1/27 Engine seized in Arkansas. Called AAA and got towed to Memphis, TN where I had an appointment to interview Andrew Couch, a Greasecar installer, and owner of Deep Fried Rides.

Andrew let me stash the car on his co-op garage lot while we waited for Nino's Mercedes and BMW repair to have room to work on my car.

1/28 Spoke to Nino and he said he'd have quotes on a new engine on Monday.

1/29 - 1/30 An annoying weekend where nothing got done.

1/31 I found an appropriate engine through MBZ.org and ordered it with Nino's approval. ETA 2/10. Nino says that's ok because they have other cars to fix first and not much room. I rent a car and drive to Paducah KY to visit my 95-year old Granny.

2/1 - 2/6 My visit with Granny is going well but I'm anxious that the car is still sitting at Andrew's lot. My boyfriend Dennis saves my sanity by shipping my laptop to me. This allows me to use email at the Paducah library's brand new WiFi Hot Spot, and manage my finances online. Thank you Dennis!

2/7 - Finally the car has been towed to Nino's. Andrew informs me that the driver's side window was smashed in the night before. No other apparent damage. I order a window from MBZ.org and inquire about the engine. "Rusty" says the rebuild shop hasn't answered his calls. Dennis ships me his camera and sends my chocoholic granny some candy.

2/8 - 2/9 Nino pulls the engine out of the car, and covers the broken window with cardboard to keep the rain out.

2/10 "Rusty" says the pistons are hard to come by and the engine will be delayed till next week.

2/11 - 2/16 Trying to make my stay in Paducah meaningful. Argh. Had a nice visit with Gary Scott of WKMS public radio in Murray, KY. Thanks for your enthusiasm about the VegOil trip, Gary! Dennis visited for two days in KY. Very surreal. Like a break in regular programming. Back to the wars on Monday.

2/17 Finally the engine arrives, sent Fed Ex guaranteed 2-day. I return to Memphis by noon. Nino has said that since they already have the old engine out, it won't take long to put the new one in. He is leaving for vacation to Florida the next day. He is recovering from a broken knee. Stanley, the assistant mechanic, is hacking up a lung with the flu everybody in TN seems to have.

2/18 More parts needed to be swapped out of the old engine than anticipated. Nino delays his annual family trip to see NASCAR races to try to get the car finished up. For some reason I cannot fathom, they are letting me hang around the shop, watch, and ask questions. I asked about the melted look to one of the ports on the main valve. Nino said it was nothing. The tv runs constantly in the background. Nino said that during his broken leg recovery he got hooked on soaps. Nino and Stanley talk to the tv. I went to J.Wiley's mega Mercedes junkyard and picked mytself out a new hubcap. It's orange, but in good condition.

2/19 - 2/20 With Nino gone, Stanley and I try to finish up the engine. The big mystery is around putting the VO hoses back where they were. Nino forgot to label the ports and hoses when he removed them to get the engine out. Anton can't remember exactly how he did it. My schematics I made don't show which port is which. I am kicking myself that I didn't color-code the hoses with nail polish as I threatened to do back in CA. All we have are the instructions that came with the Pollak valve. Stanley is still very sick and foggy-headed. On Saturday, chatty Banker Bob stops by to get a brake job for his wife's car. Later, when trying to reattach VegOil hoses to the ports, Stanley broke the melty one. He admitted that he had cracked it the week before and glued it. I was relieved that the port was not melty because of overheated VegOil. Then I was mad and disappointed that Nino told me it was nothing. Then I was frantic that we would not be able to get another valve. Little progress today.

2/21 In the morning Stanley ordered a new valve from NAPA and they said they would deliver it. Stanley worked on other things and I continued to clean out broken glass chips from the car to keep busy. Hours passed and no valve. At 1 pm it arrived and it turned out to be the wrong valve - one with a solenoid. Stanley said he was giving up on my car and continued working on other jobs.

In desperation I called Andrew, who happened to have the correct valve on hand. At 3:15 pm he brought it by. I put it in as per the valve instructions. The car still would not start. Stanley left at 4 pm. We were both upset. I called Andrew and he had agreed to go by the garage in the morning and help Stanley. I agreed to stay in the motel in MS, and stay out of the garage.

