saablog

...... and unfortunately, the Saab floor mat.  This is a problem that has been recorded here before.  During the past week I have been using my truck to haul lots of supplies and tools, so the Saab sat in front of the house, slightly nose down.  I was driving the Saab for the first time in a while in my wway into Seattle yesterday afternoon, and when I stopped for gas, noticed that the carpet looked wet.  I didn't think I could have tracked much water in to the car.  Sure enough, it was good and wet.
After consulting with the owner who has edalt with this before, I removed the sill plate, and pulled up the carpet and pad as much as I could.  I mopped up and soaked out of the carpet pad what I could, and inserted two dowels to hold the pad off the floor pan, and the carpet off the pad.  I now have a fan running to circulate air under the wet pieces.  I think it should be dry in 48 hours if not sooner.
Also I found a little bit of water in the boot.
It is not supposed to rain for several days, so my truck, which also was found to leak on the passenger floor, should be all right.
Pictures show the wet carpet, and the dowels with fan.

This is what I found in the garage this morning


You break it, you fix it.

By Kevin Miller

09.06.2008

It has been since the beginning of May that my dad has been driving the 900. During that time I've had a bunch of great cars to drive for Autosavant, though for the past few weeks I've just been enjoying our 9-5 and the V70R.  Among the cars I drove for Autosavant was a 2008 Saab Turbo X Sport Combi, the ultimate black Saab. Truly. I'd love to own that.

Yesterday I picked up the BSOS from my dad to take it to a big Saab meet-up. The proprietor of the site trollhattansaab.net, an Australian, was in Vancouver BC, and had the idea to have a big Saab meet-up in Washington.  Since I am an avid reader of TrollhattanSaab.net to get breaking Saab news (which I've used on Autosavant and credited him), I was very interested to go.  When I picked up the 900 from my dad, it was amazingly clean. Nice work Dad!

Saabs in the mirror on our drive- From Saab Weekend September 2008

Because it was in Issaquah at the XXX drive in, Ani and Luisa came too, after a visit to Ani's dad's. So both of our Saabs were in attendance. It was a GREAT meet, with a huge turnout. We had 26 cars present, including our two. Everything from a mid-70s 99 to a 2008 9-5 sedan. Fortunately the weather was beautiful.  We chatted, went on a drive (when Ani and Luisa went home), then stayed and chatted some more. I lasted until the event ended around 7:00. By that time tons of huge 1950 and 1960s American cars were arriving, any one of them could have either (a) put my Saab in its trunk, or (b) reversed over my car like it was a speed bump. Fortunately neither of those things happened.

One thing I had noticed about the 900 was that the passenger-side headlight had a lot of condensation inside of it. I knew that it had some rock chips in it, but for whatever reason the water hadn't dried out. Today I pulled the headlight out, dried it out as well as I could in 2 hours, and covered the half of the lens with all of the holes with some protective film left over from a project where I covered the lenses on our 9-5 after it was broken by a rock. Hopefully this will keep more water out, and also hopefully the water that is in there will be able to evaporate over time. We'll see.

"Daddy- what happened to your car?" From Saab Weekend September 2008

Removal of the headlight isn't too tough, but it involves removing the grille, loosening two bolts above the headlight assembly, one below it, and loosening a screw that holds the corner lamp in place next to the headlamp. When it's all removed, the front of the car looks pretty wrecked, as you can see in the photos.

The headlight and the film- From Saab Weekend September 2008

After drying the housing with paper towels, a hairdryer, and sunlight, I cleaned the lens with glass cleaner and applied the film. Becuase of 1.6 decades of use, I couldn't get all of the grime from the headlight, which resulted in an uneven fit of the film in some places. It's going to be OK, it's way better than having water in the headlight. It felt good to do a little project on my car. I had fun driving it yesterday.

All back together- as good as new! From Saab Weekend September 2008

This week on Friday I've got a Saab 9-3 Aero Convertible coming, followed by a Mini Cooper JCW, Nissan 350Z, BMW X5, and Kia Borrego EX. Autosavant has recently re-launched as www.autosavant.com, you should check it out, maybe even subscribe. I'll be getting the 900 back to my dad. I'll try to get him to write every once in a while.

As you can see it has been awhile since my dad posted about the 900, and even longer since I've posted about anything. I've been busy writing (and driving) for Autosavant. We just re-launched our site on www.autosavant.com, you should totally check it out.

Even though I've been driving everything EXCEPT my 900, I've still had the chance for some Black Saab nirvana. First up was the week I spent with the 2008 Saab Turbo X Sport Combi I reviewed for Autosavant. I had the chance to take it to Portland for a business trip, and I got to drive it around Mt. Hood. The car is nicely balanced, with a suspension and AWD system which are superior to my V70R. It gets at least as poor of mileage as my Volvo, and isn't as big inside. However, the steering and maneuverability of the Turbo X is far superior to my R. I LOVED the car. Too bad it's $45k, because I'd love to have one instead of my Volvo.

After the week with the Turbo X was week in a Pontiac G8 GT, then a weekend trip to Spokane in our 9-5, which was made from downtown Seattle to downtown Spokane in just four hours on a Friday afternoon. The 9-5 cruised nicely at 80-85 MPH, and gave me about 30.5 MPG in the process with two adults in the car. The trip home took a bit longer and got a bit worse mileage, as we had three adults plus Luisa in the car. That trip reminded me exactly what it is I love about the 9-5.

