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Volume XLVII, Issue 1 Edsel Owners Club Inc. January 2015 T HE B IG E In Remembrance of Roger Hill INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Roger Hill 1 Remembrance President’s 2 Letter By Dave Sinclair: Roger Hill 3 I first "met" Roger by mail and telephone in mid 1968 as the worldwide publicity machine Remembrance brought the Edsel out of the dark shadows of infamy. We received many letters from folks (continued) around the U.S., Canada and the world, who were interested in the Edsel, some wanting to start local chapters of the Edsel Owners Club. One of these letters came from Roger Hill Note from Editor 4 of Arvonia, VA. Members’ Cars 4 Roger Hill had recently graduated from college and was managing his father's construc- tion business in Arvonia. He was looking to own an Edsel, and placed several "Wanted" Feature ads in the Washington Post. This netted several responses, and in a short time Roger found 2015 Laughlin 5 himself the owner of a Pacer 2-door HT, a Citation convertible and a 1960 convertible. Nevada Edsel Roger and I continued to correspond by mail and phone, and we met for the first time in Event registration August 1969, at the first annual EOC convention in Indianapolis. He drove his two-toned green Pacer 2-door HT to the meet. Roger wasn’t able to attend the 1970 annual conven- 6 Comparison of tion in Ontario, CA as he was engaged to be married, but came to Kansas City in 1971 for Paint Codes the 3rd EOC meet, this time with his wife Marie, and driving a '60 2-door HT. Roger's between Edsel Edsel collection continued to grow, and he added a 17K mile '60 sedan with B interior, a and Ford tri tone Pacer 4-door HT (pictured above at the 2010 EOC national meet in Salem, Massa- chusetts) and several other Edsels. Roger continued to attend all other EOC conventions, Calendar of 7 never missing another meet until last year in Dayton. Events and welcome new In 1973, Roger Hill was elected as President of the EOC and he served from 1973 to 1978. members He was chosen again as President in 2000, to serve in this capacity until 2004. Green Line Edsel 8-9 Roger's love of travel was immense, and he always looked forward to his next adventure. Action Ads Our Edsel meet travels always meant we'd get to visit for a few days at the meet, as well as visiting each other back and forth across the country, riding in each other’s Edsel, going About The Edsel 10 to a convention, or meeting up in airports and driving a rental car together to the meet. Owners Club Continued on Page 3 The Big E Page 2 Hello, Edsel Folks, Hibernation is boring! Although this has been an easier winter than last year (so far, anyway), I'm getting the itch to get some things done on the Edsel. Truly, the car show season isn't that far away. Larry Nopper, past president of The Southlanders Edsel Club, has offered to represent the EOC as a member of the board of the Ford Car Club Council, which hosts the biggest all-Ford show on the west coast at Knott’s Berry Farm. This is a big event, and the acceptance that the Edsel has gotten at this show over the years has been gratifying. It will certainly help the Edsel and the EOC to have this representation. Thanks, Larry! I am amazed by the number of Edsels that are showing up on the internet for sale. A bonus is that many of these cars have serial numbers that have not been recorded by Edsel hobbyists before. The older these cars get, the more we learn about them. Thanks to all who are doing the "detective work" in documenting these previously unknown Edsels! Examples of Edsels recently spotted in internet ads such as Craigslist, etc.: Right: A battered 1960 for sale in Chicago: Left: A 1959 Ranger for sale in Pennsylvania Right: A Bermuda project car for sale in Urbana, IL From the President’s Desk! George Volume XLVII, Issue 1 Page 3 (EOC President Roger Hill pictured above on the front cover of a 1973 edition Big E newsletter) We looked forward to our visits and never seemed to run out of conversations! Even flying into airports across the country and Canada, we always managed to connect about the same time, and would always enjoy a cocktail before departure or at the hotel after we arrived. Roger’s car collection continued to grow over the past 15 years. He added full Classic Lincolns: a 1937 Willoughby V-12 model K, a 1948 Continental coupe, a 1956 Premiere 2 door HT and a fine low mile 1957 Continental Mark II. Recently restored to concours condition was a 1955 T Bird he had owned since the late '60s, and had also acquired a 1964 Studebaker Avanti, and