BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - Each of the thousands of classic cars that traveled to South Mississippi for Cruisin’ the Coast has a unique story. The journey for some was more troubled than others. For the owners of a particular 1958 Edsel, the road to Cruisin’ began years ago.
Roger Rains bought a run down 1959 Edsel in mid-July. The ember red sedan sat in a barn for years before Rains picked up the keys. At the time, the car did not run and showed signs of a major wreck. Still, Rains said he felt compelled, as if through a premonition, to fix up the Edsel and take it to Cruisin’ the Coast.
“The car wanted to come to the coast before we even knew how it got damaged,” he said. “I cannot tell you why I wanted to bring it to Cruisin’. The car just pulled me to bring it to the coast.”
After three months of around the clock work to get the Edsel road worthy, Rains started the engine for the first time just two days before Cruisin’ began. Around that same time, his friend showed him an article about a Laurel couple who wrecked their 1959 Edsel on the way to Cruisin’ the Coast in 2018. To Rains’ surprise, it was his car.
WLOX News reached out to the previous owners of the car: Jarrod and Cassidi Hankins.
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“In 2018, I was looking on marketplace and I came across the Edsel. I did a three way trade for the car, and it all worked out,” said Jarrod Hankins. “It ran like a sewing machine. I mean, it was just an awesome car all together.”
Just five days after the couple purchased the car, their plans to drive it to Cruisin’ the Coast took a turn for the worst.
“A lady pulled out from a stop sign and ran into us. She hit us on the driver side and spun us into a stop sign, which crushed in the passenger side,” said Hankins.
The Edsel was totaled and the couple was forced to make the tough decision to sell. They told WLOX News, they did not know where the car ended up, until they saw a post on Facebook that looked like a restored version of their car that was headed to to Cruisin’ the Coast.
“I looked at it and I was like, that is awesome. That is exactly where it needs to be,” said Hankins. “It was super cool to see it living again.”
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The current owner, Roger Rains, said he is proud to own the car and complete the Edsel’s journey to Cruisin’ the Coast.
“It is a blessing, it really is. She is a gem. And I feel like you can do anything you put your mind to,” he said.
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