March 15, 2012

a very rare SAAB 99 item – flag style chrome side mirror

I purchase a pair of standard black painted with chrome base motorized 1978 SAAB 99 side mirrors off of ebay last year with the plans to put them on this car. When I received them, I noticed the paint wasn’t as good as it looked in the auctions so I was prepping them to be painted. When I started removing the paint from the first mirror, I saw a shiny surface beneath. Indeed, it was chromed. I posted on a couple of SAAB forums but no one has ever seen a flag style mirror that was chromed. The other mirror, which apparently came from the same 1978 99, was not chromed. If you know anything about this, please get in touch!

*** UPDATE ***

Apparently all 1978 99 Turbos have black painted chrome mirrors. If you have worn paint on your mirrors, look a little closer, is it shiny underneath or dull gray? If shiny, you might want to try using paint stripper. Do not use bleach or steel wool! Just a sponge or rag with stripper should do it.

March 7, 2012

engine compartment detail

Slowly working through the engine compartment. We’re going to pressure wash the lower portion while we have access, repair the battery tray and spray in rubber paint. The rest will be compound polished or repainted where needed. I’ll try detailing parts of the engine where I can, it won’t be pristine (that would require insanity) but it will be much cleaner. A wire brush and rubber cleaner will probably as far as I go with most parts, though I’d like to sand blast and paint what I can. It probably looks worse than it is due to the sand blasting material sticking to the oil build up on the engine.

We sand blasted and painted the valve cover. Troll Motors did a major valve job on it mid last year, not just adjusting the valves, but replacing shot buckets and shims as well. The old cork gasket was in good shape, but I went ahead and replaced it with a new one and sealant.

The radiator had its mounting brackets repaired and it was pressure tested and painted all at Greenwood Radiator. I replaced the fan switch with a new 82C unit and also replaced the thermostat with an 88C unit as well. The car used to run a little hot and the previous owner had shorted the fan switch so it was always on. I’m hoping that by having the lower threshold on the fan switch and thermostat that it will help with overheating.