1957 Ford Fairlane Convertible 500 Skyliner from The Lost Boys

In The Lost Boys, one of the cookier moments was when Sam (Corey Haim) went with Grandpa (Barnard Hughes) for a short "ride" in Grandpa's car, a 1957 Ford Fairlane Convertible 500 Skyliner with Retractable Hardtop.  If I remember correctly, Grandpa fired up the car only to have it backdown the driveway, idle it for a few minutes, and back into the garage.  That was Grandpa's secret in maintaining the car in tip top shape all those years.  Eventually, the car was put to use by Sam when he and the Frog brothers (Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander) rescued Michael (Jason Patric) from the vampires.  Other than that, I don't remember the car being any other scene.

The Skyliner model was introduced by Ford in 1957 as a full-size family car.  It was part of the Ford Fairlane 500 series and absorbed into the Ford Galaxie series in 1959.  At the time, Skyliners were equipped with a 292 cubic inch V-8 rated 145 hp at 4000 rpm.  They also had Holley two-barrel carburetors.

What made the Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner unique was the retractable hardtop metal roof.  Automatic mechanism brought the roof up and folded it neatly within a space in the trunk area.  Sadly, the complex mechanism was susceptible to failure and limited the usable trunk space.  Still, the Skyliner was very popular in its first year, selling 20,766 units.  Ateupwithmotor.com has a great historical look on the Ford Skyliner.


This video clip demonstrates the 1957 Ford Fairlane Convertible Skyliner's retractable hardtop. Check it out.

Pictures of Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner