What Made Plymouth's Golden Commando Such A Stand-Out Engine

Chrysler and its associated brands have had no shortage of iconic V8 engines in the course of their history: From the very first HEMI engine of 1951, to the legendary 426 Street HEMI of the '60s, the potent 340 small block, and on to the modern Hellcat engines of today. Not to be overlooked, though, was the late 1950s era of Chrysler horsepower. 

It was during this period when Chrysler really began to develop its performance credentials, which would bear fruit during the muscle car wars of the '60s. One of the most impactful engines of this period was the Plymouth Golden Commando V8. This engine was an optional powerplant across the Plymouth lineup for the '58 model year, though is most commonly known for being available in the flagship 1958 Plymouth Fury. 

Though the Golden Commando name isn't spoken about with the same passion as some of Chrysler's later performance V8s, it's an engine that deserves serious recognition. That's thanks to its dual quad carb setup, its role in a Hollywood movie, and the fact that it was Chrysler's first big block V8. 

Though there were minor changes to separate the exterior of the 1957 Plymouth models from the 1958 model year, there was a big change under the hood with the availability of the new 350 cubic-inch Golden Commando V8. The Golden Commando came from Chrysler's brand-new B-series engine family, which would later spawn the RB series of high-power big blocks in the '60s. The 350 was Chrysler's first true big block engine, and the original member of a legendary family of engines that would stay in production all the way until 1978. 

Chrysler also put the new 350 cubic-inch V8s in DeSoto and Dodge products for '58, but the Plymouth Golden Commando stood out with its factory-equipped dual Carter four-barrel carburetors. It was rated at 305 horsepower 370 pound-feet of torque, which were very impressive figures for 1958. During performance testing, Hot Rod Magazine was able to get a 15.9-second quarter-mile out of a Golden Commando-powered Fury, quick by the standards of the late '50s.

The performance of the '58 Fury is even more impressive when you consider just how heavy the 1958 Plymouth was, even compared to the other American cars of the day. And if that wasn't cool enough, an adventurous buyer could even option the Golden Commando in their family-hauling station wagon. 

Now, you can't mention the historical and cultural contributions of the 1958 Plymouth without mentioning "Christine," the 1983 John Carpenter horror film based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. In the film, Christine is a bright red 1958 Plymouth Fury: a car possessed with an evil spirit from the moment it came off the assembly line. The Golden Commando engine, with its distinct dual quad cleaners, is featured prominently during the memorable scene where Christine repairs herself after being destroyed by a group of vandals (who she would later track down and kill). 

As you might imagine, the availability of the high-performance Golden Commando engine, plus being immortalized on the silver screen, has made the 1958 Plymouth one of the most desirable American cars of the 1950s. Naturally, high-end Fury models have become the most sought-after models by collectors.

1958 wasn't the only year the Golden Commando name was used, though. The branding would continue to be used on Plymouth's high-performance engines into the early 1960s, including the larger 361 cubic-inch version of the B-series V8. In the mid '60s, Plymouth would use the Golden Commandos as the name for its factory-backed drag team, as the counterpart to Dodge's famous Ramchargers.