Saab CabrioChallenge 2018 – Halland – from forest and sea via beech woods to the ocean

The 2018 edition Saab CabrioChallenge was driven for the 11th time in a row, and even this year we got a report and great photos from our old friend Mioh! Thanks for sharing this with us! 🙂

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The 2018 edition of Saab CabrioChallenge took place 10th-12th of August. This event has been driven annually since 2008 and even this year it attracted a large number of happy and pleasant Saab-enthusiasts. The meeting started lightly on Friday evening pĂ„ “TvĂ„ Skyttlar” with a common dinner for those who were in place the day before the start of the rally.
Saturday morning we all gathered at breakfast, and after that set up for this years group image. (This year the theme was “Organized Chaos”). After the photosession, welcome greeting and distribution of roadbooks the roofless Saabs rolled out on the roads through beautiful Halland. Along the way to the final destination Tylösand trees, churches, radio-station with thunder and seafood-lunch, meadows, ice cream-shops and waterways were passed. After many lovely miles, our final destination Tylösands Tylö Sun was reached. In the evening we all gathered in the hotel’s large hall where dinner was served to us. Here we enjoyed the whole evening of good food and a nice atmosphere in a true “Saabanda”.
Sunday morning started with a hearty breakfast before checkout. Sundays activity consisted of a visit to Svedinos aviation and car museum. We was all very happy and thanked eachother for a nice weekend and the organizers welcomed us all to the Saab CabrioChallenge 2019!

Click on the thumbnails for full size and text. 

Many thanks to the organizers and others for a really nice weekend! 😁

900 Classic 1987 Convertible, restoration

I started to post my project 2 years ago, but it is still ongoing. The more I am “drilling” into the depth, the more is revealed.  The 2017 summer I drove to Aalborg to replace the soft top including a new heated rear window. On the return trip to Sweden there was a terrible rain storm. We really tested the new soft top! Back in the garage I found water in the trunk so I realized that there was leakage somewhere. The rear quarter windows lift did not work + suddenly the soft top  hydraulics stopped working. The decision to make a winter project to get the car in a better condition was taken.

What I have done so far this winter:

1. Repaired both lift motors – driving cog wheels stuck with hardened old grease. Cleaned and greased. In the same run I removed the lifting mechanism so I could clean the drainage outlets and make a proper rust protection. Greased the mechanism before installation.

2. Repaired defective hydraulic cylinder – O-ring was leaking, probably due to age and lack of usage. Dismantled the cylinder and change the ring. Cleaned the hydraulic system and reservoir. Full instruction found on You-Tube.

3. Electric window heater did not work – The time-relay was missing. Purchased a used one on eBay.

4. Water leakage was localized to be caused by many rusted spots in the rear inner wings, lower part on both sides. I have cut out all rusted areas and have to make by hand replacement plates and weld them. The process is ongoing. There is also heavy rusted areas in the trunk floor along the side to side joint. I have not yet decided what to do.

5. The rear axle is heavily rusted. I plan to remove it to get it sand blasted and painted. I will replace the shock’s. They are probably 30 years old – as the car.

I guess this is about all I can manage to do this winter. I hope to get the car on the road by end of May. Time will show.

Have you ever had a hard time locking your Saab?

Sometimes I cannot lock my Saab properly with the key remote. If I am in a hurry this may get quite frustrating. After a while, I started to see a pattern. There was always a lorry nearby, a lorry with a remotely operated crane.

In Sweden, we recycle things like glass, paper, plastics and cupboard. The recycling stations are emptied regularly. This happens quite often when I drop my oldest son off at school. My conclusion is that the crane remote is operating on a similar radio frequency as my car key remote. It seems that the weaker car key signal gets drenched by the crane remote. When the lorry is gone, my car lock works perfectly.

Have anyone else had this problem?

A lorry emptying the recycling station outside my son’s school.

 

 

Saab Insurance – Swedish Market, Update

I did a post on Saab insurance for the Swedish market a while ago. I have recently renewed my insurance and have happily found out that the insurance company Folksam has stretched their limits for Saabs even further. If you buy the large car insurance, you will have machine and electronics insurance up to 10 years or 15ÂŽ000 Swedish miles (1 Swedish mile = 10km).

Auto-dimming rearview side mirrors, update

A long time ago, Tim wrote a post about the difficulties of getting new auto-dimming rearview side mirrors. I wrote a short add about the mirrors getting back in stock.

The brownish color was not the biggest issue, it was the failure of the dimming function on all mirrors. In November 2015 I fixed my left mirror it has worked fine ever since.

Before: You can see a brownish tone in the left part of the mirror.
After: The new auto-dimming mirror

The auto dimming area does not cover the entire glass. However, that is nothing which you will notice driving the car. The auto dimming function works fine on all mirrors after I replaced the bad one.

Saab Heritage Museum in United States

You may have read this elsewhere, but Tom Donney Motors is creating a museum dedicated to Saab cars in South Dakota, USA.  His web site (http://www.tomdonneymotors.com/personal-stock/) says these are from his personal collection, which is quite impressive.  It includes the oldest Saab in USA as well as NG 9-5.  Personally, I do not mind not seeing 9-7x there, but it should include 9-4x.

It opens in two year.  Definitely something to consider if you are going to see Mt. Rushmore.

Saab by Gray Design

Gray Design apparently is looking for Saab to make a come back and completed this design work.

The video and photos show a wonderful interpretation of what the future of Saab might have been, have they remained solvent.  How the wings extend and even the Swedish air force logos on the side are just few examples how to tie the brand together.

Unfortunately, it appears that this is nothing more than a study.  But you can still dream for a few minutes.  Enjoy the video.

Replacement Air Bags are Finally Available

After about 18 months of waiting, I was finally able to get replacements for the defective Takata air bags in my 2008 9-3 convertible and my wife’s 2010 9-3x sportcombi in the past week.  GM handled the air bag replacement in my wife’s car, even though it is a SWAN model.  Apparently, safety recalls remained with GM even after the sale to SWAN.

If you have been waiting, it’s probably time to find the nearest authorized SAAB service center and see if you can schedule an appointment.  They needed about one week’s notice to get the parts in.

SAABS have always been fun and safe, and its nice to know that the safety is back!

Editor’s note: During the management transition period no posts were approved. We apologize for the delay. PaulF’s post dates back to May.

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