by "Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
Published 04/05/2017 at 00:04
by "Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
Published 04/05/2017 at 00:04
Tags: Project Dumpster Fire
STARS: 11
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Monday was a flurry of activity and making it rain on parts suppliers.
Yup, as it turns out an actually running Saab means I have to get this thing fit for the drive after all. My buying frenzy included two new rear calipers (shipped two day from RockAuto), four new tires on order, battery heatshield, new heatshield material for the hood, hose clamps, vacuum hoses, conformal coating (don’t ask), and, of course, a prancing moose decal. The total spend here was pretty unfathomable, so let’s not try.
Monday evening, I started by trying to get the driver’s window and door locks working. Having previously determined the driver’s window motor was bad, I sourced one from a local salvage yard a while back. I quickly ran into problems replacing it as “roll down the window” was the first step. OK well if I could do that I wouldn’t need to replace it, would I Mr. Saab? Bit of a catch 22, ehhhhhh Mr. Saab??
Anyway, turns out unbolting the regulator gave me enough wiggle room to remove the window, which in turn gave me enough wiggle room to unbolt the motor. And I only lost one knuckle to the job!
After accidentally re-installing the old motor (oops) I got the new one in with minimal fuss. For good measure I also lubed up the other three in hopes of getting them out of their post-revival lethargy. Didn’t really help, but it makes me feel a little better.
Next up was the driver’s door lock. For those of you unfamiliar, the driver’s lock control the central locking. Unlock the driver’s door and they all unlock. Lock it, and all the others lock with it. Simple enough. Unfortunately on mine I hadn’t been able to get the driver’s door to lock since I got it back.
I started by soaking everything in penetrating oil and letting it sit. No joy.
Then I tried more penetrating oil. No joy.
Then I went Clarkson on it and hit it with a hammer. Nothing.
Pry bars, pleading, threatening, and swearing. Nope.
Closing the door and trying to lock it. Immediate, un-dramatic locking of all four doors.
You think that would have been the first thing to try, but with a non-functioning driver’s window I guess I’d never thought to try it. Also I didn’t know a car this old would have that feature.
Ok. Whatever. At this point it was late and my dogs were wondering if I’d ever pet them again so that brings us to...
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Tuesday started with a junk yard run during lunch. Turns out an 89 3-door was recently admitted. While I always feel bad picking over the bones of a wrecked vehicle, this looks like it had a good life and met a very definitive end, so there is that.
Scored an assortment of random pieces for not much outlay, so I’m pleased.
After work, it was time to start addressing some lingering problems. The new ignition module needed to be mounted to the heatsink.
A new thermostat replaced the old, stuck one.
And the leaky heater control valve was bypassed with some garbage from Home Depot.
Then the car was started, mix adjusted, and allowed to come up to temp. And com up it did! The temp gauge crept between “normal” and “uncomfortable” but eventually the cooling fans kicked on and all was right with the world.
After that, I started working on replacing the old, worn out vapor barriers and putting the interior back together. I didn’t get an “after” of the vapor barrier, but it is basically cut 5 mil vinyl drop cloth. Seems like it’ll work better than what appears to be packing material put on with masking tape.
Tomorrow I’m expecting a host of parts, including but not limited to the new calipers, so it is going to be a busy day.
"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
04/05/2017 at 05:53, STARS: 0
good luck!
"cbell04" (cbell04)
04/05/2017 at 07:19, STARS: 2
"kgman" (kgman)
04/05/2017 at 09:02, STARS: 1
Nice! Really enjoying this saga