• mikesr
  • Ripened Lemon
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  • From: Tinley Park,IL
  • Registered: 2009-10-23
  • Posts: 102

Topic: Hello from Team Edsel

Some kids never grow up. My son has his hands full with his crazy old man. He has agreed to partner with me in an entry for the Blago 500. Our vehicle of choice is an Edsel of course. A station wagon is our preference. Black paint with "Whale Wars" emblazoned on the quarter panels. An inflatable whale will be mounted on the roof. Many years ago I ran 2 hour enduros with an Impala wagon with the whale on board at Raceway Park(RIP) (ran the windshield washer up to the blow hole for fun). Some old circle track buds and thier sons will make up the rest of the team. Right hand turns should be very entertaining. If things progress quickly(yeah, that happens all the time), we might try for the Michigan spring race.
Mike Sr.

  • From: Golden, CO
  • Registered: 2009-05-02
  • Posts: 968

Re: Hello from Team Edsel

Welcome!  Excellent choice of car, too.

1978 AMC Pacer - The Blue Flag Special
BFE GP '12 - IOE
BFE GP '13 - Co-Organizer's Choice w/ Speed Holes Wrenching
  • Registered: 2009-06-20
  • Posts: 73

Re: Hello from Team Edsel

Edsel, terrific, make sure to enter it in the Concours De Lemons

  • Registered: 2009-10-25
  • Posts: 1,993

Re: Hello from Team Edsel

Sweet.....sounds like fun.....definitely in the spirit of Lemons.....

Richard Doty
1984 Porsche 928 "Estate"
Porsche- "there is A substitute" Racing
Dirt Poorsche Racing #2
  • From: Mazomanie
  • Registered: 2009-05-03
  • Posts: 20

Re: Hello from Team Edsel

Awesome. A Edsel owner racing. Great to hear and see. I can't wait to see the car.

Where are you located at?

www.williesrepair.blogspot.com

lilwillie's Website

  • mikesr
  • Ripened Lemon
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  • From: Tinley Park,IL
  • Registered: 2009-10-23
  • Posts: 102

Re: Hello from Team Edsel

Tjinley Park,IL
Original home town of the Bettenhausens. Quite a few racers around here: some famous and most not. Must be in the water.
I own a "59 Ranger that I plan to fix for the street. It's rough, but not rough enough to qualify for the Lemons. I have a couple '59  wagons to look at. Nothing is closer than a 4 hour drive. Does the cost of towing count towards the $500 ? The old 292" engines are getting scarce, so I will probably sell and replace with something of less value. I saw a cheap Cat 3208 and Allison trans on Craigslist last week or maybe a slant six? As if an Edsel by itself was not enough! Whatever it ends up, it will be fun.
Mike Sr.

  • Registered: 2009-06-20
  • Posts: 73

Re: Hello from Team Edsel

mikesr wrote:

Tjinley Park,IL
Original home town of the Bettenhausens. Quite a few racers around here: some famous and most not. Must be in the water.
I own a "59 Ranger that I plan to fix for the street. It's rough, but not rough enough to qualify for the Lemons. I have a couple '59  wagons look at. Nothing is closer than a 4 hour drive. Does the cost of towing count towards the $500 ? The old 292" engines are getting scarce, so I will probably sell and replace with something of less value. I saw a cheap Cat 3208 and Allison trans on Craigslist last week or maybe a slant six? As if an Edsel by itself was not enough! Whatever it ends up, it will be fun.
Mike Sr.

I highlighted the key parts of this. All of the above please!

  • From: Land Of Subarus, Colorado
  • Registered: 2009-04-30
  • Posts: 9,416

Re: Hello from Team Edsel

An Edsel? Oh yes!

Murilee Martin aka Judge Phil on Facebook
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Judge Phil's Website

  • From: Toronto, Ontario
  • Registered: 2009-05-03
  • Posts: 1,114

Re: Hello from Team Edsel

Does it have TeleTouch?...the granddaddy of paddle shifters...

