Deep Fried Diesel

Frybrid Kit update

2006-06-15T11:17:00.000-04:00

The first few pieces of my Frybrid kit appeared today :) Now I just need my 91 gallon secondary tank and I'll be set.

Deep Fried Diesel

2006-05-20T13:05:00.000-04:00

So much for Lake Placid, other gremlins have found their way into the truck.

Catch us live at Lake Placid

2006-05-04T21:26:00.000-04:00

We'll be up in New York State for the Lake Placid Festival of Cars
I'l be at the indoor display in the Olympic Centers 1932 Arena where 26 years ago, a bunch of amateur U.S. athletes beat a professional hockey team from the former Soviet Union. Except there won't be any ice while I'm there :(

Some cool history of this famous olympic center

More Greasestock '06 pics

2006-05-04T09:25:00.000-04:00

Here are my pics from the show. You can click to enlarge them.

More Greasestock '06

2006-05-03T21:20:00.000-04:00

I found my camera's battery charger finally. So here it goes.

Greasestock 06

2006-05-03T16:53:00.001-04:00

It made the NY Times today in the Metro section.

Also Tod from Art Socket gave us this one. Tod, I think we can some add twin turbos to your Westfalia.

Greasestock

The Journal News

Greasestock 2006 this weekend

2006-04-29T09:37:00.000-04:00

GreaseStock 2006 this weekend......

Peter Pratt's Inn

If you have a greasecar or want to see some come on up and party at GreaseStock 06.

One Day of Grease, Cars and Food

Greasebeast gets its first sponsor

2006-04-26T14:40:00.000-04:00

Super Size Me Motorsports is proud to announce our first sponsor. FountainHead Cryogenic Processing. Stay tuned for our official website launch. Actually we'll be launching a couple. The other site being launched will be www.GreenRodders.com a website for "hopped up" alternative fueled vehicles.

The New York Car Show

2006-04-20T17:46:00.000-04:00

I went to the New York Car Show today to whats new. I haven't gone since Mercedes introduced ML350. The Concept SUV was beautiful but what they really released was a "Mercedes Cherokee". I was and still am a fan of the Galandewagon Class. But today the show was below average and really catering to the rich ethnic professional ball player and Rap music crowd.

Porsche has some nice stuff. The fact that you can go 200 mph w/o a turbo is stunning. The new Dodge Challenger Retro was nice. I sat in the new 6" stretched Chrysler 300c nice but they won't give me any information on the diesel ones that they sell in Europe.

To my surprise was what Lexus was introducing for 2007/8

The Lexus 600HL The H is for Hybrid. I am not a hybrid fan since they don't make sense. But this car was absolutely stunning. Lots of HP, mids 20's on the MPG. And a special paintjob and rim combo only for the Hybrid. The color is called "Black Opel". Its a mix of black with hints of purple and awash with flavors of blue and licorice. If I find this paint code it will be the color of the greasebeast. And those headlights are the first ever LED low beams ever offered on a car.

These pics do not due this car justice. It was gorgeous and I am not a Japanese car fan at all. Remember I went to Canada to find an American truck built by Americans. But this paint scheme blows Bentley's "Beluga Black" into the weeds as its a reminder that VW owns them.

"284", The number of the Greasebeast

2006-04-18T10:09:00.000-04:00

As we near the end times, how close are we to Revelations 13 ?????

"And he causeth all horsepower, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right shifting hand, or on their helmets: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that hath the mark, or the name of the greasebeast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the greasebeast: for it is a human number; and his number is Two hundred fourscore and four."
Revelation 13:16-18

YIKES!!!! so I emailed Chuck. AKA "The Keeper", "The Holder", "The Designater" and "The Giver" of thine most holy numbers to get registered.

Zod,

I am assigning you number 284. You have the number for 3 years but each year you run the expiration date is moved ahead. The number belongs to you not the vehicle.

Chuck

The SuperSize Me Motorsports land speed racing vehicle "Greasebeast" has officially been designated #284. Technically, I'm given the number but the truck actually wears it. I won't be running down the long course without a vehicle under me..... well unless of course I'm chasing one of my tyres :)

U.S.F.R.A.

2006-04-17T18:12:00.002-04:00

Well, my rulebook and stuff came in the mail today from The Utah Salt Flats Racing Association. I've been a member but this year I'll actually be getting timed.

This is the 130mph club video from USFRA @

ZipCar spotted

2006-04-15T12:00:00.000-04:00

Saw another ZipCar on the NY Thruway by exit 9a.

Frybrid ordered

2006-04-11T21:15:00.000-04:00

The day has come, the paypal button has been pushed and the Frybrid kit has been ordered

The Holy Frybrid Kit of Antioch (my apologies to Monty Python)

King Arthur: How does it... um... how does it work?

