On a bright afternoon in late May I caught the Amtrak Coast Starlight down to California's Central Valley and picked up an old Saab. Not the cool Model 96 rallye car above, but a near mint, low mileage Metallic Walnut 1984 900 Turbo. Near mint in looks, yes, but the previous owner had let the car sit for a few years in an implement shed on a farm near Fresno, and it needed not only a thorough cleaning to get all that valley dust out of there, but a lot of overdue maintenance service: all fluids replaced, new shocks, and alternator work.
And how did I know that the 900T needed alternator service? On the lonely road between the valley and the coast, in the quiet hours just before dawn, the battery warning light came on, and the car stopped running. And what exactly am I doing in an old unknown car, way out in the middle of nowhere? I really had to wonder about my sanity. Well, hooray for a cell phone and the Better World Club towing service.
Hitched a ride (see below) to the Swedish Auto Factory in Santa Clara / San Jose and spent most of a day hanging out there. An amazing place, it's filled with all kinds of old, and newer, Saabs (and a few Volvos too) in various stages of being serviced or completely rebuilt. I saw some model numbers 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 99, 900, 9000, 9-3, 9-5, Sonetts, a few Saab racing cars and more - definitely "9" nirvana.
Wandered around, took some pictures in and around the shop, and left with a much lighter wallet. Afterwards I gassed up the Turbo, and headed over the Coast Range to Santa Cruz and drove north on Highway 1 along the Pacific, then through The City and over the Golden Gate.
The 900T made it to Oregon with no additional trouble: fantastic, and that's about the end of this tale.
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Misc notes:
The Pirelli "P-Slot" rims that were on the '84 900T when I bought it are interesting rims in their own way, but later I found a set of similar vintage 8-spoke Ronal / Shelby / Minilite / Whatever wheels, which really add to the classic style - see the last photo below.
For anyone in Oregon needing good service for their "9"s, the twin Saab shops of Rod Beckner and John Collins, next door to each other in Jefferson OR, are about the only ones in this area that really know vintage Saabs. Besides their expertise, these small town Saab shops are also surprisingly affordable, compared to the big city rates I encountered in California.
Older Saabs, although very well engineered, do have their own peculiarities and quirks. The models 99 and 1st series "Classic" 900 have a backwards facing engine (!), but that makes them the only cars ever made where the clutch can be replaced without separating the engine and transmission, or removing either from the car. These series of Saabs are so well designed that it's virtually impossible to be ejected through the windshield in a crash, and possibly the first production autos with a built in roll cage. Besides that they're a lot of fun to drive, and distinctively beautiful in their own weird way.
Here are a few pictures, in no particular order, all taken with a Lumix TZ-3. Click or tap on any photo to access larger, higher definition images.
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