Motorhome runs on Vegetable Oil

Kevin and Barb Jones hail from Foster, New South Wales, and are the proud owners of this 1968 Austin. This unique vehicle began its life as an outside TV broadcast unit and training vehicle, donated to the University of Queensland by Sir Frank Packer. However, it quickly became obsolete for the university, leading to its purchase and transformation into a motorhome by a shipwright friend of Kevin’s.
Now, the Austin runs on a six-cylinder turbocharged intercooled Isuzu motor, complete with a six-speed gearbox, exhaust brakes, and power steering. Despite these modern updates, Kevin has maintained the Austin’s historic charm, even running it on used cooking oil. After starting the motor with diesel, he switches over to used cooking oil, a method that not only saved him a considerable amount on fuel while traveling around Australia but also makes for a great story at pubs and clubs along the way.
The Austin features a trailer that carries a motorbike, the used cooking oil, a washing machine, an extra fridge freezer, and additional drums of oil. The vehicle is mostly original, with only necessary modifications made, like heat exchangers, filters, and a pump for the cooking oil. The body is built on an Austin chassis, and most of the running gear remains, with the addition of Aon springs to minimize sway.
Inside, Kevin and his wife have made themselves comfortable by replacing the former dinette with lounge chairs and installing a sliding TV track. The vehicle is also equipped with 600 watts of solar power and 400 amp hours of lithium batteries, making it a “very modern 75-year-old.”
Kevin’s background includes driving government buses in Sydney and working with his father on cars from a young age, leading to a lifelong passion for vehicles.

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