I'm about ready to tackle a '61 Starliner with a stuck 390 and 3-speed stick with OD. Plan A is to rebuild the 390, but if it turns out to have gone to FE heaven, I'm thinking of using a Ford 4.6L from Summit Racing with a 4R790W auto transmission. Has anyone used one of these Summit combos in a '61 Starliner, or otherwise? Thanks for any and all input.
Not one from Summit, but my Dad is in the middle of putting a 5.4 in a 63 1/2 Galaxie 500. He has his original 390 car still and a 406 car. Steven
No, but a friend put a 427 SOHC in his '61 Starliner (my favorite big Ford car) - fits well, so the later "cammer" should fit.
those 4r790w transmissions are a beast, it is a big car so you should be able to fit the trans. should make a good car
Plan on one from Summit in the Merc. Can't beat the price for everything you get! 4.6's have lasted years in taxis, cruisers, and punks with Mustangs, so you'll get a good long, reliable life with yours!
Sounds like an ambitious plan. I wish you good luck with that install if you decide to go that route. Have you actually put down a parts/cost list in writing? Ive done that before on different projects. Complete the build in your mind and list ebery single part you might need. I am not familar with the SUMMITset up. Does it keep all the injection and computer stuff? Does it come with all the computer stuff? What is the ultimate goal for your starliner? Is it gonna be a daily? Weekly? Long Haul cruiser? In town driver? Whatever your plans be ready. I'd hate to see you get a bunch of parts and not have it work the way you want.
Thanks for the good advice. My goal is to have a good, dependable weekly driver that I can trust to take on occasional club tours/trips, and one that the GW could drive if she had to. The Summit package includes the engine, new 4R70W transmission, 2V performance heads, ECU, wiring harness, custom air intake, MAF sensor, starter, shifter and cable ***y., power steering pump, and a/c compressor--all for $3895 + shipping. Much as I would like to keep the 390 FE (or even a 352), the idea of a modern, fuel-injected engine with p/s, a/c, and automatic OD for that price is sure tempting. As you recommend I'm in the process of estimating a ballpark cost of the project. Whatever I come up with, I'll probably add another 50%, and still end up being 75% off Thanks again for the excellent input.
Daaaaaaeeeum!!! That's a friggin steal! Hell yea I'd go for it too if it was me. With the modern gearing of that ******, you could probably run some serious highway gears in the rearend and still get decent acelleration along with mid 20's mpg on the open road. As much as I like the FE's, this is almost a no brainer.
sounds like a deal to me with it all being new stuff. when i built my last sbf i had more just about that in the engine alone without the trans and it was carb.
I'm cheap, so I'd buy a Crown Vic or Marquis, for 1000 to 2000, strip it of everything including the front and rear suspensions, wiring harness, battery, fuel tank, lines, brackets, nuts, bolts, anything that makes a car a car, sell the rind, use it all in the Starliner and have a nice weekend away with the rest of the 4K!
Sounds like a hell of a deal. Too bad they don't have the 32valve Intech DOHC 5.4. That would be a hell of a motor. They are 300 hp in "wimp" trim.
Just a thoughnt, is it possiblee for you to drive a car with a similar output 4.6 to see if you *like it* before you put one in the starliner?!? The one in my '95 tbird was only 200hp or so, and that car seemed pretty heavy, you had to *floor* it to get it to move from a stop, and no power to speak of under 3 grand or so. The one you're getting is surely better than my old one, but still it might be worth $50 to rent a mustang or simliar to see if you like the combo. Just a thought
The Summit 4.6L is rated at 260hp. While somewhat less than the 300hp of the 390, it is still well above the 220hp rating of the 352 FE that came in most Starliners. Thus, I'm sure it will get me around as fast as I'll ever need to go Thanks for the suggestion.
The 260hp car is PLENTY for a nice cruising bomb. I think you'll find the summit route is the best bargain. No ignition, ps pump, ac comp., alt, brackets, MAF, TB, ECU to buy. I am in agreement with the guy that said just the sbf he built alone was more than that. I just built a 347 stroker for my drag car (with nice aluminum heads, and fully forged) and it came in just under $6000 after all the nuts and bolts. Only beef i have with the summit deal is that they offer NO warranty. Oh well...not much to go wrong with those mod motors anyway.
Gee wiz that is a hell of a deal on a motor ****** combo, a person would be nuts not to go that way. They make a carb set up for the 4.6 if you did not want to go the injected route.
Make sure you go with the Summit Kit, if you go used, you need to have all of the modules and a vin# from the donor car or you will play hell getting it to ever run. Jon
As long as you go pre 04 (or 03, not sure) on the crown vics you don't have to deal with PATS. PATS ****s because you need the ecu reflashed with the PATS function disabled. I'm guessing the tune on summit's setup is PATS-free. I hope
I say why buy a retired cop car with 80K on it for $5000 when you can get the summit combo with 0 miles that doesn't leak a drop
heres an important question too, how "upgradeable" is the engine? chips, intake, cam(s), and other such what not and howsit. i know the mustangs have alot of stuff out there.
I say go the Summit route. Here is an example for inspiration. I normally am not fond of Red but I love this car. I have kept the issue of Super Rod just because of the car. IF you click the download ****on the whole article comes up. http://www.superrod.com/ME2/Audienc...1F8E61&AudID=0CBB6B9BFBA748EA8B90D7672A976D29
Thanks for the great article. I've been trying to decide between black and red for the color, and this doesn't make the choice any easier
Glad you enjoyed the article. I love that car. I love those Starliners too. Keep us posted with PICTURE updates.
S.A.E. horsepower rating -vs- NET.... That 4.6 probably has more juice than the big 390! BTW, an excellent source for the 4 cam motors is 4 door Lincoln Continentals. My Dad bought one new back in the 90's, and that car would flat friggin SCREAM!!!!!! I recently saw one in the local dime rag for $800...... Worth considering.
was just gonna post this darryl! ya beat me to it. I remember back a couple years ago a mag doing a dyno run on a couple muscle cars to see what the actual numbers came out to be. one of em was a mid 60's stang with a 390 in it. it dyno'd out in the mid 200's
I remember that too... It was downright depressing. I think the 'stang 390 only made 197 hp.... But it made up for it in brutal torque.
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