Thought to have been stored since 1968, this 1954 Ford Starliner is a very complete find with a many good things going for it. Miraculously the interior has aged very well, and the exterior while having blemishes and some rust is very decent overall. The seller is also including a ’54 Crestline in the sale, as well as many extra parts the opening bid of $6,995.00. Check out this sweet convertible and coupe here on eBay out of Gorham, Maine.
Despite its long term storage the 239 Y block V8 was a runner as of a few years ago. The engine is rusty, and grimy with old oil, but they say not to judge a book by its cover right? Some of the wiring looks quite crispy and broken, so the future owner has some work cut out for themselves. On a positive note, there is no apparent rot in the engine compartment. On the other hand, the engine in the 2 door hardtop is rather clean, and looks very promising, but there is no word on its condition.
Despite the incredibly worn and ripped convertible top, the interior has managed to survive very well. The seats and the door panels are in very shape and are worthy of being gently used. There is no carpet in sight, but I can see what appears to be dated padding on the floors. It is unclear what the coupes interior is like, but there is an interior in that car as well.
The exterior of the convertible wears a lot of very old paint, and while there is some rust and rot to be found, I would dare to say that this convertible has aged well for being up in Maine. The convertibles body is mostly straight minus a dent in the passenger rear quarter, and a small sheet metal gash in the same quarter as well. The coupe looks to have rot in the fender wings just like the convertible, but the rockers on the coupe appear a bit rustier than the convertible. It appears that most if not all of the trim on the convertible is present minus the grill. The coupe has the missing grill, but is missing most if not all of its exterior trim. It seems there are a lot of spare parts with this buy, and the seller seems to be a fan of these cars, having amassed a small collection. Would you pick up this duo for the $6,995.00 asking price?
Fairly sure its not a Starliner, Ford had so many ‘ liners’ back then ,very easy to get them confused.
It’s a Sunliner, if my ancient memory is correct…
I believe that the Starliner was the one with the plastic bubble in the roof over the driver and passenger. The Skyliner was the retractable hardtop The Sunliner was the convertible
Oddly enough though I have seen a Starliner in Maine, just a few towns over from this one.
The Starliner was a semi-fastback produced in 60-61. The glass tops produced from 54-56 were called Skyliners
I’m not much of a fan of Convertables but the hard top I do like I think that any of these mid fifties cars no matter the brand are cool. It would be neat to restore them to be twin cars and show them together but that is a big undertaking. Even if that were not to happen I still think that they are worthy of restoration.
Sad to see a rare convertible left to rot. I hope someone saves it.
I like both cars, and feel that they are both excellent candidates for restoration. I have had enough of convertibles, but would love to own that hardtop.
This looks like a good buy for someone.
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Well, They are a nice restorable pair. I guess buy both, sell one to help with the funds to restore the other. One huge problem is NO TITLE. When I moved from New Hampshire to Illinois I had a 78 Camaro Z28 (no title) Illinois would not take the bill of sale and insisted on I get a title. Needless to say I drove it back to NH sold it there and flew back and purchased another car. Too bad too, It was a great Z28 no rust at all. But hey poop happens.
I like what I see. Two of my favorite shoeboxes, all in one place. The price is OK too. If it were within my means, I’d drag both of them to my place and have myself a good time. They were be good companions to the shoebox I already have…
Is that exhaust factory? Running along the top of the motor like that?
Ford did that cross over to clear the steering, cross member, transmission linkage and oil pan. Believe it was one from 1952 to 1955. Chassis was really set designed for flat head with out the OHV width issue
Somebody should buy these cars. I have no room and I’m too far away. Great Projects, lots of fun ahead.
Body mounts and frame could be a major problem . Maine isn’t California .
Not sure buying both is a good idea but some one mentioned selling off one.
All this ” no title ” BS in the USA drives me nuts.
Whats with the weird exhaust manifold wrapping around the front of the block ?
Ford had some weird designs
That one would insure burns when working on it…..
No title in Maine is like no title in New York. No big deal. Up to the 1994 vehicle year in Maine you only have a transferable registration which is renewed every year with your tags After 1995 you have a vehicle title for transfer of ownership and a non transferable registration for tags. N.Y did the same thing up to 1988 when they went to titles.
The Starliner was short lived… the see thru plastic top would bake the passengers on a hot day. It was a cool idea but in practicality didn’t turn out so well. The Skyliner was also ahead of it’s time. Except with the technology back then those solenoids and relays would always stop halfway up or down like on the post-59 T Birds and Lincoln convertibles. I’ve always preferred the look of a soft top anyway even when up. One of the coolest 1/25th scale plastic promotional car models is the uptop 1962 Ford Galaxie made by AMT. I think it is the only promo toy car with the conv top in the up position.
I just consulted my “Illustrated History of Ford” book and the correct nomenclature is as follows: The convertible is a Crestline Sunliner, and the hardtop coupe is a Crestline Victoria Hardtop as it does not have the window pillars. The Customline and Mainline models all had window pillars. The bubbletop model was a Crestline Skyliner Hardtop which was essentially a Victoria with the plastic bubble for the forward part of the roof. In 1955 the Crestline name was dropped for the Fairlane name. IMHO, the 1955 and 1956 Ford’s were the prettiest ones of the decade. Of course I am biased as we had a 1956 Ford Customline Fordor in our family for 32 years.