The Project: This 1960 Starliner is a long-term project for Brunson Performance. It is a rare factory “HiPo 352” car, which is one of the fastest production vehicles that could be purchased at the time. Originally black with black interior makes it a sinister looking car that we are excited to complete.
For many years Bob Brunson has supported the Wounded Warrior Project. At some point during the last several years of working on the Starliner, it was realized that this might just be the perfect car to build in their continued support. Once completed the intent is to either auction or raffle the Starliner on behalf of the Wounded Warrior Project, details will become clear as the project gets much closer to completion.
Project Progress: This project began in 2019, when the car was fully disassembled and media blasted. Prior to blasting it was known that there were a few problem areas of the car, such as the drivers floorpan and the trunk floor. After blasting there were a few surprises, nothing detrimental. The car was taken to Neal Kurschner at Tin Element LLC to repair all sheetmetal. Many patch panels as well as the trunk floor were hand-made because they are not offered through an aftermarket supplier for this car. Neal is an amazingly talented metalworker and he was able to correct all issues and give the paint shop a jump on bodywork, in fact the painter commented that it was the nicest condition he had ever received a car for paint/bodywork.
Next step was painting. While the car was at Neal’s shop we received a refence on a paint shop from a local Ford restorer that has some stunning early 70’s Torino’s. We stopped by Tom’s paint shop to take a look at some of his work and quickly knew he was the guy. Paint commenced in the spring of 2022 and was finalized in summer of 2023. We gave no timeline for the completion of the car, we simply told Tom do to the nicest job he could.
The frame was also blasted and powder coated, and now we are ready to begin assembly which is where we sit as of October 2023. This page will be updated periodically as we pass notable milestones in the build. Please check back!
Progress Photos:
