RadioFlyer's 1980 900T
Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 2:47 pm
Figured it was about time to start the build thread.
I found this beast on a Saabnet classified about a year ago and fell in love. Aquamarine 1980 900 Turbo with 87k original miles. Actually built in Oct '79 for the '80 model year. I fell in love with the inkas and the light blue old paint. And the price. And no rust.
It was up in Oregon and the owner was in Washington DC. Said he would be home for a brief visit and was selling the Saabs that he had in storage. Since he couldn't send many pics - only the one below (mine is the blue one in front). He said it had sat in the high desert for a long time before he rescued it and had the motor, turbo, and alternator rebuilt. The exterior was sandblasted from the desert and the interior was crumbling, but he had a whole near-new set of original '80 blue seat skins that he had purchased and had sent from a guy in Australia and never installed!
Since the owner couldn't send pics until he got home and would only be home for a couple of days, I figured I had might as well just meet him there. The car had not been started in a year and had sat outside under a tarp, so I wasn't even sure it would start let along make the 14 hour drive back to Utah. I figured it was worth a shot! I bought a bus ticket and packed as many tools as I could fit. I rescinded declaring them as tools when the bus ticket agent said you could not bring tools on the bus. I told him they were ... uh ... toys? He said that worked.
I hopped the bus early in the morning and called an old room mate when we were on the road. He was going to school in Portland and was down to let me crash that night on his couch. He thought I was nuts for going so far out to buy that car expecting it to not only start, but also make the 14 hour drive, but he knew I was always up for a random adventure. He had seen me do crazier things when we lived together in the country outside Santiago, Chile.
On the bus ride, I sat next to this crazy dude who looked like a druggy. Turns out he had just gotten out of jail (drug related) and had realized that he did very well as a business owner (aka drug dealer). He wanted to turn it into a legit business by growing medicinal marijuana in Oregon. He was high the whole ride. I had helped a number of people with drug addictions, and it actually seemed like a good idea. So I said "Good for you" and told him to go for it.
Anyway, we arrived, I crashed with my friend, and the next day called the car owner. He seemed like a great guy and said he had already tried starting up the car and it fired right up! He drove it down to meet me the next day. The car was gorgeous! A true survivor with all the original parts. She drove great! The brakes squeeked like heck, the interior was terrible, and the headliner had to be torn out from in front of my face, but man the turbo was awesome! I paid cash and took off for home.
Driving along the Hood River, I let her open up. She held great boost and lots of power. Steering was tight and the clutch and tranny were really smooth. I stopped at a rest area to check the fluids and a guy pulled up in a new mustang. "DANG!!!" He said. "That thing is FAST!! YOu flew by me!! WHat kind of car IS that???" I told him it was a 1980 Saab 900 turbo. He started combing over the engine, commenting on the mechanical fuel injection, rebuilt turbo, weird sideways engine, etc. I already had a fan. I kept going and according to my GPS, she made about 34 miles per gallon all the way back home. I got back at about 1am dead tired, but couldn't wait to go through the car the next morning. It felt like going to bed on Christmas eve. Here are some pics from the next day:
I found this beast on a Saabnet classified about a year ago and fell in love. Aquamarine 1980 900 Turbo with 87k original miles. Actually built in Oct '79 for the '80 model year. I fell in love with the inkas and the light blue old paint. And the price. And no rust.
It was up in Oregon and the owner was in Washington DC. Said he would be home for a brief visit and was selling the Saabs that he had in storage. Since he couldn't send many pics - only the one below (mine is the blue one in front). He said it had sat in the high desert for a long time before he rescued it and had the motor, turbo, and alternator rebuilt. The exterior was sandblasted from the desert and the interior was crumbling, but he had a whole near-new set of original '80 blue seat skins that he had purchased and had sent from a guy in Australia and never installed!
Since the owner couldn't send pics until he got home and would only be home for a couple of days, I figured I had might as well just meet him there. The car had not been started in a year and had sat outside under a tarp, so I wasn't even sure it would start let along make the 14 hour drive back to Utah. I figured it was worth a shot! I bought a bus ticket and packed as many tools as I could fit. I rescinded declaring them as tools when the bus ticket agent said you could not bring tools on the bus. I told him they were ... uh ... toys? He said that worked.
I hopped the bus early in the morning and called an old room mate when we were on the road. He was going to school in Portland and was down to let me crash that night on his couch. He thought I was nuts for going so far out to buy that car expecting it to not only start, but also make the 14 hour drive, but he knew I was always up for a random adventure. He had seen me do crazier things when we lived together in the country outside Santiago, Chile.
On the bus ride, I sat next to this crazy dude who looked like a druggy. Turns out he had just gotten out of jail (drug related) and had realized that he did very well as a business owner (aka drug dealer). He wanted to turn it into a legit business by growing medicinal marijuana in Oregon. He was high the whole ride. I had helped a number of people with drug addictions, and it actually seemed like a good idea. So I said "Good for you" and told him to go for it.
Anyway, we arrived, I crashed with my friend, and the next day called the car owner. He seemed like a great guy and said he had already tried starting up the car and it fired right up! He drove it down to meet me the next day. The car was gorgeous! A true survivor with all the original parts. She drove great! The brakes squeeked like heck, the interior was terrible, and the headliner had to be torn out from in front of my face, but man the turbo was awesome! I paid cash and took off for home.
Driving along the Hood River, I let her open up. She held great boost and lots of power. Steering was tight and the clutch and tranny were really smooth. I stopped at a rest area to check the fluids and a guy pulled up in a new mustang. "DANG!!!" He said. "That thing is FAST!! YOu flew by me!! WHat kind of car IS that???" I told him it was a 1980 Saab 900 turbo. He started combing over the engine, commenting on the mechanical fuel injection, rebuilt turbo, weird sideways engine, etc. I already had a fan. I kept going and according to my GPS, she made about 34 miles per gallon all the way back home. I got back at about 1am dead tired, but couldn't wait to go through the car the next morning. It felt like going to bed on Christmas eve. Here are some pics from the next day: