1958The frost white and turquoise 1958 Edsel Citation convertible was loaded with options and turned heads when it hit the streets of Vancouver. There was no other car that looked like this long and low boulevard cruiser. People either loved it or hated it.
Ron Langis was gob smacked when he saw the car sitting with the top down at a dealership near Burnaby’s Brentwood Mall in 1958. But it wasn’t a dealership that sold Ford products. The principals at Eagle Ford thought their ship had come in when the new convertible was delivered to them. They assigned it to their top salesman as a demonstrator and waited for customers to flock in. But the economy had been hit hard by a recession in 1958 and people were buying smaller, less expensive cars like Volkswagens. There were fewer buyers interested in big American-built gas guzzlers.
The dealership told the salesman to get the car sold because he had been driving it for months. Fearing his job was on the line, the salesman drove the car around to some other dealerships hoping the car would sell. For the desperate salesman, Ron Langis was his way out of the dilemma. He bought the car as a demonstrator for $3,200 and sold the 1957 Mercury he had been driving.
The garage is set up as a shrine to the restored Edsel Citation convertible Ron Langlis has owned since 1958. CREDIT: Alyn Edwards Photo by Alyn Edwards
Ron was a long-distance trucker hauling new cars from Windsor to Vancouver. His back haul was transporting new Volkswagens to dealers on the Prairies. Judy, his young wife, was only too glad to cruise to the grocery store in the fancy Edsel with the top down. The car gave good service right into the Sixties when the rust worm started to penetrate the Edsel and a new car to replace it was on Ron and Judy’s agenda.
“Mercury had a new two-door hardtop in 1964 called the Silver Marauder and it was beautiful,” Ron recalls. “When I asked about trading in the Edsel, the salesman told me they used those cars for boat anchors. I was so insulted, I decided to never sell the Edsel.”
Eventually, a new car was purchased, and the Edsel went to sleep in the carport. When Ron decided to tear the carport down and build a garage for the car, the Edsel convertible was moved to the back yard. But the garage was never built, and the car stayed outside.
Surrey Edsel enthusiast George Gill remembers seeing the car sitting outside for years. “I wanted to buy It. But I thought the car was too rusty and dilapidated to be restored,” he recalls.
The Citation was the top Edsel model and was built on the large Mercury platform. Photo by Alyn Edwards
Matching Interior colours to the exterior made the 1958 Edsel Citation convertible a standout. Photo by Alyn Edwards
E475 on the valve covers of the Edsel’s 410 cubic inch 375 horsepower engine option indicates 475 foot pounds of torque. Photo by Alyn Edwards
Edsel used unique branding on their top-line Citation convertible in 1958. Photo by Alyn Edwards
The inviting rear compartment of the 1958 Edsel Citation Ron Langis has owned for 65 years. Photo by Alyn Edwards
Power windows are among the luxury features of the 1958 Edsel Citation convertible. Photo by Alyn Edwards
The unique body colour wheel cover on the top line 1958 Edsel Citation. Photo by Alyn Edwards
The 1958 Edsel Citation sports custom designed fender-mounted rear view mirrors. Photo by Alyn Edwards
Ford branded everything for its new Edsel including back up lights. Photo by Alyn Edwards
1958 Edsel Citation convertible. Photo by Alyn Edwards
In time, the Edsel moved with the family to a new house with a garage where it remained stored inside for 32 years. When the house was sold, there was some extra money and the decision was made to have the Edsel completely restored.
Martin Collins of Rags to Riches in Langley performed a complete body off-the-frame show quality restoration that required purchasing a parts car along with a lot of extra parts. The restoration debuted at the B.C. Custom and Classic Car show in the Abbotsford Tradex Centre last April where Ron got to see his car looking much like the day he bought it.
“My biggest regret is that I can’t drive anymore,” the 88-year-old stroke victim says. But daughter Deni has arranged it so Ron can spend a lot of time with his beloved Edsel. The car is positioned with its top down alongside one wall of the garage that displays Edsel posters and other memorabilia.
Edsel owner Ron Langis with restorer Martin Collins. CREDIT: Alyn Edwards Photo by Alyn Edwards
“We named the car Rudy for its owners – my parents, Ron and Judy,” Deni says.
Ron has an easy chair in the garage where he can sit and look at his car displayed as it might have been in a dealership showroom back in 1958. Something still stirs inside Ron Langis when he looks across at the spectacular turquoise and white Edsel Citation convertible he bought long ago.
“It’s got a special look that I never got tired of,” he says.
Alyn Edwards is a classic car enthusiast and partner in Peak Communicators, a Vancouver-based public relations company. [email protected]
Keyword: Collector Classics: 1958 Edsel Citation convertible