Home » Six Decades Ago, Gas Was Too Cheap For Chrysler’s Diesel Taxis To Succeed

Six Decades Ago, Gas Was Too Cheap For Chrysler’s Diesel Taxis To Succeed

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The tale of diesel in America has been told many a time. Fuel got crazy expensive in the 1970s, and US automakers responded with diesel engines designed to seriously improve fuel economy. GM got it badly wrong, while other automakers did a little better. Ultimately, diesel trucks started kicking serious butt in the late 1980s, while diesel passenger cars were largely kicked out of the market.

However, that’s really just the mainstream story. Decades before the Malaise Era struck, there were those that saw the potential of diesel for regular road-going vehicles. It promised efficiency a step above that of the contemporary gasoline engine, even if acceleration and usability lagged well behind. The hope was that for a few select customers, diesel power might make sense. A tiny number of diesel conversions came into being, hoping to find customers who appreciated the benefits of compression ignition engines.

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If you hunt around today, you might just come across a rare survivor from the early days of Chrysler’s experiments with passenger car diesels. These vehicles weren’t fast, pretty, or influential—and that’s why they’re almost completely forgotten today.

Plymouth Diesel Badge
Yep—that big ungainly badge says DIESEL!

Crazy Taxi

The great minds over at Oppositelock and Barn Finds came across something unique this week—an eBay listing for a 1959 Plymouth Savoy, Georgia license plate GEO 779. That might not sound particularly wild, but this one is special—under the hood lurks a four-cylinder diesel engine. What’s more—it appeared to be completely stock!

The Savoy is up for sale for $10,000, and we’re told it has 59,000 miles on the clock. It’s got a three-speed manual transmission. The interior has been refreshed and restored, though we’re told the heater is currently non-operational and that the heater core has been looped off. But what we really want to know about is what lurks under the hood.

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The Perkins badge was quite sizable—surprising then, that these diesels aren’t better known!

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Look at the photos of the car, and you’ll notice a strangely large and complicated badge on the bodywork. That happens to be the logo of Perkins Diesel, the company that manufactured the engine under the hood.

Perkins was an English manufacturer, founded in 1932. By the 1950s, they were turning out thousands of engines every year for a wide variety of applications, from agricultural machinery to power generation and beyond. As it turns out, they also linked up with Chrysler to produce some long-forgotten diesel-powered cars.

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That number plate will come up later.

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An odd engine to find in a Plymouth.

This Plymouth is rare, but it’s by no means one of one. In fact, a number of diesel Plymouths were built way back when. If you’ve never heard of these before, though, don’t be surprised. The company’s dalliance with diesel was happening in the mid-1950s, but it was not something it widely shared with the public. The Perkins engine models were largely kept to the European market, though some were marketed for use as taxicabs in the US.

Th engine of choice was the Perkins P4C diesel. This was considered a “high speed” engine because it happened to rev to 3,000 RPM—quite the redline for a mid-century diesel. The 3.2-liter four-cylinder engine had a compression ratio of 16.5 to 1, low by modern standards, and turned out approximately 60 horsepower depending on the exact trim, and around 140 pound-feet of torque. In contrast, a contemporary six-cylinder Plymouth Savoy would have had a 3.8-liter gasoline engine delivering around 130 horsepower and 205 pound-feet of torque. The Perkins engine was no featherweight, either—tipping the scales at 543 pounds. Performance, in turn, was decidedly less than spritely.

Ply Taxi Min
It’s an American diesel sedan from a very long time ago!

As explained by Allpar, Much of the work to integrate these engines into the Plymouth vehicles was done by Hunter NV, a Belgian distributor for Perkins Diesel. The company produced parts to support the diesel conversion—including flywheels and new rear ends to better suit the low-horsepower engines. It also produced conversions for a number of other makes, like DeSoto. Hunter NV worked with Chrysler’s Antwerp assembly plant to produce these vehicles in small numbers. The majority ended up being sold for use as taxis in Belgium. The partnership kicked off in the mid-1950s, surviving until around 1959.

Some of these vehicles eventually ended up coming to the United States and Canada. As covered in Motor Life magazine in 1959, the diesel Plymouths were said to cost “about $750 over the same car equipped with a six-cylinder engine—about $2700 USD.” The conversion came at great expense, but ideally, the improved fuel economy of the diesel engine would pay off in fuel savings. The problem was that the expense was great enough that you had to be doing a lot of miles to make it worthwhile. “While they may be successful in cab operations, where continuous running is a factor, they are unlikely to be worthwhile as a private vehicle,” noted Motor Life. The added cost of diesel installation could not be offset by fuel savings in life of the engine.”

