Volume XLVII, Issue 3 Edsel Owners Club Inc. May 2015 T HE B IG E THE HIGHLY COVETED 1958 EDSEL CITATION CONVERTIBLE Part One by Phil Skinner INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Facts about the 1 1958 Citation It could be said that no other model exemplified the high hopes and high style that was sup- Convertible. posed to have been the Edsel. The reasons why this vision was not realized are many, but one thing is for sure, the Citation convertible was a very expensive car brought out at the same Editor’s 2 time as a pretty severe economic recession. For any other of several reasons, the Citation Letter convertible saw just 930 production copies come off the assembly lines. Here is what we know about production of the Citation Model 76B, the convertible. Members’ Cars 3 Over at the Wayne, Michigan assembly plant a total of just 327 Citation convertibles were produced and of that number we have found and recorded information from around 93 units 2015 EOC Annual 4 or just over 28.4%. Convention in Sacramento Edsel's Somerville, Massachusetts, plant built the first Citation convertible, assembling a total registration of 597 units, with another 6 cars prepared for the knock-down export market. To date we have been able to record serial number information on 110 or about 18.4% of total produc- 2015 EOC Annual 5 tion. Los Angeles, the third Corsair-Citation plant, built no convertibles. Convention Cars from both Somerville and Wayne were pretty close, but Wayne built cars had one unique Agenda feature in relation to the data plate. For hardtops and other closed models, 1958 Edsels used three letters on the Color code to represent body, roof and scallop in that order. At Somerville, Reproduction 6 as well as the plants that produced Pacer convertibles, the center letter was usually omitted Edsel Parts from as there was no top to paint. However, at the Wayne plant, the main body color was often re- Henry Klinger peated in the second position, even though it often represented a color not available for the convertible tops. Colors were important on the Citation convertible. Calendar of 7 Events and Of the 203 Citation convertibles we have serial number information for, we are unfortunately welcome new missing color data on 21 units, leaving a total of 182. Out of that number, 38, or just about members 20.9%, were painted only one color, and the majority of the single-tone convertibles were in Frost White. (To be continued in the July Issue) Green Line Edsel 8-9 Action Ads IN THIS ISSUE: About The Edsel 10 On pages 4 & 5 are the registration form and agenda for the upcoming 2015 Owners Club Edsel Owners Club Annual Convention in Sacramento, California. The meet will take place August 5 - 9, 2015, at the Lions Gate Hotel The Big E Page 2 Hello, Edsel Folks, It is hard to believe it’s May already, and the “old-car season” has begun. Some of us are just barely beginning to drive our Edsels again after a long hard winter in some parts of our country. I regret to inform that two weeks ago, former EOC President Dean Brown’s wife of over 60 years, Lozelle, passed away. If you have attended any of the Edsel events in the past few years, you most likely met Dean, as he is very active in the Edsel hobby and he travels all over the country to attend as many Edsel meets as he can, including the Laughlin meet in Nevada last month. Both Dean and Lozelle had attended the National EOC Meet in Dayton last summer. Even though Lozelle had been dealing with serious health challenges for the past few years, her passing still came as a surprise to me, because I had just finished reading a book that Dean wrote about his life titled, “Turning Points That Will Change Your Life.” I found this book to be very enjoyable to read. While the main topic of his book is not about Edsels, there is a chapter about how Dean became interested in Edsels, and about some of the Edsels he owns. The pages in this chapter also includes a couple of pictures of his Citation convertible. If you know Dean well, you might enjoy reading his autobiography. In the classified section of this issue, he is offering his book at a discounted price for any EOC member who wishes to obtain a copy. Since it is Spring, many of you will probably be changing the motor oil in your Edsels. Most of you may already be aware that the modern motor oils have a reduced zinc con- tent in them as zinc is not good for the catalytic converters in the newer cars. However, older cars, including Edsels, need zinc to keep the lobes of the camshafts from wearing prematurely. When you change the oil in your Edsel, you have a few options to help pro- tect the engines. One