Ok, ok. I know I'm probably gonna get flamed for this, but I just have to know.

I've been contimplating converting my 300D (or buying a clunker to convert) to run on SVO / WVO. Only one thing holding me back, though. Why is the kits to convert so expensive? The "cheap" greasecar one is nearly 800 dollars!

I understand that once everything is said and done, I'd be getting "free fuel", which would pay for itself. The investment just seems to be a huge cost factor, for something with (relatively) basic parts. Greasel kits run even higher.. On top of all that, the whole thing seems to be a lot of work to install. My question? Is there a cheap way to make a homebuilt system to do this? $800+ just is too large an investment for chromed-out tanks and fancy gauges. Keep in mind I live in NJ, so it would need to be heated.

So the ultimate question.. is there a "good" way to go about doing this (even if it means hunting down parts from 30 different stores), without spending a large sum of cash? I'm not saying that anybody who bought these kits is a fool, since it may be a "good price", after all. I just don't understand how a gas can, 20 feet of tubing, a simple switch (and valve), and a heat exchanger can come out to anything more than $300. I guess I'm just bitter that there seems to be a "perfect" escape from high diesel prices, but it just comes with an even bigger price tag.