1961 Starliner with twin turbos

[StarlinerJack]

Hello Gents! I've been trolling this site and a few others looking for good info and education and its been very helpful so thank you! Since Im about ready to start my project Im gonna put a build page together and share what I will be spending my time on for the next few years Im sure.

This is my 1961 Ford Starliner. I know its a big car in regards to some of the other vehicles in the pro-touring world but its a car that was used in NASCAR and can handle great if I do it right. I have a big block 427 FE engine that Im gonna run twin turbos to. Ultimately Im looking for a nice smooth running car with lots of low end torque and around 800 hp.

I picked this up in Arkansas and had it shipped out to me. It had been sitting in a junkyard rotting away but amazingly she's pretty straight less a dent in the passengerside front fender and a small dent in the passengerside quarter panel. There's a lot more rust than Im used to seeing but I think thats because I've never gotten a car from back east. So anyways here she is in all her patina glory :)

https://picload.org/image/rpldidli/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-dr.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rpldidli/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-dr.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgoicl/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-dr.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgoicl/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-dr.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgoici/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-dr.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgoici/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-dr.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgoicw/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-dr.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgoicw/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-dr.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgoiir/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-dr.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgoiir/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-dr.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgoiia/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-dr.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgoiia/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-dr.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgoiil/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-dr.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgoiil/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-dr.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgoipa/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-fr.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgoipa/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-fr.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgoipi/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-fr.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgoipi/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-fr.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgoipw/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-fr.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgoipw/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-fr.jpg.html)

[StarlinerJack]

My goals for this are plenty. I have a 427 FE big block that will be fed by twin turbos :) The idea behind it will be a modern retro/pro-touring car with around 800hp in a very mild mannered package. I want to be able to drive her around a lot while still having a lot of power. I figure with the twin turbos I can run a very wide lobe seperation cam (114 degree)and keep it some what small so it should idle smooth, make great vacuum, and tons of low end power. My thoughts are to give it some subtle vintage q's that resemble an early '60s nascar look. I want to throw a teardrop hood on it with a thunderbolt style twin carb intake. Of course I will need to make it suitable for boost. My thought is that when you pop the hood first glance will resemble a thunderbolt style ram-air but after a quick look there will be much more going on with the turbos and cooler and pipes. Fuel injection will be a must and of course some heavy duty internals with aluminum heads. Since Im not going huge power or RPM's I dont need anything too crazy with head port size or valve train upgrades. Just gotta make sure the intake shuts :)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgoiwr/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-fr.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgoiwr/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-fr.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopga/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-pa.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopga/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-pa.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopgl/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-pa.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopgl/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-pa.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopwr/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-pa.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopwr/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-pa.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopgi/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-re.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopgi/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-re.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgoprl/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-si.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgoprl/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-si.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopdr/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-tr.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopdr/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-tr.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopda/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-tr.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopda/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-tr.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopdi/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-wi.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopdi/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-wi.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopdw/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-wi.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopdw/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-wi.jpg.html)

[StarlinerJack]

I will take some pics of the engine soon but in the meantime heres more.

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopdw/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-wi.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopdw/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-wi.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopgw/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-re.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopgw/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-re.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgoiwi/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-in.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgoiwi/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-in.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgoiwl/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-in.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgoiwl/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-in.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgoiwa/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-in.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgoiwa/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-in.jpg.html)

[jarhead]

i will enjoy following this

[preston]

Awesome car.

Seriously - put a chassis under it, put the motor in it, make the interior serviceable and drive that body as is ! Patina will always be hot because it can't be bought only earned !

[StarlinerJack]

Awesome car.

Seriously - put a chassis under it, put the motor in it, make the interior serviceable and drive that body as is ! Patina will always be hot because it can't be bought only earned !

I've heard this before! I cant do it. As much as I see cars all done up with the patina and look great I just cant bring myself to do it.

[syborg tt]

Awesome car.

Seriously - put a chassis under it, put the motor in it, make the interior serviceable and drive that body as is ! Patina will always be hot because it can't be bought only earned !

I agree with Preston this car has perfect Patina. After building my dads 57 and the Syborg truck I new when we were doing the 70 not to spend any money on paint and body as I would never enjoy the car. I love the fact that kids can walk up to the 70 at a local cruise night and i don't have to freak out. The best part is I can lean on the car and not worry ( at all ) so no more flashy paint jobs that cost a fortune and are a nightmare to blend in.

Detail the engine bay, chassis and interior only.

Look at Boris Maryanovsky who owns Street Machinery Sales and Service in Cleveland on Facebook. All his cars are driven and enjoyed by there owners.

https://www.facebook.com/street.machinery

[badbu68]

Can't wait to see the progress on this one!

