posted
I need some advice. I'm looking into buying a 73 International TravelAll. It's a behemouth, with a V8 and 2 tanks. I want to convert it to biodiesel, and as far as I can tell, that should be fairly straightforward.
But, I dont know if I'm just deluding myself because I've wanted an International for a very long time, and this one is very, very affordable.
What I should know before jumping on this deal: How easy are these things to work on? I'll be using it to teach myself how to work on my own car, and I'd prefer a straightforward, easy to handle type of deal.
How realistic is converting it to biodiesel? It's a diesel engine, but it's HUGE. Think old Suburban. Anyone familiar with these types of conversions?
The body is straight, with very few dings, and it's only got a little over 98,000 original miles on it. But for the price, I'm thinking there's got to be something else wrong with it.As far as I can tell, these things in good condition go for a couple thousand dollars. This one is $500. I haven't gone to look at it yet, because I have a horrible tendancy to fall in love with the idea of something and buy it right off the bat without taking the time to make sure it's a good deal. I want to be girded about with cynical knowledge before I go drool over this car. Any advice would be appreciated.
Posts: 499 | Registered: Mar 2004
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Do you have a trusted mechanic you can pay to look it over? For that price, it might be worth an expert opinion.
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Some discussion on whether conversion really is needed at MercedesShop.com (my random googlage -- have no idea how correct, I'm sure you know much more than me -- not hard to!)
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
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I know people who know people (if you know what I mean) who do conversions of all types. But talking to them about it wont do much good till I have the car and we can go over specifics. Of course, giving little info and expecting specific advice is soooooo much more realistic on a forum. This I know.
Icarus, by owning lots of other cars? Using it for specific purposes only? Being a fuddyduddy homebody?
Posts: 499 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Is there actually a zero at the beginning of the mileage on the odometer? My 1970 Chevy pickup says 83,000, but I know it's 483,000 total and on it's third engine, which really has nearly 200,000. Back then they didn't need 6-digit odometers on most vehicles.
Posts: 1379 | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
Sweet. If you can afford to blow $500 on a hobby, do it and treat learning to work on it as your entertainment budget for the next 6 months. If you need it to be usable as reliable transportation right away, forget it.
Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
the biodiesel stuff is pretty easy if the rest of the vehicle is in good enough shape. i have several friends running homebrew.
Posts: 1379 | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
I think you just need to put a heater in the bottom for cold weather, depending on your particular blend of biodiesel. You could even add a switch so when the temp gets hot enough, you can switch over to a vegetable oil tank, though a bohemoth like a travelall has got to use a lot of fuel.
Posts: 1423 | Registered: Sep 2003
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