1958 Edsel Pacer Convertible - Click on photo for Much more info! photo - Ken Leonard photos at pbase.com

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Ken Leonard | all galleries >> Galleries >> Deputy Sheriff's Memorial Car Show > 1958 Edsel Pacer Convertible - Click on photo for Much more info!

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1958 Edsel Pacer Convertible - Click on photo for Much more info!

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Copyright 2007-2010 Ken Leonard, all rights reserved

Preston Manuel		17-Oct-2012 21:24
Hey guys I have a 1958 Edsel pacer tudor hardtop for sale. This car has been restored back to its original beauty. Jet black and white top I am only asking $ 27,000 its has 57,000 original miles on the motor. Will trade for a 1955 ford crown victoria. With $5,000.cash in hand with the trade. If interest give me a call at 601-398-8946. Thanks Preston.

Nick Abraham		15-Jun-2011 02:35
1959 ford edsel for sale,..292 motor,..everything is original on this car,..needs acarburater and battery,..asking 9,500 oBo, i am in ft worth ,Texas . 817 353 1313.

david eberhardt		05-Mar-2011 16:08
i just bought a 1958 edsel conv. found in a barn in south ga. it really looks good just need some attetion iwanted it for my collection i have a 1955 nomad chev. wagon i now feel like my collection is the best of the best.

Julie		01-Apr-2010 16:13
Beautiful car - how much is it worth?

Joe		08-Jan-2009 21:09
I own a 1958 Edsel Pacer Convertible. It is a survivor, still mostly original. Looks good and runs very well. I've owned it for 4 years and done a little bit each year to replace worn parts and rebuilt the original 361 engine. Replaced the convertible top 2 years ago. I take it to cruise nights all around my area in the Spring and Summer. It attracts a lot of attention and spawns good conversation. It was assembled on August 7, 1957 at the Mahwah, N.J. Ford plant. Those who joked about it then wish they had one now. I guess Edsel owners of 2009 have the last laugh. I went to a car show in Connecticut last Summer and found myself at a show where my 58 Edsel was parked next to a 59 Edsel Ranger 2DR HDTP and a 1960 Edsel Ranger 4DR Sedsn. It is very rare that you see 2 Edsels at the same show in the Northeast, but a representative Edsel from each of the only 3 years of production has to be an extremely rare event.

Meghan Judge		06-Nov-2008 18:16
Hi, My name is Meghan Judge and My grand father was Vice President of Ford when the Edsel came out. My family desperately wants to buy an Edsel and I haven't been having much luck locating one within Michigan or California that isn't in terrible shape. If you know anyway I can get in contact with someone to buy and Edsel or locate one, please email me at MeghanH09@mhs-la.org.

Guest		25-Apr-2008 12:25
noob

Jim Saul		23-Feb-2007 16:53
hi....my name is jim saul....my first car was a 1958 edsel pacer convertible. My dad bought it for me in 1963 at a used car lot on livernois ave in detroit mi for $300. It was black with a ragged out white convetible top. It still had the pushbuttons on the steering wheel hub, but someone had converted it to a stick shift on the floor. It was fairly straight, with some bondo and someone named Patton had pinstriped the dashboard{it was signed]. I had many great times with that car, and was goodnaturedly ribbed by my friends for my taste in cars! I was drafted into the army in 1966 and when i got out in 1968 my Edsel was waiting for me. by that time i was married with a child on the way, so when it broke down on the way to work one day i left it sitting on the road. A few days later a neighbor saw it there and asked if he could buy it for $25! and i said yes! I was desparate for money! I have regretted that decision to this day! talk about sellers regret! I really never saw her again after that day, and often wonder what happened to her. I hope she wasn't junked! In addition to the monetary stupidity of selling her I also regret it because of the sentimental value, as my dad, who died in 1966, had bought her. I think he would have wanted me to keep and restore her. My hope is that she is somewhere, beautifully restored to mint condition and treated like a creampuff! I do still have the center steering wheel ornament and a mint condition Edsel sevice manual that my dad bought to work on her packed away somewhere. Also an Edsel ignition key, shaped like the unique grill. Back then, i didn't really appreciate the uniqueness of that car or old cars in general. My next car was a beautiful 1962 thunderbird, maroon with black top and interior. Wish i still had that one too! Trans went out and I practically gave that one away too! Then a Gremlin, Matador, 1976 Pontiac Grand Lemans, 1978 Sunbird, and i had a 1971 Mustang fastback too[ love that style!]. Since that time i've had a series of pretty boring cars,and ironically and right now without ANY car as my 1997 Cavalier kinda went down the tubes! My finances are very limited now as i am retired,but I love old cars, and collect diecast scale cars. Well, hope i havent bored you....if you by any chance have any info on the whereabouts of my old Edsel, please e mail me at lomerc390@aol.com. thank you! Edsels FOREVER!!!!

