The dual circuit master cylinder sounds like a great idea. I found a new one on ebay
POWER BRAKES FORD, MERCURY, EDSEL, etc IN CHROME - eBay (item 330522953791 end time Jan-31-11 06:59:22 PST) The description states that they can build it to work with the factory 4 wheel drum brakes. I do not want to convert to disc brakes just yet. The drums seemed to stop quite well when I drove the car before the 2.3L conversion.
This car has a ladder frame and not an X frame so it should be much stronger than a Bel Air.
Still a crash would be bad.
I saw a VW beetle at the wrecking yard last month and it had some kind of mesh steel collapsible column. I wonder if that mesh could be grafted into the Edsel shaft. Honestly I will probably just call it good with a dual brake circuit and seat belts.
At the moment it has a set of new 8.00-14 BF Goodrich Silvertown wide white wall bias ply tires. They are from coker tires. I will drive very slow and careful since they probably will not work as well as a modern radial. They were not my choice because they were already on the car when I bought it. I want to get some 215/75-14 radials and use a orbital sander to remove the fine lettering and paint the sidewall white. These bias ply tires are new so I should use them until they wear out and then get radials. I wonder how much fuel economy can be gained by going from bias ply to radial.
Gasttingy: I read
1959 Edsel Page that this car actually uses the same chassis as the Ford Fairlane. The website said it should average 13.7mpg. I also saw in a popular mechanics 1959 issue that they were able to get 13highway and 8mpg urban cycle (city mpg I assume) using regular octane (probably leaded
) Also it has electric windshield wipers. I am thankful for electrical wipers! Funny thing is they gave out on me just after I bought the car. It was scary going down the freeway with no wipers. I was able to fix them by freeing up the stuck carbon brushes and lubricating the bearings.
bhazard: It is nice to know there are turbo ford experts like you on here! I will get a cheap ebay relief valve boost control so it can boost to 14psi. I am actually starting to enjoy working on the Ford 2.3. It is much easier to work on than the Chrysler 2.2/2.5 which have the intake and exhaust manifolds crowded on the back of the engine. It has no A/C or power steering so changing the timing belt should be a snap! The water pump should be easily accessible too!
I am anxious for the 3 point seat belts to arrive in the mail. It will be ready to drive as soon as they are installed!