Lancelot: I know not, my liege.
King Arthur: Consult the Book of Vegetable Oils!

Brother Maynard: Vegetable Oils, chapter two, verses nine through twenty-one.
Cleric: [reading] And Saint Attila raised the Holy Frybrid up on high, saying, "O Lord, bless this thy holy vegetable oil burning kit, that with it thou mayst blow thine OPEC enemies to tiny bits, in thy mercy." And the Lord did grin. And the people did feast upon the lambs and sloths, and carp and anchovies, and orangutans and breakfast cereals, and fruit-bats and large chu-- "

Birthday today...blog break, truck break

2006-04-05T08:57:00.000-04:00

I was born on a Wednesday on 4/5/67 and twice today it will be 01:02:03-04/05/06 this happens once every 100 years.

They say "Wednesday's child knows no woe" I beg to differ.

Honda I-CTDI Commercial

2006-04-04T12:03:00.000-04:00

In America, a lot of people have bad memories of diesels. Most of these stem from old buses, pre-turbo 18-wheelers and other vehicles of that ilk. And I can understand. Old 18 wheelers, rigs or class 8 truck, what have you, use to have what was called a "Smoke Mirror".

When you were driving up a long grade you would look out the window and see how much smoke was pouring out of your stacks and from that you could gauge how hot the engine was running.

Or even worse you remember the GM 350 Diesel that was converted from a gas motor. One of the worse engines ever created in America. Darryl Hannah has one in her black 1983 Chevy El Camino.

Ms. Hannah don't excelerate with that thing too quickly that engine's "bottom end" will fall apart faster then our reasons for being in Iraq.

Well those horror stories have embedded themselves so deeply in our psyches that when you watch a VW TDI commercial you won't hear the word "Diesel" mentioned for fear of scaring potential buyers off. New York is one of a couple states that doesn't even allow its people to buy new diesels. Only the elected enviromentalists would disallow people to buy vehicles that pollute less, get 30% better mileage and have the ability to run on alternative fuel.

Anyway, Honda in the UK had launched a great diesel commercial (2005) to help people rethink their opinions on diesel. Its got a great catchy tune.

So sing it like you hate it............................................... "hate something, change something, make something better...."

Please feel free to email this post to some of your anti-diesel friends.

My braided stainless brake lines are here....

2006-04-03T15:13:00.000-04:00

Saturday I went down to America Hose and Hydraulic and dropped off a couple of brake lines that I wanted made up in braided stainless steel. "SCHWWWWEEEEEEEET!!!" as my recent foreman who "is still employed despite miswiring up a $20,000 piece of electrical equipment and its subsequent catastrophic failure" would say.

As those who drive Dodges already know. There aren't alot of parts available. Combine this with the fact its a diesel, 2wd and built before 1994 and you basically have me walking around the desert like in the Jim Morrison movie. Anyway, so after contacting Brakequip in Tennesse they sent me a few addresses. One of which was in Paterson NJ. Paterson is home to a number of things, most importantly the Louis Francis Costello Statue

So I drove down Saturday, dropped off my brake lines and today picked the new ones up. Nice. I know they are made by Americans and not by some foreign aftermarket place. I'll post some pics later.

This is an amateur Hollywood portrayal of how excited I was that something went right for a change :) Hit the "PLAY BUTTON" to start.

from break.com

Pizza in the Bronx

2006-04-02T10:48:00.000-04:00

My grandmother and I went out for a slice of Pizza at Emilio's on Tremont Ave in Bronx, NY yesterday (my birthday is coming up 4/5/67). If you are a greaser and looking for small restaurants. This area would be a great place. Some of these places have less then 10 tables.

Bonneville Racer Ben Jordan passes: Hydrogen Activist

2006-03-31T18:07:00.000-05:00

I missed this article last week.

War Pilot, Greaser, a hydrogen guy that built his first hydrogen powered engine in 1932, converted a 1924 Model T Hack to burn 11 different types of fuels. Check out the above link for everything else.

Hydrogen Powered 1924 Model T Hack

San Francisco Gate Article

Hydrogen powered Shelby

Obituary

As the LSR racers say "Godspeed Ben"

Political Break-Connecticut HOV lanes are a failure

2006-03-27T11:40:00.000-05:00

Liberal-feelgood-government-regulated-driving behavior takes another dive today as a Connecticut study proves that the HOV lanes are 50% under utilized. Some of these lanes were built as early as 1989 its now 2006.

http://www.1010wins.com/pages/18757.php

To contrast this NJ's HOV lanes failed so quickly that they caused more traffic problems then they solved. If I am not mistaken we pulled out our HOV lanes in 1998. What most people fail to realize is that a lot of our traffic is former NJ and NY residents living in Pennsylvania driving through NJ to get back to NY for work. And with the suburban sprawl in NJ "sharing a ride" doesn't work.