Rick Johnson		09-Apr-2005 17:41
1958 Edsel Pacer Convertible. Ken, before I get into the history of this car, I want to say that these are the best photographs I have ever seen of an Edsel. AWESOME, absolutely AWESOME!!!!!! From every possible angle, you have captured the unique styling, shapes and contours of this car, from the grille up front, to the taillights and Continental Kit out back, and everything in between. This is also the best example of a restored Edsel that I have seen. In the mid fifties, big medium priced cars with big V-8 engines and lots of chrome were selling well, and taking an ever increasing slice of the new car market. Ford Motor Car Company decided it needed another car to compete with the likes of Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and Dodge. Another car positioned between its low-priced Ford and upper medium priced Mercury. After all, hadn't Buick surpassed Plymouth to finish third in sales in 1953 and 1954 thanks to its hot selling "Special"? Ford gave the green light to its designers to come up with a new car set for introduction as a 1958 model in the Fall of 1957. This was widely known as the "E-Project". There was a lot of hype leading up to the introduction. There were magazine articles and advertising blitzes telling the public to expect something new and different from anything they had seen before. There was even a "name the car" contest. "Utopian Turtletop" is one of the more famous suggestions Ford rejected. In the end, Ford settled on "Edsel", the name of Henry Ford's son who was largely responsible for bringing the Lincoln Continental to market in 1941. Ford did use the most popular name suggestions for Edsel's four new series: Citation, Corsair, Pacer, and Ranger. When the car was finally introduced in the Fall of 1957, the public turned out in droves to see it. Expecting something spectacular, they were surprised and disappointed to find that the Edsel was much the same as any other car of the time, except for that curious grille. Oh sure, there were the usual gadgets of the day, teletouch pushbutton automatic located in the hub of the steering wheel, a compass-like rotating speedometer, and a bevy of informational instrument lights, often called "idiot" lights by the public. There were 28 models to choose from, starting with the entry level Ranger series two door sedan to the top of the line Citation Convertible, in every conceivable body style: Hardtops, Convertibles, Sedans, Station Wagons, including the upscale Bermuda. There were hundreds of striking color combinations to choose from. The Ranger and Pacer series were based on a Ford chassis, while the more upscale Corsair and Citation series were based on the Mercury. Prices started "just above the lowest" Ford, Chevy, Plymouth territory, to just below the highest in the medium price range, i.e. Buick Roadmaster and Chrysler New Yorker. And of course there were V-8's, including a 410 cubic inch engine with 345 HP in the Corsair/Citation series. Ford projected that it would sell 150,000 Edsels in its introductory year, but only sold about 63,000. It didn't help any that the Edsel was plagued with poor quality control in fit and finish. And the public had expected something sensational, and what it got was just an ordinary car not that much different from others of the time. But the main reason was the economy. 1958 was a recession year and all automakers, except American Motors with its economical Ramblers, were taking a beating in the marketplace; especially, the medium price cars like Oldsmobile, Buick, Chrysler, DeSoto, and Ford's own Mercury Division. Had the Edsel been introduced just three years earlier, in 1955, the long term outcome might have been different. But maybe not. Although I personally like the styling of the 1958 Edsel, especially when compared with the 1958 Chromemobiles from Buick and Oldsmobile, the boxey Lincoln and Mercury from that year, and the finned monstrosities from Chrysler, many people just did not like it. The verticle grille that had been such a successful trademark and mainstay of Packard for many years, became the brunt of jokes for Edsel. It had names like the "Horse Collar". People often referred to it as "looking like an Oldsmobile sucking a lemon", and some people even went so far as to compare it to the female anatomy. Edsel faired even worse in 1959. Now there were only two series: Corsair and Ranger. Two of the original styling themes, the verticle grille and the gull-wing taillights were greatly modified and compromised. The interesting dash,and push button drive were gone and in its place was a dash that was virtually identical to the 1959 Ford. The smooth flowing stylish lines and contours of the car had given way to a much more boxey look. It looked like a caricature of its former self. The individuality of the car was gone and it looked like a Ford on steroids. Because of the recession, the advertising emphasized ecomomy and the availability of a six cylinder engine. The 1960 Edsel was basically a 1960 Ford with different grille, trim, and taillights. The styling was somewhat an improvement over 1959, but the Edsel individuality of 1958 was gone. It had a rather attractive split grille treatment reminescent of the very popular and hot selling 1959 Pontiac. The taillight and backup light treatment was interesting. The lights were housed in tall quad narrow verticle ovals, the shape of which extended into the trunk of the car. There was only one series: Ranger. They were available in hardtop, convertible, sedan, and station wagon body styles. The most striking in appearance was the convertible. Only 76 were made. Overall about 3000 units were made before Ford ceased production in November, 1959. Today you will find "Edsel" in the dictionary defined as synonomous with the word "failure". It was considered Ford Motor Company's great embarrassing moment in history, but quickly forgotten less than five years later with the overwhelming success of a new car called "Mustang", which has just recently reinvented itself all over again. Edsel Owners remain enthusiastic about their cars. I am one of those folks who believe that it was the times, not the car, that resulted in the Edsel's demise. just look at the fantastic photos of this car in this gallery and you will know what I mean.