Green '79 900 EMS

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DrewP
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Green '79 900 EMS

Postby DrewP » Sun Sep 23, 2012 5:42 pm

I needed another project like a hole in the head, but as we all know you can't say no to an EMS model that's practically free, so.... I got another one.

Pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/1051313300 ... en79900EMS

I posted photos a while back of a green over green '79 900 EMS 3-door that I worked on some while I was still posing as a professional mechanic, in this thread: Greeeeennn!!

I told the girl that owned it that if she ever wanted to sell to give me a ring. She's been living in Vermont for the past year and the car got parked behind a friend's house when she left with a crank & no start problem. It was pretty filthy from sitting outside, but no mice got into it and all the tires pumped up fine. The fuel pump runs intermittently with the key turned to START and I got it to fire on starter fluid, so it's going to get a thorough cleaning and a few hours of tinkering and it should be ready to rock.

It's got a lot of miles, but is a really clean body, and the interior is even pretty clean. Has a nice set of headers, Bilsteins that don't feel all blown out when bouncing on the sills, 8k RPM tach, decent tires that aren't all dry-rotted on soccerballs, I think the original 4-speed gearbox and a few other goodies.

Haven't decided what to do with this one yet - maybe a budget rally-X build I think, just have some fun in it.




It does have a grill, but the hood release cable was broken and I had to remove it to get to the latch - it's got a later flatnose grille (with an EMS badge on it though) and headlamp surrounds with parking lamps, I'll have to track down the proper early grill:

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At it's new home in the West Coast Saab Farm!

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Assembled in September, '78.

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More later.
Last edited by DrewP on Mon Sep 24, 2012 10:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
"You can educate ignorance, but you can't fix stupid."

Scott
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Re: Green '79 900 EMS

Postby Scott » Sun Sep 23, 2012 9:23 pm

Cool! I had 2 regular 79s that I got for next to nothing that ran great for a long time, but both rotted away.

So how many miles is a lot of miles?
I wish my car had winter mood technology.

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DrewP
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Re: Green '79 900 EMS

Postby DrewP » Mon Sep 24, 2012 12:35 am

I think it's showing something like 320K? I forgot to snap one of the odo. Probably because I was waiting around for the tow driver for over 2 hours....
"You can educate ignorance, but you can't fix stupid."

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V4_guy
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Re: Green '79 900 EMS

Postby V4_guy » Mon Sep 24, 2012 10:13 am

Super cool! I know the feeling of having too many projects but you can't pass up something like that! When I was a student at UMass in the late '90s there was a professor who drove one identical to that, it was kind of rough, though.

I was just lamenting to my wife last night how you can't get cars with interior colors other than beige and grey nowadays, let alone something color matched like green on green. I love it, looks like it will clean up nice! There are definitely not too many 900 EMSes left.

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Luke
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Re: Green '79 900 EMS

Postby Luke » Mon Sep 24, 2012 10:41 am

So awesome! I'm really glad you picked that up!

I love that color green, so cool. I too lament the loss of actual variety in automotive color palettes. Everything is just the same now.

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spgftw
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Re: Green '79 900 EMS

Postby spgftw » Mon Sep 24, 2012 12:24 pm

Love it! My very first car (back in the 80s) was a 79 EMS, blue on blue, with soccerballs. This car brings back memories. :yay:

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Geoff
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Re: Green '79 900 EMS

Postby Geoff » Mon Sep 24, 2012 12:32 pm

That's awesome. I'd say clean it up, see if you can get the paint to shine, drive for a bit and see what you want to do with it. I'd vote against it being a rallycross beater. That's what 4drs are for. :-P
The kind of dirty that doesn't wash off :eyebrows:

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V4_guy
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Re: Green '79 900 EMS

Postby V4_guy » Mon Sep 24, 2012 1:25 pm

I see the 09/78 build date, that must be one of the earlier '79s. What month did production begin?

I'm with Geoff, it's too nice for rallyX duty.

