1958 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner
The Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner is a two-door full-size retractable hardtop convertible, manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company for model years 1957-1959. For model year 1959, the name changed to Ford Fairlane 500 Galaxie Skyliner very shortly after production began (also illustrated as such in the brochure, but described only as "Galaxy" in the related text.). The retractable roof mechanism, marketed as the "Hide-Away Hardtop," was unique to Ford branded products, and was not offered on Continental, Lincoln, Mercury, or Edsel branded vehicles. A total of 48,394 were manufactured.
Falling in Ford's Fairlane 500 range, the Skyliner Retractable was only the second car in history to be mass-produced produced with a retractable hardtop (following the 1938 |Peugeot 402 Eclipse Decapotable); the first to reach four and five digit mass-production numbers, and the first series produced coupé convertible to feature a roof using two segments. At the time of its introduction, the Skyliner was the only true hardtop convertible.
The Skyliner's retractable top operated via a complex mechanism that folded the front of the roof and retracted it under the rear decklid. Instead of the typical hydraulic mechanisms, the Skyliner top used seven reversible electric motors (six for 1959 models), four lift jacks, a series of relays, ten limit switches, ten solenoids, four locking mechanisms for the roof and two locking
mechanisms for the trunk lid, and 610 ft (185.9 m) of wiring.The top itself largely consumed available trunk space, limiting the car's sales, though the mechanism operated reliably.[5][7][8] Production totaled 20,766 units in 1957, declining to 14,713 in 1958 and to 12,915 in 1959. An electric clock was standard. Fuel consumption was around 14 mpg US (17 L/100 km; 17 mpg imp) overall. The fuel tank was placed vertically in back of the rear seat, offering increased safety in a rear collision.
The wheelbase of the Skyliner was 118 in (3,000 mm) and the overall length was 210.8 in (5,350 mm).
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