bbodine

Florence the Starfire is running again. After lots of hunting down parts, rebuilt heads, rings, bearings, bushings and gaskets the 61 starfire once owned by Florence Henderson is running great. We have now driven it about 100 miles with the motor back in. The transmission has been rebuilt and now we are looking at body work. Every step of the way I have expected thought not actually met with disaster. I love this old car. My current question if anybody is reading has to do with setting the idle speed. My idle speed is too fast and I have adjusted it down as far as I can go ( i think ). It is the 4gc. The only problem this is causing is just a little too harsh of a shift down to 1st - not bad - but not quite right. The idle, according to the antique tach which might not be correct, is about 950 after warming up. The carb has been rebuilt to spec (several years ago). The choke is set correctly but i don't quite understand how it works. It has a copper tube that goes into the manifold, but it doe not seem to "work" the choke spring. I mean there is no "piston". It just screws onto the choke housing. There is no place for the manifold heat to go into the choke housing. Hope this makes sense to somebody. Anybody have any ideas? On a side note, we had my daughter's senior pictures taken saturday. The photographer saw Florence and decided to take some on and around the car, rust and all.

Thanks for the help Mr. Holt. You are an ace. Everybody thought that we were crazy to drive all the way to Colorado from Dallas for parts, but we would do it again tomorrow. Your 61 starfire could not have looked any better when it was new. I had not intended to do much re-chroming, but seeing how good it can look has changed my mind. Bart

Rocketrader- I just wanted you to know that i wrote Florence a letter of thanks for her reply to your request. Of course it would be nice if i get some kind of acknowledgment from her, but I know better than to expect it. It's just amazing to me that some little off-hand remark passed from buyer to buyer for 47 years ended up being true. Of course I wish i could get my hands on paperwork or pictures to back it up, but the odds are slim. After the euphoria of the discovery wore off i was back to trying to figure out what to do about these blasted heads. I know they are going to have to be repaired, but although i have found one shop that says they "think" they can, they don't give me much assurance. Is head repair a common thing among collectors? Is it super expensive? I know that one head has two about half inch tiny hairline cracks that have not seemed to cause any damage. The crack in the other head is maybe an inch and a half hairline, enough to allow some corrosion from water, i guess. The shop i had taken them two to check out took them apart and dipped them - when they saw the cracks they just told me to come pick them up. They told me i would have to get new heads, apparently not realizing that they are next to impossible to replace. Well, anyway, the springs, retaining clips, and valves, etc. were all taken off and are now in a big pile. The springs are obviously worn and i assume the valves are also. Do i take the springs,valves, clips, etc.. in with the heads when i finally find a place that can do the work. Should i go ahead and order valves and springs? Please forgive my ignorance. Thanks as always

I just called my wife at "high school musical" rehearsals to tell her the news, even if it is just a maybe. She is going crazy. My cel number 903-271-7355 thanks

This is awesome! Could you share the letter with me? I can't beleve she replied. bodine mr_bodine@hotmail.com

This will probably not help a bit but i thought i would mention it. The starfire has the switch on the dash for an electric antenna beside the top and courtesy light switch. The car actually has two decidedly not-electric antennae, one on each side of the trunk. They don't go straight up, they kinda' swoop back. I assumed from the beginning that the two antennas had been put on by the teenager who i knew owned it three owners before me (and i can't find the name of) I don't suppose there would have been any reason why they would have been original? There is no bracketing for an electric antenna. Again I assume this was done by the teenager three owners before me. Does anybody have an idea what the word "Compt." that was written on the fiberglass boot would have meant? Thanks as always.

Do the markings on the boot mean anything?

The top picture shows one of the holes left by the missing chrome piece. The other picture shows the pieces that are still there from inside the trunk. hope this helps thanks

This is the first time i've taken the boot out of the attic since getting the car - had not noticed the writing on the back of all three pieces. The right hand piece of the boot has this: "blue starfire" written in red chalk 04136 RH written in red chalk on a piece of masking tape The center piece of the boot has this: S.O. 30114 DIV (the 30114 is crossed out and replaced with 30133) CENTER TOP BOOT COMPT. The other piece of the boot has this: Top COMPT. Boot (in pink/red chalk) 30114 Div (with the 30114)crossed out 30133 There was no build sheet under the back seat when i removed it.

