Having completely restyled their cars for 1960, Ford were at it again for their 1961 models. Although the based on the same body shell it was all-new from the belt line down. Something they described in their sales literature as the ‘Classic Ford Look’.
At the front there was a new full-width concave grille with dual headlights at each end. The Galaxie 500 series was the top trim level for 1961 and the Sunliner was part of this series.
You can see at the rear that the tailfins were smaller than the previous year and were very nearly gone now. The length of the full-size Fords was also down by nearly 4 inches to 209.9 inches. The cars were narrower too, much to do with the fact that Ford felt they had probably gone a bit overboard with the 1960 models.
A chrome molding ran the length of the car and, at the rear, joined the formation of a ribbed-aluminum stone shield behind the rear wheel opening and was standard on Galaxie models.
Inside, the Sunliner enjoys an all-vinyl interior.
Under the hood there’s a 352 cubic inch Interceptor V8 engine outputting 220 horsepower. This is paired with a Cruise-O-Matic automatic transmission. These were a $360 option over the base six cylinder price when it was ordered new.
Ford sold 44,614 Galaxie Sunliner Convertibles for the 1961 model year. Prices started at $2,847 for the base six cylinder and $2,963 for the V8 (292 cubic inch).
This 1961 Ford Sunliner is currently for sale on eBay. (follow the link for lots more photos)