October 7, 2005
Hi everyone
After three months of wishy washy thinking and anxiety over money to
invest in my biodiesel project, this very moment my dream has been
realized. I am now the proud owner of a 1981 Peugeot 505 four cylinder
turbo charged diesel vehicle! I know what you are thinking, " What's a
American "good ol' boy' doing with a Peugeot?" Well, it is a long
story, the short version is: If we live our lives in a spiritually
wholesome and environmentally friendly fashion, we can expect good
things to come to us. We don't need much and we have patience. Anyway,
I said this is the short version right? We now have this car sitting
here at the Ranch in northeastern New Mexico. It has only one
mechanical problem that I can see; It is very hard to start, when it
finally does it bellows blue-white smoke, and the coolant lines slowly
begin to pressurize. The radiator hoses balloon up, very scary and we
shut it down before they blow. At first glance it looks like a leaking
head gasket. It is now sitting in front of my little workshop and I am
so excited to finally have a car that I can make my own biodiesel for.
Nevertheless, my rash days are past and I am content to ask first
before I tear into anything mechanically. I ask for information. I am
relatively new to Biofuels, but I do have a fine set of Mechanics
tools, much updated from the days long ago when I was a factory
trained VW mechanic. Please don't give me the negative perspective.
If you do, I can take it. But I still have that wonderful glow a guy
gets when he gets a new car to refurbish.
How's that line go? "Sing me the bad news!"
So far I have zero cash investment in this really cute little car. I
have three Mercedes gas powered monsters which have been steadily
moving closer to the ranch dump. I toyed with the idea of buying a
1982 300 Turbo Sedan that a friend has offered for $2000.00. I don't
like the body style, too heavy, and we couldn't afford it anyway.
This Peugeot is almost 1000 pounds lighter than my 480SE. And damn,
did I say it is sleek and in mint condition? So yeah that's the good
news. Anybody out there have any experience with these? Looks like a
very clean engine, but that may be because the radiator already washed
it off with a steam bath. I have extended experience with petrol
vehicles. My tools are metric and I love to read first then spin nuts
after I at least think I understand.
Diesel engines, this is only my second. I won't say what I did to the
first one. I intend to make this motor sing again! So, I have heard of
carbon buildup in the cylinders causing issues in dino-diesel motors.
Any ideas? Things I could check. I suppose checking the compression
through the spark plug holes is out of the question, lol. I will be
looking for the factory service manual, unless it is written in French
of course. Nah, I have factory service literature on the Benz and it
is not in German. See how wishy washy I have become? Maybe it is the
fog this morning, yeah fog in New Mexico, go figure. They have fog in
France right?
So how did my bio-diesel processing chemicals and WVO collecting go
this week? Not well, physically. I talked it up pretty good, whatever
that is worth. I think I know what I need to find for the test
batches. A couple of little bottles of Heet (methanol). Blue or
yellow? There is a bit of confusion in the biofuel group about this,
and a jar of Red Devil drain opener (lye.) A five gallon can for
transporting the WVO back to the ranch and a 12 volt pump for filling
my container at the rear of the Mc Donald's. Oh, and I have to ask
Vince, the owner of the local McDonald's, if is ok to use some of the
WVO from his business.
Ok, I am so excited about our new diesel that I am totally torn
between writing and thinking about it and going out into the fog and
starting… something, anything… How about learning?
Sincerely, Brian Rodgers
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Received on Fri Oct 7 10:00:49 2005
