Slow And Stinky - 1959 Plymouth Diesel Taxi Engine Tech, Test Drive, Safety Inspection (Not Good...)

This is Perky. Perky is a 1959 Plymouth Savoy with a very unique power plant under the hood. Back in the early 1950s, Chrysler's Belgian subsidiary in Antwerp developed a diesel conversion package for use in European taxis in a partnership with Perkins Diesel of England and another local company. These taxis wouldn't be fast by any means, but they would enjoy remarkable fuel economy, and the longevity that a beefy diesel offers. In the late 1950s, an American company brought the same configuration to the US in limited numbers. This '59 Perkins Plymouth could be either a European converted car, or a US converted car - and none of the brilliant minds on the internet researching the car have yet been able to determine which. What we do know is that it's exceedingly interesting, and absurdly slow in its current configuration. It also leaks terribly, and it smells. Today, let's take a close look at this incredible machine, get a crash course in late 1950s diesel injection tech, and see if we can drag a few more horses into the stable.