This third set of pictures is of the fiberglass boot. I noticed when taking the pictures that the fiberglass boot is exactly the same color as the vinyl boot that appears to have never been used. again thanks for your help

these next two pictures show the chrome around the convertible top. The first picture shows a large part of the back. The second piece is just a closeup which shows (i think) a drain hole in the trim. There is one on the other side also.

i'm going to put this into three posts because i am not sure of the limit. the first picture is the three chrome pieces coming together in the point. the second picture is looking down between the passenger side door and the front fender. The third picture is just a closeup which shows the male and female bevel of the chrome where the passenger door meets the fender. The chrome between the door and the back fender is not beveled this way. i don't know if this helps on the tag codes, but the car does have electric vent windows, air conditioning and a power antenna (although the antenna has been replaced - am looking for the correct replacement.

Again, thanks for the help here is a picture of the tag and a closeup of where the chrome meets on the driver's side door. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but one piece of chrome is beveled, and the other actually " overlaps " i suppose to give the illusion of a continuous piece of chrome. I haven't been up in the attic to get the boot yet. How do you guys know so much. I am amazed at your knowledge of all things olds. I am pretty green, but have loved olds since i got my parents 1968 delta 88 in 1975. It is probably still the best car i have ever owned. Thanks for the help. (this is my second try to post this

Again, thanks for the help here is a picture of the plate and a closeup of where the chrome meets on the driver's side door. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but one piece of chrome is beveled, and the other actually " overlaps " i suppose to give the illusion of a continuous piece of chrome. I haven't been up in the attic to get the boot yet. How do you guys know so much. I am amazed at your knowledge of all things olds. I am pretty green, but have loved olds since i got my parents 1968 delta 88 in 1975. It is probably still the best car i have ever owned. Thanks for the help.

Thanks a lot for the info. Sorry i am so slow to get back. I only have access at work and rarely have free time. I had just (today)come to the conclusion that the heads will have to be repaired. The only ones i can find are super high priced and i have no way of knowing for sure that they are good. My cracked heads have two weeks of rust from sitting in the back of the truck in the rain because i thought they were going to be trotline weights. I have found a shop that says they can do the work (over the phone). The extra stainless trim is on both sides of the cove and goes all the way to the back "point" that is unique to the 61. Unfortunately there are apparently three pieces missing on one side including the point where the pieces come together. I had always thought they had been added but decided they were just too perfect. They are even beveled correctly for door clearance. I mentioned the fiberglass boot. There was a boot in the trunk when i got it that perfectly matches the upholstery in the car. This made me think that the car had been modified. But, the chrome strip around the top that has the snaps for the boot to attach to, has no snaps at all and looks absolutely original. i will get better pics to put in next week. thanks a lot for all of the info. I had never seen a starfire until i bought this one which may be my undoing.

Thanks for the help- I think you can see the extra chrome i was talking about. We are doing some motor work (searching for new heads) before we do the body work. When we do the body we are going to remove the extra chrome, original or not, because there are two pieces missing. This is my first project car and it has been infinitely more complicated that i had dreamed it might be. It's a great car and that is what keeps us going (my dad and i). It was running so-so when we decided to pull the heads. one had two tiny cracks, and the other had a slightly larger crack big enough to allow some water damage. The only thing that have not been able to replace has been the passenger side rocker panel chrome. The rest of the car is original although the upholstery has been redone.

how do you add pictures?

the reason i think it might be true, besides previous owner comments, is that for 1 it has "extra" chrome around the depressed area where the brushed aluminum side panels are mounted. This chrome by all appearence seems to be original. Also, there is a fiberglass boot that matchess the car's original paint color. I have tried to inquire to her "people" but get no response. The whole reason that we got the car in the first place was because my wife was a raging Brady Bunch fan. God help her. bodine

does anyone know if florence henderson once owned a 1961 starfire. I have one that is supposed to have been owned by her according to the two previous people who owned it. There are a couple of reasons that i think it might be true. thanks