We are considering selling our very special 51 Ford 4 door that has been heavily modified.  We have won multiple awards including Grand National Radical Hardtop 2nd place and Sacramento Autorama Radical Hardtop 1st place.  All information regarding complete build and description available upon request.  Contact Ron Austin via email:  austinpeakrd@gmail.com or comments in blog post.  Invested to date $225,000.00 rounded down. Paint - Sky Blue with Sunset Flames, Custom designed flames with pin stripping, Top chopped 3", lengthened 4", rain gutters removed, Hood peaked & louvered, Nosed, decked, door handles & side trim removed, seams filled, Gas filler relocated, Headlights frenched, Fire wall & inner finders filled and smoothed, Bumpers filled, One piece front & back glass custom made, Custom made rear & trunk floor pans, Bottom of car finished and painted, Hand formed interior trunk panels, One piece door glass (vent windows removed) ...

The engine from the 51 on the last post didn't sell on EBay and is still available. It is a good complete engine for a project car. I was in L.A. last week and visited the 51 4 door in Costa Mesa. Progress is slow, the glass is taking a lot of time to move the glass channels, make new brackets, remount the electric window motors and make a custom piece of glass for each door due to the chop and the elimination of the wing window. the rear wheel and trunk area were cut away to make room for the "C" notch Rear end and new rear suspension, but the new sheet metal can not be welded in until the body is back on the frame. The Frame is finished and waiting for the new custom made rear sway bar to arrive. Then the paint can be finished, the engine installed, brakes, plumbing, and the steering can be finished. The engine is being put back together after the head, manifolds and accessories were sent out for chrome and polish. New engine for the 51 Ford 4 door project is a 347 smal...

Took the Starliner out for a Rod Run to Prescott Watson Lake Car Show and Swap Meet August 2nd. Last year it rained before the event making the grass parking area soggy and I couldn't not take the car off the paved vendor area. This year it was dry before the show, but rained (real hard) at 2:30 that afternoon and I barely got the car off the grass. Then had 2" of water on the roadway in a down pour with no windshield wipers and hydroplaning going on. It stopped raining (hard) by the time I got to Chino Valley, where I got gas, then had only showers to contend with on the 100 mi. plus trip home. Other than the thunder storm and 1 full day of car cleaning it was a good show with a lot of nice cars and swap meet vendors to visit. The 51 4 door chassis is coming along with the front clip, C-notch, triangulation 4 link, rear end and new rear cross member in place. The body was put back on the frame with the doors, fenders and hood to make sure everything still fit after welding on...

After taking the engine and all the parts for the 51 to L.A. we decided to upgrade the suspension to Air Ride and took the body off the frame to make it easier to make the modifications. We had two options: 1. To just put Air Ride with 4-link in the back and bags to replace the coil springs in the front, and remount the shocks. 2. To take the car down another 4" so the frame would be at 1" off the ground at shows. We went with the "the Slammed Look" that requires "C" notch in the frame at the rear axle. New rear cross members to allow the rear air bags to go up through the floor and one to connect the front of the new long 4 link bar that had to be custom fabricated. The floor pan was cut out from the tail shaft of the transmission to the trunk and a new one will be fabricated with a deep drive line tunnel and taller wheel tubs. The 9" Currie rear end has the 4 link and "shock wave" air bag brackets welded on, a custom aluminium center cover...

Took the Starliner to a Car show in Kingman on May 17th. The show was a fund raiser for the All Starz Tumbling and Dance Kidz. The Girls did all the judging by giving points on a scale from 1 to 10 for each car. The Starliner got a 2nd place trophy in the modified class and we had a good time. On the way home that afternoon the car ran hot, about 220 degrees, and we could not run the A/C. The next day I replaced the 190 degrees thermostat with a 160 degrees and check the antifreeze to water ration then drove into town and it still ran hot. I was in Kingman at a Custom Aluminum radiator shop to talk to them about the Kaiser radiator and discussion lead to talking about The Starliner running hot. The owner told me he could make a radiator with the proper "puller' style electric fan on it to clear the serpentine belt drive system. I pulled the existing copper core radiator and the 3 electric fans out, moved the condenser as far forward as possible and remounted it separately from...