I am not going to make it :(

2006-03-27T08:28:00.000-05:00

With April 1-2 coming up this weekend. There won't be a shot at me making it down to Maxton, S.C. with the East Coast Timing Association

My truck is up on jacks and I'm bringing my brake rotors and drums out to Fountainhead Cryogenics out in York Pennsylvania. Going to get them crygenically tempered. It extends the life of rotors and drums 2-3 times.

I can really see how this year is going to pan out......

Saw a ZIPCAR on the 9W South Today

2006-03-26T21:50:00.000-05:00

Yes, I finally saw a ZIPCAR in NJ. It had NY tags heading back to NU YAWK!!! And unlike the last one I saw I did not follow it anywhere...

The ZipCar concept was a bit hard for me to handle until I figured out its target market. If you live in a big city and don't need a car often ZIPCAR is for you. Ulitimately its cheaper. If you need a rental car when you travel it might not be for you. I give them a thumbs up. I may even become a member since I think they are that cool.

Braided stainless brake lines

2006-03-24T15:02:00.000-05:00

Margaret from BRAKEQUIP emailed me today with a list of local businesses that make custom braided stainless steel brakes hoses for the Dodge. If you have a popular vehicle like a mustang or a common 4x4 you can pick them up real easy. If drive vehicles like I do then you need to get them custom made or do without. Braided stainless steel hoses improve your vehicles braking ability, look cool and add snob appeal:) Brakequips are 100% street legal and D.O.T. approved. I'll some pics after I receive them.

2006-03-23T13:19:00.001-05:00

My SpeedBleeders came in from Sal up at Auto Sport USA North Route 17 Saddle Brook. I've been doing business with Sal for 21 years. 'Nuff Said!

Happy National Biodiesel Day

2006-03-18T16:00:00.000-05:00

Well today is Rudolph Christian Karl Diesel's Birthday and is also National Biodiesel Day. worth noting since I still run into people who have no idea who invented the "Diesel" engine.

Otherwise interesting and noteworthy

"Clessie Cummins" Father of the American truck diesel, 33 U.S. Patents.

"Magokichi Yamaoka", a student of Rudolf Diesel and invented the first practical small diesel engine 5hp. "Yanmar Diesel"

In 1912 Rudolph Diesel said,

‘the use of vegetable oil for engine fuels may seem insignificant today, but such oils may become, in the course of time, as important as petroleum and the coal-tar products of the present time’

McMaintenance

2006-03-13T13:51:00.000-05:00

Red Simpson MP3 Site

"I was drivin' along feelin' mighty good oh I didn't have to care
Till I reached for the breaks and I found out I didn't have any there...."

Greasebeast started pulling hard the other day. I was worried since I had the front end done a couple years ago and these trucks weren't designed to have this heavy ol'diesel in it.

Anyway, I looked at the front end and saw my tire was on a funky angle.

BEARINGS, WHEW! the spindles weren't scored I got lucky. When others "get lucky" its at a bar, when I "get lucky" I don't die.......

Oh well, my power booster was going anyway, and with 200K on the odometer time to change the master cylinder, while we are there might as well do the pads, the rotors don't have enough meat to be turned down again, cool new rotors, and hoses too. No point in looking at the rear drums. "Yeah baby" let's get some new drums hoses and everything else I might need.

I hate spending money on slowing down my vehicle :)

Turbo Diesel Registry February Meet

2006-02-26T19:34:00.000-05:00

Four Cummins Diesel'rs appeared up at the Intergalatic Subaru MegaMeet (where 400 Subaru's showed up) at the Fireplace in Paramus. It was well below freezing and I still had icicles hanging on my bumper from washing it*. Despite the cold and not having a Subaru I managed to get few crowds at my truck.

Those in attendance

1) Junior
2) HOBrian
3) ECPeters our resident geriatric juvenile w/a 12.8 sec 1/4 mile-105 mph dirty old 99 2500 quad cab
4) Midlife Crisis
5) John a local machinist, diesel guy ** and associate of myself
6) Your humble blogster

note-one of these members was trying avoid family obligations

*note to self-> don't wash vehicles when it is around 12 degrees outside. Your driveway instantly becomes a sheet of ice (this will provide for additional unnecessary excitement), although the truck did look cool with ice all over it.

** John is probably the only guy to get 100,000 miles on the GM 350 diesel nightmare motor.

Up in Boston

2006-02-17T11:00:00.000-05:00

"It was his first trip to Boston in a big long diesel truck
It was his first trip to Boston he was a havin' lots of luck
He was headed the wrong direction down the one way street in town
And this is what he said when the police chased him down
Give me forty acres and I'll turn this rig round
It's the easiest way that I found
Some guys can turn on a dime or turn it right downtown
But I need forty acres to turn this rig around".........

