Pulled the engine from the 1966 Thunderbird for a replacement block for the Starliner. Needless to say YUCK. It did not look to hopeful when I started, water had got into the oil and engine rotted from the top down. As I pulled it apart and got rid of the rusty top end the block itself didn't look too bad. The water in the pan had raised the oil level to the bottom of the crank and prevented the block from rusting on the lower end. Will clean it up today and look for cracks.

New Engine installed. Looks Great, started right up , runs & sounded good. Now the BAD NEWS discovered water leaking between engine and transmission couldn't find any leaks, from top or any obvious sources. Pulled inspection cover from the bell housing to confirm that the water was coming from the back of the block. Decided to pull transmission, torque converter, bellhousing, and fly wheel, discovered a crack on the back of the block just above the center of the crank. Will pull engine out of the Starliner and tomorrow pull the engine out of the 1966 T-Bird that I brought home. Picture in an earlier post. Crack outlined with chalk totally unexpected! The Crack of Doom is marked in Black.

Does anyone out there know any history on this Starliner, body work, paint, etc.? We brought the car in 2006 in Northern California from a friend who purchased it from party in the Los Angeles area. That person stated that he had purchased the car from a collection in the San Diego area. We believe that it was customized in the late 70's early 80's in the Midwest. Possibly in Michigan as the radiator has a plaque on it from Kalamazoo Mi where it was re-cored. The pin striping is signed "MN Kid" The car has been driven a lot after getting lowered and customized as evidence by the under carriage, wear on paint, upholstery, and engine. Any Information would be appreciated.

The missing water pump bypass fitting that presses into the front of the new Edlebrock intake manifold has not shown up in the mail so I can not install the water pump and new belt system. As luck would have it I found that the surge tank that bolts to the intake manifold had been re-assembled backwards at the radiator shop that rebuilt it so I returned it yesterday to get it fixed. The car is so low that I can not get it on the hoist at the muffler shop so I decided to use the existing exhaust system . I was able to carefully grind the welds on the header pipes with a 4" cut off wheel and remove them from the exhaust pipe. After some clean up and cutting off the 2 bolt flanges I was able to rotate and fit the head pipes to the new 3 bolt flange and collector. I tack welded and removed them for final welding and now have a complete exhaust system. Hope the bypass fitting arrives today.

The Starline new engine project is waiting for parts to arrive and the fix for the new header clearance. Brake lines are relocated, throttle kick down linkage, electric fan and hoses for the new A/C system are complete. still have to make up new power steering hoses after the new pump and remote reservoir are installed. So while waiting for parts I picked up a 1966 Thunderbird from a friend in No. California for yet another project. The Kaiser project is on hold until the Starliner is back on the road for the Route 66 Fun Run Seligman to Oatman on the weekend of May 4-6th 2007.

Picture is the rebuilt 1964 390 now in the 1960 Ford Starliner. the 64's are slightly different than the 60's engine and transmissions. Problems encountered: 64 Transmission shifter and kick down arms are different than the 60's. Had to fabricate a slide bar on the 60 linkage for the shift down lever and shorten the shifting linkage. The new Sanderson headers hit the front cross members on the drivers side had to shim up the motor 5/8" to gain clearance. New headers hit brake lines had to fabricate new brackets and re bend brake lines You can see in picture there is a new after market damper on the engine as the original damper will not accept the new pulleys. These are the pulleys from the serpentine belt system. 4. The Serpentine belt system doesn't allow the use of stock fan. An electric fan had to be mounted on grill side of radiator as the pulley system took all the room between radiator and front of engine.

Yesterday afternoon received my parts from Southern Hot Rod Parts http://www.southernrods.com for the 1953 Kaiser. Received my power booster. So, I have to fabricate brackets for the power booster and master cylinder . I have also received parts from http://www.summitracing.com I really like the service and quality of items from Summit Racing. Next week going to No. California to pick up a old junker t-bird. I am going to use the interior bucket seats, wrap around rear seat, and console in the 1953 Kaiser. Have and good Wednesday

On the hoist and ready to lower into the Starliner The Headers look really nice and polished. Learned something new .... don't use stainless steel bolts for the header. The engine heat changes their molecular structure and causes them to loosen and the headers then leak. Sent wife into town for the black goop (real technical term) [ Permtex Silicone Seal used in place of gaskets] to use on the headers. More parts arrived today for the Kaiser. So, that project will start moving forward soon.

http://www.billetspecialities.com Billet Specialites serpentine belt system and new Sanderson Headers. Only problem is the crank shaft pulley is 3/16" too large for the crank shaft damper. This is the old 352 engine removed from the 1960 Starliner, which is now ready for new engine drop in, included in new engine bay will be a new A/C system.

The motor in the 1960 Starliner when I bought it was a 352 Ford. Very tired motor. Last year when we did the Route 66 run from Seligman to Kingman and then to Oatman she had a difficult time. The body shop that is working on the 1951 recommended a shop in Costa Mesa. The motor being rebuilt is a 390 Ford from a 1965 Thunderbird. We got a dvd with the engine testing being done. Picked up the motor this week and am getting ready to install.

In the spring of 2006, realizing that the 1951 Ford four door would not be ready for the Route 66 run I purchased this 1960 Ford Starliner from a friend. Spent the spring doing several car shows (even won an award in Prescott Az.). This year the 1951 still won't be ready for shows, so I am in the process of replacing the motor, carpets, and other asundry items. I am also trying to locate the orginal modifier and custom pin striper (MN Kid). I will be posting the parts, and work as it progresses.