[Christ]

So - I'm thinking honestly as hard as I can about this diesel engine thing, trying to find a cheap/economical alternative.. I have yet to come up with something.

Intrigued - I'm guessing you'll be surprised to find out that Mazda B2000 and B2200 engines (FE series) are used extensively in fork lifts... so are Nissan 4 cylinder motors (can't remember the code) as well as several types of DSM Engines (Dodge/Plymouth/Eagle/Mitsubishi/Chrysler/Hyundai). I used to have a B2200 Pickup that I was in the process of converting to run on propane, which I could have had basically free, since I was a forklift mechanic at the time. (Used tanks always have some 'pane left in 'em.)

Ben - I'm going to keep searching for diesel use alternatives for you... or even a way to use diesel in the stock engine (I'm sure there's a way, since spark-ignited diesel isn't all that far-out anymore.)