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?
I’m in love ! Too bad it’s a long distance relationship on the Left Coast ! :( This is what it could look like :)
I’d fit LEDs in those boomerang tailights.
No, no, no! That’s a classic look! No LEDs!
…. and blue underfloor light, etc. brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr {>o<}
you are looking to a real rare "classic" car – not a japanese booster car …..
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.
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
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!
The grill was lovingly referred to as the “toilet seat grill”.
Horse collar Impact ring.
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.
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.
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 Mountainwoodie@gmail.com
will be nice if possible – Nic
nic@classic-and-custom.de
thank you very much !!!
make an awesome resto-mod
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
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?
They work good with the fins.
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.
That thermostat housing adds at least 5 horsepowers!
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/
I think it would take a bit more than 24k to get this one looking that nice.
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.
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!
HA, HA, HA !!! Nice one. !!!!
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…………
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 ….
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
Thanks for checking it out for us.
Probably long gone by now right???