This Restored 1965 Austin Taxi Cab Trades Diesel Power for a Buick Nailhead V8

A boxy, black-cab-shaped oddity just rolled into Motorious's inventory, and it isn't running the diesel four-cylinder it left the factory with. This 1965 Austin Taxi Cab, listed for $27,995 through Survivor Classic Cars of Palmetto, Florida, spent roughly a year and a half in the shop before emerging with a 401-cubic-inch Buick Nailhead V8, factory-style air conditioning, and only 1,243 miles logged since the work wrapped up earlier this year.

Austin built the FX4-style taxi to shuttle passengers around London, not to win stoplight drag races, so a proper V8 swap turns the formula on its head. Buick's Nailhead engines, produced from the early 1950s through 1966, earned their nickname from vertically mounted valves that resemble a row of nails, and they've long been favorites among builders chasing old-school torque and a distinctive rumble for unconventional swaps like this one. That same appetite for dropping American muscle into a car nobody expects shows up in a certain 1969 Dodge Charger's 383 Magnum build, proof that big cubic inches and head-turning paint aren't reserved for Detroit iron alone.

Inside, the taxi keeps its formal cabin intact, pairing dark blue paint with a black leather split-bench seat, a floor-mounted shifter, four doors, and the raised roofline that once made room for top-hatted London fares to climb in without ducking. The dealer notes that a new street rod listing is on the way, hinting that this Nailhead-powered cab may be the first of several oddball builds cut from the same cloth.

Because Austin taxis rarely change hands stateside, Hagerty Valuation Tools doesn't carry a price-guide entry for the FX4-style cab the way it does for more common Austins. A 1964 Austin Mini Cooper in #3 (Good) condition, by comparison, spans roughly $21,700 to $34,100 depending on engine and trim, while a lower-powered Countryman wagon from the same year lands closer to $17,100, showing just how much spec and desirability can move the needle within a single British marque. A one-off swap like this taxi ultimately trades on build quality and novelty rather than a price guide line item, the same dynamic Hagerty's data highlights around a certain blown 468-powered 1955 Chevy Bel Air gasser that recently chased bids on Hagerty Marketplace.

The taxi is available for viewing by appointment only in DeBary, Florida. For shoppers who'd rather browse something already wearing its running gear on its sleeve, current inventory also includes a numbers-matching restoration in the same spirit as a certain 1976 Chevy K5 Blazer Cheyenne, another example of how much variety turns up in Motorious's daily listings.