-Red Simpson 1967

I found a new place to do some volunteer work. Boston.... Alternative Wheels Festival.

So I'll add this to list of places I've done volunteer work.

New York-New York Pops@Carnegie Hall (Late 90's) Fundraising for the Kids in the Balcony and Musicians of Tomorrow. Skitch Henderson....your humor will be missed buddy!!!

Sponsored a Maywood, NJ softball team 1997

New York/New Jersey (early 90's) Section A-1 Forest Fire Service and Search & Rescue

New Jersey- (early 90's) Campmaster for the Winter Scouting program at Camp Tamarack and No-Be-Bo-Sco. O.A. Camp Maintenance 1980's and 1990's.

I made the 8am meeting and had a great time. Most of what I need to do I can get done in Jersey. Thank-you internet....

It's only a 4 hour trip and now that I have both XM and Sirius satellite recievers going I am always looking for reasons to drive around.

Greasebeast gets a Beer Keg

2006-02-17T10:00:00.000-05:00

After missing an earlier bid on a 7.75 stainless keg another one appeared and I won. $37.50 including shipping. This is an alternative to the $149.50 plastic one offered by Snow Performance I need something that will hold up in the bed of the truck and it had to be stainless. Most kegs are aluminium. And methanol will probably corrode it.

We'll be filling this keg with winter formula windshield washer fluid. I have the Snow Performance stage III methanol injector. This is a great product. It factors Boost and Exhaust Gas Temperatures. And I can adjust how much it can inject. I can adjust it for performance or emissions right from my dashboard. It will drop my EGT's thereby dropping NOX emissions. It can inject straight water, 50/50 water&methanol or winter formula windshield washer fluid (which is the cheapest). You can actually inject straight water and increase your HP and drop emssions. Truckers have known this for years and JCWhitney had one to help avoid "pinging". This unit is top notch.

If I was feeling exceptionally politically correct I could gather reclaimed rainwater, run it through a reverse osmosis setup. But that might upset the French who own my water company.

March 30 Update. "Corzine the Intolerable" Governor of the People's Republic of NJ amongst other things placed a tax on my water. Time for reverse osmosis. He's as bad as the French.

Deep Fried Diesel

2005-11-25T10:34:00.000-05:00

I picked up a used motor for my 1974 Dodge Ramcharger. I wish it was a diesel but that will have to wait. I need a tow vehicle for Bonneville and Maxton pronto.

4TH annual SEEfood Challenge in CT

2005-10-29T12:23:00.000-04:00

I'm all the way in the back of the photo in front of my pickup. The other cool pickup is the blue 1st gen on the far right.

Took a trip with some NJ members up to Derby Connecticut for the SEEfood challenge.

"When you SeeFood you eat it"

Who showed from the Turbo Diesel Registry

TMTT
TQT
M00SESignal
STRAIGHTSIXJEFF
Zealandean
TheRabbitTree
Ahartly (A.K.A Goldmember or Wirenut)
VSSman
Jleonard
Junior
BigDaddy
testraub
jengleSlundval
Gbebe
Signal
TnLRacing
Thomas
Trujillo
CTRAM
therabbittree
MackTruck
}{ead$hot Zod
Junior
DodgePlowGuy
NMongeau
StanSroka
QueerSteer
J Rowe

I don't write songs but I love to write song parodies. My apologies to Red Simpson and Junior Brown

http://sg1.allmusic.com/cg/smp.dll?link=votj7bqygnjugar505vnhga&z=MP3&r=20.asx

"TheVeg Oil Express"

I was caravan'n to a party due to Toolman's request,
my 3/4 ton Dodge called the Veg'Oil Express.
There was nothin' but curves a runnin' from the top on down,
and at the bottom of the grade sat a quiet little Derby town.
Well, I was drivin' off the top when she jarred and the driveshaft broke,
started pumpin' up the brakes, saw 'em going in a big cloud of smoke.
To keep 'er upright ...I knew I had to do my best,
against a runaway bomb called the Veg'Oil Express.

(Chorus)

There was a 1000 gallon drum of filtered cooking oil,
over a buncha tires that smoked and squealed.
I had to ride her down and I couldn't jump free,
or there'd be a big hole where that little Torque's Shop used to be.

Well my D250 leaned each time that I took another curve,
my hands started sweatin' and I knew I was losin' my nerve.
And I was cussin' and came within inch of the Toolman's chest,
a fightin' with the wheel of a Dodge called the Veg'Oil Express.
I side-swipped a 3rd Gen trying to slow her down by rubbin' her side,
and when the sparks started flyin' man it looked like the 4th of July.
I finally got her stopped ... but HO-Brian confess'd,
â€œthat's the last time I'm behind Zod and that Veg'Oil Express!!!â€�.

(Chorus)

(Repeat Chorus - but change last line to ..

Cause there'd be a big hole where that little Torque's Shop used to be.
__________________

Asked to leave.............(again)

2005-09-25T09:00:00.000-04:00

The "Downtown Naperville Car & Motorcycle Show" http://www.DoubleKproductions.com.

"Maybe not being asked to leave,
but certainly being handed your hat!"
-Hadden to Dr Arroway in the movie "Contact"

Now this one annoyed me since I was actually at the registration booth. Double K Productions absolutely would not register me for their car show nor would they tell me why I could not. For the record I was not obnoxious nor did I argue. The whole shebang lasted less then a minute.

"I am here to register the truck in either the "4x2" or the "Specialty Class".
"No"
"why not....... you mean I can't register this truck at this show'
"no way are we registering that truck"
"I just drove out from NJ to be in this show"
"sorry"

The Double K website states

1) "Double K Productions, The #1 Car Show producer in Chicagoland"

2) "We recognize that you have a choice in what shows to attend. So when you pull into our lot, it is our desire to host for you, your family, and friends, a quality show with fair balloting and enjoyment for everybody".

yeah..... right.
Must have been some definitions of those words that I was previously unaware of.

This is my favorite line from the site.

3) "Double K asks, Have you ever gone to a show or cruise and attempted to park your car only to be directed elsewhere, and then the promoter’s buddies or club members pulls in the same spots?.......That simply will not happen at a Double K Show!

Double K asked me to leave their show entirely.

5) "But most importantly, we love the people. In fact, we believe the most important “part” of any vehicle is the owner and driver.

I feel the love..... so warm and fuzzy...... What owners and drivers would those be?

The people in the show voluntarily pay you to be in your show, that you in turn promise some restaurant owner with a parking lot that you can guarantee all sorts of customers and friends to show up and to spend money on the slowest night of the week, if you throw them some paltry food discount. I was born at night, just not last night.

6)"We market to the Classic Car, and while we do not necessarily market to the Asian Import Car, we do open our shows to all Car Enthusiasts".

That is "all car enthusiasts" except for the alternative fuel enthusiasts.

7) "It is flat out silly and ridiculous to offend people by not allowing, for example, a 62 Porsche or an 87 Grand National into a show or cruise night. That simply will not happen at a Double K Show!"

Indeed, I am completely insulted and offended. I'm promoting US farm jobs which last I checked seemed to be a pretty important in Illinois. OOOPs I forgot, all the farmland I used to see when I was there in the 70's is turning to strip malls. You'll look like Paramus, NJ in no time.

8) "One never knows from show to show what vehicle may pull into the show lot and when they do............. "

But we do know who won't be allowed.

"everyone has a great story about their ride"

Yes, I've been interviewed for 4 televison clips for Boston, San Francisco and NJ over the past few years.

9) "At Double K , we attempt to explore these stories and encourage others to do the same!"

They do this by asking you to leave. Maybe you talked to Michelle from I-Renew out in Iowa. Do me and the planet a favor don't discourage others from bringing alternative fueled hot rods to car shows.

10) "We expect you to have so much enjoyment, that when you leave, you tell your buddies about us and bring them back to our next event. See ya at the show!"

Oh yeah...... I'm telling "ALL MY BUDDIES" about you and your show. I should tell the city clerk since she's my cousin about you evil people and your show. But since I am a gentlemen I shall not. But I will tell you that I am of the opinion that she is a bigger alternative fuel fan then myself and you guys asked a "greasecar" to leave.

11) "Double K is not a car and/or bike club. In fact, because some might consider it a conflict of interest, we personally do not belong to a club or association".

Maybe you own stock in Exxon.

12) "Now enjoying yourself, sharing and swapping stories about your car or motorcycle with others are what it is all about. And well yes, trophy time isn't so bad either! Having said this, it is important that all participants follow these few guidelines to insure that an enjoyable event takes place".

I enjoyed myself after being asked to leave the show and by having coffee with my family. I then drove 812 miles back to NJ. Always have a back-up plan when dealing with Double K Productions.

13) "If you enjoy the friendly competition that a car show can offer, then you should know that Double K strives to keep the judging &amp; balloting fair & balanced. To this end, beginning this season, we have completely changed the Participant Judging process......
Thus once again, Double K is attempting to put fairness back into a Participant Judged show".
As we can all palinly see, Double K is the total embodiedment of fairness. This assumes they allow you to participate. My truck qualified for two classes "4x2" and "specialty class" but was still asked to leave.

So I left, it was turning cloudy anyway so the high dollar trailer queens probably didn't show up either.

