1/5 Picked Up Car
1973 MBZ 220D
Sacramento, CA to Winters, CA
Tip: If you buy your airline ticket online and less than 2 weeks in advance, you will end up on the "VIP" line, in which all of your luggage will be unpacked and handled, your plane will be late leaving the gate, and you'll miss your connecting flight.

Got food poisoning from bad rice milk in coffee at Starbucks in Chicago airport.

Car pick up relatively uneventful.

17038 First fueling of Diesel 10.008 gal. for $20.61

The existing auxiliary tank before VegOil

1/6 CA Inspection
Winters, CA
MA state law says you have to have your car inspected within 7 days of purchasing it. I bought the car via the internet, sight-unseen in December and had the title sent to me and hand-carried the plates. There was no way I would be back within 7 days to get the sticker. So to avoid prosecution if stopped, my insurance company advised that I get a "good faith" CA inspection from a garage, going over all of the points on the MA list. This turned out to be a waste of an overcharged $77.50 as I was not stopped anywhere along the way.

1/7 Neoteric Biofuels
Berkeley, CA
Great visit with co-owner Craig Reece, Installer Shane, MBZ machine shop guy Seth, and Biodiesel Oasis purveyor Jennifer. Picked up Standard Kit w/ HotStk for the 220D $998
This included the Vormax filter, VegTherm in-line heater, a Pollack 6-port valve, and some general instructions. We also decided to throw in a 3-port valve to create a loop within the looped return. The concept was that checking the Vormax filter gauge when the VegOil was on looped return to the tank would create too much pressure and possibly snap the gauge needle. This loop within a loop caused much confusion later with regular diesel mechanics and the SVO savvy alike.

1/8 Installation Begins
Winters, CA
Anton did the difficult work of converting my car, and I tried not to get in the way while still satisfying my insatiable automotive curiosity. We anticipated about 3 days of work. It turned out to take 2 weeks, which included getting the 33-year-old vehicle generally road-ready. We also stopped a few times for chores that needed doing around the ranch.

We decided to mount the Vormax in the trunk close to the tank. Coolant lines run alongside aluminum VO fuel lines (much skinnier than fuel hose), surrounded with regular pipe insulation and ziptied. Anton used his exceptional welding skills to create a metal shield to protect the fat bundle of fuel lines.

We had some debate over where to put the VegTherm in-line heater. Anton was concerned that the VegOil would not get hot enough with the VegTherm mounted on the top of the block. He wanted to put it right up against the injector lines among the snarl of hoses near the thumb pump. I vetoed that because I was convinced that I would burn myself repeatedly with that setup. As it turned out, the VegOil was plenty hot hitting the injectors with the VegTherm safely up top.

The hose shield was not the only welding task for this project. Anton fabricated a barbed T fitting (see below), introduced a new outlet into the coolant line, made several snazzy mounting pieces, repaired the driver's side door, and played dentist to a coolant-corroded water pump.

I was able to assist Anton with little tasks such as cleaning metal chips out of the tank, draining water that was pooling inside the car from a leak, cutting out the compressor, running for parts, etc.

Tip: Make sure you have good rapport with the Auto Parts and Hardware store folks. You'll be seeing them a lot! Purchased fuel hose, clamps, insulation, a 55 amp alternator, regulator, fuel gauge, radiator cap, 3 five gallon fuel containers,...

Anton is a late night person and I am an early morning person, so I missed much of the installation that occured after 10 pm.

1/17 FRONT END WORK
Woodland, CA
Ball joint and tie rods, alignment.
17317 Added 5 gal. Diesel for $10

We thought the car was good to go but it was still "sucking air" like there was no tomorrow. The thumb pump under the hood could not move the bubbles out of the system. Anton tried using his drill-operated Procon pump to swiftly move the air through the hoses, but only managed to aerate the tank and his brain too. After painstakingly checking all of the fittings twice and subjecting the Vormax to a leak test, submerging it in a bucket of water, we finally took it back to Craig. Anton re-did the tests for him and the Vormax was pronounced to be defective (the first bad Vormax in hundreds sold, Neoteric would like me to point out). The threaded bolt onto which the filter screwed was ever-so-slightly at an angle, which was thought at the time to be causing the constant air leak. We swapped it for a new one which worked like a charm. Despite these problems I would happily buy a Vormax again for the next installation. This is what Anton had to say about it:

"I did find that the filter base was machined wrong, causing the filter to screw down slightly cocked, though it wasn't conclusively proved to be the leak. Craig replaced it free of charge, and warrantied it."

The creative task of the installation is in the placement of the plumbing and fittings. In future MBZ installations I would consider spreading out the lines a little more so accessing the thumb pump and injectors is not so difficult. I still like the battery under the hood, although several people have suggested putting it in the trunk. Despite the snaky snarl of hoses, thick on the driver's side, I still think Anton made good choices about hose placement. It works for me.

Tip: Your installation is a one-of-a-kind. Make sure you get written details and schematics of how the system is laid out. Your installer will most likely not also be your mechanic. You can save a lot of time and money later on if you can supply future mechanics with good diagrams.