stupid road trip

As many of you know, I have been looking for a big stupid old station wagon. Unfortunately, I have found one, a 1959 Edsel Villager and it is in CA. As Joe is already in CA at a conference and I am in Phoenix at the auctions, we decided the logical thing to do is drive a 50 year old car that we know nothing about across country. Can you say Road Trip?!

Starting tomorrow, Joe and I are traveling completely across country, on I-10.

1. I am looking for junkyards or people along the way with parts they want to sell. I would still love a nice, rust free 1500 Spitfire hood and/or some 63 Corvair trim parts and am driving the biggest station wagon ever made and can pick stuff up and carry it in the back. Would love an excuse to get off the highway, see some back roads, visit with a fellow readers, have a beer or two and help justify my stupid trip by saving shipping costs.

2. On another way less likely note... their is a slight, almost impossible chance that some minor thing could go wrong with this car. Does anyone live along this route that has some tools, mechanical skill and is stupid enough to let us ruin your weekend?

3. And finally, are there any roads that are more interesting than I-10, but won't turn a four day trip into a four week trip, along this route.

Thanks.

This sounds like my kind of trip. Keep us posted.

You best warn the gas stations along the route to stock up f\or you. This does sound like fun. Wave as you drive over I-35

Cheers Ron

Is this Ranchero deja vu?

I have a fibreglass spitfire hood , allthough it might be a GT6 it has a bump in the middle . Sounds like alot of fun !! Bring back some lonestar beer for the Rolex

OK, if you actually do manage to put a Spitfire bonnet inside an Edsel station wagon, PLEASE take a picture!

I need some new wallpaper. ;)

I haven't done the math, but feel assured a Spitfire hood will fit in an Edsel.

So far Joe is getting 10 mpg. Hope it gets better or I will have to get second job to pay for this.

A friend bought a1930 M type MG he picked it up in a Ford van, it fit through the rear doors!

Dave

Joe made it to Phoenix with no problems. We head out from here in a few minutes. We'll see how far we get before we start calling people. We have two days to get to Austin, but we need to get out of this weather first.

10 MPG!! My generator gets better mileage by vibrating across the floor. Enjoy the trip Ron

Tim,

I'm on the west side of town if that helps if you get in a bind. PM me and I'll get you my cel number.

Made it to Las Cruces, New Mexico. Car runs great, especially after we got the tires balanced. Stopped at Dessert Valley Auto and found some super cool stuff.

Getting hungry. Heading out to eat. No problems so far. This thing is a real cruiser and is actually very good on the highway. Joe and I were talking about taking it to the next SCCA autocross event. Might not fare as well there.

Fuel mileage is up to mid to high teens!

Mid teens should be do-able. My pickup equipped with the same FE engine and aerodynamics got 15 on the highway.

We made it to Austin with no problems. Took a couple of quarts of oil and a quart of trany fluid. This thing cruises well at an indicated 80 mph. Our Garmin tells us we are really going 75. Getting 15 mpg. Fortunately, the Edsel is equipped with couches front and rear, so is very comfortable. Good thing I brought my slippers. Of course there are no seat belts. Good thing there is lots of steel and chrome to break our fall. had dinner at Stubbs Barbecue in Austin last night and saw the Ugly Beats play. What a great show! Tonight we hope to get to New Orleans. I'll ask one of the guys to post pics, as I sent some.

What not photos?

From somewhere in the American Southwest...

Sweet.

So how much can she tow?

A.

Latest update- Austin, Texas.

Made it to New Orleans. Car is still running hard, but I think we are wearing it down some. Should make it home tonight.

And whatever made you think it has a working gas gauge? You can go exactly 278 miles in an Edsel, before you run out of gas. Ask me how I know this?

As for rolling stock... everything looks better on Torque-Thrusts, but we will see.

You should have been on Bourbon street last night, just as the Saints won the NFC championship game to go to the Superbowl for the first time ever. What a night!

We did make it to JK's shop, and experience unto itself. The generator just needed wires soldered back together.

We got home at 2:00am last night: safe, tired and surprisingly un beat up, considering that we just drove 2800 miles in five days in an essentially unrestored 50 year old car.

This should make a pretty interesting story, or stories. I have already started writing. Thanks to all that pitched in, or offered to help. Next time we do this, I would like to take time to visit all of you, but that would probably mean no magazines ofr a couple of months.

It looks nice and original. Take it to the SCCA autocross open the tail gate and set up a slot car course in the back -ha.

Cheers Ron

Took Margie and the kids to dinner in the mighty Edsel. Initially, I think everyone thought I had really lost it, and then within spending ten minutes with the Edsel, the whole family fell in love with it and now there is talk of a road trip out west in the car. Never before has one of the cars I have dragged home made everyone so happy. I am going to fix a few things underneath and maybe slight modifying for improved driveability, but little else. I didn't buy this thing as a project car for the magazine, but more of a tow truck, family truckster for carrying parts and magazines. Filled it with freshly powder coated parts for the Corvair today and the Edsel carried them all, including the front cross member. I'll do a road trip story, but Edsels is not really what Classic Motorsports is supposed to be about. That said, I was thinking about doing a comparison test with a sports car from the era. This would involve both road and track testing. What do you guys want to read about? As I no doubt have proven, it all interests me. I find I enjoy the car hobby way more when I open my mind up to all of it, rather than just focus on racing or just on Triumphs, etc.

Well, judging by some of the period photos you occasionally print in CM, I wouldn't mind the odd "classic tow car" article. Yes, it's not the focus of the magazine, but it's hardly going to turn it into a magazine for rivet counters, is it?

I could see the Edsel towing something like the Guiletta Sprint from a recent issue; after all, I doubt that many club racers in the sixties could afford expensive new tow cars so they probably used something like a then cheap Edsel wagon to tow their racer to the track and back.

Solved the horrible rattle by replacing the exhaust system with a nice mellow dual exhaust setup. Also replaced the shocks, greased the chassis and tightened the steering box. Car drives tons better.