This concludes my experience with Double K productions. So I figured that I would give you some advice on producing car shows. Come on out to NJ, go to the Whiskey Cafe and you find the American Cruisers car shows. Every Saturday night May-Oct. 500-600 cars show up. American Cruisers at the Whiskey Cafe and here's a clip

2005 AltWheels Transportation Festival

2005-09-18T16:21:00.000-04:00

This photo was taken and all rights owned by Erik Gehring, Bob Boucher or Steve Connors

This show was so packed compared to last year that I really never saw much more then my truck. I had no real time to see the rest of the show. 2000 people showed for 2004 and 4000 for 2005. Shows you what happens when fuel jumps from $2.50 a gallon to $3.75 a gallon.

The Auto Channel write up of the show

The 2006 Show will be held in that absolutely awe inspiring architectural marvel of the modern age* "The Boston City Plaza". We are expecting 16,000 people. And I expect you to be there too.

*I say this strictly for the locals as they roll their eyes in complete disbelief.

I had another adventure in Boston. I love Boston but I get lost there all the time. You see in NY everything is laid out in a grid accept for the area around Wall St. Boston which is only a few years younger appears to be laid out like a pile of lightly cooked Linguini. The morning of the show I was heading in what appeared to be the right direction and saw a ZipCar so I started following it until I was completely lost. I talked to the ZipCar driver at a gas station only to find out he wasn't an employee of Zipcar nor was he going to some carshow that he hadn't heard of. Then it finally hit me who uses them.

2005 Mopar Car-B-Que

2005-09-10T16:00:00.000-04:00

Rights to this picture belong to http://www.moparcarbque.com

If you are from North Jersey or any other place on the planet for that matter. This part of southern Jersey is why we are called the Garden State. Miles of farmland and pine forests. This is a packed car show and you can load up with local fruits, vegetables and honeys on the way out. If you have ever eaten the "sweet white corn" RAW from NJ, you will never understand why corn is cooked in other parts of the world.

Please don't show up at all...............

2005-08-22T17:34:00.000-04:00

WOW.......... the Greasebeast was turned down by the
Iowa Renewable Energy Association (I-RENEW)

Cliff,

New Jersey is far away from here! We are trying to promote renewable fuels, energy conservation and fuel efficiency, it would be hypocritical to have someone attend by driving their vehicle from New Jersey. Our Saturday keynote is already in town for something else and our Sunday Keynote is biking from home. I wouldn't feel so bad if you were already planning to be in Iowa. We will have biodiesel and veggie oil fueled vehicles on display.

Thanks for your interest,

Michelle

Iowa Renewable Energy Association (I-RENEW)
Energy EXPO Coordinator

Plan to attend the 2005 I-Renew Energy EXPO on September 10 & 11, 2005 at Prairiewoods in Hiawatha, IA.

What was up with that? I run on biodiesel and recycled waste vegetable oil, I've improved my mileage, I've dropped my emissions. They tell me I shouldn't attend and then at the end of the email they tell me to plan on attending. Silly .sig files

Now let us contrast this with "AltWheels" in Boston and "Cruising for a Cure" in Dayton Ohio. When I received my award they said "Cliff came all the way from NJ". In Dayton Ohio, they made special mention that "I was travelling around thge country"...... argh!!! you just can't win. I hope I never get put in charge of highway or farm subsidies :)

I say that Tongue in cheek as I have been there a few times to Ainsworth, Iowa that was named after one of my Ancestors. Great steaks. The fastest I have made it home was 19.5 hours non-stop back to NJ from there.

NJ Turbo Diesel Registry Hooters meet

2005-03-24T22:00:00.000-05:00

Finally a bunch of us got together.

1) Marc,
2) Marc's associate,
3) HOBrian
4) Myself.

300 years in the future this will historically be known as "The First Meeting". The Post Office will issue stamps in our honor :)

What we learned.

1) We need to get together more often.
2) Diesels are cool
3) How amazing it was that our waitress (Laura) could function so well with so little brain power.
3a) It was hypothosized that if Laura's brains were surgically inserted into the hind section of an ant. It would probably make the same noise that a "BB" makes inside of a New York Central boxcar when shaken.
3b) Laura's skeptical look (think "Beavis and Butthead" or Carl Sagan) on my truck's ability to burn used veggie oil as a fuel was unmatched. Like we would try to fool her? I mean come on now the menu already does that.
3c) Laura has the same gun rights and voting capabilities as the rest of us.
3d) Laura will probably marry well, never own a gun or remember to vote.

2004 Ridgewood Car Show

2004-11-01T15:15:00.000-05:00

Had a great night, meet some great people. A Ford Mustang won overall best car. It is hard to describe Ridgewood, NJ in one paragraph. So I'll say that I hope the teenager that won best overall car, thanked Daddy for buying it and having somebody restore it for him. There were a lot of cars that people worked on for years. Mustangs usually dominate car shows for some reason. But hey I'm a Mopar guy so I have adjusted to this situation. Not that I want to ram political correctness down your throat but if you are thinking about restoring an old car that won't see much mileage and it is not a highly collectible car why not try a conversion like this

1965 Mustang EV conversion http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/098.html and build something cool with your son. Now if you aren't thrilled by an electric 'stang and you have some bucks to blow on a car resto. Try this. 1965 Mustang Convertible with a 224 Hp 320 CDI Mercedes BlueTec Diesel. If having a 35 mpg mustang that does over 100 not thrill you then dump a recent Mercedes diesel and get a Rennetech or AMG chip upgrade and run biodiesel figure 30 mpg and you can still go 1/4 drag racing.

