Breaking the rules - 1958 Edsel Bermuda

[iamflashman]

I know this is not exactly a 57 Ford, but it is the same body, so does this count? haha

I bought a great survivor 1958 Edsel Bermuda from AZ.  I will be doing a mostly original build on it.  Will keep color/interior and just update the driving components a bit.

- Building a 410 FE for it and will start with a carb but probably go to fitech eventually.
- Upgrading brakes to 4 wheel power disk.
- I also reengineered the teletouch system to use modern components.  I will post some info on that later.

20190420_164044 by James Fleischman, on Flickr

20190420_164056 by James Fleischman, on Flickr

20190420_164352 by James Fleischman, on Flickr

20190420_164356 by James Fleischman, on Flickr

7649 by James Fleischman, on Flickr

[Jeff Norwell]

Amazing James.... Those rear tail lights are what every Customizer lusts for....Very nice.!

[rmk57]

  Big thumbs up from me, I used to own a 58 Villager a few years back. Good idea revising the Teletouch system. I had the shift motor rewound in mine and it was still hit and miss when the engine got warmed up. Looks like sunset coral and colonial white, nice color combo, nice car.

[RICH MUISE]

Gotta love that Arizona tin. I that 64 Fairlane next to the Edsel the car someone in your family had with a '57 dash? What am I thinking of?

[iamflashman]

No, that 64 fairlane is a t-bolt clone I finished early last year.  It is your standard fare wimbledon white with ivy gold interior.

[Ford Blue blood]

Hey!  It is a 57 with a different finish on it!  My Edsel has very piece of rubber and seals from a 57 so I'm OK with you breaking the rules.  Will be interested in how you "up graded" the Teletouch.  Mine works well but am aware of the "history" they have.

Basically restored except the interior, it is all white sewn in stock patterns.

[iamflashman]

The design is very simple.  A linear actuator that drives a cable that is attached to the shift lever.  The system is controlled by an arduino that I wrote a program to handle the simple shift case and also takes into account vehicle speed and brakes to make sure you are not shifting when you should not be.

The principle improvement over the original system is the fact that all critical parts mount under the dash.  This keeps the elements and heat from the engine causing problems when the engine is warm. 

Also, the park problem is solved because with a modern actuator, they are geared to provide a lot of force in a small package. 

So far, the prototype has only been bench tested.  But, the bench testing was very promising. 

I have been taking some pictures as I progress and will make a little writeup for it when I am done.

My goal is to be driving this car by this fall, so I guess I will find out how good it really is.

[lalessi1]

I had no idea what the Arduino was so I "googled it". It sounds very cool...learned my something for today! Thanks.

[rmk57]

  When I bought mine it had a piece of flat bar and big hole cut in the floor for a shifter. Most of them did I guess or convert over to a column shift.

[iamflashman]

I have not updated in a while.  Sold the 64 Fairlane to build a new building!  More room for 57s.

The engine has been in and out of the car a few times for test fitting. 
Front suspension has been powder coated along with front fender wells, radiator support. 
Borgeson box installed.
Brakes upgraded to SN-95.  These are a kit my friend makes at CSRP that bolts directly to granada spindle.
Modern teletouch has been tested with C6 Transmission in the car.  Just need to get printed circuit board made for reliability
The one rusty floor pan has been replaced.

Engine by James Fleischman, on Flickr

Headers by James Fleischman, on Flickr

20191007_211407 by James Fleischman, on Flickr

[RICH MUISE]

Edsel is looking really solid, James. You sold the black wagon to your brother, correct? It's now here in Amarillo? I think I saw it at the Hillside meet the first Saturday in December. There was a black wagon there, but never saw who drove it there, so not sure if it was your old one or not. The one I saw had rust issue in the driprails?

[iamflashman]

Yep. I sold my black wagon to my brother. It is solid car but nice made a home  in headliner one winter and it started to rust. I miss that car all the time because you could drive it anywhere.

Trying to make my edsel as reliable with FE. Wish me luck!

[Ford Blue blood]

I feel the FE was one of the best Ford put out there.  Close to 200K in my 73 F100 360 pulling a trailer with the Boss on it, fuel, tires, tool box and jacks in the bed and never a problem.  Used a little oil, was a gas hog loaded but never failed to start or miss a beat!

Only reason I sold it was I "THOUGHT" I didn't need a truck after I quit racing.  My error in thinking lasted about seven months (that would be the 84 Med/Gulf/India Ocean deployment on good ol USS Amaerica CV-66) where upon return to "life" the need for getting treasures home showed it's ugly little head!

[RICH MUISE]

"Trying to make my edsel as reliable with FE. Wish me luck!".........lol, I think you may have a few family members that just might be able to help with the FE should you need it.

[iamflashman]

It has been a bit since I last updated.  I made significant progress on the modern teletouch shifter I have been working on.

The unit fits under the front seat and resembles an amplifier.  A cable then goes through drive tunnel and attaches to shift the transmission.

The original teletouch harness is unmodified.  The unit uses the appropriate molded connectors to plug right in where the original set of wires was unplugged.

The unit accepts VSS and brake switch inputs to prevent accidental shifts while moving.  The original used a pressure switch to prevent accidental shifts.

Modern Teletouch by James Fleischman, on Flickr

Modern Teletouch by James Fleischman, on Flickr

Modern Teletouch by James Fleischman, on Flickr