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A flyer on the Perkins P4 engine, from the European S.A. Chrysler division. Between the language and the poor quality, it’s really hard to glean much from it. Perhaps you can help!

The Plymouth diesel later showed up in Popular Mechanics in the July 1961 issue. Jim Whipple gave a charming review of this then-novel vehicle. He provided a little detail on the vehicle’s origin, a great assessment of the vehicle on its merits, and some context as to how many made it Stateside. His review seems to suggest that at least some of these vehicles were built in the US, not just converted in Europe. In his own words:

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It looked like an ordinary Plymouth taxi but it sounded like a flock of woodpeckers trying to make a meal out of a tin roof. You guessed it. That “pocketa-pocketa” noise betrayed the presence of a diesel engine. The bright yellow sedan was one of more than 200 diesel-powered Plymouth cabs hacking around in six U.S. cities.

A look under the hood disclosed a husky four of 204-cubic-inch displacement, rated at 72 horsepower. This power plant, a four cycle job operating on No. 2 fuel oil, was made by Perkins of Peterborough, England, shipped to Detroit, an and placed in the standard 1961 Plymouth chassis. It uses a stock manual transmission.

Driving a Plymouth Diesel is not especially difficult; however, it is different from driving a standard gasoline-powered car. The diesel is started just by turning a key—if the engine is already warm. When starting a cold engine, you must press a switch to energize glow plugs in the combustion chambers, wait a few seconds, and then turn the key. One characteristic of diesel operation, and particularly that of four cylinder engines, is the vibration. Engine mountings take a good deal of it out of the car, so that at cruising speeds from 35 to 55 mph range vibration is noticeable but not objectionable. At low speeds, however, the car throbs somewhat like a cold, wet puppy dog.

Whipple appreciated the low RPM operation of the Perkins diesel, noting you could “really lug this car.” However, he also noted the lack of acceleration, with the vehicle taking 22 seconds to reach 60 mph. Regardless, he noted “our diesel had no trouble in keeping up with the stream of city traffic.” Allegedly, we’re told maximum speed was 75 miles per hour, though 55 to 60 mph was deemed more reasonable.

Plymouth Diesel Popular Science
Popular Science paid $18.75 for this review—the cab meter fare racked up during their test drive. Credit: Popular Science

The magic of the Perkins-engined Plymouth, though, was in fuel economy. Allegedly, a duly equipped cab was driven from Detroit to St. Petersberg in Florida for a cost of just $9.48 in gasoline—roughly $100 in today’s money. We’ve no idea the distance taken, but the car achieved between 28 and 33 mpg according to Whipple. In city use, it performed less well, but still well ahead of a comparable gas engine. Charlie Ross of the Detroit Checker fleet noted his gasoline Plymouths achieved 10 to 12 mpg downtown, versus 19 to 22 mpg for the Perkins diesel.  That allowed the fleet to make back the additional $795 cost of the diesel engine in about nine months on a cab that would rack up about 30,000 miles a year. The article notes, however, that the diesel engine option was only being made available to taxi operators since the economics didn’t really check out for regular drivers who drive far fewer miles in a year.

Beyond this, the trail of the Perkins diesel Plymouths pretty much goes cold. Perkins would continue to work with Chrysler and its affiliated companies in coming years, supplying engines for Dodge trucks and other commercial vehicles. However, the diesel American sedan was dead, and it was not to be seen again for some time.

Survivors

A handful of these vehicles have survived into the 21st century. Back in 2013, Barn Finds covered the case of a 1956 Plymouth with the same good old Perkins powerplant. Meanwhile, in 2020, Bang Shift turned up a Plymouth Belvedere that was apparently from the 1960 model year—making it likely one of the last made. A similar example showed up on Craigslist in Detroit in 2015.

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This 1960 Plymouth Belvedere was sold on eBay in 2020.

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Another diesel Plymouth turned up on Craigslist in 2015.

How many of these cars are still around? We don’t exactly know. Popular Mechanics mentioned 200 being built for taxi use in the United States, but numbers on European production by Hunter NV are less clear. Given that taxi fleet production is typically limited, I’d estimate, based on very limited information, that well under 5,000 of these vehicles were ever built.

In any case, the seller of the 1959 Plymouth Savoy  that spawned this article suggests only around 20 survive. In turn, they say they’ve had their car valued and insured for $35,000. For a rare classic that’s not particularly desirable, that sounds about right.

