With an advanced design for its time showcasing a dramatic fastback roofline, thin B-pillars, and stunning European flair, its slippery shape made it a favorite at NASCAR for the high-speed ovals as well as with hot rodders to modify for the street and dragstrip. Ford loved pushing its V-8, and the 1961 Starliner could be had with anything from their base 292ci Y-block all the way up to the fire-breathing 390ci FE topping out at 401 hp with a dealer-installed triple-deuce carb setup, making it extremely popular. The fullsize two-door variant of their esteemed Galaxie line was so popular that finding one today isn’t as easy as you’d think. With Ford sales topping well over 1.3 million units in 1961, only 29,609 Starliner models were produced that year for potential buyers.

Growing up in the performance world gave Meade plenty of time to visualize how he’d approach his latest build, having always been a fan of fullsized Fords from the 1960s. Indoctrinated into hop-ups since knee high to a Deuce bumper by his dad Meade Sr. and his uncle Bill Baldwin, who were devoted hot rodders, his earliest memories are of his dad’s 1962 Ranchero setup as a straight-axle street gasser and Bill’s hopped-up 1932 Ford pickup.

Having worked with The East Coast Hot Rod Garage (ECHRG) of Denton, Maryland, in the past on a number of builds, including a classic 1963-1/2 Ford Galaxie XL Fastback mild custom, it was only a matter of time till he began the search for one of the most iconic fullsized Fords ever produced. His search led him to a 1961 Starliner that was a perfect base to start with, having survived past decades of abuse. Meeting with shop owners Dean Alexander and Jason Lester, he mapped out plans to bring the car to the next level by injecting its elegant style with a potent combination of modern performance to make the original designers proud. Soon after, the roller was delivered to the ECHRG team to begin the transformation.

Once the car was disassembled, it was time to focus on the chassis. Seeing that the factory Guardrail-style frame was rock solid, it was blasted clean to prepare it for updates. Bringing it to the next level started out back with team member Dale Rhodes adding a fresh Strange Ford 9-inch rear complete with an S-Series nodular iron third member and Tru-Trac spinning 3.70 gears to matching 31-spline axles. It’s suspended in place by a Ridetech four-link featuring exclusive R-joint rod ends, modified by the ECHRG for an even lower stance, combined with matching adjustable HQ-Series coilover shocks. To add plenty of razor-sharp handling, the factory upper and lower control arms were narrowed 1 inch while incorporating updated geometry to accommodate larger front tires, combined with stock spindles and Ridetech HQ-Series adjustable coilover shocks, all moving through a Borgeson power steering box. When it’s time to shave speed, an ECI dual power master pushes fluid through stainless lines to Wilwood Forged Narrow Superlite Big Brake 14-inch drilled-and-vented discs with six-piston calipers up front matched to AERO4 Big Brake 14-inch drilled-and-vented discs with four-piston calipers out back. Linking it to the street with plenty of traditional styles are Billet Specialties Heritage-Series wheels, sized 18×8 front and 20×10 rear, wearing Continental ExtremeContact Sport rubber, sized P225/50R18 and P295/45R20, respectively.

Meade went directly to Ford Performance for one of their all-aluminum, 5.0L (302ci) Third Generation Coyote crate engines to deliver a heavy dose of modern performance underhood. Starting with a lightweight aluminum block deep inside, you’ll find a forged cross-plane steel crank linked to Sinter forged steel connecting rods topped by hypereutectic aluminum pistons, delivering 12.0:1 compression. Above are high-flow aluminum cylinder heads with dual overhead cams (DOHC) packing 32 valves and Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing (Ti-VCT) to generate seamless power. Extra punch gets delivered through a Roush Performance (RP) Phase 2 Eaton R2650 TVS Calibrated Supercharger system featuring twin four-lobe rotors twisted at 170 degrees. It comes complete with RP-designed high-flow fuel injectors, a 60mm dual-bore throttle body, a large, fabricated aluminum intercooler, and a high-capacity, low-restriction air filter with a complete induction system. It all sparks to life through a Ford Control Pack management system specially tuned by JPC Racing of Denton, delivering a stout 750 hp on the dyno. Hot exhaust roars through a set of Stainless Works headers to a custom stainless 3-inch exhaust with Flowmaster mufflers. Power moves through a warmed-over Ford 4R70W trans to a custom driveshaft by The Metal Shop. Underhood, the ECHRG team completed a near-factory-inspired installation to the engine bay, ensuring perfect fitment of the Coyote and adding a filled and smoothed firewall, massaged inner wheeltubs, accessories, and wiring.

It’s never easy to bring original factory steel back to life, especially when it’s been tortured throughout the decades. Team members Lester and Manny Romero crafted factory-styled panels for all affected areas. They got busy replacing the bottoms of the rear quarters and wheel openings, rockers, and adding rear wheel mini-tubs and bottoms on the front fenders. They added a flat interior floor, a raised driveshaft tunnel, and a custom transmission tunnel to accommodate the newly updated driveline. With the stellar bodyline delivered from the factory, they limited custom updates to tucked and reshaped bumpers, select deleted trim, filled the factory gas door, and installed a custom gas fill into the rear filler panel. The body was then metal-finished and gapped to prepare it for Lester, who laid down the vibe with a coating of PPG Wimbledon White. Upon reassembly, the extensive chrome and stainless steel were refreshed by Jon Wright’s CustomChrome Plating in Grafton, Ohio, and the final vibrance was added.

Well known for its roomy interior, Alexander added plenty of details to the cabin, starting with a smoothed 1956 Ford dash and adding an updated gauge panel filled with Dakota Digital VHX dials to monitor the vitals. A cut-down 1957 Thunderbird steering wheel carves a course, mounted to a Flaming River tilt column, while a Vintage Air Gen5 system keeps it cool. Shifts move through a Lokar stick with a custom topper surrounded by a one-off console incorporating a 1964 Thunderbird armrest while an American Autowire Highway 22 system installed by team member Henry Steward brings it all to life. For comfort and style, Alexander reworked a pair of 1964 Thunderbird front bucket seats and crafted complementing rears with matching rear deck and side panels, all wrapped in Moore & Giles Tribeca Moonlight Blue leather accented by Relicate blue square-weave carpeting. The finished car is breathtaking and packed with a speed shop full of modern performance, completing Meade’s vision of fusing the past with the present, and we couldn’t agree more.