RadioFlyer's 1980 900T

[87 n/a]

I do....please buy mine and I will direct the funds to a guy who wants to sell me a T5 wiring harness for my 900.



This is the "dancing display" one like in your video link.

[DrewP]

I have one of those head units in my '85, and a few more on the shelf. I've never had one not work, just the displays go bad and you can't see what they say.

[RadioFlyer]

I'm trying to figure out which one was the most retro. I guess I'll have to pull out the accessories catalog from '81 or '82 (i think that's the one i have - i have a stack of them somewhere). It shows a couple of different versions. I think my dad has a bunch of old eq's as well. I'll have to raid his stash over Christmas break and then decide. Needs to be as retro as possible.

[Geoff]

The EQ with the sliding knobs is the older one. I had that in my '85 and I think my dad might have had one in his '84

[SwedeSport]

I would think mine are mid to late 80s.

The bulk of the cars that I have recycled were from that era.

[Jordan]

Make sure you have the 4-digit security code to go with them or it may not do you any good!

[SwedeSport]

I thought there was also a bypass code, that could unlock it without the original code?

I doubt I have any codes for the ones I have, but I can look around if someone were to be interested.

[Jordan]

I thought there was also a bypass code, that could unlock it without the original code?

I doubt I have any codes for the ones I have, but I can look around if someone were to be interested.

I dunno, that wouldn't be a very good security code if it could be bypassed with a master code. I'm not sure though, sometimes people write them on the radio or check the collection of grey saab manual holders you probably have.

[hutch]

Yeah sometimes the code is written on it but if not you'll have to get a Saab dealer to look up the info for you. There's a guy that occasionally posts on saablink (and I think even here?), 'moonracer', who owns one of the oldest dealerships in the country and he's often offered to look them up for people who's lost their codes. I certainly don't want to speak for him but if you're in a pinch it might not be a bad idea to give them a call:

http://www.meyersaab.com/

[87 n/a]

Apparently I had scanned a couple photos of my 1980 900T into Photobucket at some point. This was the era before digital cameras. Can't seem to find any of my Poloroid pictures.

But this was my before picture:


And after lots of work:

[RadioFlyer]

That is awesome! I love the black on red. Nice work!

[RadioFlyer]

Took her out today for a drive. She hasn't been started in about 6 months but she fired right up! Drove her about 45 minutes south into a raging snowstorm, quick stop at the junkyard and left her at a friend's house where the painting will be happening. Traded for the '94 CE that has been sitting in his driveway for about a year waiting for me to get to it. I had forgotten how beautiful that car is to drive!

[Geoff]

Awww There goes your valuable patina!

[RadioFlyer]

So here is an adventurous flash back for the sake of the build thread...

After the basic work, I ran into a few problems. First, since it sat for like 15 years, there were a lot of loose nuts and bolts in important places.

I was driving one day and found it losing power on acceleration. I took her home and found the distributor totally loose. Retimed and tightened it up.

The clutch started feeling funny. Found the nuts had loosened from the master cylinder through the firewall. Tightened those down and eventually replaced the master with one from RockAuto on sale for $4!!!!

Later had to tighten all the valve cover bolts when I found them continually leaking oil. They were all loose. The ball-joint nuts were loose, the head stud nuts, alternator mounting nuts, and 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.

Next adventure was the battery. It did not have a mounting bracket or hold down for some reason, so the battery would kinda move around. A lot. This was all fine and good until one day when it slid and lodged itself under the turbo and melted part of the casing. It was still good, so I kept driving for a while. But it kept sliding. So I took a battery hold down from a 900 and tied it down. But without a mounting bracket below, it slid out from under the hold down one day and the hold down touched both ports on the way down. The head shield burst into flames and about an inch of the positive battery cable melted. This was of course right in the middle of a busy intersection. When I spotted the smoke, I jumped out, grabbed my work gloves, and ripped the heat shield out. Then I took what was left of the pos cable clamp and clamped it down on what remained of the positive battery cable. Car started right up to my great surprise and it got me home!

Unfortunately, this adventure resulted in a huge hole melted right through the casing of the battery. Luckily it was at the top and didn't spill. Costco would have taken it back under warranty, but I was not the original buyer, so I was out of luck - they were not open to negotiation. The only battery that would fit was a tiny little battery. I found a dry-cell mini battery that was meant as an accessory for ricers with huge audio setups. But it fit just right and came with its own mounting box! I stuck it in, bolted down the box, and stuck on the heat shield. It's been awesome ever since.

Lastly, was the deer. We were driving home one day from a date. On the interstate at night, traffic was packed, but moving pretty well. Suddenly the car in front of me swerved. I had just enough time to see a huge deer had been hit three cars in front of me, and it was down in the middle of the road. I couldn't avoid it without hitting another car, so I hit it head on. There are two straight, flat plates under the engine (kindof like skis) instead of a skid plate. So the car slid right over the deer with no problems and no damage. But man, that deer gut roasting on the exhaust smelled TERRIBLE for the next month or two!

[SwedeSport]

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.