1960 Ford Starliner - Goldstar

Rob Crane was cruising the streets in his chopped and dropped '54 Studebaker coupe one afternoon 5 years ago when he spotted this '60 Ford Starliner sitting on blocks in a garage right in his home town of Collingwood, Ontario, Canada.

The car was not for sale at the time, but the owner allowed Rob to return several times to look it over. Rob expressed a desire to purchase the Starliner, all the while starting to plan what hopefully would become his next project.

The old saying, "Good things come to those who wait" prevailed in this case. The owner called Rob in the spring of 2002 and said he was ready to sell.

Rob could not bring the car home, though, until he sold the Studebaker and made some alterations to his garage.

The 14x20 garage attached to his house was barely big enough to put the Starliner, which measured just a fraction less than 18 ft in length. The sedan is, at 82 inches across the rear bumper, the widest car ever made by Ford. Rob had to move the interior garage door 2 ft so it wouldn't hit the car while being opened.

All phases of the project, except painting, were done in his garage. First on the list was lowering the car. A pair of 3-inch dropped spindles from Fatman Fabrications was fitted to the stock control arms and then '78 Granada 11-inch rotors and calipers were bolted into place. Next came fabrication of all of the components needed to mount Firestone airbags and relocate the shocks and travel stoppers.

The rear suspension made use of the original springs, with 3-inch lowering blocks getting the Starliner closer to the ground. Firestone/Air Ride airbags were installed in back and augment the cushioning provided by stock shocks. The air compressor and a 3-gallon air tank were mounted in the trunk.

With the 'bags deflated, Rob had achieved the height he was seeking. However, the car sat so low Rob had to raise the driveshaft tunnel to prevent contact with the driveshaft.

He decided to rebuild the original engine once he checked the numbers and determined the Starliner had a 300hp Thunderbird 352 Special supplying the power. Henry Muller prepped the block and heads and Dan Palmer assembled the engine. A Speed Pro hydraulic lifter camshaft with the same grind found in the 1960 Police Interceptor engine now aids the original 9.6:1 compression ratio. Next came an intake from a '66 Fairlane GT topped with a Holley 750 dual-fed carburetor and a Ford Motorsports air breather. A Delco alternator replaced the original generator. Jim Ready freshened up the original Cruise-O-Matic three-speed transmission coupled to the Ford 9-inch rearend with 3.0:1 gear ratio.

With the suspension and driveline finished, the body modifications became the focus. Rob spent many hours carefully planning how to lower the roofline, and he concluded the traditional method of chopping the top was not suitable because of the unusually large rear window. He decided to leave the stock roofline and window openings intact and sink the roof into the car. The roof was cut free from the car at the base of the front and rear windows and sunk into the body until a 3-inch drop was achieved, and the top was then reattached to the body in its new position-2 3/4 inches ahead of the stock location. Interestingly, a Sawzall was used to do the cutting, and the original white headliner remained in place throughout the procedure, accomplished by a great deal of good luck and cautious cutting. The vented cowl panel was removed, recontoured, and filled during the top modifications. Other changes include hidden wipers, shaved door handles, and the removal of all emblems as well as the lower rear side trim and backup lights. The vent windows were removed and one-piece door glass was installed with the B-pillar angle leaned forward. The rear quarter windows were changed so they slide into place.

It was time for Rudy Aukema at Bodyworks in Elmvale, Ontario, to go to work. The entire body was stripped to bare metal, some panels were smoothed, and Sikkens Lime-Gold basecoat/clearcoat was applied, leading to the car being nicknamed Goldstar.

Richard Vincent rebuilt the original seats and upholstered them in white pleated vinyl, adding to the period custom appearance. The radio speaker was removed from the dash, which was then smoothed over, and the Air Ride control panel was hidden behind the ashtray opening.

This cool ride rolls on American Racing Torq-Thrust II wheels, 17x7 in front and 17x8 in back, wrapped with BFGoodrich T/A radials. Sizes are 225/45ZR17 in front and 245/ZR17 in the rear.

Rob has been doing a lot of cruising, showing the car, and earning some awards along the way. At its first outing, the Performance World show in Toronto, the car picked up the Darryl Starbird Custom Achievement Award, which greatly pleased Rob.

He is very satisfied with the result of all of the hard work. Without a doubt, the long, smooth, sleek lines of the car are greatly enhanced by its on-the-ground stance. Rob is extremely grateful for all of the help from his friends mentioned here during the build.