Jul 17, 2017  •  For Sale  •  30 Comments

Road Trip Time: 1958 Edsel Bermuda Wagon

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Load up eight friends and hit the highway! This nine-passenger 1958 Edsel Bermuda wagon is poised to be a great family cruiser. Offered here on craigslist in sunny San Diego, California for $5,000. That’s about a dollar per pound!

Although Edsel’s were arguably one of the biggest design flops in automotive history, they have recently picked up steam as desirable collector cars.  Named after Henry Ford’s son, Edsel B. Ford, less than 120,000 were produced during their three year run from 1958 to 1960 making them a fairly limited oddity.  This Bermuda wagon is the rarest of the rare.  According to Edsel.net, there were only 779 nine-passenger Bermuda wagons produced!

This particular wagon appears to be a work in progress.  Said to have been parked for forty years, the ad doesn’t say anything else about the cars history.  With so few produced, parts are probably difficult if not impossible to find.  That may have contributed to this project stalling.

Boasting a V8 with automatic transmission, the seller adds the following: engine runs good, trans untested, original interior, all seats in great shape, headliner very nice. Dents, rust and repairs are plentiful. The trim, grill, woodwork and interior seem mostly intact which would normally be the most difficult part of this restoration.

Classic aqua color inside and out with wood paneling, this car screams 50’s. Picture 1959:  The advertising executive dad and his wife loading up their five kids for a trip to Yosemite in this car. The new memories this car could provide are endless. Would you be brave enough to take on this project?

Comments

  1. DrinkinGasoline
    Jul 17, 2017 at 3:18pm

    I’m in love ! Too bad it’s a long distance relationship on the Left Coast ! :( This is what it could look like :)

    Like 0
  2. King Al
    Jul 17, 2017 at 3:59pm

    I’d fit LEDs in those boomerang tailights.

    Like 0
    • Graywolf
      Jul 18, 2017 at 10:30pm

      No, no, no! That’s a classic look! No LEDs!

      Like 0
    • Nic
      Jul 19, 2017 at 9:15am

      …. and blue underfloor light, etc. brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr {>o<}
      you are looking to a real rare "classic" car – not a japanese booster car …..

      Like 0
  3. Alan Brase
    Jul 17, 2017 at 4:09pm

    Ahhh. the shifter needs work. Never before was there a shifter like THAT! In the center of the steering wheel. Planetary gearset kept it stationary. 60 years later, it doesn’t work. Imagine that.This is why practical people never buy introductory models.

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  4. mark
    Jul 17, 2017 at 4:24pm

    There is nearly as much wrong with this Edsel as some of the new ones had when the arrived at the dealers. I once read that the quality control was initially so bad with these cars that the news ones arrived at dealers with a list inside of things to fix before they could be sold. I also read that on the media day when the Edsel was unveiled, Ford had planned to loan 10 car newspaper columnists cars to drive around for a month or so. The hope was they would write great things about this new vehicle. When the reporters got in the cars to leave only 6 of the 10 would start. LOL

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  5. john
    Jul 17, 2017 at 5:44pm

    My dad bought a new 58 Ranger 4dr hardtop. Purely on impulse he said. The motor blew after the head gasket leaked, and there were plenty of solenoids. Shifter, heater, lots of solenoids. That car spent a lot of time in the shop. Cool looking grille though!

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    • mark
      Jul 17, 2017 at 6:29pm

      The grill was lovingly referred to as the “toilet seat grill”.

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      • Mike Williams
        Jul 18, 2017 at 4:49pm

        Horse collar Impact ring.

        Like 0
      • Marshall
        Jul 18, 2017 at 9:01pm

        I wonder if you are confusing the Edsel’s horse collar grill with the toilet seat trunk lids (faux spare tire indentation) on some Chrysler products of that era.

        Like 0
  6. Rob
    Jul 17, 2017 at 8:07pm

    My dad was a traveling salesman. Bought a new car every 12-15 months because by then they’d have 120,000 miles. He bought a new 58 Edsel Ranger. He loved it so much he always kept a picture of that car. The only problem was a hairy trip down the mountains after the brakes overheated.

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  7. Mountainwoodie
    Jul 17, 2017 at 9:11pm

    This is about 40 miles west of me. If anyone seriously wants some eyes on it i’ll take a look at it. Contact me at [email protected]

    Like 0
    • Nic
      Jul 18, 2017 at 10:30am

      will be nice if possible – Nic
      [email protected]

      Like 0
    • Nic
      Jul 20, 2017 at 7:14am

      thank you very much !!!