[Blake Foster]

you have your work cut out for you!! good luck should be a very cool car!!!

[StarlinerJack]

Well I know all of you patina guys will be disappointed but I think you'll appreciate where im going with the car. Here's the rendering my son made for me
https://picload.org/image/rwdgopdl/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-tw.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopdl/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-tw.jpg.html)

[526hp8o]

I like it. We are doing the same hood on ours, I'm told its about 3 months wait on the hood

[preston]

That looks bad ass ! Hope you can replicate that stance !

[Flash68]

Awesome car.

Seriously - put a chassis under it, put the motor in it, make the interior serviceable and drive that body as is ! Patina will always be hot because it can't be bought only earned !

:thumbsup:

Well I know all of you patina guys will be disappointed but I think you'll appreciate where im going with the car. Here's the rendering my son made for me
http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o701/StarlinerJack/1961-Ford-Galaxie-Starliner-Twin-Turbo-Rendering_zpsajqptloh.jpg (http://s1339.photobucket.com/user/StarlinerJack/media/1961-Ford-Galaxie-Starliner-Twin-Turbo-Rendering_zpsajqptloh.jpg.html)

So killer. Great project. :thumbsup:

[StarlinerJack]

I like it. We are doing the same hood on ours, I'm told its about 3 months wait on the hood

You getting that at crites?

[cluxford]

one of my fav Fords....oh and I like em shiny

[Zspoiler]

Thats going be a real beast when you finish it.A friend of mine had a 1963 1/2 Galaxy "R" car with a bored and stroked 427 with a top loader trans,.An I got a chance to drive it. It was a real monster.What are going to do about suspension? maybe NASCAR or later model Crown Victoria 'Cop'car.

[LuxurySportCoupe]

This is the coolest thing I've seen in a very long time. And the rendering is so badass. As an FE guy, I'm glad to see thats the route you want to go. I got the teardrop hood for my '64 from crites and it was a 6-8 week wait if I remember correctly.

[StarlinerJack]

Thats going be a real beast when you finish it.A friend of mine had a 1963 1/2 Galaxy "R" car with a bored and stroked 427 with a top loader trans,.An I got a chance to drive it. It was a real monster.What are going to do about suspension? maybe NASCAR or later model Crown Victoria 'Cop'car.

Im looking to run Chassisworks suspension. They make some really nice stuff. I want coilovers all around and they have some really nice ones that are adjustable. I've driven in a friends car that has them and its incredible how well it handles while still feeling like a nice ride. Doesnt buck you around at all which is nice

[StarlinerJack]

This is the coolest thing I've seen in a very long time. And the rendering is so badass. As an FE guy, I'm glad to see thats the route you want to go. I got the teardrop hood for my '64 from crites and it was a 6-8 week wait if I remember correctly.

Yah I think the FE is such a legendary motor and Im excited for the uniqueness of having it twin turbo'd.

Thats good to know on the hood. Does yours use the factory latch or do you have to run pins?

[StarlinerJack]

I got the tires I want to run and tried fitting them underneath last week. But it didnt work out as well as I would have liked since the suspension was in the way. These tires are Falken Azenis FK510 which are their high performance summer tires. I really wanted to run their fancy RT615 race tire just because it looks so nice but they didnt have the tire sizes I wanted. I think they'll work great for what Im trying to do. The fronts are 245/40ZR 19 which are about 10 inches wide and the rears are 275/40ZR 20 which are about 11 inches wide. When I got them I hadn't even checked my rear tub width I just assumed I would have to do a mini tub but come to find out they fit really well in there with about an inch clearance on both sides. Looks like the fronts might be the bigger issue for fitment
https://picload.org/image/rwdgopor/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-fa.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopor/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-fa.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopoa/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-fa.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopoa/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-fa.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgoppl/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-ov.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgoppl/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-ov.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopar/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-10.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopar/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-10.jpg.html)


Boy what a rusty mess the engine was. I knew it was bad but when I got it out it was surprisingly worse. One silver lining is the original fuel pump is in relatively great shape and its the type with the glass reservoir so Im gonna clean that up one day and put it on a shelf. :)

Im trying to figure out how I can reuse the high flow Y block headers. I think they'll be a little noisy :)
https://picload.org/image/rwdgoiii/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-en.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgoiii/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-en.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgoiiw/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-en.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgoiiw/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-en.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgoipr/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-en.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgoipr/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-en.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgoppa/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-or.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgoppa/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-or.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopil/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-or.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopil/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-or.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgoppr/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-or.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgoppr/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-or.jpg.html)

[z28cp]

