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Original Message
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| 1960 352hp |
| By Mike McQuesten - 07/20/2001 1:21:20 AM; IP 63.50.125.6 |
Being an owner of a 1960 Sunliner, factory 352HP/360 powertrain I've enjoyed the recent thread started by Dave about the '60 HP. This engine announced that Ford was back. It became the start of true Total Performance that proved the 352 Ford-Edsel engine wasn't the dog that publications of '58/'59 were indicating. I've noticed that Dave is using Motor Life as a resource for some of his comments. If you can find the January , 1960, edition, you'll find an excellent four page article by Don Stewart detailing what made the new 352 HP such a powerhouse. The artilce lists Dave Evans, Ford Project Engineer; John Cowley, Chassis Engineer; and Don Sullivan, Engine Engineer as the three proud fathers of the true Interceptor package. What was so impressive is that they developed the HP package based on a stock 352 short block. They literally Hot Rodded a standard 352 hydraulic lifter block. Mine is a B9A block cast in February, '60. The solid lifter cam they selected is the famous and traditional one that was factory equipped in all HP FEs through 1967. The 306/500 bump stick. I know they changed the front retaining system in '63 but the lobes are the same. They assembled the block with special clearances for high performance. Standard rods and pistons. The hydraulic lifter galleries were plugged. Small chamber 58cc heads were added to bump compression ratio up to 10.6:1. The first aluminum FE intake was bolted on with a Holley 540 CFM carb. A dual point distributor. Here was a big problem for those early HPs. The advance mechanism was not correct. The mid year production HPs got a new dual point with a K in the number.....I can't remember the deal for sure. But the early engines did have valve spring problems along with distributor problems. Back to the hot rod mods...the first free flow hedder style exhaust manifolds were bolted on. A open element police style air filter. Fuel was delivered via a full 3/8" line from the tank to the in line fuel filter we all know so well. And the start of Total Performance was supported by a powertrain and suspension to match this fire breather. The rear end, brakes, springs and a few other things were added to create an automobile that could take this kind of power. This package became available in Dec. of '59 for $150! I'm not the only one who thinks this was the first true Muscle Car. Competitors were still offering standard suspensions with big high horse engines. Not fully integrated packages.
Ford set a goal of 150 mph in a totally stock '60 Starliner. They met that goal. The article claims a 4161 lb. 'liner ran 0-30 in 3.1 secs., 0 to 45 in 4.9 and 0 to 60 in 7.1 with the author turning the quarter in 15.32 at 92.87 mph. I know that doesn't compare to a '01 F-150 Supercharged Lightening but those were amazing numbers for 1960.
Another Motor Life article, July 1960, did a full stock 1960 car drag test with a super duty 389 Dealer Prepared '60 Pontiac with a four speed, A Chevy hot 320 horse 348 and stick/4.11s, a Dodge Dart with 383 ram induction dual fours, 4.56 gears, a Plymouth with ram inducted dual fours, stick, and a fully stock 1960 Galaxie Starliner with 352HP, column shift 3 speed overdrive and 4.11 gearing. First place did go to the very prepped Pontiac running a 14.55/94.53mph. Second went to the Starliner 352HP, 14.81/94.71 mph. The Ply 383 ran 15.00/95.64 mph. The Dodge ran 15.19/86.03 and last and very pleasantly least was the '60 Chevy 348/320 horse cranking out a 15.36/92.78 mph. The authors concluded that Ford was back with one of the geatest packages ever offered. They were very impressed with how stock the Ford was and how close it was too the bigger inched Poncho. Remember, this was in 1960! My '66 Fairlane GTA wouldn't run 14's until I tweaked and tuned and added a aluminum PI intake. That Fairlane weighed in at 3,640 lbs.
Someplace I read that Carrol Miller's '60 Starliner was actually a 300 horse standard 352-4V that he "built up" into a 360 horse. I think I remember that he drove his cars to Bonneville. Did a little prep work and let 'em fly. He also did very well with a '56/312 combo.
So did Holman & Moody help develop the 352? They probably did give Don Sullivan some advice but I think the Ford engineers knew what they were doing.
Hey I still want to know why the intake on a '60 has a flat carb base vs. the '61 with the angle? Are you sure the '60 engine sits differently than a '61? Why?
Oh by the way, my original 352HP block is drilled for hydraulic lifters. I know it's the original engine. All articles seems to indicate that this was the case for the HP 352 and the HP FE was under development with changes for '61. |
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This thread, so far...
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