the gearheads of the time. 1959 saw the first race on the new NASCAR racetrack at Daytona and not on the beach at low tide and 1960 was the first televised race by CBS at Daytona. It was an exciting time to be in love with horsepower and go fast cars. Ford was reacting to the race track and the showroom when they designed the Starliner in the Galaxie lineup and began selling it in 1960. It was a sleek 2 dr bubble top hardtop with very narrow roof pillars. The 1960 Starliner was a unique slice of Ford history in that the styling was only used that year! Usuall
y the auto factories made major body changes and kept them for a few years, just making minor changes each year till the “major” change came again. The 1957-1959 Fords were very similar in body style and the 1961-1964 model years were similar….but the 1960 was on its own. The ’60 introduced a front wheel track that was 60” wide and the car was 82” wide across the rear bumper making it the widest Ford made! It was also just short of 18’ long (17.8’)….and the NASCAR guys raced it! If you ever see a stock one from the rear check out the narrow looking stance of the rear tires, amazing that they didn’t roll over sitting still!? A very large car with a 352” Y block engine….most of the 1960 Starliners came with the 352 Super V-8, 4V rated at 360hp…. but the 1961 Starliner could be had with a 390 4V and optional 6V and 401HP. This option came shipped in the trunk of the car! The option consisted of a manifold, 3-2
V carbs, linkage, and other misc parts and instructions! It was a dealer or owner installed option, no factory warranty! Times have indeed changed…. Now the words ‘Ford’ and ‘High Performance’ could be found in the same sentence when reading auto enthusiast magazines of the period. The Starliner model enjoyed a two year run, ending in 1961. Ford produced 68,461 in 1960 and 29,669 in 1961. It had the word “Starliner” on the front fenders but the most distinguishing marker is the three little “stars” on the rear roof pillar….classy.Robert’s Starliner was not really planed to be his main ride. He had a ’47 Ford Coupe that had Chevy power and he was going to change the running gear to Ford but he didn’t want to be without a special car during that process. Being an over the road trucker he saw a lot of cars for sale all over the Country and started looking for something to drive around while he was reworking his ’47. In Minnesota he found the ’60 Starliner….it wasn’t really the car that he thought about buying but the car was complete, in good condition and would be a reliable road car so he bought it in 2000. After driving it for a while and realizing its uniqueness he has become attached to it….to the point that he sold his ’47 and concentrated on making the Starliner uniquely his. The guy he bought the car from in Minnesota said he bought it from a guy in Wisconsin who bought it from a guy in Georgia but while Robert was working in the dashboard he found evidence that the car may have originally been a Virginia car!
Robert has left the body stock except for the hood scoop that he needed to clear the carbs & air cleaner
. The paint looks like it was laid on recently but in reality its 35 years old! The front bench seat has been changed to buckets from a ’64 Ford XL and the interior is done in wine color velour by Southern Auto upholstery. The 9” posi track runs a 4:11 gear….which is one of the things Robert says he may change in the future. The front end is a Fat Man Fabrications piece with rack & pinion steering, stainless control arms and disc brakes….the handling improvement was nothing short of stunning. The C-6 auto has been massaged a little with a shift kit and is controlled by a B&M shifter.The heart of the beast…. The motor is a .30 over Ford 460 that has been blueprinted by J. B. Machine shop in Baltimore and set up by Tommy Jacobs at E. T. Automotive in Fredericksburg, VA. It has Edelbrock aluminum heads with a Blue Thunder intake with dual Edelbrock 600 cfm 4bbls He uses the gates thermo radiator clamps and has a neat way of eliminating the header tank with an in hose coolant cap. The MSD distributor and coil handle waking up the beast. The March accessory mounts, pulley system and power steering unit had to be custom fitted to the big block….nothing ever fits out of the box! The Crower cam and roller rockers
contribute to the 550HP the motor turns out. The modified Milodon oil pan clo
ses up the bottom. The Griffin radiator had to be fitted forward so the dual Derale fans, putting out 4000 cfm, could adequately cool the big block. The Hooker competition hedders are made for a Fox body Mustang with a big block motor….Robert says they fit just fine in the Starliner! While the engine bay was empty he filled and painted the firewall and inner fenders to clean up the area. Robert installed 7X15 American Torque Thrust wheels with BF Goodrich T/A radials to give the car better road manners.As with any exercise like this you will need the assistance of others that are local (not a catalog & telephone) to get the car on the road safely, correctly and reliably. Robert uses the resources and knowledge of the guys at Big Foot Sp
eed & Custom in Fredericksbur
g, VA. Robert has known Gary for many years….he and the owner Kenny have kept Robert going with advice, solutions and parts to solve the problems this kind of build presents. He says the build would have been much more difficult had they not been available to help like they have. And they are Chevy guys….so if they help a Ford guy this much just think what they will do for a Chevy guy….grinThe Starliner is not a garage queen and has been to Charlotte, NC….on the race track in 2001! Robert says the car was a handful and not a lot of fun on the top of the track! You can see him at VA BBQ in Fredericksburg on the Friday night cruise and at some local shows. Robert also goes to Budds Creek drags and the Richmond NSRA show. He said he may be on the road more after he changes the 4:11 gears to a more road friendly ratio.
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