86 notchback in the Rose City

[SwedeSport]

The fabric is the most hateful part of working with fiberglass. You can get away with using other natural fibers. stereo guys even use polyester stretch fabric when building speaker enclosures... Don't see why it wouldn't work on a headliner.

[spgftw]

Good tip on the polyester fabric. Might try that next time. Here's the results today!

Dashboard installed:


And headliner as well!


Now, if I can just find a boot for the shift rod, I think I can reassemble the rest of the interior. It appears all the leaks have been stopped except for that one. :)

[squaab99t]

Looks great. Did you get a new wind shield or just swap in a good used one? I need a new one for my '89. Still on the original and she is about shot. Pro install?
Did that adhesive not work on the boot?

[spgftw]

I swapped in a decent used windshield I pulled from the wrecker. Not a pro install, I just did it myself and it went surprisingly smoothly. I wasn't even going to swap the dash, but once the windshield was out it looked even easier so I went for it.

I think that adhesive might be difficult as the boot I have is completely torn apart. If nothing else turns up I'll try it eventually.

[spgftw]

It's been too long since an update, so here's the latest. I finally found a shifter boot and replaced that little thing.

Next up, I built a rear shelf. It's in the "good enough" category:



And an easy one, some H4s. And some spg rims. :)



Finally, a couple of scores: rear louvres and a spoiler.



This was approaching a new 900 load record for me.
In the trunk, there's a spare transmission, complete tool set, full size ice chest, suitcase, fire pit, and complete 18 foot TIPI plus ground cover. Those poles on the roof must be 28 feet long, about 20 of them. Plus the baidarka just to top it off. I wound up with a bent set of Thule bars for my trouble. Made it home with only 1 thing actually breaking- my odometer.

Gotta give some props to the old notch- handled great with all that weight, and easily managed 70 mph into a stiff headwind, all with a non turbo.

Err, perhaps time to install my overload springs?

[Geoff]

I thought that might have been the Crooked River Bridge but then when I noticed there were two bridges and they're both the same vintage I realized it must be another(?)

It makes me smile to see someone else loading up an '86 notch. I used to use mine like a truck. Once I had over 1500 lb of green firewood in a trailer (which probably weighed 300-400lb) and a few hundred pounds in the trunk. Oh and mine was an automatic.

[Crazyswede]

I put a motorcycle in the back of my notchback

[SalemSaab]

It's been too long since an update, so here's the latest.
Finally, a couple of scores: rear louvres and a spoiler.

Was wondering where ya were Paul! Thought I'd see you at one of the recent NWSOC events, but looks like you are out having your own fun

Looking great now .. where did that rear spoiler come from?

[spgftw]

This is somewhere in eastern WA near Yakima I think. Yep, out enjoying the summer as much as possible. The rear spoiler came via ebay, a bit of a splurge but couldn't resist.

I also delivered a dual vent hood to IronJoe on this trip, and am returning with his spare grey hood in this pic. It actually looked pretty good, a bit sportier with the center section painted flat black. But it's back to rose quartz now as it should be. :)

Too bad my AC is broken- that was one scorching hot trip, complete with forest fire to drive through..

[spgftw]

Aha! So I figured out why the engine was misfiring on left hand turns. The entire fuel pre-pump and pre-pump housing had been removed by a prior owner. I should have taken a look at this sooner. It's all back to stock, and running smoother now with more power.

I also got my wiper washers working- again there was a bodged repair, in this case a non-stock washer motor that had failed, and the proper electrical connector was missing.

Then, I bit the bullet and installed my SAS overload springs and some Bilstein HDs in the rear. The ride is much stiffer now and hopefully I can tow a trailer if needed.

I'm almost ready for my next road trip- to the Black Rock desert, NE Nevada. Burning Man, meet notchback. I just need to fix up my brakes and then I'm off. Fingers crossed because there aren't exactly a lot of saab parts (or much else for that matter) between Bend OR and Gerlach NV! 1000 miles roundtrip, wish me luck....

[RadioFlyer]

Haha, man that looks awesome. I towed a fully loaded uhaul trailer across the country in my ailing '90 SPG a couple years ago. Decided on overload springs soon after. How did they work out for you? I never did install them on the SPG before the tranny gave out this spring. I have another one now tho and want to put them in. I found a set of the spring bags for much less than SASAB.com and found that if you do some searching, you can find a mini compressor to go with them. Then you run the lines up to the cockpit and install a switch and pressure gauge that comes with the setup and you can adjust them right from the cockpit. I always thought that would be really cool.

[spgftw]

Putting the old notch to the test here. Launching for Burning Man heavily loaded.

On the plus side, I've got new brake rotors and pads on all 4 corners. Fingers crossed- there was room for tools, but almost no spare parts. Oh yeah, and I finally swapped out the chrome door handles. Ah, the important stuff!

And, I'm off....

[Geoff]

You're only allowed one pole for jousting. Good to see you're bringing spares.

[spgftw]

The notch did great, smooth sailing all the way. Here's a couple shots from 'the playa' of two classic designs side by side. For the record, showing up in a 35 foot motorhome is definitely cheating.

A clear sunset:


And, an approaching dust storm about to hit. Batten down the hatches:

[squaab99t]

Fricking awesome. Can you build the teepee by yourself? I would think the first 3 poles are a bitch.
I had a friend who went 10 years ago and when he got back he could not stop talking about it for weeks. One of his best, IMO was of a sign he saw. "There is no letter team in FU"
To me a 35' motorhome is not what burning man is about. Never been but I'm just saying...