Oilpan... Yikes!!:wacko:

[StarlinerJack]

Oilpan... Yikes!!:wacko:

Yes its pretty bad. I think it sat with the hood and intake manifold off for a long time

[StarlinerJack]

So all the old front suspension is out. The coil springs were literally rusted to the lower control arms. Whats confusing is that the rust caused the springs to essentially weld themselves to the lower control arms but at the same time it rotted out the coils enough for them to break. The lower control arms were stuck on there so tight that I couldnt get the bolts out even with a hydraulic bottle jack so I had to get the torch out and cut them off. Im just glad the shocks are in great shape and that I can reuse them :lmao:

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopol/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-fr.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopol/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-fr.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopoi/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-lo.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopoi/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-lo.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopow/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-lo.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopow/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-lo.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgoplr/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-lo.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgoplr/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-lo.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopla/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-lo.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopla/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-lo.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopwi/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-st.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopwi/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-st.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgowgr/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-st.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgowgr/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-st.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgowgl/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-st.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgowgl/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-st.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgowga/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-st.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgowga/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-st.jpg.html)

[gofastwclass]

Oilpan... Yikes!!:wacko:

Yes its pretty bad. I think it sat with the hood and intake manifold off for a long time


Grab some rust converter or POR-15 - good as new! :D

[StarlinerJack]

Grab some rust converter or POR-15 - good as new! :D

I think im gonna have to spray the whole car with por-15.

[StarlinerJack]

So the whole point, well maybe not the whole point, but what I really wanted to see with the suspension off was how the tires fit and looked under the starliner. It took a little bit to get the ride height correct and the car stable at the same time but I eventually got it worked out. I really like the look of the Falken tires but the wide front tire is going to be a challenge. I tried playing around a bit and it didnt seem like I would have much so either im gonna have to narrow the front a bit or notch the frame. Im changing the suspension all the way around so dealing with that wont be a big issue but for now its not enough.

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopli/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-lo.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopli/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-lo.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopcr/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-lo.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopcr/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-lo.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopca/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-lo.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopca/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-lo.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopcl/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-lo.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopcl/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-lo.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopci/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-lo.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopci/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-lo.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopcw/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-lo.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopcw/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-lo.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopir/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-lo.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopir/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-lo.jpg.html)

[StarlinerJack]

So in an effort to figure out what to do now that photobucket is in the extortion business my son helped me with this. Trying to figure out if this is a good alternative or if it makes more sense to just have pics and find another place to store them. What do you guys think?

SJd_22IUABE&feature=youtu.be

[simbad's68]

Looking forward to this one coming together!

[StarlinerJack]

So I tried the photo slideshow function with youtube and got some good interest. So I went through and made some new "videos" for everything and then this weekend I got a notice saying that youtube was gonna stop offering the slide show option. So I have the images on a new pic hosting page and now they're up! I have some 427 big block pics ready to link as well so I will get those up in the next day or so.

[StarlinerJack]

So here's my 427FE big block. As you can see it has factory cross bolted main caps making it super strong down below. I'm thing im going to use the factory dual 4 barrel manifold however Im going to upgrade to aluminum heads. I just happen to have a 3x2 manifold also so I might need to build a 390 for my roadster so I can use it too. :)
https://picload.org/image/rwdgopaa/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-42.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopaa/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-42.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopal/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-42.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopal/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-42.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopai/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-42.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopai/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-42.jpg.html)

https://picload.org/image/rwdgopaw/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-42.jpg (https://picload.org/view/rwdgopaw/1961-ford-galaxie-starliner-42.jpg.html)

[syborg tt]

Ride height looks perfect.

Now to get the suspension and inner fenders to work together is going to be the fun part.

[StarlinerJack]

Ride height looks perfect.

Now to get the suspension and inner fenders to work together is going to be the fun part.

thats gonna be the challenging part but also the fun part :)

[gofastwclass]

That stance looks mean. What are you going to use for suspension?

When I do videos I do all my editing in Corel Video Studio X9 Ultimate. I know there is version 10 out now, but this software is quite affordable for the features.

[StarlinerJack]

Im looking at Chassisworks suspension. Was gonna do whole frame but the factory frame is completely boxed and looks good. So I think I will X it in the middle and adapt it to work.

That stance looks mean. What are you going to use for suspension?

When I do videos I do all my editing in Corel Video Studio X9 Ultimate. I know there is version 10 out now, but this software is quite affordable for the features.

[61star]

Hi I have a 61 Starliner , thinking along the same lines , I have a Robert pond alloy 480 ci engine with Webber’s & TKO 600 trans email [email protected]