57 Fliptop restoration

[JimNolan]

Has anyone restored a 57 Fliptop. I need to know what to look for when buying one for restoration. I know about the fenders and body mounts but I need to know what to look for with that big frame and the folding top mechanics. In other words, what do I walk away from. Thanks, Jim

[geraldchainsaw]

Hi Jim,    forgive the ignorance.  whats a flip top?

[JimNolan]

Gerry,
    Skyliner. Flip top is what we called them when I was growing up.  Jim

[57AGIN]

Jim:

I know diddley squat about what specifically to look for in the mechanics of a Skyliner, but we have a 57 Skyliner owner out here that is the local guru on Skyliners.  He has 3 or 4 of them.  One of them (his blue one) was in the Peterson Museum last year.  His red/white one is a consistent show winner in many West Coast events.  Unfortunately, he's not up on computers so you'll have to correspond with him via snail mail.  Send me an email to rlee@ovsd.org for his information.  He's a nice guy and very willing to share his expertise on the Skyliners.

[Ford Blue blood]

I have one and it does have the typical 57 rust but look at the trunk.  The floor is starting to have some parts repoped but not much.  The rear floor boards are unique, they are deeper as the seat for it and the Sunliner sit more straight up.  Look at the trunk lid fit, it should be even all the way around, if not it has been hit in the rear and that is a real pain to get square again.  The gas tank is unique to the retractable, a repop is available.  The door and the short quarter trim is unique to the retractable as are the vent windows.  Nice part, the top, trunk lid are the same for 57, 58 and I think 59 but not 100% on the 59.  All the switches, relays, motors, acuators and operating parts are the same for all three years.  I believe the frame is shared with the Sunliner but would not bet on it.  Buy the book for the top, you can not live without it!

[Lou]

These are very expensive cars to restore, buy one all ready done, it will be cheaper in the long run. I live in the northeast, the 57 retractable is common at shows here and a really nice one can be bought for under $20,000, which is  what it would cost you to restored one if you did most of the labor yourself. With that said, the frame is retrack only item but was used 57/58/59, there is a change in the top switches in mid 1958, used the later switches (61-66 Bird use many of the same switches) . There was a lot of trouble with the 57 and early 58 when new.

[JPotter57]

Lou is correct about the switches and relays being differnet from mid `58 up...better setup.  By the time they got it working right in `59, they quit building them..
I think nice retracts are going for a bit more tha $20k though, closer to the $35-40 range...Nice Custom sedans are in the $20-30 range now, even higher for excellent examples.

[Lou]

I have a dealer client that has 3 nice 57 retrackables he offered me all three for $65,000. Email me at hotmail... Vehicleone, and I'll give you his number. Might be a good chance for you to make a few bucks. The market for 50s cars in the northeast is really soft. The cars are in Freeport Maine.

[JimNolan]

Lou,
  Chances of me talking my wife into investing 65K in 3 cars are about the same as John McCain getting into the white house. She'd have me committed. I was thinking about getting one that needed fixing to give me something to work on. I figured if I could pick one up for around 5K I'd just be locked out of the house for a month, not killed.
                          Jim

[Ford Blue blood]

Jim,  Start talking cause McCain will make it...but that is whole nother discussion.  The market is soft all over, prices are down and now is a good time to buy if you can sit and hold.  Like you I have to buy low and work my butt off to get the piece finished!  Good luck, mine was 6K but the whole thing was there and has very little "retract only" rust!