RMSC News 2015 Issue 1 - Rocky Mountain Saab Club

RMSC News 2015 Issue 1
January-February 2015
Club Web Sites: http://www.rockymtnsaabclub.com
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/rmsaab
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/128800707288146/
To send email to Group: rmsaab@yahoogroups.com
To send email to Pres: jerry@milehiauto.com
To send email to Editor: cstoyer@interpex.com
The January 13th meeting will be at Colorado Plus
Brew Pub in Wheat Ridge due to a conflict with
Breckenridge Brewery. John Williams from JZW
tuning will be our guest speaker. Other topics include upcoming events and what’s up with Saab.
From your Club President
on the same path we have been on. We will,
as a club, keep the spirit of friendship moving upwards and onward. Look for club
events, meetings, projects & drives in the
upcoming year. Keep the spirit of Saab alive
in all of us.
Happy 2015 to all! Drive safely!!
(Photo by Tom Nelson)
Yet another year has passed. 2014 has been a
great year for me and I can only hope it was
as good for you also. It is always a pleasure
to reflect what has happened and how we
can improve on, modify, change or go a
completely new direction knowing the reason we chose this is because what we did
just did not work. We all have had experiences we wish we could take back but the
facts are that we just can not. Overall I have
had some great days. There is no such a
thing as a bad day however some days are
better than others.
Many memories have been made with Saab
in my life. We seem to wonder where Saab
is headed. For all our Saab Club members,
Saab Owners, Saab enthusiasts, Saab collectors, Saab Mechanics, Saab Dealers, Saab
vendors, Saab Tuners, Saab is a huge part of
our life. I know we are all sad to see the demise of such a great car company. I am
proud to have been a part of history, as small
as it was. We are all part of history also by
owning and believing in this great car. Saab
is not going to die in our memories. We, as
Saab enthusiasts, will keep this car alive for
many years to come.
As for the up coming year, we will continue
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RMSC Meeting Minutes November 11th 2014
by Darrell Christiansen (photos by Charles Stoyer)
It was definitely a Saab night weather wise with the
snow and ice on the roads.
worked into the front fenders to increase the air flow,
much like John Williams care. Bob Buck confessed to
probably being the one who slipped the card under his
wiper.
Randy Kelly, who attended the meeting with his son
Bryan, has 18 Saabs in his stable, and has 5 1994 Aeros
in his possession.
Randy Kelly also brought a bag of ‘Turbo’ coffee that
was given out as an award at the last convention by Peter
Backstrom. Jerry noted that the reference to APC on the
coffee bag, refers to the APC (Automatic Performance
Control) that was developed by Saab to enhance the performance of its turbo engines, and prevent damage from
engine knock.
There was a brief discussion of the possibility of a 2017
Saab anniversary celebration. No specific information
was available at this time
Tom discussed membership, noted his history as the
Jerry started out the meeting with introducing new members Juan and Alied who have a 2006 9-3 Aero. They
ended up buying a Saab while attempting to buy a Subaru. Drove both and liked the Saab most. Another new
member, Bob Saraduke, from Washington State, who
recently moved out here. Bob moved here after his
daughter moved to Erie, PA, and decided to move here
where he has a brother living in the Lakewood area.
Bob has a red 1967 96 2-stroke, which he bought 2 years
ago, because his
dad once had one
and he always said
he would get one
when he could. The
car is mostly restored and runs
well. Bob and Tom
got connect when a
motor cyclist pulled
up to him on Colfax
and asked if he
knew Tom Nelson. He indicated he didn’t, but later got
in contact with Tom via email.
A discussion on ‘Salvage’ and ‘Rebuild’ Car titles came
up, with Jerry stating that Colorado recently changed
their laws concerning this. It used to be that a ‘Salvage’
car over 7 years old could be retitled as a ‘Rebuild’ until
about 3 months ago. Colorado now requires that any
auto that is totaled by an insurance company, and is titled with them, has to have a ‘Salvage’ title no matter
what the age of the vehicle.
Jesse, another new member to the club related his story
of how he had a Saab Club business card slipped under
his wiper blade while he was buying rings at the Shane
Company. He has had several Saabs over the years, and
currently has an 88 900T. His vehicle has the vents
membership chairman, and indicated that he has several
lists depending on whether it is from the Yahoo site, Facebook, or the official club list. He has sorted out all of
the Yahoo email names and matched to actual names to
create the current club roster that has 173 members on it.