Best of all, though? There’s actually a bit of a modern history on this exact car. That’s because a man named Brian purchased this vehicle all the way back in 2008, and posted on the Forward Look forums about his pride and joy. The vehicle wore the GEO 779 license plate, and had last been tagged in Georgia in 1977. When Brian purchased it in 2008, he stated it was in “solid” shape, having been sold by a son who inherited it from his father’s estate. Brian documented the car’s state quite well, showing that it was rather the worse for wear having sat for so long. He found the VIN indicated that it was built originally as a taxi in Plymouth’s Detroit plant, though he was unable to figure out if it was converted overseas or given the Perkins engine locally.

 

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The car appears online in posts from 2008 on the Forward Look forums.

As per the forum thread, Brian began some preliminary work on cleaning and restoring the vehicle in 2008, before selling it on to a fellow named Ed in 2019. At that time, Ed reported the vehicle “is currently running after lots of work.” Amazingly, the Perkins diesel had held up well despite decades of neglect.

This engine really smoked when it ran for the first time in 40 plus years. It died down a little on it’s own, I guess as the rings reseated and some of the junk blew out. But it still was visible and burned your eyes! Then I started tweaking the fuel injection pump timing and got the smoke down to almost invisible by advancing it a little. Still smells, but not nearly as much.

-Ed

By the end of 2019, the diesel Plymouth was back out and about, getting around to local car shows. His posts wrap up around 2019. It’s not clear whether Ed is the same owner that’s now put the vehicle up for sale on eBay, or whether it’s changed hands in the interim. I’ve reached out to the current seller for more information because it seems like this car has been on one heck of a journey.

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The car was later purchased by Brian, who restored it to working condition and began taking it to shows. The car’s history between 2019 and now is unclear. via Forward Look Forums

It’s funny to think how America got so close to widespread diesel motoring all the way back at the dawn of the Space Age. Ultimately, though, it wasn’t to be. Diesel was really only a military and trucking fuel back then; it wasn’t something you could get at the pump at your local gas station. It also wasn’t particularly appealing, given the high cost of obscure diesel engines. Beyond that, the fuel savings weren’t as relevant in an era when gas was (relatively) cheap. Today, as it did back then, America ignores diesel for the passenger motor car—the power of gasoline remains supreme.

Image credits: Plymouth, Craigslist, eBay

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MAX FRESH OFF
MAX FRESH OFF
21 days ago

The Checker Marathon cab offered a different Perkins diesel, but only for the 1969 model year.

Slow Joe Crow
Slow Joe Crow
21 days ago

Chrysler also tried Perkins diesels in pickups in the 60s with similarly poor sales. Diesel didn’t really sell until the 70s when Mercedes and Peugeot moved respectable numbers of oil burners

Vanillasludge
Vanillasludge
22 days ago

As a former Mercedes 240d owner, the 22 second 0-60 is actually much better than I expected.

Jonee Eisen
Jonee Eisen
22 days ago

It’s interesting that it’s stated the partnership ended in 1959 because the car in the photo accompanying Mr. Whipple’s article is a ’61…

Baltimore Paul
Baltimore Paul
21 days ago
Reply to  Jonee Eisen

The 59s were the European version. The 61 was an American version.

Russ McLean
Russ McLean
22 days ago

There was a Plymouth diesel taxi in Athol, MA in the late 1950’s. I occasionally saw it passing my grandparents house (at the base of Pleasant Street hill). I wondered how slow it was going at the top of the hill.

FlyingMonstera
FlyingMonstera
22 days ago

Perkins converted the BL ‘O’ series petrol engine into the Prima/Rover MDi – world’s first car direct injection engine as fitted first to the Maestro van, then Montego and Maestro cars. It was a great engine – a bit noisy but incredibly economical. Somewhat more illustrious than its petrol forebear – contemporary British car mag headline on introduction ‘O’ for ‘oh dear’.

Jesus Chrysler drives a Dodge
Jesus Chrysler drives a Dodge
22 days ago

“He found the VIN number indicated that it was built originally as a taxi in Plymouth’s Detroit plant…”

VIN number?

Really, Lewin? 😉

Last edited 22 days ago by Jesus Chrysler drives a Dodge
Urban Runabout
Urban Runabout
22 days ago

Where are you at?
I’m getting some cash money from the ATM machine.

