1 of 1 Custom: 1958 Edsel Ranger Sedan Delivery
The Edsel is widely considered one of the biggest failures of the automotive industry, costing Ford more than $250 million in losses in 1958-60 dollars. Their quirky styling takes part of the blame, but the lack of a market for it along with a weak U.S. economy when it was introduced all led to its demise. While a variety of models and body styles were offered in 1958 (before they started paring down the lineup), a sedan delivery or courier vehicle wasn’t one of them. So, the seller’s 1958 Edsel Sedan Delivery, which is part Ranger and part Ford Courier, could be considered a one-of-a-kind (but why?)
Ford built 118,287 Edsels in less than three production years, with more than half (68,045) coming in the first year. Of those, just 963 copies were the Ranger Roundup 2-door station wagon which is how this example no doubt began life. So, someone took an already rare vehicle and created a custom mutation using sheet metal from the Ford Courier, which itself was based on the Ranch 2-door station wagon and the Ranchero “gentlemen’s pickup”.
We don’t know what prompted this project to take place or if it’s complete since the seller provides no interior or under-the-hood photos. The seller also doesn’t even say if it runs. A 410 cubic inch V8 is reported to be under the hood, but I thought those were reserved for upper-tier Edsels rather than the more pedestrian Ranger, so perhaps it’s not original. But the wagon does have a 3-speed automatic transmission with those pushbutton controls in the center of the steering wheel.
The builder has/had an affinity for Coca-Cola products, so the colors and lettering come from the Coke palette. The body and paint look great, so we assume the build was professionally done. But is the work finished? From a garage in Fountain Hills, Arizona, this one-off Edsel is available here on craigslist for $22,500. Any takers? And how does Barn Finder Tony Primo keep finding these things?
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Comments
Well, shiver me timbers, while I figured someone dropped an Edsel front clip on a Ford wagon, but the tail lights and fins would be too much to recreate. I never knew there was a 2 door Edsel wagon. Apparently, a sedan delivery from a Roundup wagon isn’t unusual. Images show quite a few. Not offered by Ford, because perhaps a sedan delivery was too low brow for the market intended. I believe they wanted to have a model after Mercury, but before Lincoln. Sedan deliveries catered to the, um, shall we say, workers of the country, more suited for a Ford,,far below an Edsel buyer, or so they thought.
I don’t think I’d keep the Coca-Cola scheme, especially if Coke isn’t paying for the advertising.
If Coke is OK at cleaning corrosion off battery terminals, think what it does to the human digestive tract.
I watched a video just yesterday where they were showing what happened when it was boiled and other ingredients from the kitchen were added to it. I can’t remember what they were but it ended up as a complete gooey mess that went like concrete once it was cold!
Why? Because it’s there sitting around doing nothing but taking up space so why not have some fun with it.
Oh I’d drive the car every day. I just wouldn’t provide free advertising to Coke, that’s all.
I’d repaint it!
The only problem with that idea is that the seller says that the Coke lettering is embossed into the metal. So that will require some work to smooth out.
And then Stroh a party!
Hey Rex, my grandfather was a tool and die maker at Fords in Dearborn Mich. He loved his Strohs Beer. When he passed away in 1986 we found 2 full cases of Strohs Long Necks in the old thick cardboard cases in the old coal room in his basement. My brother and I each have one of them with 24 full Long Necks still inside.
Thanks Ronald, great story about your Dad. I imagine all those guys up in Detroit drank Stroh’s after the shift was over. Shroh’s was big up in Columbus where I grew up, and I remember those heavy cardboard case boxes on both my Grandparents’ back porch!
Pabst owns the name now, and they still brew Stroh’s. When I’m up in Columbus during the summers, I always get a 6-pack or two.
Here’s a shot from my memorabilia wall in my shop. From one beer lover to another! Cheers!
k tons of Stroh’s long necks…started with 3.2 and the 7. Love it still just hard to find and is at premium prices. If I had either of the 2 shown today…would be daily nice weather drivers… Coke did commission different advertising. For the comment above about modern junk, I traded in a few months ago a 2017 Silverado with 20114 miles on it for a 2023 Ridgeline..completely built in Alabama…more USA parts than most “American” cars. Back in the olden days if you hit 100k miles you vehicle was fast becoming a junker…most of todays cars go more than 200 k miles easy
To Rex Kahrs: nearly 70 years ago, back when New Albany was a sleepy hamlet of about 270 folks at the intersection of Routes #62 and #161, I lived just east of it on the Granville Road. That was all farm country, then. #161 connected you to Westerville and Granville, and #62 took you to Cleveland (eventually). We had a Berma Shave series of signs along that stretch past our house:
In this
World of
Toil
And sin
Your head
Grows bald
But not
Your chin
— Berma Shave.
