1977 « saab99.motd.org

April 24, 2013

Bye bye EGR proportional

There were several different ’emissions control’ systems implemented on the SAAB 99 engine starting in 1975. My car has one of the more reasonable designs which is called EGR proportional. Rather than using an air pump which can rob power, it uses a more passive ‘air pulse’ which recirculates exhaust back into the intake system.

I developed an exhaust leak and discovered that one of the pipes had cracked. I took it to Troll Motors and Nate made me feel confident that I should just remove it and cap off the fittings.

I’ll likely not remove all of the EGR proportional, but this piece has to go.

April 22, 2013

Swedish Car Show / Jazz Fest / Pancakes and lingonberries

At the Nordic Heritage Museum in Ballard there is a Jazz Festival every year and the Volvo club does a Swedish Car show. I had been talking with Dick Libby about showing the car here and then at the bigger event in June at the Swedish Cultural Centre for two years. No other SAABs were at the event, though Ingvar Carlson typically shows his cool 1960 93a. Lots of P1800, but I liked the 1953 444 best. Showing my support for bob hund with a örngott in the rear window.

April 19, 2013

bumper refurbishing

The bumpers were fairly dirty but I also discovered that they had been painted at some point. I cleaned them a few times using SuperClean and then followed up with lacquer thinner. This left the bumpers with a nice matte black look. The backing was media blasted by alternative blasters along with the car. I then had the brackets and fittings powder coated. Also took a picture of the instrument cluster in place and running.

April 17, 2013

seat headrest inserts and front bumper

The fabric headrests have been covered in the the faux leather vinyl. The front and rear bumpers were scrubbed and I discovered that they had been painted. I cleaned them with SuperClean and scrubbed them with a soft brush. That removed the paint and the rubber underneath was in very good shape. I’ll use a rubber conditioner and then I plan to install the steel bands after I clean those.

April 7, 2013

motor mounts replaced

At the nwsoc’s fix-it day, replaced the motor mounts with the help of 3 other people. two were easy, the driver’s side was the most difficult. The original mounts were worn out and the engine would wobble and torque when rev’ed. That resulted in some metallic rattling in the exhaust and elsewhere due to vibration at speeds above 50. With the new mounts, springs, shocks and tires the car really feels tight and sporty.

And some additional photos by squaab99t:

March 31, 2013

trunk panel fitting, carpets and roof

Trunk panels have been covered and fitted to the trunk area. Sound deadening has been applied to the front kick panels and the roof. A look at the original ‘solar orange’ carpets.

March 27, 2013

carpets cut, dash pad

The carpets have been cut and laid. They’re based on the earlier 1969 99 carpets rather than the newer style that the car originally had. The dash pad is wrapped at the front so it should not do that typical 99 wrinkle.

March 20, 2013

new door panels

The original door panels were in bad shape due to water damage and mold. New panels were made using the same type of material that was used for the seats and follow the same style though with a fabric accent. At first I thought about leaving the ashtrays out, but then decided I liked them. The dash pad is also being done but will be slightly different than the original to avoid the typical winkle nearly all 99s get.

March 16, 2013

at the upholsterer

The car is now at the upholsterer. Work on the door panels has started, the fiber board on all of them was water damaged, though they can still be used as templates. I dropped off the carpet roll which is a wool material based on the early 99 carpets, rather than the later nylon. The window trim and lock strips have all been installed and look great. For the rear hatch glass I ended up using a 1970s chevy truck lockstrip (WLS-848) which included a seam cap that fit perfectly in the 99’s rubber seal.