2016 SAAB OWNERS CONVENTION

Posted on August 5, 2016August 5, 2016 by saabguy

…hosted in Atlanta, GA. Bud’s gonna be there.

but today i realized i really wanted to have gone, but it was too late.

this year is the 30th anniversary of “the Long Run” at TALLADEGA SPEEDWAY and before the convention, they were offering a chance to drive on the track! i could have taken my 1986 SAAB 9000T, the same car that set several worlds records back in 1986, and driven it on that track. maybe have even hit 137MPH!

but it was not to be. so i just watched the VIDEO about the original and dreamed a bit.

a clean AIC

Posted on December 7, 2015December 7, 2015 by saabguy

as i was inspecting the vacuum hoses, and replacing a few pieces, i noticed the hose from the AIC to the intake manifold was bulging out and when the engine was revved, it puffed out! not good, i figure. so today i wandered over to O’Reilly’s auto parts and found a two dollar piece of hose that was exactly the right size and brought it home. when i took off the AIC, It was an ugly mess inside. So I did a little research on cleaning it, and the closest thing I had was mass airflow sensor cleaner, so I flushed it in until all the black crud stopped coming out and reinstalled it and the hoses. smoother idle! It has been oscillating a bit when I was idling, and that is to have gone away. i also don’t notice that idol dipping on occasion like it used to either.

even the tiniest part

Posted on November 20, 2015December 7, 2015 by saabguy

today once again, bud at J&B imports proved he would go to amazing lengths for his customers. he had to lay flat on his stomach and slide on his mechanic’s crawler under his 1994 parts-car 9000, then pop up in the engine compartment, just to get a small rubber grommet for my ’86 9000. and he was glad to do it. and he wouldn’t charge me anything. this man loves saabs.

coming home…

Posted on November 15, 2015December 7, 2015 by saabguy

it’s been 2 months up at J&B for a variety of reasons, but she’s home now. all bandaged up and ready for the road….or at least ready to continue the restoration to get her daily-driver-worthy. here’s a couple of shots. one shows the new airbox configuation and one shows the newly tape-wrapped harness!

let it go, let it go!

Posted on October 15, 2015December 7, 2015 by saabguy

from SAABNET: Color: gray Trans: Manual Mileage: 172,654 Price: $3200 OBO
Selling one of the “Holy Grail” SAABs for an old friend/customer who reluctantly must part with “his baby” for health reasons. This “pre-Aero” 9k turbo, original Bay Area (Northern CA, sold at B&B SAAB in Santa Clara) always garaged car, is about as close to immaculate as you’re likely to find at this point, and the Jet Engineer second owner has kept meticulous mechanical care of it. Of course it has the 2.3 engine without TCS! 16 inch factory “aero” wheels in beautiful condition. Super clean gray leather, nice carpets and headliner, crack free dash, original sound system. 5 speed manual, with recent clutch, DI, water pump, tires, and battery, and really needs nothing at this point to be an incredible SAAB daily driver time machine. Reliable and safe enough for a college student’s first vehicle, or fast and tight enough for a SAAB turbo nut. Really a one of a kind 9000. This car should go to somebody who will appreciate it!

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1991 9000 for sale in the bay area… reply:

This car should make the drive no problem. Although anything can happen with a 20 year old car (hard to believe!) it’s been kept up very well.

I used to have a shop in SF, and it’s a very small SAAB world out there. I think I first talked to Bud over the phone about transmission stuff in the early 90s, and then I met him when our club hosted the SAAB Convention in ’96 at Tahoe. Not sure I’ve had anything to do with him since then, but he was legendary among his customers and SAAB people at that point. Like Paul Perry here in the Bay Area.