This has grown from 154 members a year ago. The list
was sent around the group to makes any changes to their
names, or add them, in case they were not on the list.
The Yahoo list is currently sitting at 182 members,
which may have duplicates. The Facebook site now has
85 members on it. We have members in Costa Rica, and
Argentina.
Bob Buck mentioned that there is a Facebook site/club
called ‘Swedefleet’ that meets down at IKEA on occasion. Mostly young folks from Loveland/Fort Collins
that has some really nice performance Saabs and Volvos.
Bob suggested that our club and theirs get together some
time. They had talked about doing a more regional type
Swedish event around the time of the Estes Park festival,
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RMSC Meeting Minutes November 11th 2014
by Darrell Christiansen (photos by Charles Stoyer) (continued)
John Clary discussed our current projects. Project Colleen is ready for the final clean up and detailing after a
crew, last week, finished up the last of the assembly
work. There is a classified ad for this car at the end of
this newsletter. The car is a good basic transportation
vehicle. Will be calling a meeting in the next few weeks
to do the clean-up work, take pictures, and post the car
for sale. Rob will be the next project that the Club undertakes, which is a 1986 900T SPG. The mechanicals,
steering and engine/transmission are out of the car, and
need to be installed. A lot of the parts of the engine need
to be reinstalled, such as intake and exhaust manifolds.
The Club presented the Haldex Unit (Halda Speed Pilot)
perhaps getting a larger venue (parking lot).
Charles talked about the Newsletter, which consists of
the Presidents letter, two pages or more of meeting
notes, and articles from members. He likes to have sto-
ries that contain a nice balance of pictures and text. Pictures should be germane to the article. Classifieds can
be submitted for inclusion in the newsletter. Any article
that will be of interest to Saab owners is very welcome,
whether it is a tech upgrade, or where to buy parts.
to Tom for his project Red Bull. The item was donated
by Karl Kingery, and originally came from his neighbor.
The unit is for keeping track of time and mileage during
Rally events, and is tied into the speedometer cable. The
club took possession of the Unit about 8 years ago, when
Red Bull was to be a Club project. Tom subsequently
bought this car from the club, and as Tom and his grandkids are restoring this car, it was felt that the unit should
be installed in the car.
Jerry talked about his conversation with John Williams
who custom tunes Saabs to increase performance. He
was going to try to attend the meeting, but has promised
to try to get to the January meeting. Paul Bottone has
had John tune his car, with a significant increase in performance.
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SAAB Story
by Charles Harper
What is it like to have a vehicle sold by an exotic
manufacturer like Spyker? I bought my SAAB new in
June of 2010. I had seen the vehicle first on the Mike
Shaw lot in February 2010. This vehicle is unique,
quirky and good looking with modern touches like
RainSense and frosted tail lights. It also has a manual
transmission and is a two-door which was what I was
looking for. However, I did not think the vehicle was
worth the $43,000 sticker price. Oh well.
Hey look at that! In
June an incentive appeared for a $5,000
rebate. And look! A
zero-percent interest
rate! That would
make the payments
the same as my last
car I bought, so I
should be able to afford that. Even in
June, the possibility
that the car could become an orphan was
high; but, the vehicle
wasn’t going to be
my primary vehicle. Sometimes, orphans can become
collectible cars like Packards, and Duesenbergs.
Some just end up like Saturns--the Rodney Dangerfield of the automobile world. However, I wasn’t
planning on selling the car. Also, I would have a vehicle with a club!
I went to the dealer with my check book in hand and
set down to bargaining. The salesman did not want to
give me both incentives. ($5000 rebate and zero financing.) However, the sales manager asked me what
I wanted to pay and I said I have a check for $4,000
and said how much I wanted to pay monthly for 60
months. (I had worked out the math beforehand.) The
sales manager left and after a while came back and
said we could do business. The transaction ended up
bargaining out the extra document fees and dealerprep fees. I see the vehicle I picked had been made in
October of 2009 and finished in Austria. With a very
low VIN ending in 00574 it must have been one of
the first convertibles of the 2010 model year. The ve-
hicle still has it’s GM of Europe battery.
