Projects BIGREDTODD'S 1961 STARLINER THREAD

I've loved the Starliners ever since I saw my first one in the movie Hollywood Knights.

 

Great car! One of my closeted favorites.

 

My first glimpse of any kind of alloy wheels was Torq Thrusts on a '61 Starliner. I was like a fresh-hatched, baby duck being imprinted by my first sight of Momma.

 

The 352 HiPo was the first shot in reigniting the horsepower war that had raged in the '50s before the AMA banned racing in '57. What made this motor unique was it was the first designed-from-the-ground-up race motor to come out of Detroit. Featuring many special parts not found on 'common' production versions like a beefed-up block, crank and rods, machined combustion chambers and no provision for hydraulic lifters. While it shared the same architecture with its production brother, every part was for increased power and durability in race use. Prior to this one, race motors were based on normal production versions with added-on bits to bring them up to race spec.

There was a large political element to all this. Henry 1 had refused to join the AMA, and it wasn't until after his death that Ford became a member when Henry 2 was talked into joining. When the ban came down, Ford being the new kid, they strictly followed its mandate and dropped all factory support for race teams. Ford also killed all further factory performance development at Robert McNamara's direction, also part of the ban. A brief history of one of the reasons for the ban can be found here... 1957 NASCAR Grand National Series - Wikipedia This, along with Congressional pressure because of rising highway deaths, caused the AMA to do the ban before Congress could take action.

The problem was that GM and Chrysler didn't kill their HiPo programs. They quietly moved them to a 'back door' status and re-named them as 'police' or 'heavy duty' applications. By '59, Ford knew they'd been had and with McNamara's departure to Washington to join LBJ's administration as defense secretary, Henry 2 turned the engineers loose. The 352/360HP was the first product out of their shop, and in 1962 Henry 2 announced that Ford was openly returning to NASCAR, effectively ending the ban.

The FEs legacy in racing shouldn't be questioned. Success in NASCAR (where it went head-to-head with the Hemi), NHRA (with wins in Top Fuel, Funny Car, AFX, Gas, Super Stock and Stock) and SCCA/LeMans is unmatched by any other motor.

And don't think that 360 HP is the limit for a 352.... how about 433HP with unported heads? Lykins Motorsports Ford 352 FE Dyno Mule Overview - YouTube

 

Years and years ago I bought a 58 fairlane 2dr hardtop sitting in the weeds by a Derby gas station for $15.00. It had a 352 Police interceptor in it. At least that's what the air cleaner lid said. Remember when old cars were everywhere for nothing?

 

Thanks for the history lesson, Crazy Steve. Can’t learn enough about the venerable FEs.

 

Anybody have DEC 1960 hot rod magazine Ed's ET ought to Be in there...

 

Lippy, In 1974, I bought a 63-1/2 Galaxy XL, 406- 385 hp, 4 speed, for 50 bucks. It was rough around edges and had 91,000 on the clock. A guy I worked with, came in one morning and asked if I was interested in a Galaxy. It was shortly after the first gas crunch, and people were wanting fuel efficient cars. I was driving my 65 Falcon with a 289 and 4 speed (that I still drive) and told him, why would I want one of those? He went on to tell me it was a 406, that his Mother bought new and drove it 8 years before selling it to another lady she worked with ( they were both Barmaids). The lady said it quit on her a night or so before and she just wanted rid of it. The guy rode a motorcycle , around a 250, and met me at the car, in a rough part of town. We loaded his bike in the back of my 65 F100 ( that I still own) and flat towed it with a chain the 35 miles out here. It started right up, and I took it down the road, and just barely made it up my short hill. Turns out 1/2 of the facing was gone on one side of the clutch. Since those cars had very little value , I parted it out. I still have the generator, starter, bell housing, flywheel and clutch. The cast headers have been on the 65 pickup since 1975.

 

Wow you are so lucky! That is a very nice car. I have always lusted after a 61 Starliner. Black with a red interior. I have never been able to find one.

 

I had a 332 PI in my stash of Ford stuff, lots of 390 and 406 parts too, nice rare heads, I had to let that all go cheap in 1978 after my near-fatal car crash and divorce. I got served the papers in a hospital bed... I thought she was the TV lady coming to set it up...

 

Really enjoying all the stories & comments. I have been (unsuccessfully) trying to embed a run video right after I got the engine swapped...everything seems to be different with using the embed function. Oh well, here's a short link to a short run video:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/CAk22k95zF6rJXJg7

Eventually, the Demon Jr. carburetor that came with the engine started to give me problems, so I rebuilt it. Never was quite right, and I'm not a carburetor guy. Edelbrock carbs have never (NEVER) given me an issue, so I put a 650 AVS2 on it with a fuel regulator. Works great, no more issues.

I had also previously cleaned out the original fuel tank, but after putting it all back together it leaked at the sender ring seal. Another sender, seal, still leaking. After reading lots of mixed reviews, I decided I'd risk buying a new tank. Best price was on Amazon, and at the time the tank was under $200. Also bought another new sender, with the correct 3/8" line size. Pictures below may be of interest to the '60-'62 Galaxie crowd:

Here's the tank listing from Amazon:




Here's the actual label from the manufacturer's packaging, if you are against getting a good price on Amazon. They are available for up to twice as much elsewhere, for the same part number.



As you can see below, the tank is a great match. Dimensionally identical, with the same visual cues. Very happy with it. The ring/seal was still a trick to get set right, but it doesn't leak. This is a vented tank, which was quite a significant point of discussion in the reviews.

 

I had mentioned that this was a long road, and other projects (and life, in general) interrupted progress. Sometimes you just need to take a break and reset.

In 2018, I decided to sell my '60 F-100 (VIA the HAMB), in order to buy another first-series Riviera that would be more user friendly for myself and my family. The F-100, when it left my possession after nearly 25 years:


And the two (yes, two) Rivieras that I bought in early 2019. I sold the green '64, and ran with the white '63.





But back to the Starliner...

 

Having my car world back in balance, I was ready to start getting serious with procurement of materials to move forward with the Starliner. Satisfied with the mechanical baseline that was now in place, namely being able to yard drive and start-up on demand, I decided to take on the interior, weatherstripping, and rust control, so I brought it home once again to dig in...I have a trailer, yes, but might as well use a tow from AAA from time to time



I was pleasantly surprised to find that, despite a few rodent's nests & leaky windows, there was no sheet metal repair that was necessary. A handful of pinholes, but nothing was really compromised. I overkilled the pinholes with POR-15 repairs, which will be fine until I find myself which limitless wealth and a sadistic need for perfection.



Trunk was scaly, but solid...again, overkill with the POR-15. The trunk will be as highly detailed as practical. I am fortunate to have all 5 correct Kelsey-Hayes 15" steel wheels & the original jack hardware. The surrounding area is dusty and dirty, but the effective areas had a very thorough cleaning & treatment with marine clean and metal prep, prior to the POR-15. Everything will be blacked out when I cross that bridge.

 

I bought one of those tanks and was less than pleased with the sender opening. Not quite the same, it took some screwing around to get it to seal. Made worse because I have a '60 convertible which was a one-year-only, model specific tank and access to the sender with the 'wrong' tank when installed was terrible.

 

I own its brother. 1962 500XL 390

 

Even on mine, access would be challenging to say the least with the tank installed...I couldn't really pinpoint the issue with the fitment of the ring/gasket/sender. I had a few rings, 2 senders, and several gaskets. Even still, the last tank I had boiled out cost more than this and leaked at the seam.

 

I used that blue permatex gasoline resistant sealer on a gas tank vent that was hard to seal

 

Every car that I have gotten in deep with has been an entirely different journey. This is the first time that I have completely gutted out an interior (except for the dashboard - I had to draw the line somewhere). I'm talking windows glass out window regulator repair, replacing door lock assemblies, etc. As it turns out, I would have plenty of time.

Just a couple pictures during this process, as it was very time consuming but not very photogenic. After a few experiments, I landed on "0000" steel wool and WD-40 as the magic combination to take the haze off my original tinted glass. I REALLY didn't want to replace all the glass, and after a fair amount of elbow grease, the glass is clear & will reflect at least a feel of originality.

Before (cleaned but still hazy around the edges:



After:





I did have to replace the vent windows, which were out of the frame anyway for weatherstrip replacement. Seemed very silly not to replace them right now. We were able to match the tint color pretty well. I was able to source NOS vent pivots, latch levers, and spring/push botton assemblies.



At this point, I decided to bite the bullet and pull the front and rear glass to really get things moving. I was able to locate two windshields (re-using my original back glass) through my former employer & local glass house. If you are in the vicinity, Don's Mobile Glass in Modesto is where you want to take your old car. One of there sources had two OLD windshields on the shelf. I bought them both, to be safe. I don't have pictures at this point, but I pulled the glass in my garage, and thoroughly cleaned the glazing surface.

 

Good story, but LBJ didn’t get elected until November of 1960, and didn’t get sworn in until January of 1961, when the 61 models had been in the showrooms for a third of the year already. Thus, the 60 and 61 Ford performance versions were actually done under Mac’s reign.

 

from Motortrend+ they have all the old Hot Rod mags online...low 14's at 101 mph in 1960...

 

I'll get to the sequence of assembly later, but I had been putting off the headliner. I'll be honest, I was dreading it. I had decided to do it myself, as it was the cheapest piece of fabric (and easiest to replace) in the entire interior. That didn't change the fact that I had never done a headliner before. Colin Kleer's restoration guide, as well as various youtube videos really helped iron out my questions.

But first, I removed all the rest of my interior garnish moldings and matched the virgin paint as best I could...

Crown Powercoating in Hughson, CA really did me right on the quality and price. I cannot recommend gettting these powdercoated strongly enough. I would have almost certainly ruined the paint if the cheaper BIGREDTODD had won the argument.

All 15 pieces:



This is the color code that we found, after a lengthy search (you will see how it looks in subsequent posts when parts start to come back together):

 

Actually, we're both wrong. JFK was elected president, LBJ was vice. But McNamara did leave to be Sec of Defense, although I think he may have been overruled on this by Henry 2 before he left. And the lead times on the HiPo stuff was a LOT shorter. Supposedly the fabled SOHC was developed in a mere 90 days once Ford got wind of the Hemi. The tweaks to the 352 wouldn't have taken that long...

 

Just something about those big 60’s land yacht hipos that trip my triggers.

 

It's funny...this car is about the same size as my '67 442. They look big in pictures, but they aren't big yachts by any measure IMHO. In fact, this car, my 442, and my Rivieras were all equally challenging to back up my curved driveway through my single-width garage door

 

Before I got going on the headliner, I decided it would make everything far more pleasant to have clean carpet down. This was my first frustration with SMS, or ACC. Who cares where the fault lies. The first carpet kit was ordered cut and sewn (as recommended). Numerous fit and quality issues, but they made it right. Unfortunately, the replacement they sent was for a 4-speed, so it had a bump in the trans tunnel. The next replacement was another cut & sewn kit, which I didn't even open. 4th time is a charm, and all the shipping back and forth was covered by someone other than me.

Frustrating as it was, I had plenty of time to lay down sound deadening material:



And the carpet ultimately was worked into place, with the help of some steam, some beer, and lots of patience before gluing it all down

 

I bought a new '61 Ford Starliner from San Jose Ford, just a stone's throw from St. Claire Cadillac, my employer.
Red Starliner had a 352, 3 on the tree. (T85 box?) Had it 3 days, got a phone call to come in with the car, sign some papers...
First wife drove it in, guys helped her out, took the keys, and escorted her inside where they presented her with a paper stating "Credit default". (Whaaat???)
By the time it got straightened out, I caved and bought a '62 Impala, black SS w/409 4 speed.
One of two Chevys I ever owned... LOL

 

Brain fart. Happens more frequently as you age. I was 9 when JFK was elected. I remember that to some extent, but I remember of the FOMOCO “history” from the time more clearly.

I guess it was current events then

 

The '61 was shrunk considerably compared to the '60. The '60 was overwidth in a few midwest states (as per their state regulations) and there was brief talk of requiring clearance lights! LOLOL.... The feds stepped in and squelched that...

 

My brother's 61. We did a lot of work on it. It had a 428 tri/power and cast headers. As his health declined he thought it best to sell it so his wife wouldn't have to. He died less tan a year later. Yours will be really nice!

 

Not really the case, unless you're thinking about Lincolns.

'60-64 Galaxies all had very similar footprints +/- a few inches. I'd expect that 1964 was the longest model year. '60-61 Starliners share their glass, also (except for the back glass).

Under 4000 lbs fully dressed was a pretty light "full sized" car.