1959 Edsel Corsair Intake Manifold and Fender Skirt Refresh

[goodfellow]

14 years I've been helping a dear old friend spruce up his 1959 Edsel Corsair. The car is a classic and worth some time to get back into shape. My friend is in his 80's and still has the passion for old cars. For the past week he's been working circles around me in this heat, and is always ready for more. You "gotta" have respect for someone like that -- others his age are sitting in a nursing home, and this guy tinkers with cars  thumbsup2

Anyway, here is the car as it started out -- the intake manifold was corroded and needed a good cleaning and new gaskets.  The oil pan was loose and needed to be resealed, while the auto transmission lines were rethreaded and tightened. Other engine jobs included straightening a slightly bent lifter, new FE bushings, and new paint on the engine and valve covers. All-in-all it took a week to get everything done.





We painted the fender skirts with polyurethane enamel to match the color of the roof -- a nice contrast to the slightly pink (off white) main body color.



Taking her apart



The proud owner ---



The intake manifold was leaking oil and needed a new gasket set -- the old OEM cork gasket material  took a LOT of scraping to remove





Not OEM correct because Ford Edsel 332 V8 engines were painted "Black" back in those days, but that doesn't look so nice. So we opted for Ford "blue" --





Water pump was cleaned and painted in Tractor Supply Farm Implement "gloss black", and it flowed very nicely.



Slowly going back together --











Radiator was painted "gloss black"



Air filter housing was media blasted and painted Ford "Blue"









After everything was reinstalled, the lower body and undercarriage was power washed and the car received a much needed "wash 'n wax"









It was a great week to spend with an old friend and work on an old classic.

That was 2011, and the wonderful thing is that the owner of this fine automobile is still alive and kickin', and happily residing in a retirement home. The car found a good home with one of his family members and is still being driven to shows and parades for others to enjoy as well.

[jabberwoki]

World's heaviest intake manifold eh

[goodfellow]

World's heaviest intake manifold eh

Old school and definitely heavy cast iron. In it's day it was quite the ride, and I think Ford lost money on every one of their EDSEL cars.