      Like 0
  8. ron bajorek
    Jul 18, 2017 at 8:47am

    make an awesome resto-mod

    Like 0
    • Radio Rick
      Jul 18, 2017 at 3:12pm

      Big job take that thing and set it on top of a chassis and drivetrain for a 95 through 97 Town Car lot of work but it would be nice of course here in Texas we would need rear AC and tinted windows to go along with that nice paint job

      Like 0
  9. leiniedude leiniedudeMember
    Jul 18, 2017 at 10:12am

    Looks to me like the tail lights were designed ash backwards, in the dark wouldn’t the arrow shape light look like you are going to turn the opposite way you are intending?

    Like 0
    • Mike Williams
      Jul 18, 2017 at 4:48pm

      They work good with the fins.

      Like 0
    • Bill McCoskey Bill McCoskeyMember
      Jul 18, 2017 at 7:05pm

      The regular Edsel sedans had special taillights, completely different from the Fords & Mercurys. However with the expected low production for the wagons, they used the regular rear body of the Ford wagon, with it’s fin. So they created that “arrow” taillight to take advantage of, and disguise, the ford fin.

      Like 0
  10. RichS
    Jul 18, 2017 at 3:08pm

    That thermostat housing adds at least 5 horsepowers!

    Like 0
  11. Mike Williams
    Jul 18, 2017 at 4:37pm

    A restored one sold earlier in the year for close to 24k, check it out for more info.

    http://barnfinds.com/beautiful-bermuda-1958-edsel-bermuda/

    Like 0
    • Greg Howes
      Jul 19, 2017 at 1:03pm

      I think it would take a bit more than 24k to get this one looking that nice.

      Like 0
  12. Mike Williams
    Jul 18, 2017 at 4:44pm

    It’s all Ford parts so not that hard to find, plus a lot of them were saved and being parted out. That power brakes master cylinder is a problem, but a modern dual cylinder would solve it.

    I’d be a buyer if I didn’t already own one.

    Like 0
    • Bill McCoskey Bill McCoskeyMember
      Jul 18, 2017 at 7:13pm

      The power brake unit is a Bendix Treadle-vac. They are VERY easy to rebuild, it doesn’t use a piston with a cup that rides against the side of the cylinder, instead, it’s positive displacement style. they are not difficult to rebuild, and rebuild kits have been available from Kanter auto parts for over 30 years. [I’ve rebuilt hundreds of them]. The key to making these reliable is to keep the hydraulic brake fluid VERY clean. The Treadle-vac’s one sore spot is the poppet valve between the reservoir & the pressure cylinder. Keep the fluid clean, and it won’t stick partially open from a piece of dirt or rust.

      And while on the subject of Brakes, I was recently talking with a fellow gearhead who said he was addicted to brake fluid. But he said it’s really OK, as he can stop anytime he wants!

      Like 0
      • MrBlueOval 57
        Jul 18, 2017 at 11:33pm

        HA, HA, HA !!! Nice one. !!!!

        Like 0
  13. Clay Byant
    Jul 19, 2017 at 2:07am

    Might be a little hard to find other tail lights if you ever need them. One of the “customizing tricks” in the 60s was to take these tail lights and they would bolt on to a 57 Ford. Looked different…………

    Like 0
  14. Nic
    Jul 19, 2017 at 7:54am

    the major problem will be to overhaul the tele touch and the speedometer. think only a hand full guys realy know to do this expensive job ….

    Like 0
    • Woodie Man
      Jul 20, 2017 at 9:54am

      So for anybody who’s interested. I went down n looked at the Edsel. Engine runs car is on blocks and rear wheels turn. Electric selector motor is out of car on bench. All 4 roof corners have had rust repair. Rockers and rails solid but rusty . Front floors n driver rear need replaced. Major rust repair done at windshield bottom corners . Interior all there but door panels salvageable but sun wrinkled. Dash pad collapsed. According to owner 6 cylinders are at 170’others are coming up. All n all this will be a complete restoration project. But, given it may be one of the last 9 pass Bermudas extant may be worth it

      Like 0
      • Mike Williams
        Jul 20, 2017 at 10:51am

        Thanks for checking it out for us.

        Like 0
  15. DON ROY
    Feb 22, 2019 at 5:35am

    Probably long gone by now right???

    Like 0

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