most recently, a fine 1932 Pierce-Arrow sedan. He enjoyed taking his cars out on a regular basis, and on dry days drove a 1962 Lincoln Continental 4 dr. convert. to the office. His garage was called the "Gallery" and not only held his cars but a fine collection of signs and memorabilia as well. Roger was always a true Southern gentleman, and I don't think I've ever heard him say a cross word at anyone, much less a cuss word. He was a friend to all, and he and Marie were always gracious hosts. He enjoyed hosting car club events at their home, and in recent years, had been hosting a local meet with the Classic Thunderbird club. I feel fortunate to be able to call Roger, and Marie, my close friends for 45 years. Our emails and calls in recent years were often daily if we saw something interesting to chat about, whether it was car related or not. He passed away on August 28, 2014 and is survived by his wife of 43 years, Marie, his two brothers, and many nieces, nephews, and friends. I will miss my good friend. Rest in peace, Roger. (BELOW LEFT) Roger Hill with his two-toned green Pacer during his very early days in the EOC. (BELOW RIGHT) Long-time friends, Dave Sinclair (left) and Roger Hill (right), stand behind Dave’s Corsair convertible at Dave’s house in Ida- ho while they prepared to travel together to the 2009 National EOC Meet in Keizer, Oregon. The Big E Page 4 Note from the Edsel-Editor I wish to welcome Terry Morey, from Columbus, Ohio, into the Edsel Owners Club. Terry has owned and restored many Edsels since 1968, and knows them like the back of his hand. He is both a skilled mechanic and a professional auto-body man. Terry has repaired several Teletouch motors for me, including the one in my Pacer convertible almost 30 years ago, and I have never had any problems with the Teletouch in that car since then. Whenever I am stumped or frustrated with a problem with an Edsel, I would talk to Terry about it, and he usually had a solution. Terry is willing to share his wealth of technical knowledge about the Edsel with the members of the Edsel Owners Club and help them keep their Edsels on the road. Terry suggested we have a technical “Question & Answer” column in this newsletter. If your Edsel has a problem that you, or your mechanic, can’t seem to resolve, or if you have a question on how to fix or repair something in the Edsel, please write to EOC or send an e-mail at [email protected] and Terry will do his best to answer your questions and help you out. Members’ Edsels Dave Simley of Fargo, North Dakota, has recently completed the restoration of his beautiful green 1960 Edsel Ranger 2-door hardtop. He purchased this car in Missouri a few years ago and it was still wearing 1976 plates at the time. The car required a complete restoration and Dave began by replacing the trunk pan and gas tank, as they both were rusted out. He then proceeded to overhaul the engine and transmission. Just last fall, he had the body repainted and the interior reupholstered in the original pattern and fabrics. The Edsel is now back on the road again after almost 40 years. Dave says the car is pretty much completed now and he is having a great time driving the car and taking it to shows. Congratulations, Dave, on a very successful restoration! Volume XLVII, Issue 1 Page 5 Registration Form Name:____________________________________________________ Guest/Spouse:________________________ Address:___________________________________________________________Phone:________________________ City:___________________________ State:______________ Zip:_________________ Email Address:_____________________________________________________________________ Car Information: Make: ___________________ Model: ___________________ Year:________________ Show Registration 1 X $25.00 $25.00 One (1) Free T-Shirt with registration—Circle size of free T-shirt: S M L XL 2XL 3XL *TO MAKE SURE YOU RECEIVE YOUR FREE T-SHIRT WITH REGISTRATION WE NEED TO RECEIVE YOUR REGISTRATION BY MARCH 2, 2015. AFTER THAT DATE YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE A T-SHIRT.* El Dorado Canyon Mine Tour & Bus transportation ______ X $37.50 $___________ Awards Banquet ______ X $25.00 $___________ Purchase of additional T-Shirts Orders must be received by March 2, 2015. There will not be any orders taken for T-Shirts after this date. T-Shirt ______Small _______Med ______Lg _______XL ______ X $20.00 $___________ ______2 XL _______3 XL ______ X $23.00 $___________ Total Enclosed $___________ I accept and assume full liability for any injury or loss to my guests, my family, my property and myself.