Thats how we we transfer the hobby to the next generation. Don't be a "same'ling" build different, drive different.

2004 Bordentown Cranberry Festival

2004-10-02T16:58:00.000-04:00

This is a shot of the overflow lot. This car show is FREE. So everybody shows up REALLY EARLY.

Yeah, I'm thinking that Nash Metropolitan would make a nice spare vehicle rather then a spare tire. I bet it would fit nicely in the bed of my truck. Pity its not a diesel.....hmmmmm but it could be. How about a "chipped" VW TDI motor and a Frybrid Veg Oil Kit. After that I guess we could call it the "Mash'd Veggiepolitan".

Yes Virginia, there is a Cranberry Festival....

Bordentown has this show every year. A complete Food, Carshow, Antique, Craft and Cranberry Pageant rolled into one. Did I mention you need to show up early.

"Cruising for a Cure", Dayton, Ohio

2004-09-26T15:00:00.000-04:00

This show was my first real professionally judged car show. I mean I went to many car shows in the 80's and early 90's down in Englishtown, NJ but this show was amazing. The indoor cars were absolutely spectacular. These Ohio boys take their car shows real serious.

The more casual cars were outside which is where I was. I had contacted them earlier about bringing a late model truck and said "sure". There were a couple of categories but they wound up sending me to the late model sedan area along with a few other confused pick-up drivers.

Anyway, I had a lot of great talks with some farmers out there about biodiesel usage and American farm jobs. They all saw the truck and was curious why it was at the show. Alot of families appeared so I got to talk to them and their kids.

At one point the Quaker State Oil guy came by and was selling tickets for the 50/50 and we had a long talk about the truck and that I was going around to different shows educating people and letting them look at the truck. So I bought an "armlength of tickets" for the cause (I think it was 10 or 20 bucks). What a lot of "anti-car people" don't know is that most car events are for charities which is why if you have a greasecar you need to go to car shows more.

So we get to the end of day and they are handing out awards and eventually they went on to the giveaway prizes and finally the 50/50. Now I am sitting in the shade relaxing and thinking to myself. My great uncle Bud (first guy to take me fishing on the Fox River out in Aurora, Illinois who later died of brain cancer from diesel fumes where he was a bus mechanic and my Aunt Lonnie (who was more like a friend then an aunt) who died of a rare cancer working as a CPA at a refinery out in Bronx, NY.

Now I'm wearing the shirt she gave me from her last vacation before she got sick and I thought. "If I win I'll give half back to the group in their memory". A minute later I won about $650.00 so I went up and accepted half and donated it in their memory. The Quaker State guy then goes on to say the guy that won much less on Saturday gave nothing back and tells the entire field of people about the truck and what I was doing. "You need to see this truck....., it runs on....., he's going around...." What a great day.

Maybe if everybody used vegetable oil based fuels all the Lonnies and Uncle Buds out there could stay around a bit longer.

So if you are modifying an old car why not drop a diesel in it, the performance is the same if not better and it will pollute less.

My truck works fine (for a change) whats your excuse?

2004-09-25T07:00:00.000-04:00

If you have been driving Route 80 through Pennsyltucky it is one of the most boring states to drive through. Now this particular evening I took a break for a quick snooze (2am) at Snowshoe. I stop here alot when I drive out to Illinois. As I'm trying to get comfortable and go to sleep, a gentlemen (truck driver) asks me if I could help fix his rig. Which figures, my truck is working fine so somebody else nearby has a meltdown-that I need to fix argh! Anyway I politely tell him I will help him in a few hours, like when the Sun comes up and he politely agrees.

Boy did those hours pass fast. I wake up, grab a candy bar and coke out of the machine (try to kickstart the brain over). I look around to see if he was still around or maybe sleeping. I walk back to my truck and fire her up. "Hapless Driver" appears out of thin air and asks if I'm ready. I said sure and asked what the problem was. He needed a jumpstart. NO PROBLEM......

