Another RadioFlyer 1980 c900T

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Paddan
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Re: Another RadioFlyer 1980 c900T

Postby Paddan » Sun Jan 04, 2015 12:56 pm

Very nice.

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RadioFlyer
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Re: Another RadioFlyer 1980 c900T

Postby RadioFlyer » Wed Feb 11, 2015 9:40 am

HEATER VALVE REPLACEMENT

The 1980 turbo came with a metal heater valve rather than plastic. This was fine and good except that someone decided that the adjustment rod should be made of cheap, brittle plastic. So the valve would last forever if not for the rod. So in going through the dash, that was the first discovery. I swapped it for a spare plastic valve that came on the later c900s - it is a direct fit.

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RadioFlyer
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Re: Another RadioFlyer 1980 c900T

Postby RadioFlyer » Wed Feb 11, 2015 10:40 am

ODOMETER REPAIR

When I picked up the car, the odometer read a spry 72k miles. Fortunately, the owner admitted that it had stopped working about 13k ago. I figured that for the price of the car, he had no reason to lie to me, so it was time for a repair.

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There is typically only one thing that goes wrong with the c900 odometer. The small gear on the end of the rod that the numbers spin on cracks. This either causes it to loosen enough to spin freely on the rod so that the numbers no longer advance, or if the crack is large enough (it doesn't take much), the space between the gear teeth widens and the gears jam. The latter is often the cause of the commonly known c900 problem of breaking your odometer when you reset the trip odometer while the vehicle is in motion - the gear teeth do not reset properly, causing jamming, cracking, or the teeth break off altogether. So if you are going to reset your trip odometer, do it only when the car is stopped.

The repair process is relatively simple, but there are some pitfalls. You will need needlenose pliers, a very small flathead screwdriver, a regular philips head screwdriver, some superglue, and a spare working odometer from any c900 from 1979-1991. Once you get the gear cluster out, flip it over and remove the screws holding the center gauge section (speedo and odo) from the rest of the cluster. Be very careful with the foil. Next you will need to remove the speedo needle, which is often the biggest pitfall. It is really just a female end pushed onto a straight pin, held on by friction, so it will pop right off with enough even upward force. The first thing I always do is pop the needle over the lower stop-pin so it rests without tension, then take a picture of its natural position with your cell phone camera so that you know where to set it when you put it all back together. Next, put a sock or a piece of cloth over the speedo face so you do not scratch it and position your needlenose pliers evenly under the needle and resting on the cloth.

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Now pry upward, gradually increasing pressure. Make sure that you are not applying pressure unevenly or you could break the needle or bend the pin. Eventually it will pop off (it actually takes quite a bit of force). Next, pop off the trip reset knob and remove the two tiny flathead screws holding the speedo face to the gauge (DO NOT strip them - it is very easy to do). Set all of these tiny parts in a jar or something - you WILL lose them. They WANT to be lost. Remove the face and you will see your open odometer. Unscrew the odometer section from the rest of the gauge and separate it. There will be one long, vertical gear that will be loose - set that in your jar.

Next, check out your skinny white gear on the end of the rod. It should be cracked. In my case, the smaller, fatter one next to it was also cracked:

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These gears are typically fixed to the rod, but you can pull them off. Do that now - pull off both gears. At this point, you will need replacements from your spare cluster, so repeat all of these processes to get the presumably uncracked gears off of the working one, stick some superglue on the rod, and put the fresh gears into place on your soon-to-be-working odometer. I have tried a few alternative tactics at this point in past attempts - filling the crack with glue and filing down the teeth to jive with the other gears, screwing in a stop-pin rather than gluing, etc. Nothing has worked long term except replacing the gear and gluing it down as mentioned above. That should fix your problem.

Now, if you want to change your mileage (keep in mind that it is against the law to tamper with your odometer, but since we are making this one more accurate, I think it is the right thing to do in my case - just don't be a dufus with your own), you will need to pop one end of the entire numbers rod off so that you can rotate the numbers to your desired combination. In my case, it was 85k miles, which was the previous owner's best estimate. Anyway, pop off one end - carefully - I pushed a bit too hard and all of the dark gray gears went flying. Those stink to get back on. With the gears out of reach, you will have to rotate the numbers to your desired combination. Keep in mind that if they do not line up perfectly right now, then they will look funny once you put everything back together. Look at the pic below and notice how the numbers are all aligned - this is your goal, and it can be frustratingly difficult to get just right. Once you think you have it, loosely position the speedo face plate over the numbers to make sure they look right. If not, then keep trying. If so, start putting it back together.

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One thing to note on reassembly: on the back of your speedo frame, you will notice a wide gel-filled cup with a tiny hole in the middleOn the back of your odometer is a tiny pin that needs to fit into that hole. If it does not line up correctly, your odo will not work correctly. You have to fit it in blindly, but what worked for me was manually lining them up, and if I heard a tap, I knew the pin was hitting the metal next to the hole and not going in. Try until you get it in with no tap. Then put it all back together. :

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Remember that when you stick your speedo cable on, it needs to point toward the spot that you took a picture of in the beginning. Once it is fixed on there, pop it over the stop-pin. The only real way to test your repaired odometer is to reinstall and drive with it. I have had to repeat the whole process a few times on my early repairs (I've had to do this a lot - maybe because I've had so many Saabs). But I know it is possible to get right the first time. Still try it out before you put your whole dash back together.
Last edited by RadioFlyer on Wed Feb 11, 2015 11:23 am, edited 2 times in total.

