1960 Ford Starliner a dream come true

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This article was published 20/10/2023 (895 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It would have been about 1974 when a young Jeff Munro was on his paper route in Brandon. While he delivered the daily edition to doorsteps, he would walk past people’s cars parked on driveways and in front of their houses – and dream.

“Exactly!” Munro said. “I got to see a lot of cars. Plus, my dad worked for Canadian Motors, which was the Ford dealer here. So, he was into cars, and my brother was into cars, That’s the kind of family we grew up in, so, when I was delivering papers, I saw all the cool stuff that was out there.”

But there was one in particular, he said, that stood out.

“Rarely did you ever see a Starliner. It has such amazing styling, and they are quite rare, so I always wanted one,” said Munro.

The 1960 black Starliner hard top was not Munro’s first car, nor was it his second or third. In fact, almost 50 years passed before the Starliner flew into his life.

“A guy I had met in Swan River phoned me out of the blue last fall and asked me if I wanted an old Ford. When I asked him what it was, I told him, sounds expensive,” Munro said with a chuckle. “I ended up getting it well below what it’s worth, but that being said, I spent all summer putting dollars into it,” Munro said.

The Ford Starliner hard top was the fastback version of Ford’s flagship Galaxie line of full-size Fords in 1960 and 1961, and it was only built over two years.

In 1960, 68,641 rolled off the assembly line, and the following year, only 29,669 were assembled, with the name that came from the 1952–54 Studebaker Starliner and a Lockheed airplane.

During the 1950s, car manufacturers were inspired by the space race and started to design vehicles with rocket-type tailfins, sleek silhouettes, and curved edges.

The Starliner was built to symbolize the jet age, with its huge back window, thin roof pillars, and stainless-steel trim running down both sides. It was described as having slippery aerodynamics, which meant it moved easily with no drag.

So far, Munro has rebuilt the transmission, the front suspension, including the hydraulics for the power steering. He’s fixed a fuel leak, as well as a “kind of nasty” electrical system.

“This one originally had 360 horsepower 352. In 1960, Ford had the fastest production car in North America. Ford guaranteed they would do 145 miles per hour, but that’s not what’s in it now,” Munro said as he laughed. “By looking at the casting numbers, it tells me it’s a ‘61 Thunderbird 390 V8. So, it has plenty of power and it’s fun to drive.”

Munro paid $500 for his first car, which was a 1972 Mazda 808. He had his second car, a 1962 Mercury Meteor S-33, for 20 years and was the car his wife Cori – who he met on a blind date – used to take her driver’s test.

There is plenty of room for Munro and Cori to cruise in their Starliner, with the interior that is from a 1963 Galaxie 500 that came with the car.

But it’s the feeling Munro gets when he’s behind the wheel that takes him back to being a kid, when he and his brother would sit in the new cars in the showroom at Canadian Motors and make car noises.

“Part of this whole fascination with these old cars is not just the cars, it’s really nostalgia. We never locked our house growing up and I could leave my bike on the front lawn, and it was still there in the morning – we never expected it not to be there,” Munro said.

“I remember going downtown with my dad and we’d park in front of McLeod’s, and he’d put the keys in the sun visor. When I asked him why, he said, ‘in case anybody needs to move it.’ That was the kind of world at that time, a time when a person’s word was worth more than their signature.”

Munro continues to do his part preserving vehicular history with several restoration projects he currently has on the go, including a 1960 Mercury Montcalm, a 1972 Triumph GT6, engine work on the winter vehicle, a Porsche Boxter, and his most recent purchase.

“We got a 1964 Country Squire, nine-passenger station-wagon, rust-free from Arizona. It has a factory 390 four barrel, and factory air, which is unheard of around here.”

“Not only do I love the nostalgia, but the cars from this era are an absolute joy to drive,” Munro said, and added as he laughed, “When they’re working good. But they have a presence that you just don’t get with a modern car, it just makes you feel good – driving.”

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

» X: @enviromichele