Re: 78 Turbo Refresh
Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2015 1:06 pm
Last time I forgot to mention Geoff who come through like a wizard for me on some non blistered interior panels! So those went in as well before I set out west.
I planned to give myself 7 days to drive from Rhode Island to Redmond OR. The morning of my departure I had a few things to wrap up on the car. I installed the wiper arms (freshly painted). The worn out chrome lock strip on the windshield and hatch was replaced for new stuff. Finally, I installed the rear spoiler. My parents and I had lunch and started driving. I got about 15 minutes away and my AMP warning light came on and stayed on. Great way to start! I drove home tested the charging system and discovered the alternator wasn't working. The armature shop had already closed so I went to sleep and brought the part in the next morning. Thankfully it was a simple fix, so I was back on the road that afternoon.
The car drove really well, it's really a highway machine despite the 4 speed. I never had a problem passing anything. Running at 80 mph or above for extended periods created a drone that was like working in a diesel submarine engine room. 75mph was bliss. I would sleep in the passenger seat, wake up with the sunrise, drive until I was tired (usually 1am) and repeat.
In Ohio I stopped for gas and as I was pulling into the station noticed my temp was climbing and not cooling down. I pulled into the only shaded area and popped the hood. The fans were not coming on. I checked the fuse, it was clearly tourtured and bent but not broken. I tried jumping the fans and got nothing. Clearly there was resistance building up in the circuit somewhere, I hoped the motors were ok. I bought a nail file at the gas station and cleaned all the contacts I could find in the circuit and jumped the fan again. The fans fired right up. I replaced the fuse for good measure and never had another problem running hot.
When I first started out and the car was freshly waxed and looking great people would come right up to me and start talking about the car. As it got dirtier I got less interest.
Somewhere in Idaho I wa doing my check of the car after filling up and noticed the front tires were wearing very strangely. The inside 1.5" of both tires showed little tread, and the rest of the tire was new. Hmmm, I guess I need an alignment! I was pretty close to OR and the tires were still safe so I figured I'd keep going. By the time I got to Bend OR, the tires were no longer safe. I was two days early and only about 45 mins away from the convention hotel. I called the local Saab shop in Bend and got the name of the alignment shop they used. While I was waiting to get squeezed in for an emergency alignment I called around for tires. It turns out the the only place that would order the matching tires was right across the street from the alignment shop and there was a pub next door!! So I spent the night in Bend. The next day I got to the hotel and slept in a real bed.
I planned to give myself 7 days to drive from Rhode Island to Redmond OR. The morning of my departure I had a few things to wrap up on the car. I installed the wiper arms (freshly painted). The worn out chrome lock strip on the windshield and hatch was replaced for new stuff. Finally, I installed the rear spoiler. My parents and I had lunch and started driving. I got about 15 minutes away and my AMP warning light came on and stayed on. Great way to start! I drove home tested the charging system and discovered the alternator wasn't working. The armature shop had already closed so I went to sleep and brought the part in the next morning. Thankfully it was a simple fix, so I was back on the road that afternoon.
The car drove really well, it's really a highway machine despite the 4 speed. I never had a problem passing anything. Running at 80 mph or above for extended periods created a drone that was like working in a diesel submarine engine room. 75mph was bliss. I would sleep in the passenger seat, wake up with the sunrise, drive until I was tired (usually 1am) and repeat.
In Ohio I stopped for gas and as I was pulling into the station noticed my temp was climbing and not cooling down. I pulled into the only shaded area and popped the hood. The fans were not coming on. I checked the fuse, it was clearly tourtured and bent but not broken. I tried jumping the fans and got nothing. Clearly there was resistance building up in the circuit somewhere, I hoped the motors were ok. I bought a nail file at the gas station and cleaned all the contacts I could find in the circuit and jumped the fan again. The fans fired right up. I replaced the fuse for good measure and never had another problem running hot.
When I first started out and the car was freshly waxed and looking great people would come right up to me and start talking about the car. As it got dirtier I got less interest.
Somewhere in Idaho I wa doing my check of the car after filling up and noticed the front tires were wearing very strangely. The inside 1.5" of both tires showed little tread, and the rest of the tire was new. Hmmm, I guess I need an alignment! I was pretty close to OR and the tires were still safe so I figured I'd keep going. By the time I got to Bend OR, the tires were no longer safe. I was two days early and only about 45 mins away from the convention hotel. I called the local Saab shop in Bend and got the name of the alignment shop they used. While I was waiting to get squeezed in for an emergency alignment I called around for tires. It turns out the the only place that would order the matching tires was right across the street from the alignment shop and there was a pub next door!! So I spent the night in Bend. The next day I got to the hotel and slept in a real bed.