A 1959 Edsel Ranger Sedan With Fresh Mechanicals and a Long Road Ahead

Few nameplates in American automotive lore carry the weight of failure quite like the Edsel. Ford’s ambitious attempt to slot a fourth brand between its existing marques never found the buyers it needed, and the whole experiment was wound down before the 1960 model year had barely begun. Yet the cars did sell in some numbers, and survivors like this 1959 Ranger sedan continue to surface on the secondhand market for hobbyists who appreciate the unusual.

This particular example is a four-door Ranger, the entry-level trim in the Edsel lineup. Under the hood sits a six-cylinder engine paired with a three-speed manual transmission, a modest combination that speaks to the car’s role as basic transportation rather than a showpiece. According to the seller, both the engine and the gearbox have been rebuilt and have covered only about 1,000 miles since. The car is located in Renton, Washington, and carries an asking price of $4,500.

That fresh drivetrain is likely the strongest selling point, because the rest of the car is very much a work in progress. The listing describes it as a cosmetic project, and the photos back that up: rust is clearly present in multiple areas, and one door has been swapped out, reportedly because of either a collision or corrosion. The interior offers little relief, with visible wear and a scattering of spare parts suggesting the car has been partially dismantled along the way.

Buyers weighing whether to take this on face an interesting question of priorities. A two-door hardtop or a V8-equipped Edsel would be the more desirable configuration among collectors, and Ford had already softened the model’s distinctive styling after the polarizing 1958 debut. That leaves this Ranger looking and feeling closer to a contemporary Ford Fairlane than to the shockingly styled first-year Edsels. Still, with roughly 14,000 four-door Rangers sold in 1959 — about a third of that year’s production — dedicated enthusiasts do exist for these cars.

After more than six decades, the number of remaining examples in any condition is impossible to pin down, which is part of what makes finds like this one intriguing. For a hobbyist willing to tackle bodywork and trim, a mechanically sorted Edsel with a story behind it may hold more appeal than another well-preserved mainstream classic.