Light posting for a little while because my Dad, my grandpa Wayne, and I are on a road trip back east to pick up a ‘60 Ford Starliner parts car in North Carolina. So far we’ve picked up the car, been stopped by the Law, toured a rather disappointing NASCAR Hall of Fame and a very cool NASCAR Racing Shop (Michael Waltrip Racing), and arranged some gun tours (not necessarily in that order).

The Car

The Starliner was the Top-Of-the-Line Sport model of Ford’s flagship ‘’Galaxy’’ line that ran from 1959 to 1974. The ‘60 Galaxies were the biggest-of-the-big Ford big cars, up to six inches longer, almost 200 lbs. heavier, and nearly five inches wider than the ‘59 models. The Starliner and the convertible Sunliner were Ford’s sporty fastback models, the Starliner being used for NASCAR.

The Star- and Sunliners were only made in ‘60 and ‘61, and very few of the parts from different years are interchangeable, so finding parts in restorable condition has been pretty hard. Grandpa’s been looking for about a year now for decent parts and parts cars to restore. We found one donor on a trip to Texas (he tagged along while we went to the Double Tap Championship), and recently he found one in Wilson, North Carolina.

Like New Condition. Grandpa Wayne grabs the title from previous owner Grover Jones in the background.

Grandpa examines the interior: most of the seats are good, comes with most of the chrome and the steering wheel!

Mr. Grover Jones, the previous owner, likes his privacy. He built a wall around his junkyard made entirely of vans! Coincidentally they all happen to be Ford Econolines, the same ride we’re cruisin’ around in. The wall’s made up of a bunch of different years, so it’s kind of like a Cadillac Ranch, in North Carolina.

Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, Texas

Stay tuned: Our Heroes are stopped by the Law in Arkansas.