One of the more interesting cars to come out of the 1950s was the Ford retractable hardtop. For 1957-58, it was based on the Fairlane 500, and for 1959 on the new Galaxie 500 nameplate. Using a myriad of motors and wires, the car’s hardtop roof could be retracted all the way into the trunk and then put back up again. This 1959 edition of the Skyliner has been in a barn for more than 50 years and “ran when it was parked”. Now, a project, this vintage Ford can be found in Montoursville, Pennsylvania, and here on Facebook Marketplace for $4,900. Once again, “Zappenduster” finds us a cool tip!
When the model was introduced in 1957, it was marketed as the “Hide-Away Hardtop”. And it may have been the most gimmicky of all the gizmos used by car manufacturers in the day. If you wanted the benefits of a convertible but also the security of a steel roof, the retractable hardtop was what you wanted. The problem was that when the roof was retracted, there was virtually no trunk space for anything you had to carry. And the complexity of the wiring and so forth probably drove dealers crazy if you brought one in for warranty work.
Ford sold more than 48,000 copies of the Skyliner over its three years. But executives elected not to continue the model with the 1960 redesign, perhaps because of all of the red ink that the Edsel debacle had caused them. The seller has the 1959 edition, which saw sales of just under 13,000 units. We don’t know its story other than it was put away in the early 1970s and likely hasn’t seen the light of day since.
We don’t know which V8 lies under the hood of this beast, but they ranged from 292 to 352 cubic inches, depending on how much power you wanted. This Ford has an automatic transmission, but we gather the car is mechanically toast after all these years. Plus, we’re told there is some roof and deck lid damage, and rust surrounds the lower extremities. The interior is pretty rough, and you never know if any furry barn dwellers have called the car home. The car has been listed for several weeks, with the price cut from $6,500 to $4,900. This restoration will require a sizeable bank balance.
Boy, I just don’t know, this isn’t your everyday simple restoration. I read, the top mechanism is incredibly complex, with 6 electric drive motors, 10 solenoids, 13 relays, and 610 feet of wiring. Even so, it was very reliable, and one had to remember to duck your head as that front piece folded under. My 2nd cousin had a ’57. In Milwaukee, it was considered a novel idea, where soft tops were cold in the winter, but for the 7 sunny days, it was nice to have a convertible. I remember, the 1st time, we watched in amazement, with the clicking and whirring, it was truly from the future. I read, the retractables losses were lumped into the $250 million dollar Edsel fiasco, and Ford lost money on every retractable sold. They sure made up for it with the 60s models however.
Sad. These are unique but you can practically HEAR this one rusting away.