Major props to my fellow announcer guy Lee Sebring for sending this link along. Without him we would have never seen this car or fallen down the complete rabbit hole that is weirdo 1950s and early 1960s diesel powered Mopars! We had no idea that a very small number of Plymouths were built with Perkins four cylinder engines over about a half decade stretch and frankly the one you are seeing here could very well be one of the last, or the last one ever made. Our reading suggests that the program ended in 1959. This is a 1960 model year car and it clearly has the little engine in it!
Ok, so what was this madness all about? The idea for this combo started in Europe and as championed by taxi fleets that favored American cars to move people around in but wanted more economy than they were getting from the guzzling V8 engines they normally came with. Perkins was one of the leading manufacturers of diesel engines in the world at that point and a partnership was formed.
The engine used in these cars was a Perkins P4 and it made about 60hp and about 140 lb-ft of torque. The result? These things were barge slow but they did do a nice job in sipping fuel. There are few ways to tell that the cars were any different than their gasser counterparts on the road. The only outward sign was the Perkins logo which was affixed to the trunklid and on earlier models up front as well. This car clearly has the outline of where the OG Perkins badge was.
Sadly this car is in rough shape and we’re not sure it’s worth someone putting all the time and effort into restoring it as it may fall into the “rare but not desirable” category. We’re guessing this one loafed along as a taxi here in the USA for many, many miles. The Perkins engines were not horsepower monsters but the were indestructible.
Neat car, right?
eBay: 1960 Plymouth Belvedere with factory installed Perkins four cylinder diesel
That is a rare bird indeed. It’s really worth saving because it’s such an unusual car. It’s just a touch cooler because the seller is Mike McCandless, the son of Herb McCandless. It’s being stored at Herb’s new museum and Mike said you can come and tour the place if you buy the car.
Museum??? OPen to the public? Located where? Drool.
never ever heard of such a thing ,,,, high on the reality factor the fins on the back half sort of pre super bird deal hope some can save it
a boat motor in a barge*…. appropriate… but lordy would that be slow, those motors weigh nearly 1000 lbs.
*for those who don’t know Perkins – they built tough, reliable motors for the commercial boat industry.
Sbg, I had one of those in an old 38 ‘ Irwin sailboat, the only 10 mpg boat I’ve ever owned in my life, except a canoe. Art
I’ve got a running, driving, pretty good looking 59 that started out looking like this. Top speed is about 50, 55 downhill. I need a waterpump off of one of the Perkins that goes into a car….they are different from the tractor and forklift versions. I don’t know how to get a picture on here.
I was involved in converting Mercury Capris too Perkins powered/1979-80! got a lot of Mpg’s! The co. got shut down because Federal Gov. reqirments !! So they said ! LOL Just like the Tucker Car Co.
I bought the car(1960 Plymouth Belvedere) and she is definitely a rough one! She will get restored but parts are quite hard to come by..All auto parts stores(napa,manlove,etc) have no record of that engine with that car. Anyone out there Know something about the engine? Shop manual?
Robert you S.O.B. no, go to e-bay U.K. and maybe you can find a little something. you can also send a letter to Maris Zeta 8 Elm Road Weaverham NORTHWISH CHESHIRE CW8DZ United Kingdom, she sent me a PDF