We cover a fair number of 1958 Ford Fairlane 500s here on BF but most are two-door hartops or retractables. Today’s Idaho find, courtesy of Henry R., is the less commonly encountered four-door sedan. Parked back in ’76, the seller tells us this old Ford runs but will need some attention. Interested parties will find it listed here on craigslist for $3,000, OBO.
Ford’s lineup in ’58 consisted of the Custom, Custom 300, Fairlane, and Fairlane 500 such as our subject car. Being a four-door sedan makes it a “Town Sedan” in Ford parlance. Other 500s included the Skyliner (retractable hardtop), Sunliner (folding top convertible), Club Sedan (two-door sedan), Town Victoria ( four-door hardtop), and the Cub Victoria (two-door hardtop). As for production numbers, Ford knocked out 34K Town Sedans in ’58 and generated a total output of 987K units dropping them in second place in the domestic production race that year.
The body of this Fairlane is fair though it shows signs of rust-through and a Texas sunburn is the form of surface rust emanating from its very thin finish. Regardless, it looks like it’s all there, bumpers, grille, trim, etc. The seller mentions that the glass is all good except for a cracked windshield. Of note is the lack of side mirrors – they were an option, and not standard equipment in ’58
The seller claims that a 352 CI V8 engine powers this Fairlane 500 but owing to its two-barrel carburetor, I’d suggest that it’s actually a 240 gross HP, 332 CI V8 which is still an FE architecture engine. The seller adds, “Ford o matic transmission shifts great, had this thing up to 60, rides like a boat.”
One of the more interesting aspects of this car is its factory air conditioning, a convenience option often not found on a commodity car such as a Ford, 66 long years ago. The listing mentions, “AC included but not attached.” As for the interior in general, it’s in rough shape with trashed upholstery, wrinkled door panels, and missing carpet. The listing also states, “no radio” but the observed fender antenna leads me to believe that the original radio is MIA, as opposed to never having had one installed or what some erroneously refer to as a “radio delete” car.
This is a neat find, sort of. Other than that shiny carburetor, it looks to be original and complete, though the removed A/C components dampen things a bit. Obviously, this claimed 89 K-mile Ford will need a lot of work, but once that’s done, assuming that it happens, the new owner will still just have a four-door 1958 Ford Fairlane 500 sedan – not the most collectible of cars. Still, there always seems to be a bee-hind for every seat, right?
I had a 1955 Ford Town Sedan equipped with factory AC . The compressor was under the hood but the evaporator and condenser were in the trunk and the cold air blew from plexiglass tubes mounted to the package shelf and aimed forward. The tube radio was AM only and took a few minutes to warm up before it made sounds. Thanks for the memories
Some of those old radios sounded very nice. Yours probably had the power supply vibrator, which produced a faint buzz when you first turned the radio on.
1958 was not Ford’s stellar year for design, assembly or quality control. Probably not the best “investment” for a beginner (or anyone else) with this one. Of course this is just my opinion unless tou agree.
I don’t believe Ford made the 352 until 1959, and it had a four barrel. This engine is the first FE, a 332.
58 was the first year for both 332 and 352.
Unrelated but fun trivia fact that Ford outsold Chevy the year before.
Sandwiched between the beautiful ’57 and ’59, the 1958 Ford was the worst design of the 1950s, IMHO.
I’ve always liked the design and never understand why some people don’t like it. The taillights are especially nice, I think, along with the hood scoop and mesh grill. Plus it retained the basic body shape of the 1957.
I think that they look best when the cross bar that goes across the grille is removed. I’m not 100% sure but I think some models came without it. I have a 58 Ranchero that I bought from the original owner in ’73 and it does not have it. IMO, removing it completely changes the look.
Lovely looking car. Nice resto project. If only more pictures were posted. Like I’m sure many people, I like to see as much of a car as possible.
I liked the Thunderbird-esque front ends of the ’58s. Can’t blame Ford for trying to tie in the Fairlane with the very successful and new four seat ‘Bird. Jim, wasn’t there also a Phaeton model in ’58, had a little filigree at the corner of the back side window in the back door? Got to admire Ford for their variety of models, including the Skyliner and Ranchero, which other makes didn’t offer.
Where is this cart located at????
The map on craigslist shows it in Washington near Spokane.
Thank you
Always thought ‘58s were homely- but they’ve grown on me recently. Not much money for a running/driving 67 year old car.
332 and 352 were new for ‘58. 332 came in 2 or 4 barrel. 352 was 4 barrel only I believe.
Cheap
A guy had one of these back in the early 70’s on a ranch in Northern California. He was HUGE. I said something he didn’t like one day. He never laid a hand on me, didn’t have to, just pinned me down so I couldn’t move. I had to apologize! A year later he was a passenger in the front seat in a car that
ended up in the Navarro River not far from the ocean. He and the driver got out okay, but, because it was a two door, the two people in the back couldn’t. Sad memory. This car reminds me of him, not the same as car in the river.