In 1954 and 1955, FoMoCo offered two products as a hardtop with a transparent roof. In ’54, there were the Ford Crestline Crown Victoria Skyliner and Mercury Monterey Sun Valley (in ’55, the Sun Valley was based on the Montclair, the Ford on the Fairlane). If buyers didn’t want a full-fledged convertible, they could go this route and at least have plenty of sunshine (or maybe too much). Located in Webster, Massachusetts, the seller has or had one of these rare cars, plus a couple of ordinary Monterey’s (for parts, we presume). This trio is/was available here on Facebook Marketplace as a package deal for $8,000, though the listing is six months old.
The heart of the Sun Valley/Skyliner offering was their green-tinted plexiglass roof panel. In concept, it sounded like a really great idea. However, the temperatures inside the cars rose greatly on hot summer days and air conditioning wasn’t yet a big option. FoMoCo came up with a sliding cover that could be opened and closed from the inside to help keep temps down, but then that just negated having the transparency at all. In 1954 and 1955, Ford built 15,143 Skyliners while Mercury only peddled 11,548 Sun Valleys (84% sold in 1954 until the main flaw was discovered by buyers).
This ’54 Merc was found in Arizona, so rust may not be an issue. It found its way to New England where it joined two other Monterey’s (presumably both from 1954) that the seller has, or maybe it was the other way around. The primary car offered here is said to have 74,000 miles and the majority of the work done over the years was to dismantle the interior. We assume the Sun Valley has a 256 cubic inch overhead-valve V8 that produced 161 horses with a 4-barrel carburetor (also an automatic transmission).
We don’t know when the Sun Valley last ran, but we’re guessing not on the seller’s watch. He/she has no time to put things together again or even restore it, so the rarity is ready for a new home. It has a title, while the two parts cars do not. No mention is made as to what is usable from either of them. If the whole see-thru concept intrigues you and you’re looking for what could be a nifty project, you might want to ping the seller to see if these autos are still around or were sold and the listing simply wasn’t taken down.
Ford’s 1954 version was called “Crestline Victoria Skyliner.” The “Crown” came in 1955 with the Fairlane name, but in 1955, “Skyliner” wasn’t used. It was the 1955 “Fairlane Crown Victoria with transparent top,” which was changed to “Fairlane Crown Victoria Skyliner’ for 1956.
I believe the shade was a two-piece snap-in affair with a zipper up the middle. When Ford reintroduced the fixed sunroof on the 1977 Lincoln Continental, it had a sliding sunshade like a traditional sunroof. When Ford tried for a third time with the fixed sunroof on the 2009 Mustang, a roll-up shade was used. I have a 2011 Mustang GT with the glass roof, and the shade still allows a decent amount of light in, while eliminating glare.