Slow And Steady Sedans: 1956 Plymouth Plaza vs 1976 Mercedes 240D

Good morning! I hope you’re not in a hurry to get over the hump on this Wednesday morning, because today’s cars are… not speedy. Oh, they’ll get you there; they’ll just take their own sweet time doing it.

Yesterday we had a bit of an odd couple, in both form and price. A lot of you lamented the fact that the 280ZX had an automatic, but one commenter mentioned that the turbo might have been automatic-only for a while, and I do seem to remember that. Despite that, and its unjustifiably high price, the Datsun took home a comfortable win.

I think the price is more of a deciding factor for me. I just can’t see paying eight grand for an old Datsun, no matter what it is. Besides, I have always liked the Renault Encore; it’s a good-looking car, and I refuse to believe that it’s as unreliable as is so often reported. Renault made twenty-five million of those Cléon engines, and won a whole lot of road rallies with them, not to mention the abuse they saw in less-developed parts of the world. I’ll take the Encore.

Now then: Everybody’s in a damn hurry these days when they’re driving. Nobody wants to take the time to view the scenery; gotta go, gotta make good time. Outta my way; I’ve got a three-hundred-horsepower crossover and I’m not afraid to use it. That’s not likely to change, but I personally like the idea of an old car that simply can’t go that fast, or accelerate that quickly. Something that forces you to think ahead, conserve your momentum, and appreciate the power you’ve got. Something like one of these two. Let’s check them out.

1956 Plymouth Plaza – $3,500

Engine/drivetrain: 230 cubic inch flathead inline 6, three-speed manual, RWD

Location: Rockdale, TX

Odometer reading: 16,000 miles (probably rolled over)

Operational status: Runs and drives well

Before the 1960s, most American automakers pretty much made one basic car, and model designations were just variations on the theme. The Plaza was Plymouth’s entry-level model, with the Savoy, Belvedere, and Fury above it – but they all had the same sheetmetal; the only difference was the trim and options.

In place of the V8s found in fancier Plymouth models, the Plaza features Chrysler’s venerable flathead inline six, which found its way into a great many Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth, and DeSoto cars, as well as various pieces of Massey-Harris farm equipment, and even tanks. This one displaces 230 cubic inches and drives the rear axle through a simple three-speed column-shifted manual. It runs and drives very well, according to the seller.

It needs some work inside, but if you throw a blanket over the seat, it’s livable for a little while. The carpet is missing, as are the door cards, but you can improvise those if need be. I think the seat upholstery has been redone at some time in the past; it’s giving more 1970s vibes than 1950s, and it doesn’t look like any other ’56 Plymouth seats I found photos of. It needs to be redone again, so you’re free to do whatever you want with it.

It has some rust outside, as well as in the floors, but nothing awful. It looks like the front passenger’s side quarter window glass is missing, but it should be a flat piece, easy for any glass shop to cut for you. It has all four hubcaps, and the trim, what little there is of it, looks intact, except for a letter or two on the hood.

1976 Mercedes-Benz 240D – $2,500

Engine/drivetrain: 2.4-liter overhead cam diesel inline 4, four-speed manual, RWD

Location: Austin, TX

Odometer reading: unknown

Operational status: Runs and drives, but alternator not charging

Old Mercedes diesels have a sort of a cult following, especially among those who favor waste-oil conversions or biodiesel setups. They’re simple, all-mechanical, and durable as hell, all of which make them ideal for diesel experimentation. And even better, while you’re messing around with alternative fuels, you get to ride around in a Mercedes.

This is a W115 chassis 240D model, featuring a 2.4 liter four-cylinder and a four-speed manual transmission. It only produces 64 horsepower and around 100 pound-feet of torque, so acceleration is, shall we say, leisurely, and a bit agricultural-feeling. It runs and drives well, but the alternator isn’t charging. The seller says the alternator is new, so either it was installed wrong, or it isn’t actually the problem. It doesn’t sound like the seller knows a whole lot about cars, so your best bet is to go look at it and poke around a bit.

The interior looks about like most of these old Mercedes: a little rough around the edges, but basically intact. M-B Tex upholstery is tough stuff, and usually the seat deteriorates out from under it before the outer skin fails. We have no idea how many miles are on this car, but I don’t think it really matters; these old Benz diesels are sort of ageless. Eventually, when there are only a few left, they’ll be drawn together, and need to fight each other to the death until there is only one. (Wait, no, that’s something else.)

Rust is one of these cars’ only natural enemies, but this one, being a Texas car, seems to have escaped it. The body-color hubcaps are cool; the dark tint less so, but that can be removed. So too can the giant US-spec battering-ram bumpers, if you’d rather replace them with the more svelte European versions.

Either one of these would make a nice project car, if you like to tinker and aren’t in a hurry. You could drive either one of them home, which is a good start. After that, it’s a question of whether you’d rather fix up the interior of a Plymouth or chase down wiring gremlins in a Mercedes.