There was a company here that converted diesels to run on WVO, and sold kits so that customers could do it themselves, and save on labor
A few years later, when it became clear that the WVO had caused numerous and expensive problems to the these cars, the company conveniently closed down
From one day to the next
Nobody knows where the owner went
Has anyone heard of MercedsSource? I just found it on the net and it seems to be not only a legitimate educational source for the DIYer, but for pros, you know the top notch guys, the Mercedes Master Techs like db4690. They provide a lot of information for free through videos and they sell their own manuals and other videos for what seems like reasonable prices.
I’m no longer a Mercedes Master Tech, because I haven’t worked at the Benz dealer for over 6 years now. I’m sure my certifications with those guys have long expired.
Since then, I’ve been working as a fleet mechanic
So I’m “only” an ASE certified master technician
If you want manuals, ebay is a good place to buy one. Actually, it won’t be a physical manual, but probably a CD-ROM
@db4690
Don’t wanna ruin Your day - but, there is more to life than the price of gas.
I’ve been blessed with living in Ca. for 20 months from june -96 until feb. -98. Got a temp work permit, got a job at 8 bucks/h. 40 hours a week. I was better off at 8 bucks an hour in Ca. than I was at 19 bucks/h in Denmark. luxury things where expensive in USA, but what you needed to live were cheap (think food, clothes, decent housing, 25 inch tv and so on).
Here, it doesn’t matter if I buy the cheapest junk, I still pay 25 % tax on anything, just so I can survive.
I am not complaining. I can can make both ends meet, but a lot of people in this country is having a very hard time to do the same.
@asterisk Thanks for the info. Coal is relatively cheap here because it is surface mined (open cast) and the power station is located right at the mine. The coal is also low in sulfur, and does not require SO2 scrubbing.
The US is still predominantly coal and nuclear powered, but cheap gas is making rapid inroads and coal fired stations are gradually being phased out.
Canada has always been predominantly hydro powered, like Norway, as well as having significant nuclear capability. Those areas without hydro or nuclear use mostly cheap coal locally mined.
Our local power comes from coal, gas and some hydro and 5-10% wind, which we have lots of. The city train service is powered by wind, according to city hall. They buy enough wind power to over the year to have “green Transit”.
My recent electric bill shown a wholesale price of 5.4 to 7.9 cents per KWH before all the other charges are added. That’s close to the production cost. Wind power supplier get 35 cents to feed into the net.
Using an electric car here would still save the owner about 50% on fuel cost because of the efficiency and no taxes.
@Docnick
That’s what I suspected, because all of the coal we use has to be imported as we don’t have any coalmines or deposits. Most of it comes from Poland, but other countries has been involved also and it always involve a ship. those are not cheap to hire (well, yes, by the ton of cargo - but…). Am I wrong if I say that most of your powerplants are located within a reasonable distance from a mine?. Because transport - whether by ship or by truck is a major factor in this (big) game. Another question out of quriosity (oh man, did I spell that wrong, somebody help me). What are the requirements for the chimneys on coal fired powerplants in USA with regards to polution?
You’re preaching to the choir, so to speak
Even though I’ve lived in California for quite some time, I was born and raised in Germany. So I know all about the cost of living in Europe.
This may be wrong, and sound insulting to some . . . that is not my intention
I always had the sense that people living in Europe were more restrained, when it comes to spending money. I mean they gave a little more thought to what was necessary, versus a luxury. Do we really need a big SUV, when a minivan or station wagon will do? Saving money, planning for retirement, etc. I feel that in the US, access to credit may be too easy, and many people will quickly dig themselves a deep hole. Of course, the media/marketing tells people to buy these unnecessary luxuries, because “they deserve them”
When I bought my first house, several years ago, I purchased a small home in an okay area, because that’s what I could comfortably afford, in regards to the mortgage. ALL of my colleagues told me I should have mortgaged my soul to the devil, and gotten a much bigger house, because that’s what “everybody” was doing. Well, a lot of those people eventually lost their homes, because they were stretched too thin.
“Slow and steady” versus “go for broke”
small and affordable versus stretched thin, and ANYTHING will cause the house of cards to collapse
@asterix In the Western USA and Canada the power station are “mine mouth”; they are located right near the surface mine. The coal is mostly low sulfur with about 9000 BTUs per pound heating value. In the east the coal has more sulfur.
