Although it didn’t look like it on the surface, 1954 was a big year for Ford. The primary reason was an entirely new V8 engine, the Y-Block, which replaced the vaunted “flathead” after decades of production. The second was a ball-joint front suspension system, which replaced those hardy old kingpins. The third, and less far-reaching, was this new Crestline Skyliner with its green-tinted plexiglass roof insert. Therefore, Ford was selling a car that looked much as it had for the previous two styling seasons, but it gave the salesmen a lot to talk about to prospective customers. Apparently, whoever bought this Skyliner new wanted the best Ford had to offer, and it’s now being offered for sale here on eBay in its dusty Barn Find glory: Located in Shell Rock, Iowa, the asking price is $8,000 or best offer.
Typically, an early-to-mid 1950s Ford would be a neat car, but not terribly valuable here in the third decade of the 21st century. The clear roof is what makes this car something special; it was a neat “show car” idea, but when front-seat passengers started feeling as if they were under a heat lamp, they started talking. The option was fairly popular in its first year of availability, with 13,144 being built; however, the 1955-56 “glass roof” Crown Victorias sold a mere 1,999 and 603 respectively.
Under the hood was Ford’s first overhead-valve V8, the Y-Block, which found more success than the glass roof, but in itself only lasted nine model years in passenger cars. It started out with a familiar cubic-inch displacement—239—the same as the outgoing flathead. The better breathing afforded by even the Y-Block’s not particularly free-breathing cylinder heads gave the new V8 twenty more horsepower than its forebear, for a total of 130.
The Skyliner’s interior will clearly need some work, but the seller says that the odometer shows only 73,200 actual miles, and the car could be considered a “restoration or preservation project.” It has Ford’s neat speedometer with its “transparent hood” and the optional Fordomatic Drive. The seller mentions that it’s a two-speed unit, which is a common mistake because the Borg-Warner designed Fordomatic started out in second gear unless the throttle was floored from a standing stop or “Low” was selected manually. It wasn’t until the “Cruise-O-Matic” was introduced in 1958 that the driver could select a low-gear start in one of its two drive ranges.
Underneath, things look…old and dirty. The seller says that there is no invasive rust, just surface rust underneath, although the pictures included in the ad are dimly lit and not too revealing.
Still, you know going in that this car will require time and money regardless of whether you plan to restore or preserve. You also know that you’re getting an interesting piece of Ford history, and who knows? Maybe that “Make Offer” option can offer up a pretty good deal.
The welding on that frame rail and the overall heavy surface rust everywhere else is enough to make me go look somewhere else.
These were quite a novelty, like the author mentioned, a hot summer day wasn’t too comfortable. Think the second time around they had a put shade option. Now this is quite crusty underneath and maybe an appointment with a dry ice blaster it could be salvageable but that’s only a SWAG.
American cars were fairly common in Sweden back in the 1950’s and 60’s, but most of them were the cheapest base models, 6-cylinder and 3-speed manual transmission. However, for some reason Skyliners were quite common. I don’t know if the story was true but it was said that after Ford got too much complaints about the Sauna effect they rounded up all of the unsold -56 and shipped them off to Sweden where the climate would prevent such a fuss.