I photographed this 1958 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner at 2022’s Downtown Revival Car Show.

The sixth-annual Downtown Revival Car Show will be held in Carson City on Saturday, July 8, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Hosted by Esther Chapter #3, Order of the Eastern Star, the awesome car show will be held on Carson Street between Robinson and Fifth streets.

Ford manufactured these huge convertibles from 1957 to 1959.

“Early into the 1959 model year, its name was expanded to Fairlane 500 Galaxie Skyliner,” according to Wikipedia. “The retracting roof system was marketed as the Hide-Away Hardtop and was exclusively sold on this Ford-branded model, for three model years.”

The Skyliner is noteworthy a good reason.

“Ford's 1957 Skyliner was the world's first retracting hardtop convertible to be truly mass-produced by a car company from the factory, coming close to 50,000 sales,” according to Wikipedia. “Earlier, French car-maker Peugeot had offered several such models in the 1930s, with the help of a coachbuilding company, which sold only in very limited numbers. It also marked the first time the hard roof featured a folding (front) section, to retract and fit inside the car's trunk.

“… Ford's design was also the first series produced coupé convertible featuring a roof using two segments, and during its production run, the Skyliner was the only hardtop convertible available.”

Wikipedia actually has a good description of how it operates. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see it at the car show.

“The Skyliner’s retractable top operated via a complex mechanism that folded the front of the roof and retracted it under the rear decklid,” according to Wikipedia. “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 largely consumed available trunk space, limiting the car's sales, though the mechanism operated reliably.”
Operating reliably for convertible is essential. My lovely wife Kathleen and I have owned a convertible.

Wikipedia also breaks down the production numbers: “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‑U … overall. … The wheelbase of the Skyliner was 118 {inches} and the overall length was 210.8 {inches}.”

At the time the Skyliners were produced, Ford got behind them in marketing and included mentioning new features apparently would “wow” prospective Ford customers.

“Ford presents the all-new Interceptor V-8 engine with precision fuel induction!” states one advertisement found on Ford’s legacy website. “So alive it makes horsepower figures meaningless! So efficient it gets more out of gasoline than ever before! So smooth! So quiet! You’ll hardly know it’s there!”

Calling the Fairlane 500’s Ford Interceptor V-8 “the finest in its class,” Ford’s advertisements went into detail about the engine’s power.

“The fuel and air mixture flows more freely, more precisely from the carburetor through a new direct intake manifold to deliver the most uniformly powerful charge possible to each combustion chamber,” one ad read. “Wedge-shape combustion chambers are machined to keep volume equal, extract the full power potential from every molecule of fuel.

The engine was made with longevity in mind. I find the details interesting. I don’t recall reading such detail in ads for most common cars, but maybe I haven’t been looking enough.

“Self-adjusting hydraulic valve lifters make possible new quietness and prolong valve life,” the ad read. “Also, relocation of valve ports helps prevent ‘hot spots’ that cause warping.

“The new Interceptor V-8 delivers maximum wheel-turning power not at racing speeds, but at ordinary, everyday driving speeds. You get greater agility with greater economy, too.

“After assembly, each Interceptor V-8 is electronically balanced while running under its own power. You get an engine that is the full equivalent in smoothness and quietness of the most expensive engines built, and you get it at a low Ford price!”
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