Ford’s Other Ways to Get Your Rays…

Despite the fact that I love my ’39 Mercury convertible, I’m not really a drop top guy, per se. I was actually looking for a ’39 coupe but the price was right on my open car. Thinking upon it further, I’ve always preferred the profile and roofline of a steel coupe over it’s soft top version. So what if you want your car in a hardtop but you still like get some sunshine? Ford designers really took this challenge to heart, and throughout the 1950s they offered various solutions that are all prime Custom material for a crowd stand out.

1. 1954 Ford Crestline Skyliner
Only offered for one year, as a very pricey option for 1954, the 1/4″ thick green tinted Plexiglass acrylic roof insert offered big open views from a closed car. Unfortunately, even with the snap-in shade that was provided, the inside of these cars would get cooking hot on a sunny day. There was the Mercury Sun Valley version as well which lasted through 1956…

2. 1955-56 Ford Crown Victoria Skyliner:
New improved version with thick chrome B pillar trim and the roof panel now offered in a darker ‘smoke grey’ shade to knock back some of the sun’s heat over the earlier light green version. Unfortunately the additional tinting didn’t help much in a strong Summer environment, especially if you didn’t spend time to keep snapping in the sunshade. The only other hope for cool comfort you might have was optional (and pricey) factory Air Conditioning.

3. 1957-59 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner:
Yes, after years of soft sales the Skyliner name was back again, but this time as a fully retractable “Hide-Away” hardtop. I still think they are one of the coolest models Ford offered in the late 50s. The limited sales again was for a similar reason as earlier Skyliners- The option was expensive, but now coupled with a complex and trouble-prone folding top mechanism that took up nearly the entire trunk when it was lowered.

4. 1960 Ford Thunderbird:
Yes, a mechanical cranking metal sunroof was a 1 year option for the 1960 Thunderbird, although I’m not sure why it wasn’t offered sooner, considering that Golde sunroofs were a rare aftermarket offering for T-Birds going back years before that.
Still, metal sliding sunroofs remained uncommon on American cars till the mid to late 60s.