This week at the Hemmings Muscle Machines weekly newsletter, we've got our heads filled with pre-muscle muscle. Sure, we love pony cars and factory muscle, but we also love-love-love factory cars that were designed to win early NASCAR races, before the trick deal was to win NHRA races.

Enter the Ford Starliner. These things were sold in the early Sixties and you could get one with a hot 427, designed to shoot you right to the moon, Alice. Sure, these things make great customs – lowered with a custom interior surrounded by candies and pearls, pinner whitewalls, a set of flipper covers and peashooter lakes-style duals. But what about a '61 Starliner built to go real fast in a straight line? A set of American Racing Torq-Thrusts and a slightly angry rake?

Our old buddy, Kevin Oeste, takes us on a walk-around and a quick scoot in a righteous '61 Starliner that we suddenly need in our life. Really, now – what's more fun than a big Ford 427 running Shelby aluminum heads and a single fruit jar master cylinder? Lots of "go" and lots of "show" and a little bit of sauce to pull it all to a stop. We can't think of a better way to spend the summer.