Jonee Eisen
Jonee Eisen
22 days ago
Reply to  Urban Runabout

Going to buy some DAT tapes? (Does anyone still remember those?)

Urban Runabout
Urban Runabout
22 days ago
Reply to  Jonee Eisen

YES – I do! I used a borrowed DAT camera to film my adventure to the Tokyo Motor Show back in 1991!

Jonee Eisen
Jonee Eisen
21 days ago
Reply to  Urban Runabout

That sounds like a great trip. Have you downloaded (or uploaded) that footage anywhere?

Urban Runabout
Urban Runabout
21 days ago
Reply to  Jonee Eisen

Oh, I lost that tape years ago – Nothing to play it on!

Jesus Chrysler drives a Dodge
Jesus Chrysler drives a Dodge
21 days ago
Reply to  Urban Runabout

I’m heading over to the Department of Redundancy Department.

MAX FRESH OFF
MAX FRESH OFF
21 days ago

The LA office is located next to the Petersen, by The La Brea Tar Pits.

Jesus Chrysler drives a Dodge
Jesus Chrysler drives a Dodge
21 days ago
Reply to  MAX FRESH OFF

I should be there by 5 pm in the afternoon.

MAX FRESH OFF
MAX FRESH OFF
21 days ago

Thanks for the advance warning! Are you absolutely certain you will arrive after Twelve Noon?

Dan Morton
Dan Morton
13 days ago

The data plate contains a ID number that indeed indicates the car had been built as a taxi. You can find more detail here: https://59plymouth.net/59forum/viewtopic.php?t=3608

You will also find more of the conversation with Ed Pritchard, the now deceased owner of the car. Lewin quotes from the article (without attribution, I might add, to either me or the publisher, The Plymouth Owners Club).

Col Lingus
Col Lingus
22 days ago

I think the real point here, according to Rivers, is that this car was able to travel from Detroit to St. Petersburg on only $9.48 of gasoline…

Hondaimpbmw 12
Hondaimpbmw 12
22 days ago
Reply to  Col Lingus

Came here to say the same thing. In the 50s gasoline was in the 30¢/gallon range. That is roughly equivalent to $3.48/gallon today (like most of the USA except for California and Hawaii).

Historically, Diesel was a little cheaper, so it could have been 27¢/gallon. Assuming that price, that trip could have been 35 gallons of Diesel. Since freeways weren’t a thing in ‘55, the trip was probably around 1300 miles. That calculates to about 37mpg. The taxi owner reported 27-33mpg, so he obviously found a shorter route than I did.

Boulevard_Yachtsman
Boulevard_Yachtsman
22 days ago

Extremely cool story. I used to own a ’57 Plymouth Savoy – loved the looks of the car, but was it ever a rust bucket. It had the three-on-tree coupled to a flathead six and something like a 4.11 rear gear, so while it did have faster acceleration, the top speed wasn’t much different than what’s on display here.

I’ll be curious to see what the top bid on this is. It’s one of the best examples of rarity not adding to value that I’ve seen in a while. I’d love to have it, but don’t have an extra $10K laying around, and wouldn’t bid much past that if I did.

One thing’s for sure, anyone heading to a car show driving this will be in a Mighty Old Plymouth Accelerating Reluctantly.

Jonathan Green
Jonathan Green
22 days ago

This is officially the most interesting car on the internet.

M0L0TOV
M0L0TOV
22 days ago

Barreiros manufactured the Dodge Dart in Spain with a diesel as well, if you get bored: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barreiros_(manufacturer)
I want to say they used a Perkins diesel as well. I hope somebody finds this useful. 🙂

Hondaimpbmw 12
Hondaimpbmw 12
22 days ago
Reply to  M0L0TOV

In the 70s, the father of I guy I worked with converted his relatively new Duster 340 to a Diesel (unknown provenance). Absolutely ruined the car, as vibration shook it to pieces. Besides, it was a really fine 340 Duster, it should never have been violated like that.

S13 Sedan
S13 Sedan
22 days ago
Reply to  Hondaimpbmw 12

It likely had a Nissan I6 diesel put in it, that was a dealer option conversion at the time.

Vetatur Fumare
Vetatur Fumare
22 days ago
Reply to  M0L0TOV

And the Belgians also installed Perkins diesels in a bunch of other weird, cold war cars, like the Volga and Moskvitch.