Anyway, there’s one or two other people who are reasonably serious about this car, but so far we’re still in the “talking” stages. I know how hard it is to buy a car long distance, so I didn’t expect it to be easy and quick. Maybe everyone is hoping they’ll get it for less money if they wait. Not sure how to figure out a “fair” way to sell it other than the person who makes the best offer by the end of the month or so. It would be nice if whoever gets it is happy with the price, but I really don’t know what the final price will be at this point!

dan

what now…

Posted on September 16, 2015December 7, 2015 by saabguy

i just posted (Sept 15, 2015) this on LA Saab Club facebook group to see what people have to say…

ok friends, i need some solid, honest advice. here’s the synopsis. back in 1986 i bought a new 9000T (one of the first in OC), in ’90 it was totaled when a lady ran a red light, but bud at J&B rebuilt it for me. we fitted some unique rims, and i drove it several more years then sold it to a saab enthusiast who sold it on to another saab enthusiast. earlier this year i saw it, and bought it back from him (250k mi) with the hope of restoring it. i’ve just finished all the suspension work (koni’s with all aero springs/sways) including all new bushings etc. as well as fixed a few oil leaks and upgraded to a newer air cleaner assembly. …then it started getting ugly. the fan blower motor fuse melted down and when bud & ron (J&B) opened up the “fishbowl” realized that all of insulation on the wires in the wiring harness was starting to significantly disintegrate or was just crumbling. now i’m in a conundrum. do i try to replace the wiring (at least everything engine side of firewall maybe more) or the entire harness….or do i find another 9000 (if i can!) and swap all the suspension over to it. or is there another option.

now the soft-part. i have a bit of an emotional attachment. it was the first car my wife and i bought together and drove during the early part of our family’s life. both of our boys were brought home from the hospital in this car–their first car ride. and it saved our lives in what could have been a bad accident.

i welcome any and all wisdom and thank you for your time helping me decide what to do next…

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lots of encouragement to fix it/keep it on the road HERE

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my update November 15, 2015 – 2 months later:

thanks for all of your SAAB-wisdom. wanted to let you know that on thursday of last week, i decided to go up and pay a spontaneous visit to my 9000 that had been at J&B for quite a while and talk candidly with bud about the future. i walked in the door and bud asked me if i was hear to pick up my 9000!? because it was done! i was shocked and sure he was kidding…but he was not. ron and nick had finished the rewiring job the day before and it was ready leave the shop. instead of another harness, ron decided the best solution was to purchase new wiring, so he did. i think the bottom line was ron was just tired of it taking up space in the shop! so on friday, i got a ride from a friend and picked her up! so now we’re back on track with the restoration. amazing work by some extremely talented and knowledgable gentlemen. so thankful. below is all that can be seen of many hours of masterful wire splicing.

harnessing the options

Posted on September 15, 2015December 7, 2015 by saabguy

once we floated the “whole new harness” idea, bud asked around. before he knew it, an entire 1988 harness showed up on his doorstep. i went up to see it and to talk to him about this option. as we dug into the pile of wires (every wire in an entire SAAB 9000 is connected here in this pile, including the fuse box) we started to notice areas that had started to deteriorate just like mine had. so it became apparent fairly quickly that this was not a harness we wanted to use. and that maybe we should even reconsider the “whole harness” option all together. Here’s a couple of shots of the harness and bud and nick inspecting it.

monte carlo yellow & edwardian grey

Posted on May 22, 2015May 22, 2015 by saabguy

it needs paint. or it needs something. at this point, the cost of paint is pretty much out of the question, so i’m seriously condsidering a partial wrap with monte carlo yellow, leaving the edwardian grey lower section in tact. it’s pretty good anyway.

below are some inspirations:

let the sun shine, now

Posted on May 14, 2015May 14, 2015 by saabguy

you don’t realize how nice sun visors are, or even how often you use them, until your SAAB doesn’t have one. i’m not sure where this one ended up but all that was left when i got the car back was a metal stick. its probably on the side of the road in mexico, lost during one of the mission trips this 9000 provided transportation for.

the new one was supposed to be off of a1986, and it may well be, but it has a lighted vanity and the other one was not. so i had to trip the electical connector to fit up in the roof when i installed it. other than that, it all looks and works great! i’m sure goldwing was thinking they were giving me the best one they had.