This may look like a plain old Ford, but this Crestline is actually the special Skyliner model. That means it has a glass roof over the front seat area. That might not be the best thing if you plan on driving the car, but it’s awesome if you are wanting to restore or collect. These aren’t as rare as the Mercury Sun Valley version, but it still makes it worth a look. The seller claims that it has only seen two owners and 80k miles. They have it listed here on eBay with a 3-day auction and no reserve, so you had better move quick!
The engine doesn’t currently run, but the battery is from 2013 and the seller claims that it was drivable up until a few years ago. It’s not seized so there’s some hope that it could be made to run without too much effort or expense. After getting it running and cleaned up a good assessment can be done to see if it should be restored or preserved as-is. I’d lean to keeping it original as long as there isn’t too much cancerous rust underneath.
Even if there is a hole or two in the floors, they could be repaired and painted without redoing the whole car. The interior looks decent so with some cleaning and sorting, it might be liveable. It might be worth getting that aftermarket air conditioning unit back up and running though…
Things might get a little toasty inside on sunny days! That curved glass is awesome though and definitely makes this otherwise plain car standout in the crowd. Well, that and the paint…
At first glance, we probably all assumed this thing had been repainted. Mary Kay car maybe? Turns out this that coral pink was a factory color and it’s what this car should be wearing. The first photo in our write up looks pretty washed out, but underhood shots makes me think it could the original paint. It would be interesting to see what become of this cool old cruiser. Will it get restored or will someone clean it up and attempt to stave off the effects of corrosion?
Beauty of a car. The 239 y block is pretty much an orphan engine though. They used it in cars 1954 only, and in some 1955 trucks. Might be hard to find parts for, but I would opt for a 292, 289, or 302 to make it lower maintenance.
A Crestline Skyliner ?? Try to find another ! I Triple Dog Dare You !! And yes, I’ll stick my tongue to the flag pole on this one !
239-272-292-312 (Y-block series)…all interchangeable ….
Coral was an original color…but that Pink is not. Oh, and the roof was Plexiglass. Also offered in the “Sun Valley” model of Mercury…the cars only came in Green or Yellow (since the plexiglass roof only came in a Green tint) …yellow and green being complementary colors.
Perhaps Mercs came in green or yellow only but Fords did come in pink. I had one in 1959
That A/C unit looks as old as the car- may be dealer installed. Factory air came one year later.
Plexiglass ? Your joking or really
So much cooler than the Panoramic roofs everyone is marketing these days…
Jim Reed ( Kent McCord) raced a ’54 Ford like this ( not a glass top, tho) in the Adam-12 episode “Who won?” It was a show focusing on street racing in the 70’s, which cops were cracking down on. Had some great classics on that episode ( the storyline was pretty hoaky, like most) For the record, like Mike sez, the “glass top” is not actually glass. I believe it is plexiglass, which was pretty new at the time. Neat find.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_BzIQvtPtBI/Uwu2nTg2euI/AAAAAAAC1-E/qRKMInUd-8Y/s1600/zfbsd.jpg
The first year was glass. Plexi for the remaining run.
Bob A, the next door neighbor’s kid brought a shiny dark blue with white top (I thought the glass in roof was blue and made of glass, not plexiglass) picking it up in Detroit and driving it to Fairbanks, Alaska. Can’t remember for sure, but think it was a stick–the standard choice for Alaskan’s due to the ice cold -40 to -60 degree endless winters, and becuz the Automatics of those days tended to freeze up. I just remember his glass-top, w/ factory whitewalls was “cool.” There was no sliding underglass shield to save the owner from having his bacon cooked nor air-conditioning to blow directly into your face. Getting baked was not a problem in Fairbanks where the summers were a pleasant 75 degrees-once saw 96 but much drier and hence more tolerable than in Hi humidity climates. A friend of Dad’s had a new ’54″Mercury glasstop which he traveled to for the summer in “The States” (San Diego/L.A.) where he said the Merc was almost not-usable due to the cabin heat, & rolling down the windows was pointless.Perhaps today’s heat resistant films would cut the temp down to where a modern Air Antique would make it manageable if not comfortably cold as I prefer. I had factory air in my 1979 ElCamino Sport w/ black Leather Buckets. I could freeze meat on the seats on Hi- fan recirculated inside air due to the minimal cubic feet interior. It froze my lady friend nearly to death until she started wearing a parka and foul weather pants et al when we went for a drive.
