Several months ago I was floundering around, looking for some
economical means of transporting foundry coke from Alabama to Texas, so
I can build a collection of cast iron machine tools which will be full
sized versions of the circa 1890 miniatures which are sold by Papa Mike
at PM Research. Well, it seems that I picked up a flamer somewhere
along the way, so I just ducked out for awhile, and decided that I
would not post again until I had something significant to report.
Well, now I do, so here goes.

Since I was a boy, I have understood that it is possible to run a
diesel engine on vegetable oil. Of course, Mister Diesel himself was
fond of of doing so, and demonstrated this process at the World's Fair
in 1901, for the entire world to see, and to understand. Then again,
there has been of course an increasing level of interest in the subject
of biodiesel fuel, which can be used in an unmodified diesel vehicle,
which is made from vegetable oil, and which can be made at the amateur
level.

Amidst all of this understanding about diesel engines, what had somehow
completely escaped my attention, until a few months ago anyway, is that
it is possible to use _recycled_ cooking oil as a diesel fuel. This is
the item which led me to realize that I quite simply cannot afford
_not_ to convert to diesel!

Well, I now have a 1983 Volkswagen Rabbit diesel pickup parked in my
driveway, and I am getting ready to lower the engine out of the engine
well, which is an interesting little detail in itself, since I found
put that it is not necessary to lift the engine out. Thanks to the
internet, I can get all of the advice which I will ever need in order
to get this little guy working, and it is quite remarkable just how
much my new truck looks like my old one, which is a Mazda/Ranger.

Well, this is certainly a genuine metalworking project, so I thought I
might as well post about it. My other current projects are a one man
band and a homebrew radiology system ( x rays ).

Mike Mandaville
Austin, Texas