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RadioFlyer
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Re: Another RadioFlyer 1980 c900T

Postby RadioFlyer » Wed Feb 11, 2015 11:07 am

IGNITION CYLINDER REMOVAL AND KEY REPAIR

When I picked up the car, the owner mentioned the key being hard to turn. It was not the OEM steel key, and it was getting old and fatigued, so once we tried starting the car a couple of times, I asked them to remove the key and went inside to negotiate the sale. By the time I had come back, the PO's buddy had tried to start it a couple more times and the key had broken off in the ignition (and he was laughing and still trying to start it. He was a Mustang guy). Anyway, we were able to get the piece out, but it was the only key and was too mangled to replicate.

Typically, you can call up any Saab dealership and order new keys cut according to your VIN number. The risk in this is that maybe somewhere in the history of the car, someone replaced your ignition cylinder, so the dealership will send you one that doesn't fit. In my case, they did not have records back to 1980 anyway, so I was out of luck. Plan B - have a key cut by a local locksmith to replicate the one that was broken (which in my case was not possible since it broke low and was mangled by the Mustang guy trying to continue starting the car with the key tip in a set of vice-grips). Plan C - remove the entire ignition cylinder and have a key cut to the code on the cylinder itself. I went with Plan C.

The cylinder is locked in place with a small spring-loaded pin that fits into a recession in the aluminum ignition/shifter housing. To get the cylinder out, you need to push in that pin. Easy enough, right? Well Saab made sure to make it hard for average Sam like me by filling the end of the recession hole. So you have to drill it out. Luckily, once you get the center console out and the drivers seat out, you can actually see the spot to drill:

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Get a small drill bit and start in on it. Be sure that you line it up to drill directly toward the center of the ignition cylinder. You do not have to drill all the way to the cylinder itself, just through the plug. It is maybe 3/4" before you get to the pin.

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Once you get through, use your drill bit or a thin piece of stiff metal to press the pin in and pull up on the cylinder. It should slide right out:

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You can see the numbers on the side next to the pin. With these numbers, any locksmith can cut you a key. In my experience, they should already have c900 keys in stock. But if you want a really good key, call a dealer or look on ebay to get the OEM steel keys - these last much longer. In my case, I figured I would need spares anyway, so I started with these and will order the steelies in the spring. The locksmith first suggested my Plan A and B. He was surprised to hear that I had thought these through and actually brought the ignition cylinder along so that he could read the code. "You must have done this before," he said. He also took the time to clean and lubricate the cylinder itself so that now it is like-new. Cost $15 total. When you reinstall, remember that the key will not turn all the way if that pin is pushed in - which means the cylinder has to seat far enough into the housing for the pin to pop into the hole. In the past, I have set a wooden dowel on the cylinder and tapped it down with a mallet until it seated. Then the key turned freely.

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Paddan
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Re: Another RadioFlyer 1980 c900T

Postby Paddan » Sat Feb 21, 2015 8:19 am

Nice project. I miss my 5 door.

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RadioFlyer
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Re: Another RadioFlyer 1980 c900T

Postby RadioFlyer » Tue May 12, 2015 4:48 pm

With a heavy heart, I had to pass this one on a couple of weeks ago. We had to move out of our house suddenly, and couldn't take the '80 with us. I made one call, and the car was sold within 10 minutes. Went to a very good home and is already being restored.

That very weekend, the new owner had it started and found a bad headgasket. Pulled the entire engine and trans and swapped for a low mileage turbo H-engine and tranny. Pulled a huge nest of aftermarket alarm wiring from the mid-eighties and is getting her prepped for paint. Can't wait to line her up with my blue one for pics.

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TurboBudapest
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Re: Another RadioFlyer 1980 c900T

Postby TurboBudapest » Wed May 13, 2015 7:32 am

Hope most importantly you found a place to live for you and your family!

Am so sorry to hear Sam. But you (above I believe everyone else I know of in the world) have been incredibly successful in scoring intersting Saabs at good prices, so I doubt this will be the last one in your fleet! I hope the new owner posts around here - would be very interested in seeing update pics of the finished product.

1980 was a very interesting year in Saab's 900 production....the last year where the lineage between 99 and 900 was clear. You really don't wee many of them anymore.

Stay safe!

Ed

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Re: Another RadioFlyer 1980 c900T

Postby ajagodnik » Sat Jun 27, 2015 5:51 pm

RadioFlyer - just wanted to pass on thanks for sharing about odo repair!
I got mine out of the dash this afternoon; I'll hopefully get the speedometer disassembled tomorrow.

Sorry you had to pass this car on, but it sounds like both your family and the car got good new homes!

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RadioFlyer
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Re: Another RadioFlyer 1980 c900T

Postby RadioFlyer » Mon Jun 29, 2015 8:42 am

Glad to help! Good luck with your speedo!

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RadioFlyer
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Re: Another RadioFlyer 1980 c900T

Postby RadioFlyer » Thu Oct 29, 2015 3:42 pm

UPDATE

Thought I would post an update on this beast. My former indy, Pete Vella bought it and has been putting some serious love into it! Upgraded the suspension with Lesjofers springs and Bilstein HD shocks, removed the giant nest of wiring from the early '80's aftermarket alarm system and electric water pump. Removed the original 8V B-engine with a bad head gasket and installed a rebuilt 8V H-engine. Modded/built his own T5 wiring harness and had custom tigged fuel rail, etc. Mounted the DIC through the pass fender wall. Now he's working on a fancy turbo setup before it goes on the road.

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Geoff
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Re: Another RadioFlyer 1980 c900T

Postby Geoff » Fri Oct 30, 2015 12:38 pm

NICE!

What are the two brackets with the 4 bushings and the 4 tapped holes in the intake manifold?
The kind of dirty that doesn't wash off :eyebrows:


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