August 2, 2017

New Old Stock heater valve

Ever wonder why the heater control in almost every SAAB 99 is broken? First, the control in the dash is entirely plastic including a tiny post that is expected to push and pull on a Bowden cable to open and close the valve.

When the car was apart I worked on the controls and original valve. I cleaned up the Bowden cable and worked graphite into it. While it operates smoothly, the valve seal had degraded so it is impossible to turn off the heater completely. Wish I had found this part when I had everything torn apart, but maybe at the next coolant flush I’ll replace it.

September 1, 2013

LeMay open house at Marymount 2013

The NW SAAB Club at Marymount.

August 24, 2013

Scanwest Customer Appreciation Day 2013

Lots of people and some great cars! Met a 1978 99GLE with just about every option possible. Thanks ScanWest!

1969 grille cleaned up and polished

Metal vs. plastic .. metal is easier to bring back to life.

June 30, 2013

Greenwood Car Show 2013

Possibly 800 cars of all sorts there and maybe 2500+ visitors. Thanks to the Volvo club for letting me park my SAAB with them.

June 9, 2013

Volvo/SAAB show at the Swedish Cultural Center

June 5, 2013

Ready for June 8th at the Swedish Club?

Just about everything has been finished up. I’ve got the dash finished up, hood latch working and the original style grille temporarily installed. The short list of what is left:

1. bumper stainless steel strips – need to make custom brackets to accommodate them on the later 1970s bumpers
2. adjust the doors and hood so they hang more properly
3. install side molding
4. paint and install badges

June 2, 2013

control panel in

I’ll include a photo of the switch panel section as well. I ended up using the teak wood since it looked and smelled great. I imagine on hot days the car is going to smell of teak rather than gasoline! Teak was a little tricky because it tended to chip and splinter much easier than the walnut test did. I used 600, 1200 and finally 2000 grit sand paper with linseed oil and wax to finish.

May 30, 2013

horn cap emblem

FK2A0330

May 24, 2013

Teak iron on

I decided to go with Teak laminate rather than Walnut. Teak has a nicer grain, and smells good too. However, it does seem a little more difficult to work with. I’ve ironed on the laminate and will cut out the switch holes and sand.

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