Ed Prichard bought this derelict Savoy in 2017 from someone in Georgia, and dragged it home to Madisonville, TN where he commenced work on it in earnest. It was powered by… a four cylinder Perkins diesel! How did Plymouths come to be diesel powered? That is in itself a bit of a mystery, which you can read all about in this Plymouth Owners Club Bulletin issue.
First Ed took an assessment of what he had:
Initially his focus was on getting it running. He found someone in England who used to work for Perkins, and who helped him get the starter rebuilt; and to whom he turned again, when the engine cranked, but would not start - the injectors needed a rebuild.
But soon Ed had it running, and started taking it to car shows while he continued to work on it.
He replaced the steering column, redid the brakes, had the seats recovered by a local shop, and had his neighbor repaint the car. A remarkable recovery, for a remarkable car! Ed christened the vehicle “Perky”, in homage to her power plant.
And then - tragically, Ed died of a massive stroke on May 26th, 2023. His obituary can be found here.
But the story doesn’t end here…