Stack gasses have to have the ash removed, and there are limits on sulfur dioxide and other contaminant emissions. Plants burning high sulfur coal need that sulfur scrubbed out which results in a residue that can be used to make gypsum wall board for house construction. Most power plants are clean, don’t emit smoke and other than CO2, are quite benign.
Yes, North America has been called the land of EXCESS, but on a continent with lots of resources it is natural. Personally I always practice restraint and, like many posters here, avoid debt.
Countries with a much lower living standard such as Russia consume more energy per capita.
“I’m no longer a Mercedes Master Tech, because I haven’t worked at the Benz dealer for over 6 years now. I’m sure my certifications with those guys have long expired.”
You are a Mercedes Master Tech whether or not you’ve worked for a Mercedes dealership recently.
Honestly, I really don’t like boasting, but I must be forthright. No one comes close to me. My production of massive volumes of gas is unprecedented in all of human recorded history.
I know, some of you may doubt me, but you are wasting your time. I’ve been around the block a few times and I’ve seen the most self-assured, the most confident and brazen wannabes literally cry their eyes out once they’ve seen for themselves my prowess, my expertise, my nearly infinite capacity to out put unprecedented amounts of pure gas. It is a gift. It is humbling,
Yours Truly,
THE Undisputed All Time World Heavyweight Champion Gaseous Man.
(Probably why I not only live in abject poverty but have no friends, either.)
@asterix I’m not an expert, but I have some knowledge and can provide partial answers.
“Am I wrong if I say that most of your powerplants are located within a reasonable distance from a mine?” Transportation is easier in that we don’t have to cross borders and we have a fairly extensive railroad infrastructure, so power plants don’t have to be right next to a mine. We also have a fairly extensive power distribution grid, so power plants don’t need to be near the power users.
" What are the requirements for the chimneys on coal fired powerplants in USA with regards to polution?" Requirements depend on size, age, and the location of the facility. Particulate, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide have had regulations since the 1970s, with emission limits getting tighter over time. Recently, plants are/will be subject to regs on a large list of hazardous air pollutants, such as heavy metals and mercury. And there are/will be other requirements on carbon dioxide. Requirements are getting stringent enough that many plants are converting from coal to natural gas.
Coal fired electric generation plants are not always near mines. Unit trains of 100 open cars of coal are shipped hundreds of miles from the Black Thunder Mine in Wyoming. When I got a tour of the mine in 1986, it was the largest open pit mine in the western hemisphere. I assume that is still true. That thing was huge.
I’m glad no coal fired plats are near me. In fact the state axed the proposal for a coal plant a couple of years ago. Our local plants are either natural gas fired or nuclear. In at least one case, natural gas is piped directly from wells on site to the plant. Wind generation has gotten a LOT bigger in the last ten years too.
A few small towns have their own generation facilities, but most of those still buy power from the state’s largest supplier because it’s cheaper in the long run than maintaining their own plant. Those I’m aware of use diesel principle engines that run on natural gas.
We were originally talking about diesel, weren’t we?
Yeah, the original question was about the wisdom about restoring an old diesel car. Sometimes these threads meander like the path that Billy takes when he does an errand in a Family Circus comic. I’d say uncleharry has about given up on this thread.
The thread has wandered . . . but I feel that @uncleharry is going to get that car running again
And I hope he keeps us in the loop
You guys have so much to offer, it is amazing.
See, if I knew cars like some of you guys, I would love to try to put 3 million miles on one. Not just to attempt to set a world’s record for mileage by one owner of one car, but to try to save bucks. If I do the math correctly, keeping one car running for a long period of time is more economical than the Detroit Plan of buying a new one every few years, or leasing over and over. But, I majored in drinking beer, so I come to guys like you with expertise in these matters to see if I’m anywhere close to having a rational thought, you know?
Plus, the automotive industry and its secondary markets are hugely important to America’s economy. Our dependency on foreign oil and the symbiotic relationships we’ve formed with other countries born out that dependency, make me nuts. I don’t like being dependent on others, period and I don’t want to enrich nations that seek to undermine and to destroy us, which sponsor terrorism, and plot night and day to find clandestine paths to wreak havoc on our national and individual psyches, to kill innocent Americans.
