1958 Ford Fairlane 500

The 1950s brought chrome, bright colors, and gadgetry to the American car industry as the automobile continued to progress beyond utilitarian transportation, embracing technology and luxury and becoming a work of art. Two-tone paint combinations, towering tailfins, jet-aged styling themes, and generous proportions were common trends championed by Detroit-built cars. The American cars were built to cruise the highways while reaching for the stars.

1957 Ford Model Lineup
1957 Ford Custom
Ford restyled its model line in 1957 and retained only minor details of its previous vehicles. The entry-level model was the Custom Series, offered as a two- and four-door sedan, or a business coupe. A 223 cubic-inch, overhead valve, six-cylinder engine was standard equipment, and the 272 cubic-inch V8 unit added approximately $100 to the vehicle's base price. Prices ranged from $1,900 to $2,150 (higher, depending on the options selected), and approximately 193,000 examples were built.

1957 Ford Custom 300
The Ford Custom 300 came standard with additional chrome trim, two sun visors, and armrests on all the doors. Six and eight-cylinder power was available, and body styles were were a two- or four-door sedan. Prices began at $2,100 and rose to $2,260. Despite having one less body style than the Ford Custom (Business Coupe), sales were strong, and over 355,000 examples were built.

Station Wagons
The station wagon body style fulfilled the needs of the American families who were seeking additional storage and passenger capacity and were perfectly suited to explore the expanding roadways and national parks. The Ranch Wagon was Ford's base trim level two-door station wagon for 1957, and the four-door Country Sedans were the intermediate level. The Country Squires were the top trim level and also offered with four doors. Prices began at $2,300 and rose to nearly $2,800. The American public agreed with the station wagon's usefulness, and nearly 320,000 examples were built.

The Custom, Custom 300, and station wagons used a 116-inch wheelbase platform and had an overall length of 201.6 inches (the station wagons were slightly longer at 203.5 inches).

Thunderbird
The Thunderbird continued to grow in popularity with sales increasing by nearly 5,000 over the previous year, reaching 21,380 units. Prices at $3,400 for the two-door convertible, the Thunderbird was a gentle blend of luxury and performance, with its 292 cubic-inch engine offering over 200 horsepower. A 312 CID version boosted output to 245 horsepower, and the addition of a supercharger brought output to 300 bhp (the NASCAR version was rated at 340 bhp).

The 1957 Ford Fairlane
The 1957 Ford Fairlane rested on a generous 118-inch wheelbase platform and was offered as a Club Victoria (2-door), Town Victoria (4-door), club sedan (2-door), and town sedan. Styling elements included chrome trim, a V-shaped Fairlane crest on the trunk lid, and 'Fairlane' script on the side of the front fenders and above the grille. Six-cylinder power was standard, with a variety of eight-cylinder units optional. Prices began at $2,230 and increased to nearly $2,500. A total of 148,725 examples of the 'base' Fairlane was built in 1957, with the most popular body style being the 4-door town sedan (52,060 examples built, followed by 44,127 of the Club Victoria and 39,843 of the club sedan).

The Skyliner
The Skyliner had a Thunderbird-inspired retractable roof, which folded down into the trunk area using a series of motors, switches, relays, gearboxes and cable drives. It was produced for three years, with 20,766 built in 1957, 14,713 in 1958, and 12,915 (on the Galaxie Series) in 1959.

The Skyliner was intended for the new Lincoln Continental Mark II targeted for introduction in 1956. The project was headed by William Clay 'Bill' Ford at the Special Projects Division, who believed that a retracting roof would be a noteworthy innovation for Ford's top luxury car. Designer Gilbert Spear was assigned the monumental task of designing the folding roof. His study sketches prompted Ford to order a special prototype built on an existing Lincoln, but $2 million later, he judged it a money-losing proposition on such a low-volume car. Instead, the project was assigned to the Ford Division for development on the high-volume full-sized 1957 Fairlane. An additional $18 million was invested, resulting in a working production model dubbed the Plexiglas-topped 1954 Skyliner. Built on the Crestline series - Ford's top trim level for 1954 - it was a one-year-only model, but the Skyliner model name endured, becoming a Crown Victoria model in the new Fairlane series for 1955. The power-retractable hardtop was first offered in 1957.

The 1957 Ford Fairlane 500
For buyers seeking a higher level of comfort and accouterments for the Fairlane, Ford offered the Fairlane 500. Body styles were the same as the Fairlane, plus an additional convertible called the Sunliner. A Skyliner Convertible was also offered but could only be purchased with eight-cylinder power (the Sunliner could be purchased with either six or eight-cylinder power). Prices began at $2,330 and creasted at $2,940 (Skyliner). The Fairlane 500 was very popular with over 637,000 examples built, including 77,728 of the Sunliner and 20,766 of the Skyliner. The town sedan was the most popular with 193,162 examples built, followed by 183,202 of the Town Victoria.

The 1958 Ford
For 1958, Ford introduced a restyled full-size lineup with distinctive quad headlights and styling cues inspired by the new Thunderbird. There was a wide mesh front grille, an imitation hood scoop, oblong tail lights with twin main elements, and diagonal tailfins. In keeping with the Detroit fashion of the era, the new Fairlane was wider, lower, and long. New big-block FE V8 engines of 332 and 352 CID (5.4 L and 5.8 L) replaced the previous largest V8s, and a better three-speed automatic transmission was also available.

The 1958 Fairlane was available as a 4-door town sedan, 4-door Town Victoria, 2-door club sedan, and a 2-door Club Victoria. The Fairlane featured chrome window moldings with the Fairlane 500 models receiving slightly more chrome around the 'C' pillar. The Fairlane nameplate could be found near the grille opening and on the rear fenders.

The top-of-the-line Fairlane trim level was the 500 Models. They were given additional exterior treatments that included more chrome and Fairlane 500 nameplates. Bodystyles included all the options found on the base Fairlane, plus added a Sunliner Convertible and a Skyliner Convertible.

Production
Total production for all Fairlanes accounted for 306,429 units. The most popular body style was the 4-door town sedan which found 105,698 willing buyers. Just 14,713 examples of the Skyliner Convertible were built.

Engines
The standard six-cylinder engine powering the 1958 Fairlane was a 223 cubic-inch overhead-valve six-cylinder unit with four main bearings, a Holley one-barrel carburetor, a 6.6:1 compression ratio, and producing 145 horsepower at 4,200 RPM.

The standard V8 option displaced 292 cubic inches and had five main bearings, a Holley two-barrel carburetor, overhead valves, a 9:1 compression ratio, and produced 205 horsepower at 4,500 RPM. The Interceptor V8 displaces 332 cubic inches and had five main bearings, a Holley four-barrel carburetor, a 10.2:1 compression ratio, and developed 265 horsepower at 4,600 RPM. The Interceptor Special V-8 displaced 352 cubic inches, and had overhead valves, a cast iron block, a Holley four-barrel carburetor, 10.2:1 compression, and 300 horsepower at 4,600 RPM.

Skyliner Convertible
Chassis #: G8RW133925
Auction entries : 2

A three-speed manual with semi-centrifugal-type clutch, helical gears, and synchronizers for second and third gears was standard equipment. Optional transmissions included a three-speed with automatic overdrive, a Ford-O-Matic, and a Cruise-O-Matic.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2018