89T Daily Beater Project

[SwedeSport]

I need another project like I need a hole in the head.

So I went out an bought this 89T 4dr. It's Sandstone Metallic Clearcoat. Has tan leather interior and is a 5 spd car. It has some rust, a few dents and scratches, and the seats were neglected. The odometer shows 112k, but it not operating and I'm sure it's lying to me. It needs some work, but I got the car for a steal so I think I can have a good DD for little coin, and it will pay for itself in the gas I'll save over driving my F150. So the plan is to throw some used pieces I hoarded at it.

I hadn't really driven it before I bought it. Well, I got about a block before the clutch master blew. Limped it back and worked the deal for the broken car. I towed it home on a dolly behind the truck. First I put in a new Walmart battery. I threw some used vac lines on it and got it so it would hold an idle. I dug out some used clutch mc parts and rebuilt a piston. I pop the linkage off the pedal, pull back the rubber boot and remove the clip. Making sure to put a rag under it to catch the fluid. Slide out the piston and spring. Let it drain and wipe it out with a rag. You can shine a light into the bore to look for pits. Put the spring and piston back in, reinstall the clip and boot. Reinsert the pin and it's retainer. Fill and bleed. I think the piston change only takes about 10-15 minutes, well plus bleeding too.

Ok so now I can drive it again. I drive a half mile before deciding to take it home. I didn't get far. Pulling out from a stop sign, I crossed the intersection, shifted into second, and the drivers side lower ball joint comes apart. The wheel tucks up out of the way (or should I say jams up into the fender). She proceeds to lay frame, and skid to a halt. At this point I'm sitting in my broken car in the middle of the road, laughing my ass off. After getting it towed back to the shop I pulled it all apart. Brake line was fine, UCA was tweaked so I straightened it with the broken ball joint and a pipe wrench. I found a decent used joint to put on it. The lower shock nut had stripped off the stud from the force. I found a nut that was tight enough to hold. The CV joint inner boot tore when It pulled out of the inner driver. I removed the tripod and replaced the boot, and reinstalled the CV. The brakes looked passable so I let them go. It has KYB GR2s on it and Ill replace with a set of white KYB gas adjusts I saved off a car i dismantled. It now has SPG front springs as well.

Trying not to get carried away with 'building" a car. I just want to keep it simple and focus on getting it running and functioning. I did however, put my roof rack on it, and plan to put a working stereo in it. I have a box of speakers, head units, amps, and wire out the wazoo.

All told I bought a battery and some zip ties. Oh Yeah,... and towing.

[hutch]

Nice score!

I think I recognize this car from CL but I don't really remeber any details. I must say I grew up hating the 4 doors but they've really started to grown on me.

[Geoff]

Nice save!

At this point I'm sitting in my broken car in the middle of the road, laughing my ass off.

I'd rather drive a car with a worn out set of GR2s than a car with a new set of Gas-A-Just.

[99Super]

Nice score!

I think I recognize this car from CL but I don't really remeber any details. I must say I grew up hating the 4 doors but they've really started to grown on me.

Yeah, my old 83T (The one I drove to SOC '97) has been sitting in a storage yard for years w/ a flaky trans and a smokey turbo. This makes me want to go get it and drop one of my spare 16VT setups into it and have for a local beater.

john

[SwedeSport]

I fell in love with Saab when I drove my buddies 82 900S 8v 4 door. The thing had 250k on it and felt solid. I was really impressed that the doors closed with a solid thud. It was what inspired me to give up the search for the mid 80s M5 I was shopping for at the time. I ended up with the 85T that Im fixing in another thread.

Geoff ... when the suspension wadded up, the cv axle jammed into the shock and dented it in. The kyb gas units are the only spares I have sitting around.

Hutch ... it came from Harrisburg. This is my first 4 door C900.

I found the original window sticker. The original sale paperwork was still in it too. As well as a bunch of service records. The bulk of the work was done at Lehman Motors in Harrisburg where the car was originally sold. The odometer shows 110k and the service records show that mileage in 2000 ish. The BJ that failed appears to have been replaced at 85k. my guess is it has closer to 200k on it and has been neglected for a while as there are no service records since 2010. It only had 3-4 services from 2002 to 2010.