The Barreiros diesel was a licensed version of Perkins designs, or so I am told:
https://en.escuderia.com/diesel-barreiros-trying-tourism-before-agreeing-chrysler/
https://web.archive.org/web/20090422092842/http://www.foro.pieldetoro.net/web/pruebas/ver.php?ID=17

Vetatur Fumare
Vetatur Fumare
22 days ago
Reply to  M0L0TOV

I just looked some more, and I cannot find any support for the Barreiros diesel being a Perkins engine. Barreiros may have looked at them, but the C-65 is a fully metric design with a 2007cc displacement from a 82x95mm bore and stroke, whereas Perkins 100% used imperial measurements.

M0L0TOV
M0L0TOV
21 days ago
Reply to  Vetatur Fumare

Yeah, I did some digging as well and they used the C-24. Also, they used that same engine in the Jeep Commando’s that were made in Spain.

Thomas Metcalf
Thomas Metcalf
22 days ago

Very cool story. I had no idea that Perkins engines ever ended up in cars. The tractor manufacturer Massey Ferguson was Perkins’ largest customer and ended up buying Perkins in the 50’s.

The P4(C) engine still seems very ‘agricultural’ with a long stroke and low redline. Cars often only use full HP for very short amounts of time. When cruising, the power demand is very low. Tractors need to develop full HP continuously which is why big engines have comparatively low HP. They can produce that power for hours on end.

I imagine that engine in a car will outlast the earth itself.

TOSSABL
TOSSABL
22 days ago

That’s quite the distinctive badge there. In the unlikely event I ever see one, I’ll know immediately what’s powering it.

Jesus Chrysler drives a Dodge
Jesus Chrysler drives a Dodge
22 days ago
Reply to  TOSSABL

Probably needed a billboard sized one next to the fuel filler to remind the attendant what NOT to do.

TOSSABL
TOSSABL
22 days ago

Not just attendants: I once swallowed a gulp of diesel starting a siphon for an elderly hot rodder who mistakenly put diesel in the very car he built himself.

Canopysaurus
Canopysaurus
22 days ago

Interesting read. Thanks for tracking down this story.

Michael Beranek
Michael Beranek
22 days ago

If it woulda worked here, Checker would’ve done it.
Now, big bomber Benz diesel taxis have worked in Europe forever, and might’ve worked here. But cab companies would’ve balked at the purchase cost.

Ranwhenparked
Ranwhenparked
22 days ago

Checker did eventually offer a Perkins diesel, also, but not until 1968. And only for 1 year, because it sold so poorly

Michael Beranek
Michael Beranek
22 days ago
Reply to  Ranwhenparked

So it’s yet another engine that was felled by the simple, basic wholesomeness of the good ‘ol small-block Chevy.

Bucko
Bucko
21 days ago

Felled by consumer fear of something new. When I was growing up, the fear was fuel injection.

Michael Beranek
Michael Beranek
21 days ago
Reply to  Bucko

My dad flipped out when he realized his Cordoba had a computerized carburetor.

JDE
JDE
22 days ago

I think I saw a perkins diesel in an old Chris Craft from the 50’s as well. seems like they were the diesel engine to have back then.

Ranwhenparked
Ranwhenparked
22 days ago
Reply to  JDE

A company in the Netherlands was dropping them into Soviet Volgas in the ’60s and ’70s, believe those were almost entirely sold as taxis

Clupea Hangoverus
Clupea Hangoverus
22 days ago
Reply to  Ranwhenparked

8 comments and Volga mentioned, in Autopian you can trust. Anyhoo… Perkins conversions were done on a number of different cars, intented mainly for taxi market in countries, where there were no or few domestic alternatives. So Nordics, Benelux etc. Due to high fuel taxes, it was not uncommon to stuff random light truck diesels into cars and trucks, that did not have diesel options. In some cases by the importer, reseller or sometimes by crafty individuals. As a result, we have such beauties as Perkins-Jeeps and Range Rovers, or the semi-official batch of Finnish Wagoneers with 4.2 Valmet Diesel, with 85 hp of tractor power. Now there is a unicorn for DT!

Alternative fiction: what if the Christine… was a Perkins conversion? The horror! Jog for your lives! And cover your nose!

Last edited 22 days ago by Clupea Hangoverus
JDE
JDE
22 days ago

The one I see sometimes is the Nissan Diesel Six. it was a Scout II thing near the end. But Chrysler used them in marine applications and in the mid 80’s their were CJ-10 Tugs with this motor. I seem to recall seeing a CJ-8 with a CJ-10 diesel base, though I seem to see more tuggies with a side by side bed on the back than anything else. and of they are rare to begin with.

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