History Question about 1958 Fords.

Hope that I got this in the right place.Just curious about why there are not many threads on 58 Fords?(Maybe I just missed them)Were they not very popular,or just not many produced?Had a nice one,and like a damn fool,I let it get away from me.Thanks for any info.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

There was a pretty hard recession on during the 1958 model year, which means all car production was down in '58, so there are fewer of them. Not as popular with customizers either, although they can be very pretty cars done right.

 

I love '58 Fords! I guess it's because my folks had a '58 Country Sedan in the early 60s and my uncle had a Custom 300 2 dr sedan in same time period. Two other families on our block also had '58 Country Sedans

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Butt ugly.
I had one I was going to convert to a 57 because the 58 is so ugly but I ending up trading it off.

 

The '58 wasn't ugly... and it came with FE power...

The '58 Skyliner was the best looking of the bunch IMO because the styling broke up the somewhat awkward short top/long deck look these cars had. The '59 ran a close second. The '57 only looked good with the top down and/or from certain angles; it never looked good from the rear....

 

I certainly don't think they're ugly. I like them better than a 1959; mind you, I like 1941 Fords too...

 

Around Minneapolis where I grew up, they rusted so bad the headlights fell out of the fenders. I don't think many survived in the northern states where salt was used because of the rust issues.

 

Shoulda just built a pretty 58....

 

my brother bought one brand new ,it was a piece of crap .traded it for a 56 pontiac .

 

Opinions vary, of course.....but as mentioned by Squawblow in post #2, the recession of '58 thru '61 took it's toll on car sales numbers.....and in combination with the ...ah..ah...ahem...'controversial' styling of the '58 models......and the rust issues of the FOMOCO products of the era....not many of those puppies survived.

Interestingly, 1957 was one of only two years (the other was '59) in which Ford sales exceeded Chevrolet since 1937. 1959 was a very tough year to decide between them...stylingwise...now there are some butt ugly cars, both Chevy and Ford.

Today, of course, a '57 Chevy is riding high.......it was billed as "Sweet, Smooth and Sassy" in the ads of the time.......

By far I prefer '57 Fords over '58, but I would consider a '58 Custom 2 door post.

You couldn't run fast enough to give me a '57 thru '59 Retractable hardtop....they are seriously deformed cars, in addition to being maintenance nightmares.

 

And 1959 won all the Best Styling Awards from the auto mags. The pure design of the 57 was made heavier in 58 with the dual headlamps and quad taillamps but it was the style of the times. Then the 59 won all the awards with its gun tube fins and monster pie pan taillamps.

 

I prefer the 58 to the 59. I can't stand a 59 ford car. I actually thinking about buy a 58 I saw on CL.

 

At one time, I did not care for the 58's either, but I have really grown to appreciate the styling of the time. In fact I really appreciate the look now so much I started working on a mild custom based on a 58 Skyliner. With the right little tricks along with colors and stance, they can be made to work pretty well as a custom in my opinion, but as you stated, opinions vary.

 

I may have overstated the case against '58 models... I am ok with the frontend treatment, I like the headlights on '58 better, it's the taillight arrangement I most object to on '58s.

And, I prefer the '57 Fairlane 500 & base Custom model side trim to it's '58 equivalent, but like the Fairlane 300 better in '58. But considering they are basically the same car, and the scarcity of both years, a good one of either is worthy of consideration.

The side view of the retractable is kinda ok, in my opinion, it's the blunt rear end that I find less appealing......but, that's just me and I have absolutely no quarrel with anyone on this topic.

Best wishes with your project

 

Hi all.Thanks for the reply`s,and satisfying my curiosity about them.Maybe one day when I am a little more able dollar wise I will look for another one to play with.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

In the east...'57 and '58 Fords came along at the beginning of the period when road salt began to be used VERY heavily. These cars had built in salt traps, especially around the lights, and started to show gaping holes when pretty young. We had a used one that was only a few years old, and the front end was already about half bondo. JC Whitney sold fiberglass fenders for these very early on, the only ones I have seen advertised mainly as a rust cure rather than for racing. As they became used cars, cheap repairs rapidly became impossible because all used fenders were also junk and the rust was starting to get into places harder to repair anyhow. They went to near extinction very early...same disappearing trick that Vegas pulled decades later!

 

Hey Bruce.......in addition to the copious rust issues with the Vega, it also suffered mightily from extremely poor engineering. They were crap cars destined for an early grave even if they hadn't rusted so badly.......but you probably know all that....just want to add to your Vega comment for the young 'uns.

 

My father worked af Ford's Atlanta assembly plant from '52 to '82. When the '58s came out, he described them as looking like a largemouth bass on wheels. They were bad to rust out even here in GA where road salt is not an issue. It seemed like all of them we saw on the road back in the day had at least one broken taillight lens--the lenses protrudes too far from the body and were prone to getting broken. This was especially a problem with station wagons. The '58 sedan delivery (last year Ford made a full size sedan delivery) used '57 taillights. They just kept building '57 sedan deliveries and put '58 front sheet metal on them.

 

When I was very young, a service station near where I lived had a workers red 57 Ford with a 58 front end. Thought the front end was just bent up in a wreck, but maybe he just liked it better that way.

 

AAAAHHH, that explains an ad I saw for a 58 sedan delivery. It had a 58 front clip and 57 tail lights. Lippy

 

That is common on low volume model production. '51/'52 Chevy sedan deliveries used '49/'50 rear fenders/quarter panels. Cadillac 75 Series Limo in '49 used the entire '46/'48 body....etc., etc. Too expensive to retool for limited build volume.

 

It wasn't a tooling issue as the wagon used the 'matching' styling. Both the Ranchero and the sedan delivery used the '57 rear end styling in '58 as Ford was apparently aware of the issue with the taillight lenses getting broken. Only the wagon got the 'real' '58 rear styling. The '58 wagon tailgate was considerably thicker at the top edge and hung down nearly 6" more when open, about even with the bottom of the bumper, so you really had to pay attention if backed up to a curb or low loading dock.

 

Actually the '58 Custom 300 tudor post has always been one of my personal favorites. 1958 was also the first year for recirculating-ball steering box which was an improvement over previous steering boxes.

 

I guess I fail to understand how the '58 taillights were any more a "problem" for Sedan delivery and Ranchero if they weren't for a Wagon.

You may be correct that it wasn't a tooling issue in this case, but I think it more likely a cost saving move on utility vehicles.

But they are what they are for whatever reason.

 

Car companies had to change something year to year, the 57's were a huge success with something like a record 23 new models. So the 58's got different lights front and rear, grilles, bumpers. My 58 ranchero is fun at car shows and cruise nights, there is always someone talking about the 57 rear. Mark

 

I wanted a 57 and settled for a 58...now 14 years later I'm still playing with it and glad I bought it. (Still would like a 57 tho )


-LUKEY-

 

To all who have posted to my question.Thanks to all.I have learned a bunch about the 58`s.Hope to learn more.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

I have a '57 Tbird, '64 Tbird, '04 Tbird, '59 Skyliner, '63 Galaxie XL and my '58 Sunliner is my favorite of them all. Gets the most looks also.

 

And a '58 Buick ain't?!

 

No. It may be Baroque and Ostentatious.....but not ugly