Projects Retractable Hard Top Fords - Are they losing their popularity?

Yesterday a friend and I drove out to a neighboring rural town to get as S10 transmission for a flathead build he has planned and the fellow that owned the place had at least 50 cars in that location and over 600 just down the road. The thing that caught my attention was a 58 Ford retractable that was obviously just good for a parts car but the guy said he's been trying to sell it for $500 and nobody seems to want it. It's even got a clean ***le. A 58 Ford nine inch rearend should be worth almost that much. I've heard other stories about retractable's selling what sounds cheap and I wonder if they are loosing their following.

 

This one has been up for a few months

 

that car is a hell of a lot of work to put back together. But yeah, I think interest in them is not as strong as it used to be.

 

I've got a 57 Chevy convertible that I've had waiting it's turn awhile. I hope their value doesn't tank to the degree that those Fords do.

 

They have always had a limited Market. Complicated to make work. That thing looks pretty rough. I'm surprised the Demolition Derby Guys haven't snapped that up at that price

 

The guy that has it is hoping to not have to s**** it but that's the business he's in.

 

the novelty of parking at a show with your top half way up probably fades pretty quick after you look at the ugly things with the tops up for a few years.

he's been trying to sell it for $500 and nobody seems to want it. is it listed on ebay? some sort of National Auto trader type of publication? anywhere? lots of reasons why things don't sell. how many people live within a hundred miles of his location? I got well over 3 million.

a 58 ford 4 door would sell quick at double that price around here.

 

It's a money pit. I seen more rust free and complete sell in SoCal for 3000.00. And even that was a money pit.
the problem is you can wait and find a nice one near 15k. Even nicer around 20k. Fully restored in the 32k. You have to wait it out.
For flippers is a bad deal

It's the same with 55-57 T-birds. Too many for sale. A lot dream prices going around and they don't seems to be rare. one at 3k or less would still be a money pit.

 

And yes in parts you will make some of it prob like 3k or right under that.
But you need to pay yourself besides the parts you are selling.
I parted a 57 and feel like I broke even with all the work to cut it up and ship some of it. But at least it went 90% to finish a bunch cool projects and I got what I needed for free.

 

Sort of an ugly duck …top mechanism nightmare if it quits…the novelty, not worth the h***le to most.

 

They make cool customs

 

They are not particularly good looking .

the retractable hardtop is cool as all get out .

but the novelty wears off .

restoring one is simply a money pit .

hence waning prices .


When I built my 69 Lincoln the “ Lincoln pricing “ on Lincoln specific parts got long in the tooth pretty Damn quick .

 

Yeah, the proportions on them were never quite right. They looked their best with the top down. Out of the three years, I always thought the '58s looked the best as the larger quad taillights disguised the bluntness of the rear styling treatment better than the paired round lights. That's also why so many had continental kits on them IMO, those covered up the awkward-looking panel between the lights but were no improvement style-wise.

As far as the reliability of them, that could no doubt be improved given the advances in electrical controls, servo motors, etc since those were built but would be a serious project to convert.

 

I think they look great.

imagine the windshield and top sunk a couple inches
Maybe they will get cheap enough I could ruin one

 

Saw this one for sale this morning.




https://barnfinds.com/retractable-hard-top-1957-ford-fairlane-skyliner/

 

They are still high dollar if restored and perfect. If Amos Minter did one it would be $150k. Same for the gl*** top Crown Vic’s. They bring the biggest $$$$ both restored and customs.
When showing 55-up Fords you need to write its most outstanding feature is “It’s not Chevrolet” gets a chuckle every time.

 

There’s a 60 t-bird near me for sale. It’s a project but is a factory sun roof/430 car.
That would be a great custom candidate.
I’m trying to ignore it

 

Wouldn't take much to make a "*******" Ranchero with a second-row seat.
Keep it simple. Not every 'truck' has to have a tailgate.

 

Unfortunately the '57, '58', 59 retractable hardtops were a tad short on smooth design. The '57 and '58 in particular, as they were nice as is, but then they had to raise the deck lid to make room for the top. Now, if they had made that with about a 5" chop maybe the outcome would have been different. The '59 is already squared off, so it doesn't look so bad. Just my humble opinion....

 

Ive thought the same thing.
or shorten the roof for a lift off hard top ranchero

 

Well that’s no Crown....

 

Yep. FB doesn’t have many choices for old cars when making ads.

 

A "Ranchero" with a lift-off Carson Top could knock off some of the "proportion ugly", too.
1-row or 2-row seats...... either way

 

So we need the beater the OP posted and a couple doors.
I’m in

hamb relay that thing to somewherein

 

I wouldn't say their popularity is "waning" because I don't think they were EVER very popular.... A maintenance/adjustment nightmare.

 

I have always loved the look of the 57 Ford. More so than the Tri five Chevies. 58 I hated, but now that they are well over sixty years old, I’m warming up to them.

Having said that, the retractable hardtop shave always ranked at the bottom of the desired body styles for those years, at least for me.

 

I had a '59, back in '66, and got the driver side wrecked. Couldn't justify the repairs, so I made a dune buggy out of it.

 

. There is an *** for every seat, just a few less for these.
I don't think there are over 5 of these near 100k.
You see these all day long for 20-35k and it get tiresome. There are just not 59 Chevy convertibles.
These threads about dreaming of cars people can't afford get tiresome also. Either buy the parts car, part it out. Move on. Or buy the parts car drop 10-15k to make a 20k car. Or buy the parts car and put in your yard as an "I'll build it someday"just like the current owner. Heck post it in the cl***ifieds for 1000.00 U pick up and make the easy flip. Do something.
this weekend I installed seats and sound deadener into my 57, went out for an hour or two drive in the '33 the wife drove, and did some wiring on the another '57. but this thread is still here?? What's my point? I just don't know anymore, just do something, anything.

 

I worked on some of these retractables when I worked in a restoration shop. They're neat, but they're tricky to make them work right, and fixing one that's missing parts will get very expensive, fast. It's hard to say what's left of this particular parts car, but for a guy who parts out old cars, $500 seems like a pretty good deal. If that was in my backyard, I'd consider it.

It looks beyond restoration for me (not impossible, but no longer practical) but it does appear to have some real good bits left on it.

Better yet, I'd offer the s****per $300 if I could spend a day or two pulling off all the rest of the good pieces and let him keep the hull to s****. It's going to have to get stripped anyway, no sense in dragging the hull home just to drag it back in a week.