2/22 At about 2 pm I got the call that the car was ready to pick up. The garage does not take credit cards (news to me!) , and so I had to run around to find a bank that would give me a cash advance for $2,000. In TN there is not much help for visitors. No bank would give me a major credit card cash advance for the amount I needed. At the last second we called chatty Bob the Banker. In a conference call with the local bank manager he vouched for me personally, and the bank overrided it's normal limit for cash advances to strangers. Unbelievable. Three cheers for Bob the Banker! I spent a sixth night at Motel Six in MS. Thanks to Melissa at the Bob Evans whose sunny disposition helped keep my spirits up during this dreadful week. Thanks to Andrew for coming in like the cavalry to save the day. Thanks to Nino for taking the challenge on the first place. And thanks mostly to Stanley who perservered even though he was sick to death of the project, sick of me, and sick with the flu too. A lesser man would have bagged the whole thing with no remorse.

On first sight of this I was afraid that the port had melted because the VegOil was too hot.

My spirits improved when back on the road. First stop Mayfield, KY to meet the "Mayfield Think Tank."

Second stop, Paducah, KY to show my
95-year old granny the car.

In Cleveland, OH with Ray Holan at the Great Lakes Brewing Company. A first edition of his book, Sliding Home is in my hand.

2000 (9811) Horn Lake, MS
Filled diesel tank. VegOil reads at almost 3/4.

2/23 ESCAPE FROM MEMPHIS
7:00 a.m. 20042 (45)
Switched over to VegOil. Engine sluggish, more so than before engine switch. Gave an hour presentation on VegOil to the "Mayfield Think Tank," a dozen men between 60 - 80 years old who like to talk and eat together. Stopped in Paducah to show Granny the car.

20401 (3632) Added 15 gallons of VegOil. Gauge reads 3/4 full. Andrew kindly sold me this lot for $1/gallon. We had meant to to fill up the 55 gallon capacity, but when it was time to go, I had to get gone!

Stayed in a hole-in-the-wall in Elizabethtown, KY which inspired me to leave at 4:30 am the next morning.

2/24 - 20913 (8751) Added 11.042 gallons of Diesel for $22.07 Ouch!

Responses on the road to the Powered by Vegetable Oil sign on the back window have included honking, thumbs up, and waving. Prize for the best wave goes to "Mr. Fixit". You know who you are.

1:00 pm Cleveland, OH Had lunch with Ray Holan, author of the new book about SVO called Sliding Home. Purchased the very first copy! Autographed and everything! Scored 10 gallons VegOil from Tommy's Restaurant. Thanks for showing me the restaurant collection routine, Ray!

2/25 - 7:15 a.m. 20970
20 minutes with the blockheater plugged in. Glowed and started up right away. I did not let it idle long. On HWY the speedo buzzed for 5 minutes between 45 - 60 mph. It hasn't done that since California. Cold? At entrance to I90 I checked both engine oil and coolant. OK.

Pembroke Plaza - met Suzanne Shanley, another VegOil driver. One of Greasecar's first customers. Two years into driving her Greasecar VW and Suzanne is still as excited as when she started using this passive resistance fuel alternative. Unfortunately she had a clogged filter and had to drive home on diesel. I had a spare filter but it was the wrong kind. She said the VW folks were not helpful trying to get her the correct filter.

Added 5 gallons +/- VegOil. Took forever.

21085 (62) Added 5 gallons +/- VegOil at Indian Castle Service Area . I timed it at 35 minutes in the cold wind. I sat in the car to stay warm for 3 minute intervals while the VegOil was draining in.

The VegOil lasted till I reached the I91 and I90 interchange. I drove the last 20 minutes home on diesel.

Arrived home to Northampton, MA at 7 pm.

I think it's important to fuel in a public way that allows passersby to consider what is happening and maybe ask questions. Eventually I believe VegOil will become a household concept. Till then, it's a little bit of a circus.

EPILOG

Traveling with a VegOil car is one thing. Living with it is another. The adventure continues. It is now a lifestyle. My car is the proud new owner of a Massachusetts inspection sticker. I've already had the oil changed and will do it again in another 1,000 miles to break in the new engine properly.

After 8 months without a car, and 2 months practically living out of one, I have fully returned to the American Car Culture. My next task is to set up a system for collecting, filtering, and storing WVO in a way that will not get me on the bad side of my landlord. First choice is to contain the whole operation in the trunk. I suspect that I will not be driving enough to justify 40 gal. a week pick up and may experience the strange situation of having too much fuel and too little space.

Other maintenance issues have already come up, such as the shut off idles too long, the overhead light doesn't work, and the speedo needle chatters sometimes. Little stuff. I am considering trying to establish or join some kind of cooperative garage space with some other women mechanics where I can do my own repair and maintenance. Recent experiences with mechanics has made me want to avoid them whenever possible. I have graduated to Gearhead.

It's good to be home and wash the salt off my MBZ!

Strolling of the Heifers
Agricultural Festival
Brattleboro, VT - June 4, 2005