What I did this weekend

"Nibbles" (nibbles)
03/03/2014 at 09:13 • Filed to: weekend work, saab, project thanks obama

I was bored as hell Friday, so I decided to take advantage of the balmy 40 degree weather and strip another part off the Saab. This time it was the head. Yeah I know I'm doing this all backward but I don't really care - I wanted to see the extent of the damage in the cylinders and YOLO etc etc

If you don't remember, and I barely do any more, this is my 1987 Saab 900 SPG. Nearly 350,000 on the car. The head gasket had been nearly dead for a good while, and a turbo seizure sent it to the grave. I had decided I was going to do a full rebuild, regardless of the damage, a good while ago. What I found this weekend shows this is probably a good idea.

The block is still in situ. Gonna deal with that probably on the next nice weekend we have, then work on getting the trans out. Here it is, head off. Gasket has had some blowby issues for a while now. You can see some scoring on the seals.

Cyls 2 and 3. 2 has by far the worst visible damage so far. Those are aluminum shavings in 3.

Here's cyl 4, copper shavings visible

And finally Cyl 2. You can almost make out the piston ring that is trying to escape. WHOOOOPS! Hi5.

I also replaced the turn signal flasher in the Dakota and purchased a Thrush glasspack to be installed next weekend, weather permitting, because fuck you that's why. What did you guys do this weekend?

DISCUSSION (13)

Nick, Drives a Cobalt LT > Nibbles
03/03/2014 at 09:16

Drove the "racecar" a lot, and took the beater truck out for a trip to town for the first time in a while.

Thought about doing the waterpump in the truck, but decided no because I'm a lazy fuck, and maybe I will do it today. Weather permitting, and laziness permitting .

Mattbob > Nibbles
03/03/2014 at 09:20

I worked on my e36. Got back shocks installed and new sway bar end links done. Going to work on the front struts and try to fix power steering leak today, and maaaybe get done in time to get an alignment. Good times. Those coolant passages look nasty btw.

Nibbles > Mattbob
03/03/2014 at 09:29

Yeah, it explains why the car always ran warm. I've known for a while there was some decent damage. The radiator I pulled when I first bought it was about 60% clogged. That's why I'm rebuilding/replacing everything

Big Bubba Ray > Nibbles
03/03/2014 at 09:29

I hooned the Baja Bug in the snow we got last night and couldn't change my oil in the Subie cause it's so damn cold outside. Slow weekend.

puddler > Nibbles
03/03/2014 at 09:35

i did an oil change and the brakes on (my) my brothers 5runner. also found out his front swaybar has disconnected itself. i'll fix that next weekend when i get back down there. i also got a killer deal on a kayak (which i'll be cleaning and prepping this week). and i did some yardwork at my grandma's house, and cleaned her neighbors gutters.

not gonna lie, i'm kinda jealous, i wish i was taking a saab apart.

Nibbles > puddler
03/03/2014 at 09:48

Rebuilding a Saab is fun. Definitely not for the faint of heart though; these things are rather complicated - especially for their age. Parts are hard to come by, thankfully I have a friend who owns a Saab repair shop :)

puddler > Nibbles
03/03/2014 at 09:51

oh, i didn't say anything about putting it back together. haha.

have some motorvation:

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Nibbles
03/03/2014 at 11:49

Not the weekend, but the week before I did this and this :)

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I must find a top-down pic of a Triumph Sprint I4. Technically the Saab B engine is a development of the Triumph Slant 4, but I think the changes were so comprehensive it'd be near impossible to use the better Saab block.

Nibbles > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
03/03/2014 at 12:01

IIRC, the biggest changes Saab made were to the head design; the block remained relatively unchanged. I could be wrong though; there isn't much information available.

I've been following your work, and I approve :)

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Nibbles
03/03/2014 at 13:46

Thanks :) I think the Triumph one has siamesed bores, but I'm not certain either.

The Triumph one also has one row of head studs at a slant, which causes inevitable early head gasket problems. You can do things to help that, but you can't cure it without doing what Saab did and straightening the studs (like nearly every other engine in existence).

You could probably fill in the slanted holes in the head and drill new ones, but changing where the bore centres are would be nigh on impossible.

However, now that I think about it the gearbox bellhousings might be the same. Turbocharged 2.3l Dolomite Sprint? Yes please :)

My Alfa 164 is Too a Real Alfa > Nibbles
03/03/2014 at 21:54

Changed the oil in my Discovery and found that I'll probably need a new head gasket soon. it's my beater so I may just say fuck it and run it till it dies. Once she blows I'll take the head off and play around.

Nibbles > My Alfa 164 is Too a Real Alfa
03/03/2014 at 21:58

That was my plan with the SPG too. I got nearly 80k out of it before the gasket finally blew :)

My Alfa 164 is Too a Real Alfa > Nibbles
03/03/2014 at 22:06

Nice! There's a dude on the forums with 240,000 miles on his original head gasket. It leaks like crazy but he gives no fucks. I love my Disco, but I can't help but feel that everything is about to explode on it. I actually posted the story of how I came to own it, but I don't know if it went to Oppo.

I do love me a 900 SPG by the way. Beautiful cars.