Plans have changed a bit. I still have the '83 as a daily driver and have picked up an '85 900 Turbo 16v for an even better price. It will be a bit more initial work, but the body and paint are in much better condition. The engine is strong and the five speed transmission shifts smoothly. The clutch wouldn't hold pressure, so I changed out the slave cylinder, clutch plate and other parts. Now it looks like the clutch fluid line is the problem. So far I've fixed the doors and windows, cleaned up the four inches of oil and antifreeze spilled in the rear compartment, and will hopefully have the car mostly ready for a rally next month. Speedo and odo both work, and the odometer shows 212K miles.

Drove the '83 over to Twisp, Washington, 200 miles away last week. Hot weather, torrential rain, bruising hail and twisty mountain roads were no problem for the ugly grey Saab.

85 Turbo 900 side view 65 KB

85 Turbo 900 rear view 100, KB

Newer pics on the hoist:
Clutch-side,
back view
another view

82-side.jpg 89.70 KB	82-rear.jpg 108.40 KB	82-front.jpg 103.68 KB	engine-and-stuff.jpg 107.65 KB
engine-and-glass.jpg 112.35 KB	engine-no-glass.jpg 100.72 KB	engine-no-glass2.jpg 105.46 KB	83-side.jpg 72.15 KB

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• replaced front rotors, calipers and pads. Flushed brake fluid. A few stories there, but hey, it's done. (Some bits were VERY rusty, some tools were broken and some hot words were spoken). Actually, rear brakes were worse than fronts, but those look very easy to work on. Prolly just do the pads on those once I find some replacement parts.
• hooked up the power steering. Getting a belt from the local parts store was a joke -- they had many to choose from, just not any the right size. Ended up getting a proper belt from eEuroparts.com. Yes, it leaks, but it's nicer to drive. I keep a bottle of power steering fluid in the front right fender well. I will probably replace the rack someday soon. I check and top up the PS fluid weekly.
• The drivers side window didn't have a bad motor. I tested voltage to the motor and agreed with the seller's prediction of a bad motor and ordered a replacement. But when it arrived and I tried to take the old one out, the cause was clear -- the regulator assembly was frozen/rusted shut in the up position. Let me tell ya -- getting that sucker out when it's not "down" was an exercise I don't want to repeat. Long story short: new motor, replaced the regulator with a used one, greased and sealed both doors. Works now and I will try and sell the old motor on saabcentral.com or ebay.
• Speedometer: Thought it might be the cable. Replacement cable didn't fix. Tested cables ok, but they didn't turn with tranny in motion. In-dash speedo seemed like it would work (stuck small screwdriver in the back and tweaked it a bit to make the needle move). Talked to guy at ScanWest on 2nd try and got sending gear to replace in tranny. Removed old one and it was not there. Prolly missing the four speed tranny was installed? Doesn't matter. Speedo works now (verified with GPS that I started using last week) but odometer doesn't work. Not as big a deal, but I will likely replace the speedometer in the dash when I put a new/rebuilt engine in.
• Stereo. Another long story short. Ten disc changer and head installed. Four cheapo 4" speakers installed in stock locations. Sounds like crap but it's pretty low priority at the moment. Antenna was persuaded to work once I traced the proper connection for the signal wire.
• small rust spots: I have taken some time to attack the largest of the small rust areas on the car and sand/grind out the rust and put in a temp fix with some vaguely matching gray paint. Doesn't look too bad considering the rest of the paint on the top sides of the car. I may not worry about the paint at all as I love the idea of having a "sleeper" that looks like crap but can churn some ponies once it gets going.

• The tranny works fine. In fact, when I described the car on the saabcentral.com forum, one person said that folks would be jealous with that engine/tranny combo. Seems just right to me, though I really don't want to take the thing over 75 mph at this time. Too much stress on stuff.
• After doing the Alcan rally last winter, I think I recognize some of the paint damage on the hood and other leading edges of the car. Talked to former owner and his dad had driven it on the Alaska highway. It sure looks like the damage my friend's WRX experienced after going up and back this winter.
• Tried to jump start a friend's Honda last week. Would not go. Not enough amps or something, because he was able to get a jump from someone else later. Strange. I notice that the lights are definitely dimming/brightening with RPMs, so that will be something to look at.
• Lots and lots and lots of oil comes out of the engine. So much that I still haven't yet figured out what exactly is leaking. Seems like stuff towards the rear of the engine. Now that power steering is hooked up again, it's hard to figure out what's PS fluid and what's oil. I have a lead on a "free" engine that I will probably rebuild out of the car, taking my time and many months.
• I love how some of the stuff still just works on the car. Greased up the sunroof: works great. Hooked up the antenna: works fine (though noisy). Took off the hatchback to R;@ampR rusty hinges and reconnected some of the wires: central locking now works all the way around the car. Hell, the clock works better than the radio I put in!
• Car tends to die in the afternoons when I start it up to drive home. Starts fine, but with a load it wants to stall. Only lasts an minute at most. Not quite as bad first thing in the morning.
• Still love to hear the turbo spool up. Still getting great mileage compared to my old Blazer. Still lots of room for improvement. Haven't had the knock that I experienced when I brought it home that first day. I dig how it corners so flat, though I'm still getting used to FWD on corners at speed. Need to spend some more time with left foot braking on some loose roads. Anyway, it's been my daily driver except when it's been on jackstands waiting for brake parts.