1939 Plymouth Air Radial Truck

1939 Plymouth Air Radial Truck

Colorado Auto & Parts is home to the famous “Plymouth Air Radial Truck” — A 1939 Plymouth PT-81 truck with a seven-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine from a 1954 Cessna 195 Airplane

The project for the radial-engined truck began years ago when Gary Corns bought the beat-up old 1939 Plymouth from a regular customer.

1939 Plymouth Air Radial Truck Before
1939 Plymouth Air Radial Truck Donor

It sat for over 30 years as they worked on other projects and ruminated over what they should to with it — until one day when Corns senior found an old seaplane in a nearby airplane wrecking yard that still had its Jacobs R-755 radial engine bolted to the front.

1939 Plymouth Pickup Truck Radial Engine Donor
1939 Plymouth Air Radial Truck Engine Donor
  • 757 Cubic Inches – Bore: 5.25″ Stoke: 5″ – 6:1 Compression
  • 300 hp @ 2,200 RPM Full Throttle
  • 2,200 RPM True Stall Torque Converter
  • Th400 automatic Transmission
  • Casale V-Drive
  • Franklin Quick Change Rear End

Building the Plymouth Air Radial Truck

1939 Plymouth Pickup Truck In Progress
1939 Plymouth Air Radial Truck

Dropping a 12.4 liter Jacobs R-755 radial aircraft engine into a 1939 Plymouth pickup truck is no small task, but one that was performed by the Corns family of Colorado.

1939 Plymouth Pickup Truck Front-End
1939 Plymouth Air Radial Truck
1939 Plymouth Pickup Truck In Progress
1939 Plymouth Air Radial Truck
1939 Plymouth Pickup Truck In Progress
1939 Plymouth Air Radial Truck
1939 Plymouth Pickup Truck Rear-End
1939 Plymouth Air Radial Truck
1939 Plymouth Pickup Truck In Progress
1939 Plymouth Air Radial Truck
1939 Plymouth Pickup Truck In Progress
1939 Plymouth Air Radial Truck
1939 Plymouth Pickup Truck In Progress
1939 Plymouth Air Radial Truck
1939 Plymouth Pickup Truck In Progress
1939 Plymouth Air Radial Truck
1939 Plymouth Pickup Truck In Progress
1939 Plymouth Air Radial Truck
1939 Plymouth Air Radial Truck
1939 Plymouth Air Radial Truck
1939 Plymouth Air Radial Truck
1939 Plymouth Air Radial Truck Interior
1939 Plymouth Air Radial Truck

First Test Drive in the 1939 Plymouth Air Radial Truck

1939 Plymouth Radial Air – Jay Leno’s Garage