Automotive Forums

Me and my husband got a Edsel given to us and we are getting ready to restore but we don't know exactly where to start and we were told they came out of factories with parts missing and we were wondering if anyone knew what all parts came missing on the car and what to start with when we start restoring it. THank You  

i don't know if they came with parts missing, that was probably made up because nobody liked the car, personally i love the edsel no matter how ugly it is, i've seen some really nice edsels at car shows and i think if done right they look as good as anyother car out there.

Is the body in good condition?
does it run?

Heres a link you might want to check out, they have phone numbers of part suppliers, you might want to look around the sight it looks like they have some good information that could be useful
http://www.edsel.com/pages/psupply.htm

Good luck and keep us updated with your progress  

I love the edsels too and so does my husband. The body is in good condition and it does run. We heard the teletouch automatic transmission goes out easy and were thinking of adding a floor shifter but we don't want to take away from the original. The car is all factory and we are gonna try to keep it mostly stock. We may leave the teletouch and just add a floor shifter in case the teletouch goes out. We want to get into showroom condition and are trying to find all the factory colors they came out with and may change the colors right now it is Dark Gray and white. Any Advice?  

From Edsel.com
Don't know how helpful the list is but gives you an idea of the original colors

Exterior Colors
The 1958 paint codes are listed on the dataplate in sets of three -
the first is the main body color, the second is the roof color, and third is the rear scallop color. (Except for Citations and Corsairs built in Los Angeles, which have no scallop color listed in their color codes.) For convertibles, most Edsel color codes have a space in the middle position to indicate no paint. Citation convertibles built in Wayne, MI have the middle code set to the main body color code.


1958 U.S.-produced Edsel colors (with Color Code):
A - Jet Black
B - Silver Gray Metallic
C - Ember Red
D - Turquoise (Not available on Ranger/Roundup/Villager/Pacer sedan)
E - Snow White (Not available on Citation/Corsair)
E - Frost White (Not available on Ranger/Pacer/wagons)
F - Powder Blue
G - Horizon Blue
H - Royal Blue Metallic
J - Ice Green
K - Spring Green
L - Spruce Green Metallic
M - Charcoal Brown Metallic
N - Driftwood (Not available on Citation/Corsair)
Q - Jonquil Yellow
R - Sunset Coral (Not available on Citation/Corsair)
T - Chalk Pink (Not available on Ranger/Pacer/wagons)
U - Copper Metallic (Not available on Ranger/Pacer/wagons)
X - Gold Metallic (Not available on Ranger/Pacer/wagons)
P - Primer*
S - Special Mix*
*A dozen Roundups were set aside as Edsel Service vehicles, and painted Edsel Green and White. These were given paint code "SSS".
At least one early Pacer was found to have a paint code of "P" - primer!


Color Combinations Available
(Note that Frost White and Snow White are interchangeable color codes)

Single-Tone
Refer to the color chart above for available colors.


Two-Tone
Two-Tone Paint option had either the body, roof or scallop painted a different color than the other sections.

Black with Red, Coral, Copper, Gold, White or Yellow
Silver with Red, Coral, White or Yellow
Red with Black, Gray or White
Turquoise with White
White with any color except Yellow
Powder Blue with White or Royal Blue
Horizon Blue with White
Royal Blue with White or Powder Blue
Ice Green with White or Spruce Green
Spring Green with White or Driftwood
Spruce Green with White or Ice Green
Brown with White, Driftwood or Yellow
Driftwood with White, Spring Green, Brown or Yellow
Yellow with Black, Gray, Brown, Driftwood or Coral
Coral with Black, Gray, White or Yellow
Chalk Pink with White or Brown
Copper with Black or White
Gold with Black or White

Exceptions:


Black/Red, Black/Yellow, Black/Coral, Gray/White, Gray/Yellow, Gray/Red, Gray/Coral, Blue/Blue, Green/Green, Yellow/Coral were not available on Bermuda.
Black/Coppper and Black/Gold were only available on Citation and Corsair.
Turquoise/White was not available on Villager/Roundup wagons or Ranger/Pacer sedans.
Gray/Red was not available on Bermuda or Pacer sedans.
Coral/White was only available on Bermuda and Pacer sedans.
Brown/Yellow was not available on Bermuda or Pacer convertibles.
Tri-Tone


Pacer hardtop
CAE - Red body, Black roof, White scallop
DAE - Turquoise body, Black roof, White scallop
QER - Yellow body, White roof, Coral scallop (Discontinued in 1957)
RAE - Coral body, Black roof, White scallop

Citation and Corsair hardtops
CEB - Red body, White roof, Silver scallop
DEA - Turquoise body, White roof, Black scallop
UAE - Copper body, Black roof, White scallop
XEA - Gold body, White roof, Black scallop
TEM - Pink body, White roof, Brown scallop (Not available on Corsair)  

Thank You. We will keep you posted on what work gets done and after it's all done we will post pictures and you can see the end results.