Now this is where it gets hairy. I need to point my truck up the entrance ramp facing oncoming traffic. As you can see there are rigs all over the place. The truck traffic coming to the rest stop is coming entirely too fast since none of them know where I am parked. So for the next 1/2 hour or so I set my truck on high idle and charge up his battery pack of 3 or 6 batteries. After a few shots it kicks over and I hop into the cab and see that his alternator isn't moving at all. The batteries looked horrible but the lack of alternator is going to be a real kicker since he's going to the Chicago Suburbs. I said don't use any lights and maybe pick-up a battery, but you need an alternator. He offered $75.00 for my services and I flatly refused figuring he's already having a bad day and there is no way he'll make it to the Windy City with me giving him a half hour charge. He "No no, charge me, its my boss's truck and he'll refund me the cash as long as you write your name and address". I said "fine" wrote up a receipt and took the cash. The owner should be ashamed of sending a driver out with batteries that look like that.

Oh well....

Ohio....next stop......

Ibew Local 164 Car Club

2004-09-22T19:44:00.000-04:00

Fried Diesel

Last night I went the Local 164 car club meeting. Mostly motorcycles showed up so I wound up giving a class on biodiesel and veggie oil usage. And since some motorcycles now run on B100 and/or diesel it gave everybody something to think about.

March 2006: Since this night no car has actually shown up other then me. I am declaring myself the new "Overlord" of the

"The Local 164 Waste Vegetable Oil TurboDiesel Retrofitters & Technika Society"

2004-09-20T01:00:00.000-04:00

2004 AltWheels Transportation Festival Brookline Massachusetts

This was the first "Alternative Car Show" that I have ever gone to. Up until this vehicle, I had to look at other people's cars and now by participating I get infinitely better parking. It was the second Altwheels Festival and I wound up scoring a People's Choice Award in the Environmentally Friendly Renewable Fuel Vehicle Class http://www.altwheels.org/prizes.html. I was running B100. This page is no longer on the site but I know its there :)

This was a great show, Alison Sanders started the show in 2003 and the number of people going to the show has been doubling every year since. If you live near Boston and have a grease car or any other alternative fuel vehicle, why don't you show up and spread the word. I live in NJ and I am volunteering up there so I don't want to hear it is "too far"

2004-09-16T18:08:00.000-04:00

Yeah Baby!!!! The Cummins 5.9l "Bling Bling Chrome Kit" for my diesel showed up today.

http://wwwapps.ups.com/ietracking/tracking.cgi?tracknum=1Z4393590241028215

Thank-You ScheidDiesel. Chrome first Twin Turbos later

http://www.scheiddiesel.com

Self Serve Diesel, why is this important?

2004-07-20T19:59:00.000-04:00

New Jersey is one of those states that doesn't allow its citizens to pump their own gas. Think of our future Hooters waitress. However, if you drive a diesel vehicle you can pump your own fuel. This is because "Over The Road" drivers need receipts. So they need to go inside and see a cashier. So if you have a personally owned diesel vehicle you can cash in on this option. This was shortlived however since I started using B100 exclusively for the next few months and never went back.

You'll notice that I don't have a front license plate. I didn't have a rear either. I was still in the middle of repatriating the truck with North Dakota Customs, NJ Customs and Trenton DMV. Surprisingly enough I drove without plates for almost a month and never got pulled over.

1992 Dodge D250 Diesel at Todd Chrysler, Kamsack Saskatchewan

2004-07-05T17:00:00.000-04:00

Once upon a time there was a lonely 1992 Dodge Diesel that nobody wanted. It was built in America as a Canadian Export Model. KPH on the speedometer and daytime running lamps. She had around 160,000 miles on the odometer and was parked at Todd Chrysler which is about 4.5 hours north of North Dakota.

Her former owner Duce Electric Ltd. (a small irony since I am an IBEW #164 electrician, and Duce does oil rig work) Duce Electric Ltd. traded her in for something newer. This made her very sad :(

She thought to herself. I'm still good for 500,000 plus miles, I have A/C, a manual transmission, a full interior, no rust, I'm cheap to insure, "a big easy to work on" engine compartment. She sat there for many months as her self esteem fell to record lows.

And then on July 5th 2004 (after two planes->Toronto and Regina and a 4 hour bus ride) she started her trip back to America and was "repatriated" by her new owner.

2002-07-11T12:30:00.000-04:00

This was just a random day from the summer of 2002. My foreman (Al Burge, Local 52 guy) and I were looking across the Hudson River down at Ground Zero and talking like we did every day. Basically about how screwed up the whole oil situation was. And eventually we got to talking about where the profits go and he says something to the effect that "we don't need these people" and I said "Well Al, the Saudi's invest almost all of their oil profits from us back here in the US we do actually need them, most people don't know that but they do".

Al goes "there has to be a better way".

Well Al, I never forgot those words. And although I didn't start this project specifically with your comment in mind. I often think about that conversation.

2001-09-11T08:00:00.000-04:00

This day started like any other day at Kleinknecht Electric. I was working at Newark Airport on the new Continental Airlines hanger when we were evacuated after break because one of the hijacked planes might be "coming back". I'll get back to this.