Out With The Old In With The New 61 Starliner

1958 motors had solids 59 had hydraulics. pull a valve cover and check for adjustable rockers.

 

It has adjustable rockers

 

LOVE THESE!!!! Good deal!!!!

 

Yeah, the 332 was solid lifters only; no lifter galleys for oiling. They did offer the 352 later in the year, so you can run into '58s with hydraulic lifters. But don't depend on finding adjustable rockers as the definitive ID. Look at the front of the block; the 332 was the only FE block that didn't have '352' cast into it....

 

I had a 63 1/2 Galaxie in HS in '68 with a 289 3 speed, and it ran fine. I don't remember what the gas mileage was, as I wasn't checking it back then. Now, I've got a 63 1/2 with a 390, and I'll probably wish I had the 289 back. I looked at a lot of 63's before buying this one, and I usually p***ed on them if it had a later model engine in it, mainly because I wondered if the person who put it in did a good job or not.

Have fun with your car...

 

hmm alright thanks for the info. Way to many options but I am figuring that keeping FE will help resale if I ever need to plus it gives me a platform to play around with fuel injection when I have the time. I think sacrificing 3 or so mpg that I might with a newer engine wont be all that bad.

 

Compression of cylinders in order. 110 110 125 150 145 155 140 30. It for sure needs a rebuild so now I can play with it a little though I am thinking I might want to get a 352 from 63 or later for the larger availability of parts such as cams.

 

If you bore it .050 over you can use 390 0r 410 stuff.

 

love it man!

 

'61 was a great recovery from '60 for Ford design----IMO.

 

Slight status update. Doing more tearing appart and beginning to fix some dents and rust as well as collecting some of the parts I need. On another note I may have found a 63 406 FE hypo for the car. More to come soon.

 

In about1965 I Bought a 61 Starliner 401 hp (3 2"s) T85 3spd OD 5.12 posi rear end, had crack in block at freeze plug. I bored a 352 block 050" & put in the orig pistons,gave it a general overhaul. The ex valves were so loose in the guidesthat you actually could here some ex noise coming from them when setting the valves! I put in guides of course This was one going machine. The original owner had won Super Stock cl*** at Sioux City Dragway running the 5.12 gears. I used it to street race & towed my 57 Ford 406 cu in dirt track racer with it. The orig owner said he tried to order that powertrain in a cheap 2dr sedan. The dealer told him it was only availabe in a Starliner or Sunliner. Do you think the dealer was b.s.ing him? Great memories. Greg

 

Well I found the cause of the dead cylinder. After a little straitening I got the engine back together and running nicely. Tomorrow I will run a compression test on it again after having adjusted all valves to get an idea of where I am at with the engine.

 

If anyone has a second I would appreciate the valve lash specifications for a 332! I got the rod straitened out and back in and so I have been going about readjusting the lash at 19 like the 390 spec is but I am not positive that is right. compression reading as of right now is as follows: 1-105 2-85 3-100 4-100 then 5-85 6-80 7-80 8-90. Any advice regarding the process for adjusting lash with mechanicals would be greatly appreciated as this is completely new to me.

 

Those are the best-looking 49 on up Fords ever put on the road.

 

Ok next question for you hamb guys. I am going to be building some wheels for this coming up here this next month and I was wanting to get an idea on the back spacing that you have used for these cars. I am thinking 15 6s in the front and 15 8s in the rear. Opinions welcome. On another front I have a bunch of shiney trim now and have located a rebuilt 65 390 that I plan on purchasing for this since the plan is right.

 

The question about drilling for hyd lifters you asked earlier-yes they can be updated
if it is a block withe the oil p***ages through the lifter bores, they are just not con-
nected at the rear of the lifter gallery. I have drilled two blocks years ago and they
worked fine. Drill at the rear of the lifter gallery and put in plugs, easy to do out of the car but a PITA while in the car.

 

My wifes late father had a 61 that could have been a twin to that car. He was by no means a car guy but he always said that if he were to ever want an old car it would be a 61 like he had back in the day. Congrats on a great find!!

 

The most beautiful roof..... ever

 

Thank you for the information. Having found a rebuilt 390 I am not as worried about this block though the thought of building a high revving FE is kind of tempting

 

Ok another quick question. I have got a bunch of my trim back from being polished and now I need to find where I can buy the clips to hold the trim, specifically the rectangularish pieces with the stiff wire sticking out. I have found one or two places but they want $3 or more per clip and when ordering 20 or more that will get very expensive.

 

Have you asked on The Ford Barn?

 

I have a good Starliner trim story. My brother bought one this year and it was missing the front fender eyebrow trim above the headlights. I was talking to a nice family at the Road Rockets Indy show who had three 61 Galaxies about their cars and mentioned that my brother needed those trim pieces. The son says that he might be able to help and walks over to his car and grabs a pair of eyebrow trim from his trunk. Says he had been carrying it around for three years and now he knew why. I had to force him to take some cash for them. Super nice folks from Illinois.

 

You sir are very lucky! The 2 I have for my 61 Sunliner are pretty rough and have been looking for 2 more.....nothing! Found 1 side from a Ford guy here, called all the big yards out west....you scored!

 

Had a fun weekend working on it. Got more trim and gl*** out ran brand new brake and fuel lines and got the gas tank out and am having it cleaned now. My next question is I would like to try my hand at some patch panels for rust repair. I will have to learn a lot but my dad is a professional welder so I am at a slight advantage. My question is what gauge metal should I get to begin repairs on door, quarter, and fenders? The floor pan panel I will buy is 18 gauge but the rest I will buy flat steel to work with. Any help would be appreciated.