Ford Skyliner

[Flybrian]

No, its not a GM. But its just really, really cool.

[balthazar]

As a vintage car enthusiast, I suprisingly run against the grain of popular opinion in that I do not like convertibles. Oh, I like riding in them just fine, but stylistically, no convertible roof ever looks good on any era car- they are always a 'necessary evil' stylistically, even when down. The retractable hardtop is the ultimate answer for my preferences: you have the thrill of open air motoring with the style-consistant look of a 'hard' roof. Yea; they have comparitively no cargo volume, but what price style?? The '59 Fords won an award for styling (too lazy to look it up specifically right now)- but try as they did to doll them up, they never escaped their 'Ford-ness' and frankly, the rear ends are completely graceless. I was looking one of these over Labor Day weekend. If I had to pick from this group it'd be '57 hands down and that still isn't a thing of beauty. Ford was in the industry's top 5 in styling thruout the '30s and early '40s under Bob Gregorie, but they struggled ever after IMHO.

[Satty]

My dad had one. It was a '59 if I remember correctly. Everything but the interior was restored when he sold it in the mid-90's.

[CARBIZ]

I think 1959 was the peak of American design and power. Many of my favorite cars come out of that year: '59 Buick, '59 Chevy, '59 New Yorker. Frankly, I don't think any of the vehicles were ugly that year!

[RichW5]

My first car was a '57 Ford convertible (not the flip-top). Loved the styling, but not the bondo the original owner used on the rocker panels. Both the trunk floor and the front (passenger seat) floor rusted through. Still, since it was my first, I loved that car. I believe that '57 and '59 Ford were the only years that Ford outsold Chevy in a long time.

[Robert Hall]

Neat, neat car... though I'm much more of a fan of '60s styling than '50s, I like the Skyliner for the concept and (for the era) relatively clean styling.. Too bad it didn't catch on--there are several '60s cars that I can think of that would have been neat in a retractable ht form. It's interesting how the retractable hardtop idea has caught on again in the last decade... Merc SLK, SL, Lexus SC, Caddy XLR, Pontiac G6, several European models, etc..

[razoredge]

Someone has one around this area they show I thought it was interesting. I like Ford interiors but the styling doesnt suit me. I agree that most convertables dont have much looks with the top up but the GM siccor top B bodies looked good - to bad the siccors type mechanism was not really any good :rolleyes:. Convertable with detachable HT look good, my Alpine was sharp. Fiat 124 looks good with top up. Some Camaros werent to bad. The Skyliner ? Its a Ford.

[Satty]

In between vomiting sessions today I ran tot he post office and actually saw a Skyliner on the road. I only saw it for a brief second, but it was awesome. I want one. Maybe more than I want a Corvair.

[Sixty8panther]

I love 99% of Amereican cars from the '50s and '60s, I even like a lot of weird Mopars from the early 60s and I get flack for that... I also think the 59-60 Lincoln hasd some redeming value. But late 50s Fords are just hideous to me. 57-59s especially just don't look attractive to me at all. Those lines are ALL off, not one seems right to me, & then there's the matter of the quality issues, tiny hood that makes access to the engine bay difficult and the horrible mechanicals of these retractable hardtops. My opinion of them has never been high, even as a kid I thought "even in the 1950s a few really ugly cars were made." Then my oppinion of them dropped to an all time low when I looked one over in a restoration shop and the owner who is obsessed wiht these cars told me how even though he's owned several and he has a soft spot for therm they're absolute shitboxes quality wise. And that bathtub in the trunk may be innovative but it must suck to have something important inside of it when the roof gets stuck down. Harsh words for sure, esp. from someone who's second favorite model year for cars EVER is 1932 followed closely by 1959.

[Camino LS6]

I always thought these were cool in a "wow-that's neat to look at, but I don't want to own one" kinda way. I like my 50's cars in small doses, only a few really appeal to me. The trim taut lines of 60's and early 70's cars appeal to me much more. My Dad, on the other hand, loved lots of 50's cars... until you get to '59. He thought ALL '59s were hideous! I didn't see it, at least not the way he did. I guess it was the year that marked a departure from the roundness and tallish look of the 50's until then. I think I see 1959 as the begining of the low,long,lean style I have always liked. And, let's not forget, the El Camino debuted in '59 with the wildest quarter panels I have ever seen on anything. And some interesting tail lights too!

[ocnblu]

I think I like the '57 Ford better than the '58-'59. Love that retractable roof though, on either year. Thanks for throwing this back up to the top, Satty. Hope you feel better.

[GMTruckGuy74]

A guy in my area has a red & white '59 Skyliner and had installed a remote control for the top's operation. So at car shows he'll stand about 10 feet awy from the car when kids are around, tell them that his car responds to his commands, and then say out loud, "top open/close" and watch as a bunch of little kids think his car is magic! It's priceless. I asked him about it and he said he got the idea about 5-6 years ago. He found the technology online and took him a month or two to install it and get it working right. He stated he has not had any problems with the top's operation or with the remote system. BTW, it's pretty cool watching one of these tops go up or down.

[Sixty8panther]

Only seen the operation once in the flesh, and then in that horrible Dice movie "Ford Fairlane". :P

[Flybrian]

More Skylinergasm...
1957 Ford Showcase demonstration
Modern-day demonstration of a '59

SunStar also makes a 1:18 diecast of a '57 Skyliner with working top.

[Robert Hall]

More Skylinergasm...
1957 Ford Showcase demonstration
Modern-day demonstration of a '59

SunStar also makes a 1:18 diecast of a '57 Skyliner with working top.

Revell also has a neat 1:25th scale kit of the '59 Skyliner.. it's an old kit and a bit fiddly, but I built one back in the '80s and the top still opens/closes smoothly..

[Sixty8panther]

Yup, it's appropriate that SunStar makes the model, their quality
and fit & finish is horrible. It's the antithesis of a Bburago.


Here's another late 1950s FoMoCo product that turns my stomach.

[daves87rs]

Very cool..I even like the color...