Looks great. Nice clean controls and plastic windows. Even the vent pyramid icons are fresh looking. Did you redo the dash top?

Yes, the dash pad is completely new, the original could not be salvaged other than be used as a template. The A pillar pads, instrument pad, tidy box and glove box were all painted using duplicolor vinyl paint. I decided to do this after I saw a Ford Ranchero that had been restored several years ago and the owner highly recommended 'fogging' with duplicolor vinyl paint. You'd think it wouldn't work, but it does a great job. I prep'ed the surfaces using SuperClean, a soft brush, rinsing and then a lacquer thinner wipe down just prior to spraying.

Picked up the manifold from squaabt and got a peak at his 99 turbo. Another local fanatic was madly working away on his former 99 EMS that he was buying back. Thanks for removing the header pipe .. I'll clean and degrease the manifold on Monday and hopefully get it down to Auburn that day too.

squaab99t wrote:

The left most cap spun off at 80mph yesterday (and a very cool sound was heard). Last night I replaced the copper RTV (which held for about 100 miles) with JB weld putty. Fortunately the fitting was laying down in the engine bay in plain sight. The real problem is that I removed that brass fitting so I could get a match for the cap when I should have just left it in the manifold.

The contact paper faux wood was in poor shape. I tested a piece with walnut, but ended up using teak wood. Sanded 600, 1200 and 2000 grit with linseed oil and wax. Teak is a bit tricky as it tends to chip/splinter, walnut was much easier .. but I preferred the teak. I think that is what the contact paper was trying to be.

Great job with the teak!! Looks new!

Looks better than new !

Wow!

Nice work.

I had the 1969 grille and headlamp bezels etched. Rather than having it polished I decided to try and use a grain pad for a satin finish. For the emblem I used polishing compound and a low RPM buffing wheel.

sjones wrote:I had the 1969 grille and headlamp bezels etched. Rather than having it polished I decided to try and use a grain pad for a stain finish. For the emblem I used polishing compound and a low RPM buffing wheel.

That looks fantastic. Will really compliment the front end of the car.

Awesome work! How much did that paint job cost for the whole car and who did it for you?

Filling up the 900c at the gas station yesterday and I spy a 9-3 tx at the traffic light. He pulled into the station to get fuel too. We chat and come to find out he was the previous owner of your 99. He told the story of 9-9-99 rally in Oregon, on route 99 with his dad in the 99. He says he loves his 9-3, but one day wants to restore a 99 notch.
This a small world in the Saab universe.

The car was running hot the other day in really slow traffic and my fan relay stopped working. I got back to work and parked. When I was leaving I saw a fairly sizeable puddle under the car and though it was from the overflow. I checked the coolant bottle and saw I did have some in the hose, so just cleaned the fan relay contacts (which was the problem) and drove home. Clutch was fine ;-)

Then the next morning I got in the .. pressed the clutch hahah. Checked under the car and there was a pool of fluid. Checked it this time.. DOT .. hah..

So what happened? I did have the master cylinder replaced last summer. Ruptured line? I'll look closer into it and post. Has anyone ever had this happen before?

In most cases I would say the flex part is shot. When mine died I took it to Nebar in Ballard for the repair.
Jump 10 years later:
The clutch went away as you did more and more gear changes and would recover in the morning. I was have a sealing problem where the fitting with the double bubble flare seals to the slave cylinder. No amount of Teflon tape on the threads stop the leak. Had to fix it correctly. Cut off the old and flared a new. There was enough material to allow the union and the tool and still do the flare.

My car as been sitting for a while (in a garage) and I miss driving it. I had the master cylinder replaced at Troll Motors at their recommendation and within a couple of weeks of daily driving I went out to my car to see fluid underneath it.. I assumed it was coolant overflow tho it wasn't in the usual place and drove it home and parked in the garage. The next morning I got into (my favourite) car and the clutch pedal went down to the floor... I've been so busy I've not had any time to address it, but with the holidays here I find I have time to watch television, so ...

I think I can manage a master cylinder change and bleed myself this time .. I've done the brakes myself, so this really should be easy... and I'll use a new or reman and not a parts pull. I don't blame Troll Motors and in the past I have brought them parts I sourced and in one case the part I had (cold start valve) was bad and they spent time assuming I had provided a good part. Nate did a lot to get my car running great and I highly recommend them for folks who don't have the time to do their own repairs.

I did end up getting a NOS heater valve, but I also remember how difficult it was to get into the heater box... and then I finally scored a pair of NOS tail lights. Still have a box full of parts I want powder coated... Yeah I saw the $150k put into a 99 turbo listing on ebay .. I'm still under $10k here on the $400 car destined for the crusher.

I miss driving the car!