[Vwdiesel] Diesel Conversions

[William J Toensing]

I believe Perkins is a British firm. I remember, back in the '60s while living in Minneapolis, I saw a new Hillman Minx  with a Perkins diesel. The only one I ever saw. I also recall hearing that the Perkins diesel was an option for the Checker Cab back in the '60s. I also met a fellow named Ed Felt in Long Beach, CA back in the late '70s, when their was strong demand for diesels due to the 1979 gas crisis. He imported a container of British Leyland diesels & specialized in doing diesel conversions. I recall him putting diesels in Chev Vegas (my supervisor bought a Vega conversion of his), Pintos, & even a Porsche 924. His favorite for diesel conversions was the Mazda RX2 & RX3 as they were blowing their rotary engines & he could buy these then late model low mileage Mazdas for $100 or so & profitably install his diesels. He was able to fabricate new bell housings to mate his diesels to the Mazda transmissions. He was a genius. I wonder if he is still around?