The fifties decade was an era where automotive designers and engineers embraced technology to come up with new ideas they thought would lure buyers to their products, and Ford was certainly no exception when they introduced their Skyliner for the 1957 model year. The full-size car came with a retractable roof that was almost mesmerizing when in operation, going from a hardtop one minute to disappearing in the rear right before your very eyes. Nearly 50,000 of these oddities found homes before Ford ditched the model at the end of the 1959 run, and if you’ve been looking for a last-year example with a top that’s said to work flawlessly this one here on eBay might be worth considering. The Ford is in Kelseyville, California, with bidding currently resting at $14,100.
The Skyliner is for sale by Lady Luck Garage, which mentions it has been a Northern California one-owner example. The body is said to have remained solid after all this time, although the lacquer paint has received some touch-up from time to time so the finish is listed as being in driver-quality condition. A few imperfections are present outside, but I’m not spotting anything right off the bat making me want to jump right into turning the exterior into a project, unless perhaps leveling out that front bumper could be accomplished without any major headaches.
The Skyliner is said to have been owned by a certified Ford mechanic with four decades of service under his belt. Back in the ’60s, he must have decided the original 352 engine just wasn’t enough to meet his driving needs, so it was replaced by an early 390 motor sourced from a police interceptor which remains in the car to this day. It’s said to fire right up and run smoothly, with the transmission also getting a clean bill of health.
There’s not a whole lot specifically addressed regarding the interior, but if those are mostly original and unrestored parts we’re seeing it still looks quite good in there overall, with some wear on top of the dash but the instruments themselves appear to be in decent shape. This is one of those cars that a non-functioning roof might be a deal breaker for me, as I’m guessing it could be tedious to make repairs and get everything to line up and work together correctly. But flawless operation is claimed to be the case here, and there’s also no reserve so the high bidder has bought themselves a cool novelty convertible. What are your thoughts on this 1959 Ford Skyliner?
Kelseyville, not Kalseyville. Had to look it up myself. Seems Mr. Kelsey met his demise after the local Indians, whom he had enslaved, rose up and killed him. Nothing to do with the car, but an interesting aside.
I’m sure he had his top lowered.
Or lifted more likely
Always had a soft spot for these.
Love the color combo.
If things are in operational order as stated, in my opinion its a steal @ 14k.
GLWTS.
I have a soft spot for these because my Dad worked at Ford Motor in Louisville, Ky when these were being built. He was there from 55 til 62 and had many stories to tell. They would get overtime on weekends coming in and simply walking out into the parking lot filled with these, pushing the up, then down switches and if it didn’t work they’d tag it to go back inside. Same with the Edsel’s with the pushbutton transmissions. Get in, fire it up, check the buttons to see if it went forward when you put it in drive. There were many that did the opposite! I would buy this if I had the space to store it.
Skyliners were also built in Milpitas CA. There’s a mall there now that had/has a Skyline on display.
I knew an older guy (claimed to be a count when he was drinking) who bought the Edsel with transmission buttons in the center of the steering wheel. It would sometimes go forward in “R” and backward in “D”. The dealer must have thought it was too risky to chance a repair, and offered an even swap for a new Lincoln. He took it.
A very early-production ’59 since it has “Fairlane 500” badging on the rear fenders instead of the “Galaxie” badging that would replace it by late ’58.
These of course have the Thunderbird-style C pillar which Ford played up in ads for the new Galaxie. “Thunderbird in looks…Thunderbird in luxury.” Since the Skyliners had that C pillar from the start in ’57 not sure why the Thunderbird doesn’t have the Skyliner pillar instead of the other way around. Always thought the ’59 Skyliners were the best-looking.
In 1965, the high school girl who lived 2 doors down from us was given a ’59 Skyliner for her 16th birthday. Lucky girl! Cool car.
In 1968, my best friend’s dad gave him a ’57 or ’58 as a gift when he got his drivers license. Dark green/white, looked like new. Top worked perfectly, drove like a Lincoln. My friend was smaller, less than a year later, he sold it for $100.00. He always said it was an “old man car”.
Currently sitting at $16,4K w/3 days left on bid. Absolutely beautiful hardtop convertible!
Beautiful car! My Dad had a 59 Skyliner Turquois lower white top. Fond memories. Thanks for the post!👍
For me these cars are the epitome of cool. 59 is the best of the lot for me. This one is very nice but low on options, as no electric windows or seat, no A/c, no spot lights with rear view mirrors. no automatic headlight dimmer, and not original engine. Other than those minor discrepancies very cool car. I have on my bucket list one of these with all options.