option would be to use a zinc additive that are available at most auto parts stores and use it while pouring in the new oil in the engine. Another option would be to use oil that is formulated for diesel trucks, such as 15W40 truck oil that has higher zinc content and other additives that will benefit an old car like the Edsel. Others swear by special zinc-formulated synthetic oil made for older cars. In addition to changing the oil in our Edsels, it’s important to check the level of the fluid in the transmission as they are known to leak about a quart, or two, of fluid while sitting during the winter. I hope you all have a great spring and summer, and keep driving those Edsels! David From the Editor’s Desk! Fleischer Your Edsel Editor Volume XLVII, Issue 3 Page 3 Members’ Edsels New EOC members, Paul “Dutch” and Donna LaFoe, from Veedersburg, Indiana, wanted to share their beautiful Edsel - a 1959 Corsair 2-door hardtop, with a serial number of W9UW709051, in a very rarely seen “Platinum Grey Metallic” color. There was also “Moonrise grey” that was offered on 1959 Edsels, and neither one are commonly seen on 1959 Edsels. The first digit in the serial number “W” indicates that this Edsel is equipped with the largest and the most powerful engine that was offered for the 1959 model year, the 361 cubic inch known as the “Super Express V-8.” The LaFoe’s Edsel only has 45,000 original miles and it was purchased from a man who had the car in storage for about 45 years. The paint and interior are original. The man whom the LaFoes purchased the car from also provided some old paper- work from when the Edsel was new, including the original title and a document from where it was financed when purchased by the original owner. Congratulations to the LaFoes for finding such an outstanding original Edsel to own and enjoy! By Jason Peters Just over one year ago, my Edsel was delivered and a dream I’d had for over twenty years was realized. I had always loved Edsels, for reasons that completely escape me. I’m not sure if it was their styling, the mystery, the fact that every time I heard the name, I knew it was something special. Sure, I already had one vintage car so there certainly wasn’t the need, or funds, for another, but this one in particular needed love and enthusiasm; I had to take it in and give it a good home. I still remember my friend, David Fleischer, posting it to the Edsel Preservation & Restoration page on Facebook trying desper- ately to find someone to rescue what appeared to be an outstandingly preserved car despite years of neglect and weather- ing in Utah’s climate. I picked up the phone, called the owner, and after a lengthy conversation about the car and a rather brief conversation about price, before I knew it I was the proud new owner of a spruce green and snow white 1958 Edsel Pacer 4-door sedan I’ve affectionately named “Emery,” as that was the name of the town where it was found - Emery, Utah. In addition to taking on a restoration project that I really couldn’t afford, at the ripe old age of 33 I decided to quit my job and return to school to follow another dream, automotive restoration. I had been going back and forth on this for a bit and after two years, took a leap of faith and applied to McPherson College’s Automotive Restoration program. I’m just about to finish my first year, and Emery is doing well and undergoing quite a transformation, albeit with the occasional snag or two. After a few restless nights, I decided to sell my other classic car and focus my attention and funds on not only Emery, but my education as well. Stay tuned for more articles on the trials and tribulations of me, a young restoration student making it through school, the progress of Emery, and following the passion of developing into the next generation of Edsel preservationists. The Big E Page 4 Edsel Owners Club Annual Convention in Sacramento, California August 5 – August 9, 2015 OFFICIAL REGISTRATION FORM Name: __________________________________________ Spouse/Guest(s) ____________________________________ Address:________________________________________ Phone: (_______) ___________________________________ City:________________________ Province/State ____________________ Postal/Zip Code________________________ Are you bringing an Edsel? Yes______ No______ Year of Edsel_________ Model____________ Registration: By July 1st $35.00 US Funds Totals After July 1st $40.00 US Funds = $____________ Wednesday, August 5th - Early Arrivals - Registration Begins Hospitality Room Open Touring on your own Thursday, August 6th - Bus Tour to San Francisco $35.00 x _____ = $_____________ Friday, August 7th - Edsel Show & E.O.C.