Ah! — the 1950s! WCOL-1230 was “The Right Spot, the Bright Spot”, with “Dr. Bop a-makin’ the scene, with a stack o’ shellac on his record nachine”. On WTVN-610, it was “Jackson’s Beat” in the morning. WOSU-820 (Ohio State University) was educational, and WRFD-880 (Worthington) gave all the farm reports and what to do about infestations of aphids. 700 was WLW from Cincinnati, which sounded “local” with their 50,000 watts. 1580 was an “urban” station whose call-letters I have forgotten. Columbus also had station on 1460 and 920 (the latter [WMNI?] usually clobbered by Milwaukee’s WOKY at night). I think we had channels 6 and 10, with one other (4, maybe?). You could get 3 and 9 from Cincinnati — but they were snowy. Do you remember any of this, Rex? I always liked Edsels, by the way. When they first came out in 1957, I was living east of New Albany. Your mention of Columbus brought all of this up (assuming that you mean Ohio, and not Georgia or some other “Columbus”). I remember Berger, the “light, light, light” beer.
I don’t like it, but I like it!
Ha! Funny you should say that, as that was the general consensus at the time.
Ugh of all the real Edsels out there and you all choose to feature this thing? UGH!!!!
looks like a premimnm price to a coke collector
itried to correct spelling but ,,,2 late lol
Either this isn’t “One of one” or I saw this Edsel for sale 30+ years ago while driving in the mountains of North Carolina. I’d just taken a new job, and was driving around trying to get the lay of the land. Saw it in an old time convenience store on a two lane road with a for sale sign on it. Decided a couple of days later that I’d like to have it. Couldn’t remember what state road it was on…drove around for several hours trying to retrace my steps, no luck. Didn’t have the Coke graphics on it, but otherwise looked the same.
Clean her up. Make sure she is a safe reliable daily driver. Take her to a few car events, sit back, be quiet and watch the reaction, now that’s what I would call decent fun.
Rare car, indeed. This is the first one I’ve ever seen. The 410 engine was a good transplant choice. I don’t think they came out in Mercury’s until 1966-67. Two years only. Very interesting find.
The 410 offered in the 1958 Edsel Corsair and Citation was a member of the MEL engine series.
The 410 offered in the 1966 and 1967 Mercury was part of the FE engine lineup.
It’s safe to ass/u/me that the 410 in this particular car is an FE as it’s almost a bolt-in to replace the original 361.
Interesting conversion – in SoCal, I remember a few Ed-chero conversions (Edsel front clip on a Ranchero). Taillights weren’t a problem as Edsel used a lower extension ‘fin’ on their wagons, easy application IIRC. BTW – Martha Stewart has (had?) a ’58 Edsel two-door wagon – very nice one, three-tone green/white/black, also IIRC – saw it on several of her farm features…
At great risk of ridicule(who am I kidding, bring it on!) This would make a great custom, starting with the slanted headlights like an early 60’s Chrysler. Leave the taillights, they are just too cool.
So the 410 Ford engine offered in 58 was a MEL engine, not to be confused with the later 410 FE, that Mercury offered in 66 and 67. At any rate a 410 FE would have been an appropriate swap.
Fountains Hills..home to retired Sherff Joe,who finished 3rd in the race for Mayor of FH last week.
If this one was a production model it should’ve been called Edsel Packer.
The Coca-Cola lettering isn’t the only thing that’s embossed. The “cove” on the rear quarter panels should extend into the door, and it should not be embossed. Edsel wagons used Ford sheetmetal differentiated with trim. The odd thing is, the holes for the trim remain, even though there is no stock trim that will fit.
I looked at a lot of Edsel pictures trying to figure this thing out. The trim doesn’t look like 2dr. wagon trim. From pictures it looks like regular Edsel 2dr. trim. I wonder if somebody grafted 2dr. rear quarters onto a sedan delivery? I’ve seen pictures of this one online for a while now, also an ad from a couple of years ago when it was for sale for 25,000 bucks.
Hi Howard,
What’s shakin’?
The 1958 Edsel wagons were basically Ford wagons with a Edsel front clip and different taillights. If you notice, the ’58 Edsel did not have fins, not even small ones. The ’57/’58 Fords had small fins on all their models including the wagons. 1957 Ford had big round taillights on their cars and wagons, and the ’58s had different taillights but the wagons had the same ’57 taillights. Edsel changed them into boomerangs but still had the big round center so they would fit the ’57/’58 Ford station wagons.
I’m thinking someone took a ’57/’58 Ford wagon, put an Edsel front clip on it, Edsel taillights & steering wheel and made this Frankenstein monster.
The best Edsel design… MkII+MkIII are boring
This “Edsel Wagon” has been for sale for many years now…..unless you like “slot machines”, you may want to pass
I’ve had 8 Edsel wagons and one Sedan Delivery, similar to this one. It was a ’57 Ford Courier, with replaced front and rear clip’s off of a ’58 wagon. Edsel never made a Sedan Delivery, with the closest, being the two door Roundup.