Any 1960 Edsel is an unusual sight today, relatively speaking, but the convertible is especially rare: Only 76 were produced.
When production began on the 1960 Edsel at Ford’s Louisville, Kentucky plant on September 14, 1959, the events that followed would reveal that in fact, the brand was already dead. From the 1958 start, sales had never come close to projections, and of the seven Ford and Mercury plants that assembled the Edsel, Louisville was now the only one remaining. The public introduction of the 1960 models came on October 15, and then only 35 days later on November 19, production was halted and the Ford Motor Company made the formal announcement: The Edsel was finished.
Edsel’s decline had begun at the start. When the ambitious ’58 Edsel product line tanked, the ’59 models were slashed by half and unique Edsel features, including the Teletouch shifter and floating drum speedometer, were eliminated. (See our ’59 Edsel feature here.) And for 1960, the Edsel was nothing more than a warmed-over Ford, with a Pontiac-ish split grille and a modified tail lamp arrangement tacked on. The instrument panel was Ford, too, along with most everything else. While there were plans to produce two Edsel models in 1960, Corsair and Ranger, in the end there was only one: Ranger, with the station wagon badged as a Villager.
1960 Edsel Corsair Convertible prototype, never produced
Since the Edsel’s 1960 model year was so short and perfunctory, the production numbers were meager as well. Only 2.846 cars were produced, 1,288 of them four-door post sedans. There were 777 two-door sedans, 275 Villager wagons, 295 two-door hardtops (with Ford Starliner rooflines), and 135 four-door hardtops. The Ranger convertible is the rarest of all: only 76 were produced. How many survive today appears to be unknown.
However: Since the ’60 Edsel convertible and ’60 Ford Sunliner are so similar, and due to the Edsel’s scarcity, it’s been reported that maybe a few Sunliners have been converted to Ranger convertibles in later years. There are some especially dedicated Edsel enthusiasts and after all, more than 44,000 Sunliners were produced. It would be a relatively easy job, it appears: grille, tail lamps, quarter panel sections, trim pieces. (Documentation would be trickier.) We’ve never seen one at a car show, but then again, maybe we have.
I’ve always thought it sad that Henry’s only son, Edsel, often unappreciated by his father we are led to believe, and in spite of his talents, abilities, and successes, died so young, and some say, his health issues induced by Henry’s treatment, has had his name associated with the misadventure of the Edsel automobile. I’m sure his sons sought to honor their late father in naming the car after him. How disappointing for them from a personal standpoint, as well as a business one.
Indeed. Henry Ford II was hurt by the stain on his father’s name more than the failure of the car itself, and he regretted being talked into it.
On top of that, he had named his son Edsel II. The kid was middle-school age when the Edsel car had its’ run.
IMHO, the ’60 Edsel was FoMoCo’s handsomest offering for ’60. Back in the early ’70s a friend of mine bought one of the 76 from a used car lot for around $1000 and quickly sold it to an Edsel enthusiast for $2K. It’s pale turquoise and now one of the survivors.
IIRC, there’s a one-inch wheelbase difference between ’60 Edsel and Ford convertibles, – by memory it’s 119 vs 120″, so the re-creations can easily be detected.
With a tape measure.
My first acquaintance with the ‘60 was in my in-laws’ hometown of St. Thomas, Ontario. The local Edsel dealer had snapped up one of the 60’s when production was terminated, knowing it would become a collector’s item. Into the 90’s he would park it on his driveway. I instantly recognized the ‘60 Ford lines but was dumbstruck by the incongruity of the slapped-on looking taillights.
One incongruity I have a picture of is a white with blue roof 1960 Edsel Villager two-door wagon belonging to a member of a forum I used to frequent. Edsel didn’t make a two-door wagon in 1960 but Ford did, so it must have been a conversion. Another commenter is correct: Ford’s wheelbase for all models in 1960 was 119″. Edsel’s 1960 wheelbases were all 120″.
Here it is:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/car-show-classic/car-show-classic-1960-edsel-villager-unicorn-in-wisconsin/
Thank you for the great link. That is the car and owner that I recall.
It’s interesting that the yellow convertible in the photo is sporting fender skirts that are masking the rear wheels. Did FoMoCo perhaps move the axle assembly rearward by one inch in order to obtain the longer wheelbase for the Edsel? Certainly, they were in a cost saving mode and altering the body sheet metal in order to center the wheel opening would have been a much more expensive option.
Another possibility would be there was no difference and the real wheelbase fell between 119″ and 120″. Round down for the Ford and up for the Edsel and you’ve created a distinction from whole cloth.
Most sources agree that the ’60 Edsel was a placeholder, either to mark time until dealer contracts expired or (more likely imo) the car that became the Comet was ready at midyear. Mac, this is my chance to pick your brain on the dealer contract theory…