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1958 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner Ready to Impress With Its Easy-to-Hide Hardtop

Unless you happen to belong to the rare breed of car auction aficionados' chances are you have no idea who Marty Nelson is. Or how extensive his collection happens to be. But we can tell you the character is quite the auction block regular and one of the creators (along with brother and dad) of the four-decades old Form-A-Feed, a company specialized in formulating tailored nutrition solutions for the livestock industry.
1958 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner 7 photos
Photo: Mecum Auctions
1958 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner1958 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner1958 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner1958 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner1958 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner1958 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner
And judging by Marty Nelson’s passion for collecting cars we are fairly sure the brand is quite the successful type. According to Mecum Auctions, Nelson is a longtime car aficionado and a prized collector who has been buying and selling cars through the auction house for years.

And at this year’s Kissimmee Summer Special taking place August 27-29 in Florida, he is headlining some of the best lots with part of his collection. We have already met the spectacular 1938 LaSalle Coupe Street Rod he is about ready to part ways with, and another star attraction from his roster might be this 1958 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner.

The model was produced just for model years 1957 to 1959 and its element of attraction was the special roof mechanism known as a “hide-away hardtop.” Such features were so uncommon back in the day that Ford did not even equip Continental, Lincoln, Mercury, or Edsel-branded models with it.

Instead it remained singular to the Blue Oval’s own models, and the Fairlane 500 Skyliner was just the second automobile in the world to have it installed, while also being the first coupe convertible car with a hardtop roof made out of more than one segment. This particular example, a middle-generation 1958 model year, was one of the 14,713 Fairlane units produced that year.

It will cross the auction block on its own power thanks to the 332 cubic inch (5.4-liters) Interceptor V8 that sits under the hood alongside its 4-barrel carburetor. The Cruise-O-Matic transmission should enable a smooth ride, while the Desert Beige exterior paint elegantly matches the Beige and Brown cloth and vinyl interior.
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About the author: Aurel Niculescu
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Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution.
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