I've got a Saab 9-3 Aero convertible coming in September for a week of review. I can't wait.

As for the 900? I saw it yesterday when my dad drove it over to my house. It looks as cool as ever. He keeps it under the car cover whenever it's not being driven, so it is staying in good shape. I'll try to get him to write a post about it.

Thanks for reading!

I have now filled up BSOSOF for the third time.  First time was after going over the pass, and I reported 31.895 mpg.  Next time a little over two weeks later I had done a lot of congested freeway and city driving, and maybe was enjoying the sporty feel a bit to much, and it dropped to 21.653.  Could I have not filled it completely on the first one?  I don't think so because I actually "topped it off"  squeezing more in until it stopped again.  THis time, trying to be more mindful of fuel economy, I got 28.78 mpg.  Again I topped it off. So I think it is a good reading.  Averaging all three fills gets me 26.4.  I'm happy to be driving OSBSOF.

Who needs a big old Titan when you have a SAAB 900?  Here is almost $200 of oak for a cabinet project.  Sweet.

Apparently BSOSOF likes the open highway and a little exercise.  I filled up today after my trip over the pass to Roslyn and back.  I am told the clock was a bit optimistic when it read 90, and even the 75 that I saw for most of the trip, but the math put the mpg at 31.895.  I'm impressed, and it makes driving it that much more enjoyable.

I had to go to Roslyn today to see a friend.  Perfect excuse to exercise BSOSOF on a trip over Snoqualmie pass, apparently not made by Kevin.  Before leaving I filled up and learned that in the few days I have had it doing trips around town and into Seattle I have averaged about 24.4 mpg.  Already getting 10+ mpg better than the truck.

It was a quick and pleasant drive.  The car had no problems at all and could easily maintain speed in 5th gear over the pass. I was just keeping up with traffic, mostly, which was going about 75.  There may have been a few times I needed to get around someone and went a little faster.   It had been gray with a little drizzle off and on until I got to the summit where there were a few snow flakes falling.  The road however was mostly dry.



Over on the other side of the hill, the sun was out and it was a nice, if cool, day.  I took my friend for a spin to the store in Cle Elum, and I think he enjoyed the car. After lunch, I made the quick trip back.  The car was just begging for a little more throttle, and I admit there were a few times I obliged.  All the while it performed well and gave a confident stable feel.  The road is a bit rough in places, and the "feedback" left my fillings loose and kidneys jarred.
I have yet to fill up and check mpg, but I'll be sure to include it in a future post.

Yes, BSOS is under new management.  I am Kevin’s dad and have agreed that this arrangement is a good deal for Kevin and a great deal for me.  I’m sure BSOS feels right at home here, the scent of a previous SAAB still lingering about the premises.

As I pulled away from Shoreline on my trip home I of course forgot about the missing synchro, and ground my pound both up and down on my first try.  I’m getting better.  After all, I taught Kevin what double-clutching is.

I have to agree with Kevin that it is fun to drive.  On my way home I had to stop by the Verizon store, and as I pulled into the parking lot I crossed in front of a late model Volvo wagon.  As I entered the store, the Vo;vo driver and his passenger were entering at the same time.  He said what a nice looking SAAB I had, that he and his son were admiring it as I pulled in.  Great.  Day one and already compliments.

Next day was sunny and warm, and I got to go to the store with the windows down and sun roof open.

While under new management, BSOS will be driven by an old fart, so will be known as BSOSOF.

Tomorrow the car will have its first trip over Snoqualmie pass to Roslyn.  There is potential for snow.  Wish it was going to be sunny, but I’m looking forward to the trip.

I've now been enjoying the BSOS 900 for 27 months, and have put about 11,000 miles on it during that time. At this point it is a fairly nice car, with pretty-good condition interior, 15-foot shiny paint (i.e it looks great from 15 feet), and it is comfortable and fun to drive.

Because this summer's autocross season has been cancelled, I've got no competetions to run. I've been using the 900 to commute to customer's sites to save gas instead of driving the R. It's an enjoyable drive, and a distinctive vehicle no matter where it is parked or driven.

As my writing has picked up on autosavant.net, I've been approved for many manufacturers' test vehicle fleets. In the next month I'll be driving a Jaguar XJ Super V8, Mazda MX-5 (Miata) Power Retractable Hard Top, Suzuki SX4 Crossover Touring, and Land Rover LR3.  I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to drive each of these vehicles for a week. As my friend Dr. Casey Shillam said, we're growing up and our dreams are coming true. But it leaves me with a bit of a problem regarding where I should park all of these cars... Ani's 9-5, my V70R, my 900, and my press vehicle.

At  the same time, my dad has been shopping for a third car for their household, one that gets better fuel economy than his V8 Nissan Titan 4x4. He sent me a link last week to a clapped-out 1989 Honda CRX with some ridiculously high mileage on the odometer, with faded paint and a ruined interior, for $2700. Unacceptable.

That said, I've proposed to my dad that he drive the 900 for the next few months, and he is "really excited". It will save him gas, and it will free up parking at my house.  All of my hard work on the 900 will not go unappreciated; and I don't have to sell my "toy" car which has been my favorite hobby since I bought it.

I'll try to keep you all posted on the 900's sojourn in Kennydale, and maybe I can convince my dad to write some blog posts to keep you all up to date.