Project Car 1985 900T - jskrebs - Pennsylvania, USA

[jskrebs]

I am often surprised by the things previous owners do to cars. If you scroll up and look at the picture of my plate you will see some holes to the right of my hand where the below hasp was installed, a similar set of holes are behind the bumper. The lock mechanism broke at some point and the PO installed this rather than source the proper repair items.

[euromobile900]

Like Mr. Bean's car. I wonder if that's where he got the inspiration!


That is one of my hobbies, fixing everything back to the way it was at the factory. I call it "de-rigging". I just removed previous owner's blue xenon HID units and "always-on headlights" mod from my 9000. It's strangely rewarding, isn't it?

Vermont is super tough for car registration, compared to PA. I wanted to get antique plates for my 900, but it wouldn't really be worth it. State inspection and plate renewal is still required (and they can fail you for just about anything--9000 failed because the tech thought subjectively that the brakes didn't perform well enough on a test drive--I took it to a different garage) and driving is likewise supposed to be limited to one day a week.

[Burnsside42]

A proper sized decal can cover that awful ford right up on the plate.

[jskrebs]

Like Mr. Bean's car

That's funny, although I do not want "Mr Beans Car" to stick with my project. Looks the color of Malko's 87 SPG

A proper sized decal can cover that awful ford right up on the plate

Almost anything would be better. No choice of picture in Pa.

[jskrebs]

Vermont is super tough for car registration, compared to PA.

I think Ethan Allen would have a tough time with what has become of Vermont.
Our family has property in Vermont in Rutland and Wallingford. I am 50 and been visiting Vermont since I can remember, it's changed a lot. Old Vermonters were a very independent lot, can't imagine they like the state lording over them so much. Not that Pa is a bastion of self reliance either....

[jskrebs]

OK, so both drain plugs under the front seats had rot around them and I think I found a novel and quick way to repair them.

I used the jack to hold a piece of wood firm up under the rotted area and then used a hole saw that was bigger than the rotted area.

I was going to use a larger hole saw to cut a slightly larger piece of metal to plug the hole. My larger hole saw was dull and pretty much burned it up trying.

I was at the hardware store and found some large flat washers with a similar inside diameter to the drain plug itself.

So I welded the washers in under the car holding them with the jack and an large socket.

Going to POR the entire floor and replace the scraped up bitumen with Dynamat.

[euromobile900]

I think Ethan Allen would have a tough time with what has become of Vermont.
Our family has property in Vermont in Rutland and Wallingford. I am 50 and been visiting Vermont since I can remember, it's changed a lot. Old Vermonters were a very independent lot, can't imagine they like the state lording over them so much. Not that Pa is a bastion of self reliance either....

I really do love this state though. Part of the problem is that there is so much variation between different garages, because the state inspection rules are so ambiguous in the way they are written. As I said, a smart mechanic could fail a brand new car if he wanted.

[spydergear]

Sorry if I'm revisiting ground that has already been covered, but I have not read the thread lately. I second the plan to swap the inner drivers. Mine are also notched from wear, but have a perfectly good surface on the other side. I haven't done the driver swap yet, but I did swap the CV joints, once I cleaned and regreased them, to the opposite sides. If I remember correctly, the drive shaft part numbers for the '85 Turbo are unique to that year. Not that other parts won't interchange, but I would be aware of this. My point being, I hope you kept the original axles and parts in case it becomes necessary to find exact replacements. 1/2" from the end does not sound right to me. The non-SAAB specialist approach to the axles is to find "rebuilt" axles, i.e. used parts, with new grease and boots. You are always better off doing that yourself to the existing parts. At least it will fit. BTW, the last time I did mine, I used the special CV joint grease that comes with the boots in the CV joints and Mobil1 synthetic grease (the blue stuff) in the drivers. The CV joints come apart and you can assess the wear at that point. Just remember those wear areas may be irrelevant once they are swapped. Nice to get new axle nuts also. Oh, and I have no evidence to support this, but I wouldn't use Redline MTL or MT-90 in the trans unless you rebuild it first. My theory is that the superior detergent action of that oil washes metal debris into the pinion bearings. My pinion bearings did go over 200K, though. So, I guess I can't complain. Great job on saving what is becoming a very rare car. I have been trying to find another one myself, and there are very few of them out there. Aside from the wiring issues, I think the '85s may be one of the best of the Classic 900s.

[peva]

Sorry if I'm revisiting ground that has already been covered, but I have not read the thread lately. I second the plan to swap the inner drivers. Mine are also notched from wear, but have a perfectly good surface on the other side. I haven't done the driver swap yet, but I did swap the CV joints, once I cleaned and regreased them, to the opposite sides. If I remember correctly, the drive shaft part numbers for the '85 Turbo are unique to that year. Not that other parts won't interchange, but I would be aware of this. My point being, I hope you kept the original axles and parts in case it becomes necessary to find exact replacements. 1/2" from the end does not sound right to me. The non-SAAB specialist approach to the axles is to find "rebuilt" axles, i.e. used parts, with new grease and boots. You are always better off doing that yourself to the existing parts. At least it will fit. BTW, the last time I did mine, I used the special CV joint grease that comes with the boots in the CV joints and Mobil1 synthetic grease (the blue stuff) in the drivers. The CV joints come apart and you can assess the wear at that point. Just remember those wear areas may be irrelevant once they are swapped. Nice to get new axle nuts also. Oh, and I have no evidence to support this, but I wouldn't use Redline MTL or MT-90 in the trans unless you rebuild it first. My theory is that the superior detergent action of that oil washes metal debris into the pinion bearings. My pinion bearings did go over 200K, though. So, I guess I can't complain. Great job on saving what is becoming a very rare car. I have been trying to find another one myself, and there are very few of them out there. Aside from the wiring issues, I think the '85s may be one of the best of the Classic 900s.

Logic tells you that the worn part of the inner driver is irrelevant once they are swapped, but it just ain't so. I won't bore you with the geometric physics, but this is born out in practice. It's OK if there is only a little wear, but if you have large grooves in the driven surface of the driver, swapping them will improve the situation but you will still get a degree of vibration. The truth is the driver still relies on the undriven surface to locate the tripod in the ideal operating position when it's under driven pressure. If there is even a few thou. play, the tripod can wobble under power, producing vibration. About half inch from the end of the driver for the tripod is the correct position for early and late drivers, which must not be mixed. Early drivers have one rib round them, later ones two. The tripod does not operate in the centre portion of the driver. There is more space at the inner end to allow for suspension movement, so tripod does not contact inner face when suspension dives. Use any good grease in the drivers. MSO2 is a good choice. No driver failed due to the wrong grease, only the lack of it.

[jskrebs]

I got 85 specific drivers and 85 specific half shafts. I noticed the 1/2 " in set when the suspension was fully down.
When you drop it on the ground it moves in towards the center a bit.

Packed the drivers with Moly grease.

Got the interior cleaned and re installed less knee bolster and console/cubbby as I am waiting for my new turn signal switch and some tinnermin clips.

Runs and drives really nice. Plenty more to do but it is now mobile.