868 mile 1984 Saab 900 recovered!

[RobVonSAAB]

My friend Steve had been in contact with a guy who had to have a Saab removed with 868 original miles. I finally saw some pictures and my Dad and I remembered the 99s in the field and all the work that had to be done to dig them out. We decided it would be too much work to move a car after it had sat for 30 years. But Steve and I went to look at it anyway. My father worked at JMK Saab in Springfield as Master tech and shop foreman. He hasn't seen a new 1984 900 since 1984! We drove to the location in North Jersey at night and I was amazed that it wasn't rusted out at all! It had been parked on a driveway for 30 years. It was too nice to junk, I made the decision to come back the next day with tools, wheels and my Dad. As the car had to be gone by Saturday. Is this the lowest mile original 900 in the country or world?

[RobVonSAAB]

The Ivy had grown through the wheels! The original Pirelli p8's still mounted. Very glad I brought a spare set of rims and tires. I doubt they would have held air.

[RobVonSAAB]

We scraped and sanded the discs to remove any heavy rust scale as well as sanding the pad.We also removed the outer pad on the front and were able to free up the rotor with some effort. The rears were much easier. Dad is better at working on the early type front brakes than I am. Having 25 yrs of Saab dealership experience as a Master tech and 10+ yrs at a Saab independent repair facility in Northern New Jersey. Turns out nothing was rusted badly. I got the left rear brakes free with one single strong twist from just my hands!

[RobVonSAAB]

I was amazed that there was zero rot! 100% even by the jack point and A-arm mounts!

[RobVonSAAB]

We were amazed at the condition of everything. Note the plating on the caliper, hub surface, and wheel studs! Also all the brake hardware came out very easy, the brake pad, clip and pins still had the factory grease on them! This is literally a "new" 1984 Saab. We were both stunned.

[nutcase]

Wow!

Why did it sit for so long with so few miles?

[RobVonSAAB]

Nobody really knows, we found a broken 02 sensor wire and a few vacuum lines disconnected. One fell apart and cracked just from age. The dash isn't even cracked! The plastic is still on the seats and door panel upholstery! The thrip meter reads: 824 miles. We think that the original owner put exactly 824 miles on it when he left the dealership.

[RobVonSAAB]

The 900 towed it with a bit of effort and the tow strap. The brakes still work as well as the e-brake! Dad gingerly applied them after it came free from the ruts.

[RobVonSAAB]

It's impressive how much higher a 900 base sits when it has 868 miles on it! Nothing heavy ever has been loaded into the back of the car! It looked really good to be finally sitting on decent rubber. Next step is to carefully go through each system and try to get it running.

The garage had heat, and water, in approx 1920 when it was built! Cutting edge stuff that most garages don't have even today. I love the hanging doors that slide open, much easier to deal with when there is snow on the ground.

[RobVonSAAB]

Got it towed via *%^, "yes operator I believe my 87 grey Saab's fuel pump stopped working...right Dad!? "The fuel pump right?"
-operator: "Ok, the tow truck will be there in 5 minutes"

-tow truck driver arrives, takes one look at the car.

"What did you just buy it?"

"well...uhhhh nahhhh yeah" It has 868 miles on it!

-tow truck driver
"are you f%$&'in kiddin me!??!

[RobVonSAAB]

Dad and the car after battling turnpike traffic. Looking quite pleased to have saved this car from the crusher. With help from couple neighbors, me,my Dad, and the tow truck guy pushed it up our steep acorn covered driveway into the safety of our garage. Too exhausted from the ordeal to do any more quality work, we headed to the diner. it awaits it's turn. We are planning on:

using my spare fuel pump to pump the 30 yr old gas into fuel containers.
carefully removing the spark plugs and soaking the cylinders with ATF and PB Blaster
changing the fuel filter, and oil
Changing the ATF even though it looks brand new!
Vacuuming out the brake fluid, adding fresh brake fluid, then bleeding the hydraulic system completely.
New coolant
vacuuming various mouse nests from under the hood and fresh air inlet.
turn the engine over by hand with spark plugs removed.
replace battery
clean up interior and exterior.
pray the fuel distributor and injectors aren't clogged.
pour fresh gas and BG or Techron fuel system cleaner in it

Note: the pancaked tires it sat on near wall.

[DeLorean]

Very nice, glad it didn't end up getting crushed. I would be VERY surprised if the K-jet system works with this sort of mileage. Any idea of the last date it was actually run? The only potentially positive thing fuel system wise is that it might have non ethanol fuel in it, which means you MIGHT have gotten away with letting it sit 10-15 years without the fuel system going to total shit... or maybe, was it moved around? Perhaps the odometer just broke early on in the cars life, and it actually was run a few thousand miles? If this is the case, the fuel system might just work.

If this thing was parked in the early / late 80's and never run again, I would highly advise against even trying to start it before checking some things. Pull the fuel pump out, and check the tank. It probably stated out as 10 gallons of gas and is now 2 gallons of varnish that will cling to the sides of the tank, and you will need a paint scraper to get that shit out of there. The fuel pump is probably going to be locked up, all 4 injectors bad, varnish in every fuel line, warm up regulator shot, and the plunger on the fuel distributor may stick the first time it sees airflow.

Hopefully I'm wrong, but this scenario seems to be a regular occurrence on DMC talk with a lot of these low mileage DeLoreans, which also have K-jet.

[aireeca]

Nice save!

[DrewP]

That is awesome. Post some more photos of the interior when you get a chance, especially since you said there's still plastic wrap on a bunch of things?

Awesome. Well done.

[RadioFlyer]

Inevitable question... why did it have such low mileage? Any story behind it? I mean, I can understand if it were a seriously valuable collector - being put in storage and taken out only for a mile-loop a few times a year, but this is a Saab - and it looks like base model. Not exactly a collector back then. So did someone buy it and then pass away? Or get deployed? Or forget about it? But then, why would you buy a new car and then forget about it? Did it belong to someone who only bought it 'just in case' - like an elderly person? Was it stolen and hidden?

I have never seen one with this low mileage - even the ones in the Saab museum typically had more than that.

Oh, and how about registration? Has it been 30 years since it was registered? I once bought an '87 900t that had not been registered in 14 years and the title was lost (California). I called the DMV and they said that since the car had been MIA for so long, they get rid of all records of it after 4 years. So it had a totally blank record. That actually made it very easy to register with a lost title.

I also wonder if that paint will buff out.