Converting to flex-fuel, or E85, appears to be more difficult than going pure ethanol. With the pure ethanol you just ensure your fuel pump and system is compatible and upgrade as needed (viton o-rings, improved pump, stainless rail) and get injectors that flow about 30% more fuel. Reset the ECU and adjust from there. With flex-fuel the ECU needs to easily figure out and adjust if you're running E85, gas or a blend.

Then again, this is what's frustrating about the US auto industry: We get the crappiest and most neutered vehicles on the planet to protect our domestic manufacturers, even though they produce a good portion of the foreign competition themselves. And many of the foreign autos are compatible with bio-fuels right off the showroom floor.

As for making ethanol, it's very similar to making beer or wine with the exception of the distillation process. A still capable of making about 8 gallons an hour of 190-proof ethanol can be easily built for less than $500, much less if you're a good scrounger. The leftover material, or "mash", used for the fuel "beer" can usually be sold to local farmers for livestock feed. My plan is to use molasses as it's available nearby as a sugar production by-product and is very easy to ferment for distillation. Last time I priced it was about $60 a ton, which makes near 100 gallons of fuel IIRC.

Check out the web site Journey to Forever for some fantastic info on bio-fuels.