wiring into the ashtray region
 

Well I'm pretty much up and running now also. After just over a month of running a single tank conversion I decided to add a second tank. I installed and plumbed the tank last weekend and hooked up the pollack one night after work this week. Works like a charm. So much smoother on cold starts. I used the stock tank for biodiesel (which I can buy locally here at retail for about the same as petroleum diesel) and use that for the startup. In the trunk I mounted a 19 gallon tank so I should need to fill up less than once per week.

Only thing is that once I got my pollack connected up I was in a big hurry to be able to use it so I just mounted to switch under the hood. It's a bit inconvenient to say the least. I took my ashtray out tonight to see about running my switch into the ashtray region as an interim measure (final config will be EGT, boost gaue and second tank fuel gauge mounted there, along with switches for the pollack and proximity regulator which is yet to be installed). For now I just want to run 4 wires into this area from the engine compartment... Maybe it'll be clearer tomorrow when it's light, but at the moment I'm having a hard time seeing how to run those wires in there.

Andy would you mind telling me how you ran the wires for your switch? I want to mount mine in about the same place. Thanks!

I first simply drilled a hole right under the ashtray where I could see that the metal was the thinest. I had seen this done before in someones pictorial. THen I just ran the wires from the pollak in the engine compartment to the hole (located above the tranny so drill CAREFULLY!)

I used some silicone to seal it off. A grommet would be ideal. Also, I want to get some plastic loom type stuff to guard it better from the horrors the undercarrige goes through. Luckly after double checking everything it worked the very first time, and is very reliable to date.

I have collected parts etc too and am about to make the switch. Hopefully, everything will go smoothly. Being in Birmingham, I am going to just use my one fuel tank. Hopefully, it would only be effected for a couple of months. It really doesn't get that cold here. I plan on mixing rug with the wvo and using it.

Charlie

Did that this morning it worked out beautifully. So now I have my switch within easy reach, and I'm in business. It now justs sits there in place of the ashtray so it's ugly as sin but I want to just leave it like this while I take my time fabricating a decent looking gauge (and switch..) panel to go in place of the ashtray. I figure that'll have my secondary fuel gauge, boost gauge, and pyrometer. Still not sure if I want to attempt to stain that thing to match the rest of the wood in the car or just cover the panel in leather that matches my interior. I'm leaning toward the leather because I figure there's no way I'm gonna match the wood exactly, but with the leather I stand a chance at least. Anyway thanks for the tip - it worked great!

Charlie

You used to open the hood everytime you had to switch from Diesel to WVO?
Wow that sounds like a major pain in the rear end. Good to see you got a switch in now!

Sady,
How does your system purge? Do you switch to diesel before you shut down? I'm having problems with a GreaseCar kit conversion on my '76 300D, and I'm trying to troubleshoot.

--steve

Ya... it WAS a major pain. I guess you had to be there... it was the kind of thing where I got the tank installed last Sunday afternoon, then plumbed it, then it was getting late and I thought that's as far as I would get for that weekend and just pick it up the following weekend. But then I started looking at places to mount the pollack, drilled a couple holes, got it into place and realized... well OK it's getting late but if I run a power, ground, and then stick the switch in under the hood I can actually use the system starting tomorrow morning! So I went for it. Only drove it that way for about 6 days. My weather and driving habits are such that I only need to switch it twice each day: once from bioD to WVO after a couple minutes warming up on bioD in the morning and once from WVO to BioD in the evening on the way home to purge for the following morning's startup. I usually take the car out for lunch so I actually have no need to purge it druing the day - fires right up nice and smooth. It's only my cold morning starts that are a drag if I don't purge. That of course may change as we get into december. Bay area weather is not actually cold, but it's far from warm in december and january, and may drive some changes in the way I have to do things.

I just have a six port pollak and I flip the switch back to diesel a few seconds before shutdown. Its never not started.

I was doing some thinking and I have determined that some of my diesel goes back into my veg tank because i do not have a looped return.

Soon (when I get some more $$$) I will make it so that you can switch between a looped or a return lined return for veg.

Also, usually, I can get in the car, and flip the switch before I even start the car. It has always run normally on startup and shutdown although Im having some slight troubles with fuel flow through the filter, I would recamend a coolant heated filter or one with a larger surface filtering area.