A road trip today for another professional car project...

I just arrived home from a very long day today. My father, Wayne Schoenecker (another PCS member) and I left at 4am from north of Pittsburgh enroute to a little town near Lancaster Pennsylvania to pick up a car. Total drive time was a little over 5 hours each way. By the time we picked up the car and made it back home to Butler Pennsylvania, it was about 7 pm and getting dark. After unloading the car, I had another hour drive home. A very long day to say the least, but also a fun day. It is always nice to be able to spend time with other PCS members discussing everything that we can think of.

A huge thank you goes out to Wayne for providing his truck to pull the trailer and his time on his day off! He actually voluntered his time and his truck almost a year ago and we finally managed to get together on a time and day. Thanks Wayne!

Following are a few pictures of the car that we picked up. It is a 1958 Edsel Villager...

The car in it's orginal setting...


Had to push it onto the trailer. No rear axel or wheels...


Wayne and my father at work securing it to the trailer...


My father and the seller...


And... we were ready to go!

Is that a professional car?

Are you planning to restore it? Its great (what there is of it...). Whew, that's gonna be a big project! Good luck!

A couple very brave men there. What a project and best of luck!

Steve Lichtman said:

Is that a professional car?

Click to expand...

You caught me Steve! It didn't take long for someone to pick up on the fact that this particular car isn't a professional car. I didn't think that it would take too long.

Where this story is professional car related is that this Edsel's body is basically gone, but somehow, it managed to keep it's underbody almost spotless. The frame on this car is in great condition and it will be used to restore the 1958 Ford Ranchero Flower Car built by Pickway shown below. The Ranchero's frame is bad in several places.





The Ranchero Flower Car project is probably the next one on the list for my father (right after he gets done with the 1959 Superior Pontiac that is in the garage now). Yesterday was just one of many trips around the area to start collecting parts.

OK but the next time you post a picture check the back ground. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one helping him self in the yard. classic poise. but parts are were you find them. be surprised what is really good the Edsel. the front end pieces are one of and hard to come by.

Rots of Ruck to you Chuck! I am not sure that Pickway will be a whole lot easier to restore than the Edsel. But, I bet you will have an awesome flower car one day!

Heck...... why not just make the Pickway Ford into a Pickway Edsel using the Ford parts. You can also make a hybrid by merging both together. I remember seeing a Ford Retractable Convertible that was so rotted that it needed all new sheet metal, so the fellow that undertook the restoration converted it into an Edsel Retractable Convertible, a car that the Ford Motor Car company never built. It is a one of a kind that looks great. I won't tell if you won't!!!!!!!!!

It will definately be a project, but I have faith in my father. A lot of you know that he has been working on a 1959 Superior Pontiac Hearse for a while now. I have posted the current pictures and just found the "before" pictures the other day. Finally had a chance to scan them and post them. The 1958 Ford Ranchero Flower Car does need a lot of work, but when I look at what he has done with the 1959 Superior Pontiac, I don't think that anything is impossible for him.

These are pictures of the Pontiac when we found it in the junk yard. I can't remember how long ago it was, but I am guessing 6(?) years ago. Some before and current pictures posted together.









Now, we are not talking months, we are talking years, but he has done most of the work himself. He had someone do the metal work for him, but most of the mechanical work has been done by him. All the innterior is finished and ready to go back in. Most of the chrome has been refinished and is ready to go. IF he can keep on schedule, it will be done this year, but we all know how restorations go. How often do they actually get finished on our time schedule? Maybe... just maybe we will get to see the Pontiac in New York next year. Keep your fingers crossed.

Since the Pickway is probably the next project, this trip the other day was just one of many to collect parts. He has tried to collect as much as he can for any of the projects that he can before starting them. That way they aren't sitting in the garage half done waiting on parts.