders:

This hardtop is painted "Snow White" (code E) with an interior (code 25) of white vinyl with buff vinyl accents & gold puff cloth inserts. I like the wrap-around rear window (just like the windshield):

The rear looks pretty good, too. Taillights were sourced from the '58 Lincoln Continental (to save cash):

I couldn't see what engine she had, but she did have an automatic transmission. Maybe a 292 V-8. Hope she finds a good home.

A few details on the '59 Edsel Ranger (the other model was the Corsair):

Model Number: 63F (VIN Code G)
Total Production: 5,474
Original Base Price: $2,690.50 (In Canada: $3,287.00)
Curb Weight (lbs): 3,491 (3,590 if V8)
Wheelbase (in.): 120.0
Length (in.): 210.9
Width (in.): 79.8
Height (in.): 56.0 (56.2 if 8.00x14 tires)

Thank you for attending today's Ford history lesson.

 

[Ryanbr6]

Yeah, saw one of these in the History of the Ranger section.

I think any man worth his Rangin' salts would pay the price!

 

[adsm08]

I dunno, Edsel's are rare. If it was driveable I might pay 35 for that.

 

[cody93]

i want it, but i dont got the moneys, saw a bunch of rusty edsels in northwest AR, and there is an edsel less than a mile from here in the bay area.

 

[Louisville86]

I have always been fascinated by the short, painful history of the Edsel. The '59s were already scaled back from the '58s (just two models, the Ranger and the Corsair, down from the four available in '58, Ranger, Pacer, Corsair and Citation). The unique features of '58 were gone, too, including the "Tele-Touch" pushbutton automatic in the center of the steering wheel and the "bathroom-scale" rotating speedometer that changed color when exceeding a set speed.

Sales were bad, with just 63,107 built in '58, 44,891 in '59 and 2,846 in '60 (Ford rebounded quickly, though, and brought out the '60 Falcon, a big hit that gave us the Mustang, etc.). Most Edsels were built in Louisville, Kentucky, like my Ranger.

 

[adsm08]

It was just too far ahead of it's time. Edsel was a great car, but I think that if they'd waited 10 years they would have sold wonderfully.

 

[87fiveoranger]

man that is crazy i have never seen one of those

 

[LIMA BEAN]

Christine's cousin, be a cool car if it didnt DRIVE you crazy and try to kill all your friends.

Yes i know Christine was a 58 Plymouth Fury.

 

[Louisville86]

That old Edsel could be a fun car to own. It says "runs and drives good," but that could mean a lot of things. If I had it I would probably just tune it, clean it and slap some new tires on it. I like the "driveable dream" type of unrestored cars, "patina" and all that.

One thing I noticed was that the "Ranger" script in the first photo isn't actually correct. It should look like this (another '59 from eBay, a Ranger 2-door post in "Jet Stream Blue"):

Notice the shape of the "R," it's more upward curving to the right (this is the same as a '58, too). The one on the right rear quarter looks like this.

The one in the photo is actually from a '60, as seen here (another eBay car, in what looks like pink, not listed as a factory color), and quite rare. The "R" is straight and more blocky:

Maybe prior accident damage, I guess. Typical, though. I see some old car and go "meh," then a day later I'm thinking "Gotta go back and see it again. Want it!"

 

[AllanD]

So I was up in Adams County today looking for an ash tree to plant in my front yard when I spotted an unusual Ranger:

<snip>

I couldn't see what engine she had, but she did have an automatic transmission. Maybe a 292 V-8. Hope she finds a good home.

Almost Certainly a 361 "FE" Series V8

And you forgot the other Edsel models, the "Pacer" (shorter wheelbase 4dr door hard top) "Villager" "Roundup" & "Bermuda" (all Wagons) It's probably the 2bbl
version of the engine, but it COULD be the 4v "Super Express"

Personally If I were in the market for an Edsel I'd be looking for
a '58 "Corsair" or "Citation" with the optional MEL series 410CID engine
(But I'd look to replace it with a 462MEL, and I know where to find one of those...)

AD

 

[Louisville86]

Yeah, I think the '58s are the most "Edsel-y" of the bunch, but I also like the '60s as they are the nicest-looking and an admirable effort to rework the basic '60 Fords into something different.

But the whole Edsel concept was misguided. Apparently Ford decided there were two gaps in the product lineup: Ford-Mercury and Mercury-Lincoln. The Ranger/Pacer (the smaller ones) were supposed to fill the Ford-Mercury gap, while the Corsair/Citation (the bigger ones) were supposed to slot between Mercury-Lincoln. Huh? Then there was the poor quality control, not to mention the recession the U.S. was in in '58.

And the name! Edsel! P.U. But the model names were good, proven by the fact that three of them went on to name other vehicles: Pacer/Citation/Ranger. (Not saying that the first two were GOOD vehicles )