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 22, 2013
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 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.
February 13, 2013
the inaugural test flight …..
Drove the car around North Seattle for about 1 hour or so today. Great handling and feel with the new shocks, springs and tires – A real improvement over the stock setup. The engine sounded great, shifting was good, brakes were better than ever. I did have a bit white smoke early on in the drive, but that cleared up in about 15 minutes. I was also burning 2 year old gas. I filled the tank with high test and that seemed to improve things quite a bit. It was a blast driving the car again after a 1.5 year rest. I took it easy, but it sure felt like she had not missed a beat since the valve job Troll Motors performed April before last.
I am hoping to be at the Swedish Car Show at the Triple X drive in in Issaquah on Sunday, February 17th.
February 10, 2013
window channels and glass installed
The window channels I purchased from Restoration Specialities worked out perfectly. Fit very nicely and provide an excellent seal on the windows. The part number is AS1369.
December 4, 2012
little by little
yes .. its still coming together. Maybe Christmas?
September 8, 2012
upp och gå!
I finished up the basic wiring, replacing a few of the crimp on connectors and started up the motor. There was still water in the block, but I needed to add coolant for the radiator and heater. There is a bleed nipple near the heater valve which I ran a hose from to the coolant jug. I ran the car for about 30 minutes to let the thermostat open to cycle the water and force the air out. It took just over one jug of new coolant. The system was flushed April before last when the water pump was rebuilt. The new fan switch and the serviced fan worked great. I had installed a switch that operates at 92C and thermostat which operates at 88C. There are ones that operate at cooler temps, but after I had the header core rebuilt and removed the intake bellows ‘anti-freeze’ collar (which was 100% blocked anyway!) along with the flushed radiator, things should be running cooler. At idle temperature the fan would kick in for 25-30 seconds every couple of minutes, which seems very good.
I still need to get the EGR Proportional completely hooked up, but after that I can finish up with the engine and put the lights in place.
August 12, 2012
gifts from Sweden and progress
I’ve made a trade deal with another SAAB friend in Sweden and was able to get a few Old New Stock items. Today we installed the wheel arch trim which was tricky due to 3 of the wheel arches needing significant reshaping. The wheel arch splash area have all been sprayed with undercoating. The rear and hide-a-way trunk have also been sprayed.
The new locking gas cap / filler is hooked up, the blower box and wiper are in place, the EMS steering wheel is installed, the emergency brake housing is painted and the 1976 shifter knob is installed. For the blower box, I used two layers of 1/4″ foam rubber insulation on either side of the upper firewall. I recommend that anyone that goes this far with a tear down go ahead and replace all the foam rubber where needed. It was basically musty and dusty in this car.
August 4, 2012
Putting it back together
Got the blower box back in .. so much easier getting it in than taking it out. Again, the key to taking it out you’ll need to take it apart completely by removing the fan motor, cover and the heater core/valve assembly. When replacing it, I used 1/4″ rubber foam insulation on both. The hood is back on, the hatch is back on. Some of the rubber is back in place.
