Baja Edsel

[Hi-Po]

Just finished this the other day and thought I would share it with everyone.  I am always looking for the unusual to build and when I saw a photo in a Hot Rod Magazine of a '58 Edsel tricked out for the Baja, I just had to build it!  I started out with the AMT/ERTL '58 Edsel Pacer kit, which in itself is a nice little kit and then went to town modifying the body and interior.  I used a reworked NASCAR roll cage, bucket seats from the parts bin, wheels and tires from long forgotten kits and numerous scratch built items.  The driving lights were scratched and I used wine bottle foil for the light covers.  The covers on the roof lights are my own design that I made using dry transfer numbers and decal paper.  The color scheme is a take off on the Mexican national flag.  I made the seatbelt harnesses using PE hardware and paper for the belts.  The dash was modified and I added a CB radio and fire extinguisher along with a road map.  The chassis was detail painted and I added a scratched engine/oil pan shield and aluminum tubing exhaust.  I am not sure what all the "extras" on the body are, they just looked really cool in the photos of the real car, so on they went!

This was an fun and enjoyable build and was a departure from my usual factory showroom builds. 

Enjoy the photos!

[Belugawrx]

That is a cool skidplate ! 

..where did you source the tires?

[Hi-Po]

I have no idea where the tires came from.  I have bought several collections over the past couple of years and the tires were most likely in one of them.  Thanks on the skid plate, that is my own design.

[afx]

Great work.

[PappyD340]

Very cool, nicely done!

[ChrisR]

Awesome!

[Dave Van]

Nice work!!!

[cobraman]

I like everything about this model. Well done !

[majel]

What a cool idea, well executed, great work!

[Venom]

Terry, this is incredible! Everything just looks so well thought out and executed... it’s obvious you are very skilled. This is one of those models that you can look at over and over again and it doesn’t disappoint. I love these kind of Baja cars, and all the tiniest details you created and added are simply marvelous and inspiring. I’m beginning to think paper may be the best material for seatbelts because yours look absolutely real. And then there’s that fuel stain below the gas cap...you can practically smell it! I really can’t say enough... Bravo!

Edited December 6, 2020 by Venom

[BIGTRUCK]

Now thats different, that and the execution make it eye-catching. Nice work.

[TonyK]

I like it. A lot! And you did a real nice paint job. Thanks for showing this.

[Jantrix]

Man, that is really slick. A terrific looking model.

[Hi-Po]

Thank you all for the nice comments on the Baja Edsel.  It is much appreciated.

[Phildaupho]

Extremely well built. Any body would look good over your chassis and interior but the Edsel makes it especially interesting. Like Bruce commented - I sure like the skid plate.

[Danno]

That is one kewl model!!  Great job!

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[espo]

Great looking conversion and I like all of the added details for the body and interior. 

[thatz4u]

what they all said x 2 ^^^^^^^^

[DustyMojave]

You see my avatar. That's my Hi Jumper race buggy I built back in the 70s and raced to a championship. At its1st race, near Barstow, California, in the 115° heat, there was a wedding ceremony at the start line just before the 1st racer got the green flag.Scott Gilliland married Louise Van Trease. And immediately after kissing, the bride and groom both put on their race helmets and got into Louise's Bill Stroppe built Edsel to start the race. VERY MUCH like this one and perhaps the one in the magazine article. There were actually a few Edsels built for offroad racing by various people. I even saw the picked over bones of one down along a race course in Baja once. Not much left but the main body shell, frame and roll cage slowly rusting away in the desert. And that was many decades ago.

Very good job on this. From a long time offroad racer.

[Sledsel]

That is cool. I can see the Stroppe Edsel influence for sure. The details are amazing.

[Hi-Po]

Thanks again to everyone for the nice comments.  In answer to DustyMojave and Sledsel, yes I did use the Bill Stroppe Edsel as my influence to build this.  I was initially going to use the same paint scheme that was on the original car but then decided to go with something more related to the driving light covers -  the red, white and green of the Mexican flag.  And thanks to DustyMojave for the back story concerning Scott and Louise, I found it very interesting.

[modeladdict]

Very nicely done! Great detail and execution. 

[modeladdict]

On 12/2/2020 at 6:32 PM, Belugawrx said:

That is a cool skidplate ! 

..where did you source the tires?

I just checked and the MPC Freedom Rider Dodge D-50 pickup has those tires in it. I'm sure there are other kits but I know that one for sure.

[David G.]

Fantastic work on this one! The amount of detail you added to this in mind blowing and very well executed. I especially like the suspension mods and the addition of the skid plate.

Well Done Sir!

David G.

[89AKurt]

Love this!  Very well done.  The paper used for the seat belts, is that craft paper that's red?  There is a great selection of colors and textures, I may consider this.