The photography in the ad here on eBay for this 1959 Edsel Ranger leaves a lot to be desired due to poor resolution, but if I squint closely enough I see a pretty decent resurrected barn find looking for a new owner. It’s located in Amarillo, Texas and has been recently put back on the road after a 20 year storage period.
I’m not sure why it’s so hard for some sellers to just get the entire car in at least one 3/4 view picture. However, this shot does highlight the “new” tires fitted when the car was put into storage 20 years ago. The seller tells us that before the car was placed into storage, the engine was rebuilt and a new clutch, brakes, master cylinder were installed in addition to the tires. In the last two months, the seller has flushed the gas tank, installed a new fuel pump, disassembled, cleaned and reassembled the brakes and installed a new water pump and battery.
The seller has now driven the car 100 miles since recommissioning it. You can see some of the rust issues here in this closeup shot, fairly typical. The car is showing 127,445 miles–kudos to the seller for not trying to represent it as 27,445. There were 7,778 Edsel Ranger 2-door sedans made in 1959, and you can bet not too many have survived. I’m sure everyone knows the story of the Edsel marketing disaster for Ford; it was still being used as an example of what not to do in my business schoolwork in the early 2000’s.
I’m curious as to why the well-worn steering wheel is showing red, black and green; I’m guessing they were primed and painted? The rear seat and possibly even the carpet could be cleaned, and the trunk looks pretty good, even the original mat is fine for a driver/weekend cruiser. I’m guessing the front upholstery under the blanket isn’t too good. It does appear that seat materials are available, so maybe you could leave the back seat alone and redo the front one.
I was surprised to find an inline 6 under the hood rather than a V-8. And just look at that air cleaner setup! Apparently that is original as I was able to find other 1959’s with the same setup online. If it was stored correctly after the rebuild and started up sympathetically, there’s no reason to believe it’s not in fine shape. Someone’s already done the hardest work getting this car started and running–do any of you want to take over from here?
Source: barnfinds.com
