With 12,915 cars rolling off the production line, the 1959 Ford Skyliner is not the rarest car on the planet. However, in the place that this particular car calls home, it is a rare sight indeed. Located in Brighton East, Victoria, Australia, this old Ford has been re-listed for sale following the failure of the last buyer to pay. You will find it listed for sale here on eBay, where it has been listed with an opening bid of $20,000 in a No Reserve auction.
The owner believes that the car wears its original Wedgewood Blue paint, along with all of its original trim and chrome. The body itself looks quite straight, and rust issues are quite limited. There is a spot in the lower fender on the driver’s side, along with some rust in the inner rockers, and the rear floor on the driver’s side. Some of the chrome and trim is also damaged, and while some of this should be able to be restored, there are a few items that will require replacement. Unfortunately, the top doesn’t work, and reviving it will probably take a bit of patience. With three drive motors, ten solenoids, 610′ of wiring, and numerous other solenoids and components, there could be a bit of fault finding before it works as it should.
Under the hood is the 352ci V8, which is backed by the 3-speed Cruise-O-Matic transmission. The owner says that the engine currently doesn’t run, but that it does turn freely. It’s unknown how long the car has been sitting for, but it does look as though some attempt has been made to revive the Skyliner. It sports a new fan belt, new radiator hoses, and some new fuel lines and a new fuel filter, so it looks like there will be a bit of detective work awaiting the new owner. The car has been fitted with brand new white-wall tires, which is also a plus.
When it rolled off the production line in 1959, the Skyliner was the most expensive car in the Ford range. The base price was $3,346. By the time you added the 352ci engine and automatic transmission, that pushed to price to $3,730. As befits a car of that price, the interior trim was quite luxurious, although there were a few options such as power windows and a power seat which have not been specified on this particular car. In fact, if you added all of the available options to a Skyliner, you could easily push the price past $5,000. The interior of this Skyliner actually doesn’t look too bad. The worst problems are a pretty substantial crack in the dash pad and a seam separation on the passenger side of the front seat. The rest of the interior trim looks pretty decent, and I think that it would come up quite well with a good clean. The new owner won’t need to be too concerned about the carpet, as new carpet has been fitted to the Skyliner.
This 1959 Skyliner represents an interesting opportunity. The asking price equates to just a whisker over US$14,000, and this would make returning it to its homeland a questionable proposition financially. However, in Australia, this is a pretty rare vehicle and is certainly one that would stand out wherever you went. The Australian Summer is slowly drawing to a close, but this might be a good Winter project for an Australian reader. That way, you can be ready for when the temperatures start to rise again later in the year.
Unless you live ‘down under’, it isn’t cost effective to buy this car, and then pay to have it shipped back here. We have plenty of `59s to choose from, and if you’re patient you’ll find one not needing nearly as much work. As I often say, spend the most you can afford to buy the best example for your money, and end up with a nicer car.
High, Iam looking to buy a 59 Ford Skyliner, I live in West Allis Wisconsin, pleasecall or e- mail hope to hear from you soon, thanks, Bill Sweet.
, 1-414-595-3574
used to work with a guy that was a Ford Mechanic at one time. First one of the Skyliners with a top issue got put into his queue mainly because no one else wanted to touch it. Said he got it working but it apparently was a son-of-a-gun to get working right. He said there were so many switches and relay working the top and if even one was out of position there was the chance of twisting the top.
Apparently the dealership had a couple more come in while Jerry worked there and he got ever one of them to fix. He said he wasn’t too fond of looking at them let alone fixing them.
I saw a You Tube special on this top. There is a guy that travels from state to state refurbishing the mechanicals of these things. Evidently, he does not lack for demand. He has all the switches and hydraulic parts that no one else can find.
Although not my favourite year for the Ford Skyliner, it’s nice to see an original survivor. It looks like someone exported this car Down Under and forgot to switch the position of the driver to that of those built in Australia.
I always thought the car’s proportions were off with that overly long trunk to fit the top in.
I have belonged to two old car clubs for over thirty five years. We have several of these flip tops in each club. The top mechanism IS complex but just takes time and an understanding of engineering and hydraulics to make it work correctly. Its not impossible but will just take time and a whole lot of patience. Oh. Yes, and the right parts! Long time old car friends had little knowledge of this mechanism, but kept at it, doing a little at a time. They all eventually succeeded. The only problems they have now is at car shows. The public always wants to see the top go up and down. Many guys just put the top in a half way up-down position and go have a beer.