1958 Edsel Ranger

The Edsel Ranger is an automobile that was produced and sold by the newly formed Edsel Division of Ford for the 1958-1960 model years. It was built on the shorter, narrower Edsel platform, shared with Ford and Edsel Pacer models. The Ranger was the base trim model for Edsel in its first and second years as an automotive marque. It was available in two-door coupes, four-door sedans, and two- and four-door hardtops with a convertible also offered in 1960. The Ranger's base trim appointments included arm rests, a cigarette lighter, rear-view mirror, two coat hangers, and black rubber floor mats. On the exterior, Rangers received chrome around the rear quarter-panel cove molding. Two-tone paint was also optional. The main visual cue that makes differentiating most Rangers and the upmarket Pacer possible was the lack of stainless trim on the front doors and fenders. A very rare, optional, Ranger-only door trim was available from dealers early in the model year to be used together with the Pacer fender trim. A basic heater (as a $92 option) and radio (at $95) were available, and air conditioning was optional, as well (at $417), along with seat belts, warning lights, automatic trunk opener, and rear-door child-safety lock covers. The Ranger rode on Ford's 118-inch wheelbase (except the wagons, which used a 116-inch wheelbase) and a 303 hp 361 cu in FE V8 with a four-barrel carburetor was standard, as was a three-speed manual transmission. Buyers could upgrade to a three-speed automatic transmission with a standard column-mounted gear selector, or could choose Edsel's highly promoted, but trouble-prone Teletouch automatic, which placed its drive-selection buttons in the steering wheel hub, as a $231 option. While their roll-out was highly publicized in the fall of 1957, Edsels were a marketing disaster for Ford and for Ford's corporate strategy for meeting General Motors' product line for product line. In regrouping for the coming model year, the best-selling Pacer and the premium Citation models were dropped for 1959, as was the trouble prone Teletouch transmission feature, which was replaced with the column-selector Mile-O-Matic. For 1959, the Ranger and the new top-line Corsair both shared the same 120-in wheelbase. The frame was ladder-type. Styling for the cars became more conservative, with the horsecollar grille being replaced by a shield shape filled with rows of bars. Body styles for the Ranger remained at two-door sedans and four-door sedans, and two and four-door hardtop bodies; 7,778 two-door sedans (all U.S.-built), 14,063 four-door sedans (12,814 U.S./1,249 Canada), 5,966 hardtops (5,474 U.S./492 Canada), and 2,451 four-door hardtops (2,352 U.S./99 Canada) were produced for 1959 in the U.S. and Canada. Prices ranged from $2,629 to $2,756. This lovely Ranger Hardtop was purchased new in Lafayette at Bob Peachen Ford and had only 1 long term owner before being sold to a Museum. It then passed to a second Museum, and the Seller, having kept track of it, pursued the car, and was finally able to buy it after years of trying a couple of years ago. The car is believed Original with 1 repaint along the way. The interior is pretty exceptional and has many interesting features such as the Push Button Transmission in the center of the Sheering Wheel, a Dash Mounted Compass, Rotary Speedometer, and more. Since he acquired the car he Had New Seals installed in the Tranny, rebuilt the Carburator, installed a Pertronix Ignition, and Had new Radials installed. The car runs absolutely beautifully, and is a joy to drive, floating down the road more like a Lincoln than a Ford. The Car presents very well overall with a beautiful interior and very nice chrome, and nice shiny paint. If you are looking for an true Icon of the late 50s I think you will be hard pressed to find a better example, a car you can drive and enjoy immediately.