Text by Patrick Bell.
Summer is officially here, so let’s take some time to look at convertibles, the ultimate four wheeled summer vehicle. There is a good selection from the fifties, so grab your sunshade and we will get started.
Today’s first photo is a very nice, new looking ’53 Lincoln Capri Special Custom, the only convertible for the year with the Lincoln name, and one of 2,372 produced. 1953 was Ford Motor Company’s 50th anniversary and this model was at the top of their lineup. It was equipped with a 317.5 cubic inch V8, and had a base list price of $3699, which made it the most expensive and least popular Lincoln of the year.
Chrysler did not produce a convertible in the Imperial line for ’53, so this New Yorker Deluxe from California was the top of the line drop top for the year. It came with a 331 cubic inch V8, and this one had the optional wire wheels. The base list price was $3945, and there were only 950 units built.
Here is one from a low price manufacturer, a ’52 Ford Crestline Sunliner. This one looked close to new, was very sharp in red with whitewall tires, and was from California. The Crestline series cars came standard with the 239 cubic inch flathead V8, and this one’s base list was $2027. The Sunliner was always a very popular seller, and for this year over 22,500 were sold.
Now we will check out one from a medium priced line, a ’50 Oldsmobile Futuramic 98 Deluxe from Ohio. If you look through the dirt this one was in good condition, apparently it had been traveling on the still common dirt roads of the day. It had a 303 cubic inch “Rocket” V8, the list price was $2772, and 3,925 were produced. That made it the least popular and most expensive of the two Oldsmobile convertibles for the year.
The first version of the first generation of the car that would become America’s Sports Car. Chevrolet’s Corvette got off to a slow start when it was introduced in 1953, as it took several years before it was selling in any numbers. This one was a ’53-’55 model, which in the first three years total production was less than 5,000 units. The ’53’s, ’54’s, and a few of the ’55’s came with the 235 cubic inch “Blue-Flame” six cylinder, but the 265 “Turbo-Fire” V8 was introduced in ’55, and that was the change that gave the car some respect as a sports car. And, as they say, the rest is history.
These folks were enjoying a nice day cruising in their convertible. It was a ’54 Buick Special and was close to new with a ’54 issue Ohio license plate. Buick offered droptops in all four of their series that year, and the Special was the least expensive with a list of $2563, and the most popular with 6,135 of them finding a new home. A 264 cubic inch V8 was standard on the Specials.
This one was a Buick cousin, a ’54 Pontiac Star Chief DeLuxe. It was equipped with a 268 cubic inch Straight Eight engine that was in its last year, a ’56 issue Iowa license plate with a ’57 renewal tab, spotlight/mirror combo, and a bug shield. The base list price was $2630, and was the only convertible in Pontiac’s lineup that year.
A wedding getaway car is what this scenario looked like. Everyone was waiting for the bride and groom to emerge from the church. And quite a car it was, a new looking ’54 Cadillac Series 62, which, of course, was at the upper end of the GM spectrum. It was second to the Eldorado, and had a list of $4404, which was $338 less than the Eldorado’s $4738. It was the most popular with 6,310 units built, nearly three times the Eldorado’s 2,150.
Mercury introduced the Montclair as the new top of the line model in ’55 as part of a restyle. The featured one looked in good condition, considering it was at least four years old going by the New Jersey license plate that was first issued in ’59. It was the only drop top offered for the year, had a base list of $2712, and sold 10,668 copies.
The newly restyled ’55 models with the available new 265 “Turbo-Fire” V8 changed the way people looked at the low priced Chevrolet line. This Bel Air was the only full size convertible offered, and with a list price of $2206 over 41,000 buyers liked it well enough to take one home with them. The driver was a James Dean look alike.
Ford also debuted a restyle in ’55, as well as the new “Fairlane” series, where this V8 powered Sunliner was now based. Sales for the year were just shy of 50,000, with a list price very near Chevrolet’s at $2224. The image looked like a fall day, and the owner of the Sunliner was ready for winter with his snow tires mounted, yet taking advantage of the warm day by going on a top down drive.
We are back in the medium price range with a sharp looking ’56 Buick Roadmaster, the top of the line and most expensive Buick for the year with a base list of $3704. As was the custom during this time period, they offered a convertible model in all four trim series. This one came in third place with 4,354 produced, besting only the Super model.
Here is America’s favorite classic car; a ’57 Chevrolet Bel Air. This one was dressed out nicely with front bumper guards, whitewall tires, spinner type wheel covers, an outside mirror, and a rear mounted antenna. It was the only full size convertible, and was available with a six cylinder, 265 V8, or the new 283 cubic inch V8 in several different tunes. Over 47,500 of these found new homes with a base list price of $2511.
A happy looking couple going for a ride in a top up ’57 Ford Fairlane 500 Sunliner. Another restyle helped make this a very good year for the Sunliner with over 77,700 produced at a base list of $2502. The standard power plant was a six cylinder, with three V8s of 272, 292, and 312 cubic inches optional. This one had a California license plate and more than likely, that was the location as well.
Chevrolet was the convertible king in ’59, with over 72,700 full size units sold. This V8 powered Impala was very sharp in black with red interior, and had a starting list price of $2849 for the six cylinder model. I can’t confirm the license plate, but it and the rest of the image looks like California. The subdivision consisted of ranch style homes and was all very close to new. Across the street on the left, a ’61 Plymouth Custom or Sport Suburban 9-passenger wagon, and to the right a ’61 Dodge Dart wagon.
Thanks for joining us and have a great day!
This is a fun selection–and I enjoy opportunities to see the license plate and know the car’s home state.
None of them seem to be more than a few years old, and the shiny paint and the (mostly-) color photography really go together well.
I know there are production breakdowns (“3% of 1957 Chryslers were convertibles”), but I’d be curious about by-stage numbers (in 1959, 7% of California’s auto registrations were convertibles; Florida’s 6%, Maine’s less than 1%”). Also, I still remember the “the last convertibles” fuss of the mid-late-1970s; interesting to see how that turned out!
The C1 Corvette is most likely a 1954 model. All but a handful of the 1955 Corvettes sported a V8 engine with a capital V in the CorVette lettering, which the photo car does not have.
Only 300 1953 models were sold, early examples of which had different hubcaps, an inward-opening gas filler door, and no outside rearview mirror, so just by the numbers, this is probably a 1954 model.
I love the ’57 Ford ! .
-Nate
Me too!
That ’57 Ford is similar to the car Kirk Douglas (playing a Beverly Hills architect: wife played by Barbara Rush) drives in the haunting 1960 marital drama “Strangers When We Meet”. He runs into sexy neighbor “Maggie”, played by Kim Novak, at the local school bus stop when they are dropping off their kids, and offers to drive her home… Maggie’s car we later see is a Ford Falcon…
Great movie that shows the affluent Mid – Century Modern
Southern California lifestyle, it’s on YouTube…
The “59 Chevy” looks so happy!!
So you thought James Dean on first seeing that picture also. Definitely the James Dean hairstyle being copied.
What a wonderful selection of convertibles and thanks for posting. I grew up in the backseat of convertibles starting with our new 1955 Olds Starfire.
55 Alfa Romeo Gulietta Spider.