Daryl Hannah with her 1983 biodiesel El Camino
Buy this car and you even get your own home biodiesel fueling station, 55 gallon drum, hand pump, quick release fittings, everything you need.
The Crucible, an Oakland, California based non-profit educational community, has built a motorcycle. Called Die Moto, the bike has a custom built steel frame with a BMW swingarm and possibly the fork, too, though that isn't stated along with a custom designed aluminum fairing.
The engine, from a BMW 320D diesel powered car, is a 4 cylinder, 4 valve turbo diesel displacing 1995cc with 163 horsepower and 251 foot pounds of torque. Die Moto runs B99 biodiesel or SVO (straight vegetable oil). Rolling weight for this bio fueled custom is 1100 pounds.
Their plan is to take the bike to the Bonneville salt flats and break the land speed record for diesel and biodiesel motorcycles, currently at 105 mph. Since they have already had the bike at El Mirage at over 120 mph, the record should fall without too much trouble, by how much remains to be seen.
Another photo and links below: [click to continue…]
The MTV television show, "Pimp My Ride," will take a 1965 Chevy Impala and transform it into a biodiesel hot rod in honor of Earth Day. The car will receive an engine transplant and get an 800 horsepower version of the popular Duramax diesel engine, usually found in Chevy and GMC trucks.
Press release follows:
In celebration of Earth Day, MTV and the "Pimp My Ride" crew prove that going green can get extreme, especially with a little help from a friend - California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. As part of a very special Earth Day episode airing April 22nd at 1 pm ET/PT, Governor Schwarzenegger visits Xzibit, Mad Mike and the entire "Pimp My Ride" crew at G.A.S. (Galpin Auto Sports), as they take aim on a '65 Chevy Impala, and give it a one of a kind ecological alteration. Ultimately proving that power and preservation can co-exist thanks to partners at Galpin, Imperium Renewables, General Motors and others, the Impala gets an 800 horsepower diesel engine that will run on biodiesel, turning it into one extraordinary clean machine! ... [click to continue…]
NearBio is a free service to help you find biodiesel when your tank is getting low. It's easy to run biodiesel when you're driving in familair territory but what happens when you take an extended trip and you would rather not run a non-biofuel?
NearBio of Nevada City, CA, updates their database of biodiesel filling stations every day. You can get the information by going to their website on a computer or a cell phone with Internet access or on your phone with text messaging. You'll get a list of stations near your location, driving instructions to find them and GPS coordinates, too.
Even with the rapid growth of biodiesel, filling stations are a bit difficult to find. As time goes on and more biodiesel pumps appear, this type of service may be less necessary but for now, it looks really useful.
Running your diesel car or truck on biodiesel is one thing, pouring in straight vegetable oil is another. If you're one of those who likes to take your biofuel straight up, Greasecar offers conversion systems allowing you to fillup on used cooking oil from your local diner, though you will have to do a bit of filtering to remove the leftover french fries.
Greasecar is actually one of the more well known conversion systems out there. Other companies will convert your car for you or sell you an already converted diesel, often an older Mercedes or VW, but Greasecar sells the components in kit form, so a reasonably handy owner can do the job him or herself.
The system is not very complicated, the primary item is the heated fuel tank which keeps the vegetable oil in a liquid state, even in cold climates. You need a valve to switch from running on diesel to WVO after the engine warms up and back again to flush the system before shutting the engine off, plus various hoses, clamps, wires and fittings. You still retain your original fuel tank for start up and shut down fuel and you can run on regular diesel if you run out of veggie oil.
Greasecar has systems for cars and light trucks and another for heavy duty trucks, which essentially means a much larger fuel tank that can be situated in the truck bed. The systems look very well designed and testimonials from satisfied customers give the potential buyer the confidence they can do this, too.
If you think free waste vegetable oil is a better deal than pricey diesel from the local pump, take a look at Greasecar Vegetable Fuel Systems.
Link: Greasecar Vegetable Fuel Systems
Related: Biodiesel Conversions - Lovecraft Biofuels
For already converted cars and trucks: Biodiesel Cars for Sale
