[Jim Maria]

Hello all. I'm new to posting on the forum but have been around SAABs For about 25 years. I started with an '89 900 NA 4 door and have had a 99 9-5, an 00 9-5 a 94 9000 and a 94 900 convertible.

The SAAB I couldn't resist is the latest addition. I sold my 94 900 convertible in the spring. I didn't think I would miss it. Well apparently I did. I spotted a eucalyptus green convertible with a black top as I was driving to work. I don't always go that way but I kept seeing it parked in a driveway. I saw the for sale sign one day and I didn't stop. I drove by it at least 3 more times before I finally stopped and got the number to call. The paint looked good and it was a 900 turbo. 65,000 miles.

It was at least 3 more days before I called. I talked to Bob who was selling the car for a charity he ran. It was donated to the group and it was up to him to sell it. He's a corvette guy so he didn't really get SAABs. I went to see it and it started up fine and sounded like every other SAAB I've ever owned.

Then it died. Bob put the jumper cables on it and it would run while they were connected then it would die when they were off. I checked the battery while it was off and it was at 11.6 or so. When we started it the voltage just dropped. Obviously a charging/alternator issue. I made Bob an offer that made sense to me for a car I hadn't driven and hadn't really gone through and that had a known charging issue.

Bob was happy to not have to figure out a way to fix it and he met with his other board members and agreed to sell it to me. They had other offers but I was willing to take the car "as is." That's how I got back to driving a 92 eucalyptus green 900 turbo convertible and what brought me to the forum.

What was wrong and what it needs are stories for another day. Thanks.

 

[Nordic-Machine]

Hello Jim, welcome to the forum.

 

[Jim Maria]

Thanks Nordic-Machine.

The charging issue was a broken wire on the back of the alternator, a five minute fix. I drove the car home with no issues except taillight ones. A hack had been in the wiring and spliced some wires but never addressed the ground issue. I put direct grounds on and corrected most of the issues. Still have a left turn signal intermittent problem.

The bigger concern is the wobble in the steering column. The required bushing for a fix is NLA. I'm working on tracking one down somehow. Murry101 is 3-D printing them and offered to send me one to try out. I'll let the forum know how it works out. I did talk to our local SAAB gurus, Kunkle Motors, and they modify a different bushing that mates to a different bearing. I may resort to that but I'm looking for other options too.

I did clean the filth out of the interior and looked a little closer at the paint. It could really use a wet sand and buff if not a new clear coat. Still, it does look good and most wouldn't notice the paint issues like I do.

The good - runs well and turbo is solid. Let's not forget that I did offer a price that gives me room to work to get the car to a better place.

That's all for now. Thanks.

 

[muntu]

brave soul.

 

[Jim Maria]

Thanks, bravery and foolishness sometimes look the same. I have been sorting out the car when I have a few moments. Mostly I'm spending time tracking down NLA parts. The most recent need is the tail light seals. You guessed it, NLA. I will get creative with some rubber seals from some other make or application.
The good news is that I installed the bushing in the steering column and the play is gone. I will drive it a little and see how it holds up. Also the left horn button is replaced and I'm on the hunt for the right. It is of course - NLA. A new antenna arrived and awaits my attention. We will see how that goes and then I'll see what other surprises await me.

 

[Jim Maria]

So the antenna became a 3 hour job instead of a 3 minute one. I've replace a half a dozen Saab antennas in the past. This one demanded a level of invasiveness that made me invent new combinations of profanity. Job done and power antenna functioning as designed.

Took the car to a cars and coffee event this morning. Had a great response. my favorite was when I saw a kid around 6 asking his parents to take his picture next to the car. i had quite a few positive comments from people. Granted, I do not break out the folding camp chair and sit behind my car all day. I go and see what everyone else is driving. I get so much more out of their passion for their cars than i get out of my ownership of mine. if you like to watch others look at your car, I get it. I just like to look at what you drove too.

Spent some time with the taillight seals. I'll share that experience later.

 

[Jim Maria]

Still sorting out the 92 turbo convertible. Just fixed the twisted seat issue on the drivers side and really cleaned the carpet and the seats. I used the Chemical Guy's Leather conditioner. It works great. I laid it on and just let it sit for a while. I put on 2 - 3 coats depending on the leather and I didn't buff them at all and I'm thrilled with how they turned out. I was tired of the smell and the feel of Lexol and went with the CG's stuff. Good choice, they smell like leather and they don't have any greasy feel. Time to put the interior back together. Now I just need to find the upholstery fabric for the door cards and speaker surrounds in the rear.

No progress on the taillight seals yet. I'm still looking for the right substitute.

 

[Jim Maria]

I solved the taillight seal issue by throwing money at it.

I bought a used right side taillight assembly on eBay but the seals were almost as bad as the ones I was trying to replace. It was only $20 so I'm not really complaining. I also spent too much time trying to find a comparable seal that I could adapt to the right profile but I never really came up with the right one. I bought sealers and black silicone and some stick on rubber seal thet looked like it might work, but I never did try and slam it all together with my cobbled together parts. It just didn't seem right or else I just didn't have the puzzle all worked out in my head yet. Whatever the reason, I didn't go at the taillights yet.

Turns out it was the right thing to do. The seals are not available anymore except in europe at over 55 euro each and another 50 euro or so for shipping. That only gets the seal that goes all around the light and doesn't get the weird shaped ones at the top of the lights. Thing is though, the seals come with new taillights. I thought the price of new taillights was around $300 each but I found some genuine Saab taillights, new in box, with brand new seals and perfect lenses for $140 delivered to my door. I paid the money and this afternoon found myself as the proud owner of two rand new taillights with spanking new seals.

I have a little corrosion issue to address from the leaky seals but it looks like a little money and a lot of luck will make my taillights watertight again. Sometimes inertia is your friend.

 

[Jim Maria]

I tore into the poorly painted rear bumper over the last couple of days. Of course I snapped both top bolts that mount the bumper to the bracket. Thankfully the bolts are easy to access and to pop out of their bracket. They are splined with a flush head but I think I will be able to find a suitable replacement if not an exact match. The bumper cover comes off easily. It was pretty dirty on the inside but that should be expected considering where it lives. Nothing some soap and Scotchbright pads couldn't deal with.

I found that the bumper was repaired on one end but there's no sign that the sheetmetal had any repair. I cleaned and sanded the old paint down with some 320 paper. the plan is to put on a coat of the SEM paint and fill the small dings with some spot putty and then a couple more coats of paint. I keep getting deeper and deeper in to this car. I don't know why yet. I guess the only way to find out is to keep going...

 

[EMY KAM]

The SAAB I couldn't resist is the latest addition. I sold my 94 900 convertible in the spring. I didn't think I would miss it filezilla uc browser rufus . Well apparently I did. I spotted a eucalyptus green convertible with a black top as I was driving to work. I don't always go that way but I kept seeing it parked in a driveway. I saw the for sale sign one day and I didn't stop. I drove by it at least 3 more times before I finally stopped and got the number to call. The paint looked good and it was a 900 turbo. 65,000 miles.