1958 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner Retractable Hard Top
A truly fabulous piece of 1950s Americana!

Registration No: 844 YUT
Chassis No: H8RW156311
MOT: Exempt

• Purchased and imported by the vendor in 2013 from the then-treasurer of the International Ford Retractable Club following a several-year search!
• Full frame-off restoration c.2000, winning 1^st Place at the AACA Grand National Auto Show upon completion
• To as-new specification with factory extras such as the Continental kit, twin spotlights, and authentic exhaust tips
• Innovative power dash-controlled automatic-operated “hide-away” hardtop
• Offered with a very large history file including much original sales literature
• Presenting excellently and the ideal addition to any collection!

Ford was not quite the first American automaker to put a retractable hardtop convertible into production (that honour goes to Playboy Automobile Company of Buffalo, New York), but it was certainly the first to do so on a successful, mass-market basis. Initially developed for a convertible version of the Continental Mark II that never left the planning stages, the automated retractable hardtop that eventually found its way onto the 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner was a symphony of switches, servos, motors, and actuators, as well as hundreds of feet of wire tying all the components together. Incredibly complex and fully analogue, yet remarkably effective, this system could lower or raise the Skyliner’s top in under a minute.

Ford produced the Fairlane 500 Skyliner for just three years, and despite a sky-high price tag of $3,138 (more expensive than any Ford but the Thunderbird), it managed to sell an impressive 14,713 units for 1958. The 1958 Skyliner is an appealing representative of the model’s second production year, for which it gained a hood scoop, as well as glamorous styling updates such as quad headlamps and a flashy chrome ‘smile’.

Sales may have been strong, given the Skyliner’s considerable price tag, but it hardly needs be said that very few made their way to British shores. There exists only a small handful of Skyliners of all years in this country, most of them imported in the last 30 or 40 years, and this mid-production is certainly among the best of them. In fact, this car was formerly owned in America by Mr. Mike and Mrs. Maggie McGuire, Mike being at one stage the treasurer of the International Ford Retractable Club (IFRC) – the club for all 1957-59 Skyliners. Mr. McGuire subjected it to a comprehensive body-off overhaul between 1999 and 2000, and after it emerged from that it went on to win first place at one of the Antique Automobile Club of America’s Grand National Auto Shows and was named a Showcase Gold Level Award Winner in the IFRC – the highest possible accolade within the club. It is believed that the striking red and white is the original colour scheme.

The McGuires cherished the Skyliner for more than 10 years after that, and only agreed to part with it in 2013 because they had befriended the vendor, an Englishman and committed enthusiast of mid-century Americana, who had been searching long and hard for the ‘right’ Skyliner – the model, to him, represented the pinnacle of futuristic extravagance of the ’50s. A deal was done and the Ford made a transatlantic crossing, since when the vendor has given it all the care and affection of which it is so thoroughly deserving. The car has been occasionally shown in his ownership, and in 2020 he wrote of his search for the car and his experiences of ownership for Classic American magazine, saying “She tends to steal the thunder from other cars. There’s not much to match her.”

Part of the vendor’s rationale for choosing this particular Skyliner was that it came loaded with all the most desirable accessories, all of which would have added several hundred dollars to its already considerable price when new. Most prominent among them is the flamboyant Continental kit at the rear, inspired by the spare-wheel carrier on the celebrated 1940 Lincoln Continental. Features also include twin combination spotlight-mirrors. The letterbox-style exhaust tips are another stylish accessory.

During his 12 years of ownership, the vendor has effected a few subtle upgrades to make the Ford more useable in modern conditions. These include a Bluetooth connector for the radio and an electric wiper motor. He has also gone a little bit further in the search for period accessories, and succeeded in locating a new old-stock in-car multi-stack 45in record player. To preserve its outstanding condition, the Ford has always been kept garaged underneath a custom-made indoor car cover in matching red with white piping. Needless to say, the vendor has not neglected maintenance and the engine received a tune-up in 2024, with the Holley carburettor being rejetted. The hardtop has been kept fully operational and, indeed, benefitted from a routine service earlier this year. A regulator and dynamo service has also been completed this year.

There’s a wonderful irony in the fact that this car epitomises American automobile culture, and yet the ability to change from fully-open to fully-closed motoring at the flick of switch makes it seem as though it was tailor-made for our unpredictable British weather! No matter whether skies are blue or dark rain clouds are brooding overhead, this is a car you can enjoy anywhere at any time, and you’ll do so in unsurpassed style. Sold with an impressive history file containing the current V5C, photographs of the body-off overhaul and a delightful collection of original sales material, look no further than this fantastic Ford for ‘happy days’ ahead.

For more information, please contact:
Paul Cheetham
paul.cheetham@handh.co.uk
07538 667452