This is the end
21-11-2006
350.000 km's (217.000 miles). A lot has happened since my last entry. I drove
the car from Finland to Holland and back and that went fine. I had it serviced
beforehand and that was the first money I spent on it since it's last checking. Bills
totalled 100,- Euro and that included a new exhaust. Not bad, but bad was about
to happen only later... Three weeks ago Eeva was driving home in a snow storm.
Nothing the car could not handle, but just a very wrong moment for a clutch to
stop working. Hydraulics failed so she had to abandon it next to the highway and
was picked up by a friend. Towing it away with Mika's car the next day proved to
be too tricky , so I had it towed away to a garage. The garage had a look (after
two weeks) and asked a staggering 500,- Euro to repair/ renew clutch plate and
master cylinder... I decided that I did not want to invest that money anymore in
the "red tank". That money is now going to a car that has been in my ownership
for over five years, but I never have been able to use thanks to Finnish customs,
who are protecting the domestic second hand car market with absurd import fees.
The car has been losing value since then, so I am only now able to pay those fees.
I sold the Saab to a person from Jyväskylä. He's also a Saab fan and not a guy
that just needed a car. He and his friend repaired the car outside on a parking in
the fog with some spare parts. Try to do that with a Toyota, suckers! So
eventually the Saab was back from near-death and I hope that it has found a good
home with Mael, but here the story really ends. I am not starting a site about a
VW Golf. I will add the last pictures soon to the gallery.
One year
25-02-2006
330.000 km's (205.000 miles). I passed the checking! Everything I wrote below
was fixed, except the hand (emergency) brake. One day after the checking it
again froze. The ruptured CV joint rubber had to be replaced by a garage. That
had cost me Eur. 70,- but they also adjusted the hand brake and the carb. They
also tested the exhaust emissions. Then about 10,- Euro for materials to fix the
hole in the exhaust (we put lost of putty, metal wire, a clamp, a supermarket
trolley, several beer cans, etc. there to fix the hole!) and another 12,- for the DIY
garage. The light-bulbs were one Euro and it was not a wiring problem. Now I can
start counting again from zero. I don't think I have spent much money last year
and I wish to keep it that way! Some pictures added to the gallery!
Some work
02-02-2006
328.000 km's (203.000 miles). Two weeks ago I had to replace the thermostat. I
only noticed that when it got really cold this winter. Temperatures went as low as
-26 celsius (-15F) and the engine hardly heated up. That's a sign your thermostat
is dead and not a signal to put pieces of cardboard in front of the radiotor, duh!
Some pictures are in the gallery. Cost unknown, since Santa gave me the new part
as a gift (Santa lives in Finland so he's here the whole year round! )! Costs of DIY
garage: Eur. 21,- but I also washed it there. That's not all! There's a hole in the
exhaust that needs fixing, the lights for the license plate don't work (and I think
it's a cable), the hand-brake still freezes on one side (but I know why) and finally I
need to replace one rubber cover that goes over the axle. If I don't get these
things fixed, it won't pass the checking. That means that soon I will have some
updates again. Otherwise the car is doing fine!
6-10-2005
The problems I discussed below are over. The main jet needle in the carb. was the
culprit! Costs, including fitting was about Eur.50,- Now it's driving smoooth!!!
Finally I also have a second set of rims! With original Saab wheel covers (photo
later). They travelled from Joensuu to Tuusula and from there via Heinola, to
here... Ilkka (who else) arranged them! The studded winter tyres I already had, but
changing them without a second set of rims is more work= higher cost. The
wheels were only Eur. 12,50 each! Beginning of November the speed limits are
going down in the country and from December winter tyres are mandatory, but
I'm sure I'll need them fitted earlier for sure!
24-05-2005
The vacuum unit is replaced (Eur.29, -), but the problems still exist. I do have the
feeling it performs a bit better than before, but it needs further inspection.
20-04-2005
Currently there's 315.000 km's on the meter. Yesterday changed the winter tyres
for.... Winter tyres! Yes, the studded ones are not OK to drive with in summer, but
M&S tyres are. I got a used set from Ilkka (Kiitos!) and they are fine! The Saab's
footprint has grown now also. The tyres measure 195 instead of the old 185. Also
fitted a new battery. So much for the "honesty of Finns"...Yes, the battery was
new. Well, until it became evident that it was even worse than my old battery, and
only then they admitted it has been used as starting battery for the garage. Now I
have a real new one (Eur. 39, -). Pics added!
I went to Ilkka's place to see if we could make the engine run better. It has a
problem accelerating and perhaps the mixture is too rich. I changed the spark
plugs, but no results. Then, while Ilkka was cleaning the distributor, he noticed
that the vacuum unit on the distributor didn't function. Since it was Sunday, we
could not replace it. We did replace a number of rubber hoses that had been dried
up and drank a lot of coffee. Took no pictures apart from one of a curious squirrel
spying on us.
Saab 900C sedan, 1989
(As posted on Finland Journal Forums)
After blowing up the engine of a '89 Ford Fiësta, that had driven 400 000 kms
(so it was about time) Eeva and I needed another car. Just can't do without if you
don't live in the city. With a small budget and some Saab-nut to advise me, we
ended up buying a 900C from '89. Buying it was a bit unusual: My friend went to
look at the car, give it a test run and told me to take it. I then jumped on the bus
(took 3 1/2 hrs) to do the paperwork and hand over the cash. I never actually saw
the car in daylight! Drove it home in the dark!
Driving it, actually felt like driving a quite modern, comfortable car. Looking at it
(in daylight) from the outside you definitely think it's an old car. My girlfriend
could hardly stop laughing when she saw it next morning. We both kept smiling
driving it! If you buy an old car for less than 700 Euros you expect some things to
have fallen apart. Not so with this one! All the instruments and lights were
working. No knobs came off or had disappeared. No funny sound in the back, not a
clutch that needs renewal soon. Everything was just working!
What is a Saab 900C sedan? Well it's a 4-door model and it has a spacious trunk.
Standard on this model is power steering and heated seats in the front. That's all,
not even central locking that is common on all the other models. It's heavy: 1200
kgs. Therefore it needs a good engine. You'll have a 2-litre engine with 100 horses
and 162 Nm torque to get you moving!! Everything is heavy on this car, but
perhaps that's also why it is so safe: http://www.saabnet.com/tsn/ssl
Where to save costs then? Spare parts! Need winter tyres, leather seats, a new
blower, a fender or a door? No problem, they are available and will cost you
almost nothing. It's because it has been such a hugely popular model, but also
because this (900-Classic) model has been manufactured between '79 and '94
and many parts fit on any 900! It's the real backward compatibility Microsoft is
always claiming to adhere to. My 900 is not a real Swedish car. This one is made
in Uusikaupunki, Finland!