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BIRDIEMANGO
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Re: Green '79 900 EMS

Postby BIRDIEMANGO » Mon Sep 24, 2012 1:29 pm

HEY DREW,

THE 900 EMS WAS PRETTY RARE HERE AS WELL.......AROUND FIFTEEN YEARS BACK,WE RALLIED A BLUE ONE,UNTIL IT GOT ROLLED&BENT THE SHELL.... :ranting:

THE WEEK BEFORE ON ANOTHER STAGE RALLY WE CRASHED IT THROUGH A CONCRETE WALL,PUSHING THE WHEEL BACK INTO THE ARCH.......HENCE NEW WISHBONES AND A SILVER WING!!!
A LUMP OF CONCRETE STRUCK THE BONNET PUTTING A HUGE DENT IN IT,SNAPPING OFF THE COLDSTART INJECTOR PIPE UNDERNEATH AND STARTING AN ENGINE FIRE......

OH THE DAYS OF A CAREFREE LIFE........
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DrewP
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Re: Green '79 900 EMS

Postby DrewP » Wed Sep 26, 2012 12:34 pm

That is an AWESOME photo!



UPDATE: It runs!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XFJg7WTjRM&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjyNwzU_mY8&feature=plcp







Thorough flush of the fuel lines, cleaned out the metering plate & run the pump and cycled the metering plate up & down and rapping on the sides of the injectors unstuck them, and it fired right up. I vacuumed up most of the shmutz, and got it ready for a bath, but it fires up on the 1st or 2nd crank now. Nuts.

Needs new brushes for the voltage regulator, and a turn signal stalk, but otherwise I think the only things it needs are cosmetic.

I am SUPER happy with the condition of the car, has a nice clean set of headers, pretty much everything electrical seems to work fine (fan, all the lights, gages), heater valve & all the dash controls turn smoothly, the Bilstein's are nice and tight, brakes feel nice & tight, trans shifts good (1st, 2nd and reverse at least just up and down my street).

Idles smooth and smells clean out the tailpipe once it's warmed up, it may even pass smog without too much tinkering.



It initially ran pretty poor because the modulating valve for the fuel block was UNPLUGGED, just dangling there. plugged it in, modulator clacky-clacks away and it smoothed right out.


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Brushes are shot, intermittent charge light flickers on, but otherwise sits at a happy ~13.5-13.8V at the battery, and the shaft in the alternator looks fine.

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Will clean up nice:

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Some handwritten notes on right side inner fender, A/C service/install in 1996, valves at 259k, transmission oil change at 270k:

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Odo showes 320,121, but that's what it showed 2 years ago when I serviced it last, I'll have to remember to ask the previous owner how long it hasn't been working - could have a lot more miles than it shows.

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And the cool ceramic fuse box, with the fuse & relay positions on the cover in both Swedish and English. So cool!

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Geoff
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Re: Green '79 900 EMS

Postby Geoff » Wed Sep 26, 2012 1:09 pm

Awesome, I love it when a few little things get an abandoned car back together! I've got one of those Swedish/English fuse box covers too, NOS...
The kind of dirty that doesn't wash off :eyebrows:

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DrewP
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Re: Green '79 900 EMS

Postby DrewP » Wed Sep 26, 2012 1:24 pm

I bought a really nice one a while back cheap hoping to throw it on my '85, and was bummed to find the fuse and relay positions and numbers are completely different when they changed over to the blade fuses.
"You can educate ignorance, but you can't fix stupid."

jk88
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Re: Green '79 900 EMS

Postby jk88 » Wed Sep 26, 2012 1:59 pm

So awesome Drew. Can't wait to see this car in person.
88 c900T vert / 98 M3 Coupe Estoril Blue / 03 4Runner
Gone but not forgotten: 90 SPG / 95 9k Aero / 02 Viggen / 03 SS

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burnsside42
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Re: Green '79 900 EMS

Postby burnsside42 » Wed Sep 26, 2012 9:22 pm

wow - nice man! Very neat car!
6 Saab's + 1 Moto Guzzi = needs more time & money!

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V4_guy
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Re: Green '79 900 EMS

Postby V4_guy » Thu Sep 27, 2012 9:59 am

Such a great car, I love it. Can't wait to see it clean up! C900s don't get much cooler than this.


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