About The Vegfalia
The Vegfalia is a 1987 Vanagon GL Syncro with a transplanted 1.9L Turbo Diesel engine and a Greasecar two-tank vegetable oil kit installed.
Modifications:
Previous owner:
California Oak hardwood floors
GoWesty 16” alloy rims
Pioneer speaker system
The S.E.E.P. Mods:
1.9L Turbo Diesel engine installed by Autostadt West, Sacramento, CA
Engine/mounting bars/fuel tank/bellhousing from Quality German Auto, Montclair, CA
Greasecar SVO kit with 15 gallon tank and computer controller
GoWesty Auxiliary Battery relay with Odessy 1900 450 amp-hour battery
High-Intensity Headlight Upgrade from GoWesty
LED bulbs in stock interior lights
Audi dome light with LED bulb
Sony xPlod Bluetooth enabled stereo/speakerphone
Auxiliary 12V jack
300 watt 110V inverter
110V trickle-charger - charges aux battery when van is plugged in.
Cleaned/repaired 3-way fridge, added GoWesty priming pump upgrade
Refrigerator temperature gauge
Shady Boy Awning
Van-Café Big Bumpers
Rear rack from Gary Lee with ladder and fold-down shelf for bike carriers
Rear shower (had to remove Helton Heat Exchanger due to coolant system problems)
First Alert CO2/fire alarm
PDA mount with GPS
South African Big Brake Kit
4WD Decoupler
Anti-Road Rage Dashboard Buddha
To be added:
85 Watt Solar Panel with charge controller and LCD display
Eberspacher diesel heater
3 point rear seat belt
Jump Seat
hi! I been checkking over and over alot of web with the idea to purches a van like yours!(my respects) I have my self a vw camper 80´and would like to get a syncro in order to convert to diesel (another guy with thesame history) anyways maybe you can give me same tips on where I can purch a project like this beside (ebay,gowesty) witch I keep serching on those for one came up!
thank you
juan
Hi Vegifolks,
Looking to go fossil free at some point as well. Just curious, what are you getting for horsepower and torque with the conversion?
Thanks,
Craig
Do you live in California? If so , how did the conversion affect your ability to register the car as a Diesel instead of a gas car. How about the smog certificate? Thanks, Kieran
To answer Kiernan’s question, in California you are not required to get a smog certificate for diesels. They’re exempt. I have a veg-oil/bio-diesel VW too and mentioned that it ran on veg oil, bio-diesel, or regular diesel when I registered it. The DMV said I didn’t need to get the smog certificate because it was classified as a diesel. Just one more way a green mobile can save you money.
I’m in Mendocino county by the way, but I’m pretty sure that the diesel exemption is state wide. A veg-oil or bio-diesel rig should have lower emissions anyway so even if you had to test it, it shouldn’t be a problem.
Sorry about the delay in answering, but although megan is correct in that diesels are smog exempt, if you convert a gas vehicle to diesel, you have to get it approved by a “referee” at the DMV. I’m going to make an appointment with the local ref, who is supposedly pretty tough. If that doesn’t work, I heard that the referee in Santa Cruz is very biodiesel friendly.
To answer Craig’s question, we’ve been pretty happy with the power - she goes 45-50mph up the steeper grades, but we can cruise at 65-70mph with no problem. I was able to take tow a 5 X 8 steel-sided trailer full of pompous grass to the dump without too much problem as well!
Hi there,
We’ve got an ‘89 Vanagon Carat, and have begun using acetone for better mileage on the regular gas, and we’re going to become “greasers” at some point in the future.
We’ve heard from a friend (Roy Harvey) who runs the local Greasers club (www.grease4fuel.com), that he had issues with not pre-warming the grease first. We’re wondering if there were additives or anything like acetone that could be used to thin or condition the “grease” so it wouldn’t take special modifications and a special tank to run veggie.
Any suggestions?
Bob Ruby II Dianne Keast and baby Sparrow
I certainly wish you good luck in becoming Greasers! As far as additives go, I’ve read that you can add kerosene or blend it with regular diesel or biodiesel. Although you can run VO directly in many engines in warmer temps, if you’re in for the long haul, everything I’ve seen so far requires preheating of the oil. Most systems like greasecar and frybrid are two-tank systems where you start and stop the vehicle on diesel or biodiesel while the coolant heats up the oil so you can switch over. Elsbett in Germany makes a single tank system that replaces your fuel injectors and adds an electric heating element and supposedly works very well.
Have fun!
Clint