God Bless America
All those options you mentioned were not popular or didn’t exist back in 1959. I hate the spot lights, only police cars need those. A/C was available, but not many people had it. That was what having a convertible was for, cooling off. This car did have air, top down and 80 MPH. I didn’t see automatic headlight dimmer until about a decade later, and then only in high end cars. I have had mostly Ford products all my driving life and those that I bought used didn’t have them. The new ones didn’t, not even the Mercury Milan Premiere that was pretty much loaded fully loaded didn’t have automatic headlight dimmers. One thing I would say this one doesn’t have that I am glad to see, is those stupid fuzzy dice hang on the rear view mirror.
When this car was new, many vehicles did have a spotlight, especially for cars in the suburbs or country areas. This was before reflective street signs & house numbers, and overhead street lights, all commonly seen today. [No pun intended.]
Auto dimming headlights were actually available on all GM divisions starting in 1953. They were created by the Guide Division of GM.
Today A/C is a highly desired option in certain areas of North America, and older vehicles with working factory A/C often bring far higher sales figures, especially on muscle cars. Those people who wouldn’t even consider buying a muscle car with A/C in the 1960s, are today willing to spend thousand’s of Dollars more for those A/C equipped cars today.
This will definitely garner interest at Cars and Coffee, maybe get you a free bears claw!
In 1969, my dad had a chance to buy a 57 for twenty five bucks. He turned it down because it wasn’t cool. I know where 2 retractables sit in a junk yard…both are literally rusted in half.
Brings back memories of my 57 Skyliner, Mine had the 312 V8. I restored it in the late 70’s. Loved the car but ended up shipping it off to Japan to a buyer who owned an exotic bird business. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.
I had a 57 skyliner in 1968. Traded it in on a 64 thunderbird convertible. Wish I still had both of them.
Cool car. I like the color combination. As I’ve said before, these are guaranteed to draw an audience at a car event when the top is operated. It’s nice that the auction is no reserve. But I’m thinking that the winner will need to break out at least twenty large. Probably more. Also, with all due respect to others viewpoints; I’d rather have a car like this without a lot of accessories. Less likely to have problems with wind up windows, etc.
Good one, Dave!
Had a ’58 convertible. Dad had it totally redone in Red and White (our company trucking colors) and it was sharp. My mom thought he got it for her until HS Graduation nite. Had choice of ’55 Chevy 210 w/6 cyl., a ’61 Studebaker Lark 2 dr. (I bought it for $15 from a college kid as clutch was blown. Dad rebuilt engine and trans. was a neat little car), or the ’58 convertible w//351 auto. Any doubts?? Alot of dad’s hated to see me driving away with their little girls for the evening.
On reliability issues;
I’m Ford trained in the retractable, Lincoln & T-bird convertible tops, and I can say that as long as they are adjusted correctly [especially the switch positions] these tops are very reliable. If you own one of these 3 types of cars, it’s important to keep a copy of the repair manual in the car. Any good mechanic with an understanding of electrical circuits and basic mechanical devices can fix a retractable top.
Because the tops work in a sequential manner [one action must finish before the next action can begin], if a top or decklid stops working, where it stops is where the problem lies. It’s almost always a switch, either contacts need cleaning, or the switch needs adjustment. On the later [1961-67] convertibles, failures often are traced to a relay problem.
I agree, The top is not Rocket Science or Black Magic. If you think before you start replacing parts, they are easy to diagnose. Clean contacts are essential. Corrosion is the enemy and the root cause of most problems. I did run into one broken wire to the right rear lock motor, but everything else was simpler than you might think.
Lol… Good ol’ Encyclopedia McCoskey. We’re lucky to have you, Bill.
CVPanther,
Thanks for the compliment. Having been working on old cars for almost 60 years, I figure if I can save readers from some of the mistakes I’ve made and/or found over those decades, I’m glad to provide comments.
I had a 59 it was my first car I paid $25 for it ,it didn’t run when I got it. My brother helped me a lot since I was only 16 and didn’t know much about repairing one
These cars were not “convertibles” which use hydraulics to lower the top. These are “retractables” which use 850 feet of steel cable to lower the top into the trunk area.
That is incorrect. I’m a former technical expert for the Ford Retractable Club, and a graduate of the FoMoCo Retractable/T-bird/Lincoln convertible maintenance & repair courses.
The ’57 to ’59 retract system used 4 long screw drives to move the deck lid and convertible top assembly. To lock/unlock the top and deck lid, small screw jacks were connected to electric motors by what can best be described as speedometer cables.
Starting in 1958 and continuing thru 1967, the T-bird and Lincoln convertible tops were indeed operated by hydraulic cylinders, 2 for the top & 2 for the deck lid on 1961 and newer cars. The 1961 to ’64 cars used a single hydraulic pump with hydraulic solenoids to direct fluid where needed, while the ’65 and up cars went to 2 hydraulic pumps due to the strain on a single pump.
At no time were any steel cables used to operate either the top or deck lid systems. You might be confusing the use of over 600 feet of electrical wiring on the Lincoln convertibles, but I can assure you there were no steel cables in use.
The only word that I have for this car is “gorgeous”.