Ford’s Class of 1958

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The 1958 Ford seems to be regarded as an off-year among enthusiasts, but it’s still worth a closer look to us. Let’s dive in.

 

Fairlane 500 Skyliner

Nineteen-fifty-seven was a banner year for Ford, with an all-new vehicle design and some exciting new models, including the Ranchero pickup and the Skyliner retractable hardtop. This was also one of the rare years in which Ford officially beat Chevrolet for the top sales spot in the USA (though there are grounds to dispute that). For 1958, the successful design was given a styling makeover and other updates, but the result didn’t seem to find the same favor as the ’57 original. Of course, your mileage may vary. The ’58 has its fans as well.

 

The semi-perimeter frame introduced in 1957 was carried forward for 1958 with only detail changes. While the base-model Custom 300 and the station wagons were built on a 116-in wheelbase, the Fairlane/Fairlane 500 platform was slightly longer at 118 inches. One extremely short-lived extra-cost option ($156) was Ford-Aire, a self-leveling air suspension system with an air bag at each wheel and an engine-driven 300-psi compressor. Only a few were produced before the bug-ridden system was cancelled.

 

Fairlane 500 Sedan 

The big news on the mechanical front for ’58 was the introduction of the FE engine family, available in 332 and 352 cubic-inch versions including the 352 Interceptor rated at 300 hp. (See our feature on the remarkable FE family here.) The 223 CID inline six and 292 CID Y-Block V8 were continued. Along with the standard three-speed manual gearbox, two different optional automatic transmissions were offered: the two-speed Fordomatic and the three-speed, dual-range Cruise-O-Matic. Initially, the Cruise-O-Matic was available only with the 332 CID and 352 CID Interceptor V8s.

 

Fairlane Club Victoria 

The ’58 Fords featured quad headlamps, naturally—it was the Motor City’s hot styling trend of the year. Reportedly, some of the ’58 styling updates were performed not just for aesthetics but to improve panel rigidity, including the bi-level rear deck and the simulated air scoop channel (with chrome front trim) pressed into the hood. We can’t help noting that while the ’58 front and rear end treatments are quite different, the ’57 and ’58 are remarkably similar in profile view. The ’58 Fairlane (above) is a bit of an outlier among ’50s Fords with its distinctive sweep-panel side trim. In contrast, the base Custom 300 and the top-of-the-line Fairlane 500 each employed a more traditional Ford-style theme.

 

Fairlane 500 Sunliner 

Just as in ’57, Ford offered two convertibles in the Fairlane 500 line: the retractable Skyliner and the more conventional cloth-top Sunliner. The Sunliner outsold the Skyliner by better than two-to-one, perhaps due to its more useful packaging, but more likely due to its considerably lower price: $2,650 vs. $3,163. Ford sales overall were not great in ’58, a recession year for the industry, as Chevrolet raced ahead by 150,000 cars.

There was definitely one success story in the Ford lineup for ’58: the new four-seat Thunderbird, which totally eclipsed the two-place ’55-’57 T-Birds, in sales anyway. Volume climbed 77 percent in the first year, then continued to increase through the next two years of the original product cycle, ’59 and ’60. With a base price of $3,681, by far the most expensive product with a Ford badge, the T-Bird was no doubt highly profitable, too. It’s fair to say the four-seat 1958 Thunderbird launched the personal-luxury class.

 

Thunderbird Coupe 

7 thoughts on “Ford’s Class of 1958”

  1. `58 Fords—especially a certain Fairlane convertible—see a lot of action in the film, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

  2. The ’57 was a nice design. They mucked it up for ’58 with a sagging chrome mouth and weird side trim. The trunk and taillights look like they were meant to echo the new Edsel. Not an improvement.

  4. I bought a black 58 300 Custom sedan that was parked inside a building in northeast Oregon for thirty years. While trying to get it running I came across numerous holes in the dashboard that were not from the factory. Upon further investigation I determined the car was a former police car from Lake Elsa-nor CA. After a bit of patience she started right up and ran great . The 292 was upgrated with a four barrel intake and Holley carb. Dual exhaust made it sound much better. Finally sold it to a gentleman in Delaware who had one while he was a Secret Service agent back in the day.

  5. The fact that Ford kept the simpler and more readily accessible taillight design from the 57 Ranchero and Sedan Deliveries through 58 proves that someone at Ford was aware that the new double-wide taillights were a stupid idea and that business owners and delivery drivers would hate the new look. Unfortunately wagon lovers/owners had to live with leaning over the tailgate and getting bruised ribs until 59.

  6. My dad worked for Western Electric (a division of AT&T). When the Decatur ILL pilot plant closed in mid ’58 we were transferred to Indianapolis. The US was in recession in mid ’58. We were building a new house in Indy, and dad found that he could save a lot of money by hauling building materials for the contractor. So he bought the cheapest ’58 ford Ranchwagon he could find. It was a light tan 2 door with no options except the police package. Not even a radio It was left over from an order by the Marion County sheriff’s department, and I think dad got it for dealer cost. Police package: 361 cu. in V8 (300hp) and a 3-speed manual trans w/ overdrive. Special police order 9 in ford rear end with 4.11 gears. With the OD locked out it was an absolute rocket ship ! Dad had no idea. I was 17 and it was the ultimate street sleeper. When the house was finished Dad traded it on a new ’59 Olds flattop. But I had a fun summer with that ’58.

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