Jim "Endo" Anderton
30 years of racing and still not Brambilla.....
  • FJ40Jim
  • FJ40Jim
  • Lemons Staff Stalker
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  • From: Lancaster OH
  • Registered: 2009-05-02
  • Posts: 1,657

Re: Hello from Team Edsel

While TeleTouch automagic shifting would be nice, the cheap & effective thing would be to ditch the 292 V8 boat anchor and cast-iron Ford-O-Matic (possibly sell for money) and replace w/ a 351 and C6.  It will be lighter and live longer.

for maximum Lemony-ness, use a 300-6 and C6 auto.  IIRC, all 300's have C6 behind them.

Jim C.
If God meant for us to race, we'd all have baggy Nomex skin.
08TMS.09NL.10GM, SP, NL.11SP, NL.12SP, VIR, NL.13GM, NJ.14NJ, VIR, WGI.15AB.16GM.17NCM.18GM.19...
  • mikesr
  • Ripened Lemon
  • Offline
  • From: Tinley Park,IL
  • Registered: 2009-10-23
  • Posts: 102

Re: Hello from Team Edsel

TeleTouch was in '58 only. My Dad had a '58 Corsair with the troublesome push buttons. Fixed it with an Eelco chrome handle floor shifter. I did my first burnout in the driveway with that big block 410" when in the 8th grade. Dad gave me hell for that. But karma returned when my 13 year old lit up the tires in my Camaro in my driveway 14 years ago. All I could do was laugh.
I really love the old 300" six.  An inline 6 has such a sweet tone with a glasspack. They run forever.  I have a 460-C6 that I bought on Ebay for cheap. That was to go in my street Edsel, but might end up as a Lemons powertrain. Since my employment situation is crap, I can barely afford one project at a time. If the Lottery Gods smile on me, I will tow the racing Edsel with a street Edsel. 
I saw a 46 Chevy roller with a Camaro stub go for under $400 on Ebay. Got me thinking about other old rats that could be a fun. Sell off the glass, trim, etc. The mind just won't stop wandering.
Mike Sr.

  • Serj
  • Serj
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  • From: Cincinnati, OH
  • Registered: 2009-05-02
  • Posts: 1,601

Re: Hello from Team Edsel

damn this would be awesome. I would love to see that 460+C6 combo in it. got any pics of it yet?

  • From: Mazomanie
  • Registered: 2009-05-03
  • Posts: 20

Re: Hello from Team Edsel

mikesr wrote:

Tjinley Park,IL
Original home town of the Bettenhausens. Quite a few racers around here: some famous and most not. Must be in the water.
I own a "59 Ranger that I plan to fix for the street. It's rough, but not rough enough to qualify for the Lemons. I have a couple '59  wagons to look at. Nothing is closer than a 4 hour drive. Does the cost of towing count towards the $500 ? The old 292" engines are getting scarce, so I will probably sell and replace with something of less value. I saw a cheap Cat 3208 and Allison trans on Craigslist last week or maybe a slant six? As if an Edsel by itself was not enough! Whatever it ends up, it will be fun.
Mike Sr.

Cool, can't wait to see it.

Have a '58 Pacer myself.

www.williesrepair.blogspot.com

lilwillie's Website

  • mikesr
  • Ripened Lemon
  • Offline
  • From: Tinley Park,IL
  • Registered: 2009-10-23
  • Posts: 102

Re: Hello from Team Edsel

I have the 450/C6, but I have not purchased the racecar yet. I plan one road trip this weekend. I really need to check the frames. As long as I have something solid to weld the cage to, I will feel reasonably secure. We have lots of fabrication experience on oval cars, and I am sure it will be one of the safest cars on the track.
I am worried about the leaf springs. They can be very expensive and difficult to find replacements. I may be tempted to fab a 3 link/panhard bar, but that feels not in the spirit. Hopefully the leaf will be adequate. These old Edsels had 9" rear ends in them and some even had a limited slip. I wonder if a mini-spool would  last? Welded up a few spiders that lasted a season, so that might work. Then if it rains I might want the open rear end. Decisions, decisions! Lots of 9" pigs floating around the circle track guys, so a spare should be no problem.