The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. The fastest aircraft ever built, a black rocketship that can fly at Mach 3 (over 2,000 mph!) and reach the very edges of space. A real hot rod.

The SR61. The wildest ’61 Ford Starliner ever built, a green and chrome land rocket that will outfly virtually anything on wheels and reach the very edges of custom cool. A real hot rod, too.

Blackbirds? Starliners? What the heck is going on at the World’s Speed Shop, you ask. After a long dry spell, Summit Racing Equipment is getting back in the project car game.

Not since QuikStang (our infamous 900 horsepower 1995 Mustang ragtop) and the QuadraDeuce II (the Troy Trepanier-built all wheel-drive ’32 roadster) has the Summit name been hung on a car as radical as this Ford.

Why a Starliner? We’ve always liked the Jet Age-inspired lines of the early 1960s Fords, and their hulking FE big blocks are poster children for raw American horsepower. Clean lines, big power—sounds a lot like a certain high performance aircraft, doesn’t it?

To bring our custom to life, we’ve joined forces with Denny Terzich of ProRides. He and his father Denny Sr. have been building show-quality cars for over 10 years. You probably know them best for the stunning ’56 Chevy Bel Air that won the 2002 Goodguys Street Machine of the Year award. So, it was your basic no-brainer to partner with ProRides to build SR61.

Mr. Terzich heartily concurs. “When (Summit) approached me with the idea of doing SR61, I was all over it,” he said. “It will be different for me because it’s a Ford and I’m a GM guy by tradition, but everything I’ve learned about custom cars will still apply. This car is going to be the coolest I’ve ever built, hands down!”

With the help of the Internet, Denny found a reasonably solid Starliner for a reasonable amount of money. He and his father dragged the car home, then called in the Brain Trust: engine builder Jim Evanuik, paint and body man Jimmy Varacalli, and designer Gary “Mutant” Constable.

Over coffee and donuts, the group established overall concept for SR61: Ground-scraping low. Heaps of big block Ford power. Clean looks with slick touches galore. The Fast Specs listed below will give you a taste of our grandiose scheme.

You can see that scheme unfold right here at SummitRacing.com. We’ll be documenting the complete SR61 buildup, from raw metal to finished hot rod. Teardown, chassis, engine building, body and paint—you’ll see the whole shootin’ match. And though SR61 is a high-end car, many of the parts we’ll be using are right off our warehouse shelves. There will be parts lists in case you get the itch to build your own version of the Starliner.

As you’re reading this, SR61 is fresh from the acid dippers, engine parts have been gathered, and the chassis should be on its way from Art Morrison’s shop. Good thing, too, because the Starliner is scheduled to make its formal debut at the 2004 SEMA Show in Las Vegas in November.

And to prove the Starliner is no show queen, we’ll be will be driving the wee out of SR61 on the 2005 Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour and the Rod & Custom Magazine Americruise. You know that’ll be a hoot.

We’ll begin our SR61 chronicles next month at Evanuik Racing Engines as the 600 cubic inch big Ford starts going together. We’ll also stop at Varacalli Auto Body to see the chassis and what’s left of the Starliner after its acid bath. Join us, won’t you?

Fast Specs: SR61 Starliner
Frame: Art Morrison round tube chassis
Front Suspension: Mustang II with AirRide Technologies Shockwave coil-overs
Rear Suspension: Art Morrison 4-link with AirRide Technologies Shockwave coil-overs
Rear Axle: Strange Ford 9-inch with Strange nodular center section, 31-spline axles, 4.10 ring and pinion gear set
Brakes: Wilwood 4-wheel disc, 13 inch/6-piston caliper
Wheels and Tires: 18 inch front/20 inch rear custom Billet Specialties wheels on BFGoodrich Comp T/A tires

Engine Type: 600 cubic inch big block Ford
Block: Ford Racing 460 Race, aluminum
Reciprocating Assembly: Crower billet steel crank and rods, JE forged pistons
Camshaft: Comp Cams solid roller
Cylinder Heads: Trick Flow A460 aluminum with Crower roller rockers
Induction: Trick Flow A460 Tunnel Ram with dual Demon Carburetion Race Demon RS carbs, Barry Grant fuel system
Ignition: MSD DIS
Cooling: Be Cool aluminum radiator, Meziere billet electric water pump
Exhaust: Custom headers by Jimmy Varacalli, dual exhaust with Flowmaster mufflers
Transmission: Richmond Gear 6-speed manual, RAM clutch and billet steel flywheel, McLeod hydraulic release bearing
Other Items: Aeroquip hose and fittings, ARP fasteners, Stef’s oil system, Powermaster starter and alternator

Body Modifications: Shaved emblems, door handles, fuel filler, hood trim, modified side trim and lower rear quarter trim, custom rear filler panel, and more
Paint: PPG Pearl Green and Pearl White

Seats: Custom split bucket front and rear
Upholstery: Custom saddle tan, green, and white leather
Carpet: Tan
Dash: Modified stock
Gauges: Auto Meter Lunar Series
Other: Custom center console and door panels,
Audio: Complete Pioneer/Kicker mobile audio/video system by Audio Communications