And even if they all loved and supported us, I think it weakens us, our sovereignty, to be dependent on other nations to sell us what we must have to function, to buy our debt to finance our deficit and pay for our day to day governmental operations. So, these things do tie together and learning what you guys think makes me better informed. Everything I/we can do to reduce our dependence on other nations is worthwhile.
Vince Lombardi practiced the Packer Sweep endlessly. He forced large, quick, grown men-gifted athletes- to repeat similar motions ad infinitum so that eventually they would execute that entire “Sweep” within fractions of an inch. Over and over and over. Seems like a small, laborious, monotonous chore having little to do with the outcome of a game, or a season. But to Lombardi, those steps, those movements, the seemingly insignificant drills, were the game and the season.
At 12,000 miles per year it will take 250 years to achieve your 3 million mile goal. I don’t set my goals that high.
@uncleharry Yes buying a good used car with relatively low miles and keeping it a long time is the least expensive way to drive. Many of us have practiced this for years. My total net outlay since 1958!! on car purchases has been about $53,600 and that includes buying 3 new cars.
That comes to about $940 per year in ownership cost for 57 years…
However, getting many ECONOMICAL miles out of a car requires planning and good record keeping.
Depending on where you live, 3 million miles is just a pipe dream since corrosion will kill almost any car long before that. To get to the world record will not result in the lowest driving cost since upkeep gets progressively more expensive. There is a cut-off is where you have to get rid of the vehicle. The guy with the Volvo P1800 in the Guinness Book of Records is using the car as a promotional stunt driving around the country. His cost per miles would be much higher than someone driving an 8 year old Corolla.
In accounting terms, when the total annual ownership cost starts exceeding the cumulate average annual cost that’s the time to unload it. For example, if the average cost to date is $1200 per year and you are now experiencing two $1800 years in a row, you are going up the cost curve and better off getting another good used vehicle. Companies make decisions like that.
To get you started:
Avoid any complex, low volume production vehicle; you won’t be able to get is fixed as the car ages. Repairs will be expensive. Avoid any vehicle that can only be fixed by the dealer.
Use the Consumer Reports Car buying guide; it has repair records to 8 years. Avoid any car that had black marks in year 8; it’s an indication of lots of repairs as the car ages. Today’s Volvos are a particularly bad choice for long and inexpensive ownership.
In short, most of us here can get a car to last a very long time by spending enough money. The trick is to do it economically, the main reason for not buying new cars frequently.
Dig it! How cool is that? Thanks Docnick. I have no idea what you said, but I’m pretty sure I agree with you. “See Spot run. Run Spot run.” is about as advanced as I can go reading and comprehension-wise. I did pick up on your having spent only $900 a year on your vehicles which is excellent.
Did you see “Alone in the Wilderness”? Tis the true story of Dick Proenneke. He took off for Alaska and built a beautiful log cabin by hand and lived out in the wilderness by himself. He was a retired, unassuming, very bright diesel mechanic who’d had enough of our fast-paced, keep up with the Joneses nuttiness. He was extremely talented using his hands to make all kinds of things including a fireplace with rocks he gathered, cooking utensils from scratch, hunting for and growing the food he ate.
I want to thank one of the commenters for encouraging me to look at the flooring in my old bomb. Indeed, there is rust on the rear passenger side floor under the carpeting and insulation. It hasn’t eaten through, but it could. I will use Naval Jelly on it ASAP.
Price a working version of the vehicle. It likely will be far cheaper then paying someone else to restore yours.
If this car was sent to Mexico or central America you might be able to control the labor costs better. However in the United States you pay dearly.
@uncleHarry Yes, I was fortunate to be able to buy 2 well maintained company cars, both 4 years old, a 1984 Impala and a 1988 Caprice for about $3000 each since they were depreciated by the company and sold at book price.
Of my previous post, all you need to remember are the 5 points. And consult Consumer reports to weed out the bad apples.
One of the absolute worst vehicles, often worshipped by the granola crowd, is a Volkswagen Camper Van. It will put you in the poor house.
If you chose the wilderness, an American pickup truck with few extras would be your best choice. Parts would be available for a very long time and repairs are easy in rural areas. A Range Rover would be your absolute worst choice.
P.S. In North America, any Mercedes would also fit in my category of worst choice because of the upkeep expense as the car ages.