RadioFlyer's 1980 900T

[saabfan9]

not trying to thread jack but i too am looking for an old radio for my 1984 c900 dont care if it works or lights up just want to fill the empty hole in the dash

[RadioFlyer]

I will get your stripe kit done here sooner or later. I guess I need to get on the ball since you'll be in the booth soon.

Make sure you ask the body shop supply people, or read the tech sheets for the product. There is usually a period of time that is recommended that you wait for a full paint cure. They usually tell you how long to wait before color sanding and buffing out. There is also usually a waiting period before you should put vinyl graphics on fresh paint. Too soon and it blocks the solvents from escaping and can damage the paint and vinyl. Escaping solvent can react with the adhesives in the graphics.

Awesome I'll definitely check that out. Thanks for the heads up. The paint needs to go on soon or I'm afraid rust may start to creep in. There are a couple areas that are almost bare metal and I can't believe it hasn't happened yet. The stripes are more of a want than a need, though, so I don't mind waiting until the paint cures. Are we talking a few days usually or a few months?

[SwedeSport]

It differs with the paint system you choose. Some are still outgassing a few months in.

Modern paint systems probably require less time, but I would check with the paint manufacturer.

[Geoff]

the worst one that almost lost the car was the nut was gone from the front transmission mount. Its bolt had backed out all to the point that the mount had almost disconnected completely while driving on the interstate. Luckily found that one before anything crazy happened.

That's actually not all that bad. It happened twice on my '85 SPG where the whole mount jumped out of the bracket. The first time I just took the jack out of the trunk, removed the skid plate, jacked up the engine, and put the mount back in place and found a nut. The second time was during a rallycross and the driver's side drive shaft got spit out of the inner driver. That damaged the driver and the tripod joint and required a tow. But I was able to drive home after Crazyswede and I (mostly Crazyswede) put some used parts into it.

Oh, I recommend considering the early '80s "TURBO" logo swoosh that goes along the bottom of the car and has a swoosh at the end. It's multi-colored and totally age-appropriate :-)

Looks sort of like this

[RadioFlyer]

Haha that would have been quite the spectacle - the loss of the tranny mount during a rally cross. Sounds like quite the experience! I'm wondering if the same thing happened in my '87 turbo once. I know a CV was going, and it had been sitting for quite some time. Suddenly I was in an intersection right next to my house and something went wrong and I found myself revving the engine with no wheel movement at all! I thought both CVs had gone at the same time. The car sat for the winter when a guy randomly came knocking at the door wanting to buy a 900 and asked which one was for sale! I pointed to the '87. He asked how much, and I explained the problems and said "probably around $2000 once the restoration is finished." He said "$2000?" and took out about $2000 in cash right there and handed it to me. I tried to explain that the brakes didn't work at the moment and it couldn't drive, but he seemed only interested in whether or not the rear seats folded all the way down.... So I took the cash.

Anyway, now I'm wondering if the same thing may have happened to that car? Maybe the front mount went and popped out both CVs from the drivers...

[RadioFlyer]

I've been checking out all the pics of vintage side stripes that I could find. I really like the blue ones. Would it look stupid to do a set of the blue like the one in the picture but maybe stick in the "Saab Turbo" in the same place and font as the 99, with the 900 swoosh stripes? Opinions? I'm even thinking that a stripe of yellow might look really cool mixed in somehow.

[RadioFlyer]

This is the stripe setup that I was thinking before. 99 style in black only on the blue 900t.

[Luke]

I like this one the best on the 900...




The original sets came with 3 sets of letters for the blank spot near the rear termination : "SAAB" "EMS" and "TURBO" you could just choose what you wanted it to say during the install. I have an orange set.

[Crazyswede]

This is the stripe setup that I was thinking before. 99 style in black only on the blue 900t.

thinking of doing something similar with the 71..only the car is "Savannah beige" and will have an brick red for highlights...and sans the side decal..and a chrome grill and bumpers....so really nothing like this photo

[DrewP]

My Dad's '82 Turbo APC had these ones on it, I always like them because it was a little more subtle than the ones that go clear up the C-pillars. Although now I like the more prominent ones better.

Those ones that sit low on the blue car are really cool.

[Adrian Thompson]

Does some one make these to fit a 900 hatch? They'd look awesome in yellow/blue on a black car.

[Geoff]

The stripes like on the blue and orange 3drs above are what I was talking about. Totally badass! The "TURBO" logo isn't the same font as the earlier 99 stripe kit, but it's still really '80s.

[RadioFlyer]

Love that car. If only we could go back in time, buy or borrow like 10 of these new and hide them in a vacuum-sealed storage unit.

[RadioFlyer]

The stripes like on the blue and orange 3drs above are what I was talking about. Totally badass! The "TURBO" logo isn't the same font as the earlier 99 stripe kit, but it's still really '80s.

I agree. They do look pretty sweet. Especially on the blue one. Jason does have a good point though that they would be pretty tough to reproduce. I would probably just swap the 900 "Turbo" font for the 99 "Turbo" font and keep the stripe the same. I'll photoshop it tonight and see how it looks.

[kuponut]

Last year near the University of Washington, there was a white 96 with Orange stripes on the bottom sides that said SAAB. Looked very cool, I liked the color combination, wish I had had a camera with me and such.