There aren’t many cars that are better for Big Sky Country than the 1957 Ford Fairlane Skyliner 500. During the warm summer months, the motorized hardtop can store itself in the trunk so all that beautiful blue sky can be taken in. And during those cold Montana winters the top can be left up so the occupants don’t freeze to death. This ’57 Skyliner has been parked in the same farm barn since 1984. The farmer has decided to move off the farm and is selling this Ford and three other cars to help fund other projects and retirement. Have a closer look here on eBay.
Besides the Skyliner, this farmer also owns a 1957 Ford Country Sedan Wagon and a 1957 Ford Custom Sedan and is letting go of them as well. The owner had always dreamed of owning a Fairlane Skyliner, but given how rare these convertibles are he had to buy a project. Needing parts to get his dream car on the road, he bought these two ’57 Fords as parts cars. He was going to use the 312 Y-Block V8 from this station wagon and the front clip from the Sedan to finish up the Skyliner. If he had included all three in one auction, it would have definitely sweetened the deal.
The owner claims that they mouse-proofed and covered the Skyliner and the Country Wagon when they were parked to protect them the best they could from damage, but they are still in rough shape. The farmer is very blatant about not caring much about the Sedan, as all he wanted from it was some of the metal panels and it shows. Barn mice can devastate a car in a few short years, but the seller claims the Skyliner was free of mice when it was pulled from the barn this past August.
He obviously never got around to restoring his dream car and he has decided it would be better for it to go to a new home where it can be finished and put back on the road. He has a large number of extra parts, which he is including in the auction. Restoring any of these cars is going to be time consuming and challenging, but overall this Farm’s Skyliner should make for a great project.
Now, if the fee fee seven wagon was a Del Rio……..oh mommy
I remember when I was a kid a family friend had a Skyliner. Cool concept, but impossible to stop water leaks. This one looks restorable!
All three of these cars should be saved.
These ’57 Skyliners have always looked good to me—like pure ’50s style, and I have collected the brocures for them and also a later (probably ’60s) dealer postcard that has a ’57 Skyliner in color on it that dealers sent out to remind their customers that it was time to come in for servicing. Nowadays service reminders often come as emails with endless promos to come in and buy NEW. I prefer the collectible cards that showed something cool that the company made a while ago.
I never owned one but wondered about leaks, and Charles has let the sad truth out about impossible to stop water leaks. Not too surprising, I guess. For me the solution would be to live my dream of having a fleet of different vehicles available so I could select the right one for warm summer evenings—a Skyliner, of course.
That Skyliner is going to be a challenge to do up. I’ve got a friend who did up a ’59 that started out about that condition. He was almost in the loony bin by the time he got the top working properly.
My preference is actually the sedan. Sedans are great. Less wind noise, once the doors are adjusted, they stay that way. And when you want to stash stuff in the back, you can without having to lean through from the front.
I once restored a 57 Skyliner. The top had issues but a couple of days of tinkering and I had it working properly again. Not a job for the faint of heart, but doable. I don’t recall mine ever leaking, but it was in the garage most of the time.
I’m really digging that wagon. The CONELRAD labeled radio kind of makes the car for me as I am also a collector of US Civil Defense memorabilia from the time too. It doesn’t seem to have any serious rust and I think it would look killer painted in my two favorite car paint colors-blue and white (I have 3 white vehicles, 2 blue vehicles and none of any other color!). I can imagine it with a set of poverty caps on 15×8 in steelies, or maybe even a set of vintage mags from the 60’s (or a reasonable reproduction). I would probably have a hard time deciding what to do with it beyond that as I like the idea of a modernized classic with the new Coyote V8 and 6 speed manual from a late model Mustang, but I also like the idea of keeping it original. Whatever path I chose, the rear axle would stay original as I can’t imagine needing anything more than a 9 inch Ford.
Geez, I like the long roof myself, but I can see why nothing got restored, he spent three quarters of his life mowing the lawn! I thought Florida was bad … flat as a pancake & 0 trees, like living on the moon with no craters just grass.
Dang. I gotta stand in a queue for the wagon.
“I hope to drink lots of beer and cavort with loose, period correct women”. Funniest ad line ever. Thanks for that.
sure would like to own a ’57 skyliner. Amaizing car!
What, no love for the canoe?
Ahhh All three born the same year as myself! ’57 was a good year for Ford when they outsold Chevy of which I’m a bigger fan of.. The Fords still are good lookin vehicles though! My preferences however, run with the Ranchero’s followed by the 2 door wagons..I’ve always thought the regular ragtop a better looking car than the Skyliner.. The proportions are screwed up in the rear for me and the complexity never warranted the extra cost involved..