The front pass side fender is really rusty, and its pretty bad in the rockers just ahead of the rear tires. The seams in the rear axle tunnel are flaky and bubbly. I was just going to spray some diesel fuel into the rusty spots and hope it doesnt advance too quickly. It all honesty I dont think its worth a resto. It has enough condition issues to relegate it to beater duty. Both rear doors have dents as well as slight rust in the bottoms.

I primarily picked it up due to rising gas prices, and for the fact that the 85t project is not going to be ready any time soon. I was hoping to get up to 2 years out of it, and then either sell it as a running, inspected beater. Or I could part it out.

[SwedeSport]

Spent some time this weekend getting a feel for the car. Fixed some more issues, but found others. Dug up some good used grommets, on at the PCV nipple, the other in the plastic turbo inlet pipe. Took the noisy AC idler and belt off. Changed the oil and filter. Nixed the garbage CarQuest plug wires and Autolite plugs for Bougi's and some Bosch Platinum plugs. I also put in a real Bosch dist cap and rotor. I need to replace the rubber turbo inlet elbow. Mine is dry and has a big crack. I cleaned and lubricated the AIC to get that working better. I might have an oil cooler line that is leaking, but the engine is too dirty to see where its coming from. Hopefully it's just a spill from trying to get the filter out.

I replaced the front speakers with the SPG units. I had a working SAAB Clarion hanging around that I put in. Ill need to find a replacement for the rear speakers as one is junk. But it doesn't sound too bad. Some of the face illumination in the head unit is out, and possibly one in the EQ. I have future plans to throw some of my stereo stuff in it, but the stock stuff will hold me over.

I pulled the dash apart today and swapped in another 89 cluster hoping the ODO worked. It was broken too, and the tach did not work either. So I'm looking for another solution. I managed to replace a non functioning power mirror switch, and repair the instrument rheostat. Reconnected the temp control linkage, and replaced a bunch of bulbs. The fascia could stand to be replaced or rigged. The tabs are broke off and the long screws don't hold well. I put in a 3 spoke wheel from a Turbo hatch.

It needs a muffler, and the plan is to order a Walker replacement for 30 bucks. It ought to last at least 2 years.

The pinion bearing is a little noisy. It appears as if an earlier trans was put in it at some point. The 89's had the little stubby dipstick in the trans??? This has the long classic style. Not that I really want to do a tranny swap on the beater, but I'll have the 91 unit to put in it if it comes down to it.

[DeLorean]

I'd rather drive a car with a worn out set of GR2s than a car with a new set of Gas-A-Just.

I'd agree on that too. "Gas-a-just's" are not shocks, they are a shock-like object that does not perform any of the tasks of traditional shocks.

[Crazyswede]

I'd rather drive a car with a worn out set of GR2s than a car with a new set of Gas-A-Just.

I'd agree on that too. "Gas-a-just's" are not shocks, they are a shock-like object that does not perform any of the tasks of traditional shocks.

my recollection: they worked backwards to all other shock absorbers...soft when you needed them way to stiff all other times

[DeLorean]

Also, it is correct that an 89 would have a dip stick tube & a drain plug in the trans. It being a turbo, it should have a GM 55604 which all 89-90 turbos would have had. 91-93 have the GM 55606 - you can spot this right in front of the clutch housing. Bring a rag, the tag is covered in grease and oil.

Also, note to self- don't drive 99 turbo till I get a new set of ball joints in it.

[SwedeSport]

Apparently ball joints are pretty important .

Ill check out the trans numbers. I parted an 89 spg a few years back that had its original trans. It had a short 3-4 inch lipstick. My 91 trans has a threaded plug. I don't really want to put a trans in the beater. Ill drive it as long as it lasts, and then make up my mind.

It doesn't ride too bad with the GR2s. Apparently the bashed in tube is not hurting it. Ill just leave them in unless there is a problem.

[Geoff]

It had a short 3-4 inch lipstick.

[SwedeSport]

The current trans is a 557 04.

[SwedeSport]

It had a short 3-4 inch lipstick.

Damn Android autocorrect .

[V4_guy]

my recollection: they worked backwards to all other shock absorbers...soft when you needed them way to stiff all other times

You're still talking about shocks, right?

[V4_guy]

Very good find, I love the '89 Turbo sedans. You should run the Saab VIN decoder (http://saabvin.com/) and see what trans it had from the factory, sounds like it could possibly have been an automatic that was swapped out for a manual. That's what happened on my '89 and they used an early trans ('82-ish) that was a little noisy and blew up without warning one day, pinion bearing exploded.