The latest adventures of greasy rider

Jan 7/08
Welcome to greasy rider, a public service to those who may be interested in how a feminist adventurer converts her first diesel vehicle to run on straight vegetable oil (SVO). Today I was notified that the new fuel injectors, glow plugs and fuel filtering system were shipped to me.- i ordered the kit from www.elsbett.com. I ordered this kit as my xmas present to myself.

Hooray! Phase 1 is underway.

About me:
30 something feminist activist and corporate hack, living in Vancouver BC.
I am a bit of a weirdo - i really wish i could live (in the city) off the grid. I am an anarchist in my heart, very cheap, and like to be known as an eccentric. I do lots of home-making. I have a motorcycle license & have done lots of repairs on my own bike. I am the type of woman that gets described as 'gutsy', 'ballsy', 'abrasive', 'type a'.

I am handy like this: when i was 16 & driving a 1977 Datsun 1200, my dad would say to me "Get that thing up on blocks in the carport and get the wheels off it. When that's done come get me & we'll go to the parts shop for the brakes". My dad is a workingclass guy who is quite handy, mostly due to necesssity - 'shade tree mechanic who despite his own crippling arthritis, kept five 15+yr old/$400 vehicles operational at the same time so each of us in our family could independently run around the Okanagan valley.

Since I have a brother, my own mechanical skill development was somewhat curtailed. My brother had the 'opportunity' to be hauled out of the stalling car at the side of many highways to hold the light, or press on the gas, or pump the breaks, or put his finger on some dangerous moving part under the engine. I think I have mechanical aptitude, but am missing lots of background skills

About my car:
Joan Jetta is a 1991 1.6D turbo diesel jetta. picture to follow.
She has 450,000 kms, about 2,000 now on a rebuilt engine. However, research showed that the engine may not have been rebuilt & the guy who sold it to me, while a charming christian man with a smiling family, may have lied.

About my driving habits & overall plan.
I drive only 5-10 kms on each trip, and usually ride my bicycle around town. Or I drive on long trips.
In either case, the 2 tank conversion doesn't seem like the right choice: I'll be at work before the car is hot enough to switch to grease, and will be too far away from home with a trunk full of camping equipment to carry 1500kms worth of grease.

SO, watch here to learn how i do it.

xoxo jax