I’m not a big fan of Glasstops but I’m a fan of ’52-’54 Fords; they’re my favorite of all the ’50s Fords. I’m kind of wondering if someone hasn’t pulled the stock 239 motor and dropped in a 272 or 292. They all look the same and fit in the same hole so nothing is lost. I might add that the larger motor would run that A-C and the Ford-O-Matic transmission a little better. The price is good on this one. Buy it, give it a full driver-quality restoration and enjoy it to the max….
just looking through comments , know yours is old, but you asked about replacing mottors, my husband put in a 312 motor in our 54 skyliner,
Love these two (2) door Fords. Skyline with Coral paint can be seen at http://www.autocollectorgarage.com.
The roof section was glass for the first year, 1954, and plexiglas for the remaining years.
What was the first year? Thought it was 54
Yep, 54.
I have a 1954 Country Sedan with the 239 and the engine parts are difficult but not impossible to find. I don’t believe that all the parts are all interchangeable from the Y block series. I just had a hell of a time finding the correct water pump for the 239. It has a smaller impeller and is a smaller pump than the others.
had two found one in the woods 4 wheeling no engine or ft clip funny story my guy I buy water from told me of one the same color as the one I found in the woods at a old junkyard in gainsville fl seems he sold bottle water to them as well went up with the car trailer as it was like two hour drive from me sure enough it was there a little rough so I talked to the yard owner and we had a couple of shots of moonshine and made a deal low and behold he reached in his draw and pulled a title dated 1961 any way long story short same color that my dad had when I was 8 was gonna restore one but u guys know how that goes was made a offer I couldn’t refuse for both cars that was about 4 years ago don’t know if the guy I sold to ever did anything with them or not last I herd he was going to jail
I like it. And the fact that it is not a car in the last couple of days that is not a total rust or rot bucket, totally clapped out or prohibitively expensive to buy or restore. A rare car that I will bet more often than not that people don’t even know exist.
sold 4500 bucks…..nice buy
It sold at $4545.45. Good buy, even if it wasn’t running!
There is a 1954 Canadian Meteor Crestline Skyliner for sale here in Ontario on Kijiji. I think that it was $16,000 Cdn (about $11,500 US) Older restoration. Looked good. You want rare, check it out.
No wonder Kijiji flopped in the US, it doesn’t work. I tried to find your car on it and gave up. Craigslist is 15 years ahead of it or it is 15 years behind.
I Have One 54 Skyliner And Another 54 Ford That Had A Skyliner Roof Installed And Was Chopped Plus Lots Of Extra Parts In BC Canada
Send it in and we will auction it for you!
I can’t comment on Craigslist because it doesn’t work here. I have never been able to look at or post ads on it. I’m gonna give it another try.
In the meantime, try this Kijiji ad #119981566 in Classic Cars If it doesn’t show up it’s probably gone. If you’re real interested you could call Phone # 705-788-0375
Funny, I don’t know anyone who uses Craigslist here.
Cheers
Hey Loco,
I got into Craigslist and I can see why no one uses it here. The site dosen’t have any classic car heading and the ads are not as good. I had to search Classic Cars and it showed three in Canada.
Like you, I got flustered and quit. It must be much better in the States.
Cheers
I have 2 54 skyliners one restored other barn find the tops are plexiglass they made a shade liner that snaped under the glass to cut the sun down some.