The SAAB had three years of complimentary maintenance; yet, I only got two oil changes before company filed bankruptcy. I had maintenance performed
once more at the dealer before I received notification
of being part of the bankruptcy from the Court. I
could file with the Court to be reimbursed for the
maintenance I paid for. The paperwork was fairly
complicated. However, I had only a couple of days to
respond and the amount was small enough that it
wouldn’t make sense to try to hire a lawyer. I did my
best, realizing that I was taking a chance filing out
the paperwork without an attorney. After several back
and forth responses, I realized that my documents
were not proper and sending more clarification would
be a long shot. My legal packet’s denial was soon
approved by the Court and that was that. In a way,
the Court had declared my vehicle an orphan without
further maintenance or warranty.
Or was it? In September of 2014, I received notice
that GM had a
change of heart
and wanted to declare the vehicle
one of its own. A
seatbelt recall has
been issued for all
SAAB convertibles made by GM
since 2004 model
year. I thought this
was quite bizarre
since GM said
they wouldn’t honor any type of warranty since the vehicle was marketed
by Spyker. Somehow, being shamed publicly regarding recalls has significantly embarrassed GM.I hear
GM is considering bringing back Hummer, one of the
other brands GM shed through bankruptcy. GM
wants to compete directly against Jeep. It’s too bad
they don’t want to compete against Volvo or Jaguar.
As for the seatbelt fix, I am still waiting.
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SAAB 96 Racer
by Jerry Danner
Ray Middleton
has been an
acquaintance I
have known for
years. Ray got
into racing in
the late 60's in
England racing
an 1933 Aston
Martin in Lemons when he
was a kid. Ray
also was a Airplane Mechanic. When in
England, Ray
serviced Eric
Carlsson's Saab
91 Airplane.
The Saab 91
was like a Mooney being single engine. When Ray
came to America in the early 80's he got to know
Scotty Knocks. Scotty an airplane owner living on a
private field, also a race car fanatic, owning many
rally cars. Ray & Scotty formed a lifelong relationship. Ray, not having a car, drove Scotty's 1967 Saab
96 Monte Carlo and Scotty drove the car of choice,
usually his Mini, when they took off cross country to
enter into races. Steamboat Springs was their favorite
race venue.
Ray Son Miles, took interest in racing and liked Scot-
ty's 2 stroke 96. Ray found a 1967 96 2 stroke sitting
in a field with no engine. Ray and his Son Miles
asked the Farmer about the car he said that he used
the two stroke engine to power an irrigation pump for
his field. Can you imagine that! A 2 stroke running
an irrigation pump! Farmers are creative. I only won-
der how long the two stroke engine lasted. Guess
what Ray now owns. A Saab without an engine.
Ray planed was to spend time with his Son to make
him a race car. Miles in 1994 was in 10th grade. He
and his Dad stripped the car down, painted it Blue &
Gray and was getting it ready to assemble as a race
car and in 1996 his interest stopped when Miles was a
Senior in High School. Miles received a ROTC
Scholarship, entered the Military, took Pilot training
and today he is working on being a Chief Test Pilot
for the Military with a very promising career. Needless to say the Race Car got book shelved.
Ray's racing interest declined and his business restoring WWII British Military War planes was taking off.
People send planes to Ray restore. Ray's restoration
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SAAB 96 Racer
by Jerry Danner (continued)
ond 1967 long nose body to restore his 1967 Saab
Deluxe. Bruce's Deluxe is extremely rusted beyond
repair and this car will give him a solid foundation to
start his restoration project.
What a find. The body of this 1967 96 2 stroke Racer
is like it came from the factory. I have been around
many older Saab's and seen it all with regards to rust.
This car is someone's dream. I probably will not pursue repairing this car as I have too many restoration
projects left to complete in this lifetime. I have a
1967 Monte Carlo and a 1964 GT 850 in the plans. I
would entertain the thought of selling the body to anyone who has interest. Maybe not a racer but a remarkably restored original Saab.
Thanks Ray!!
shop is located in Ft. Collins Colorado airfield.
This car has been sitting in Ray's airplane hangar
since 1994. As you can tell, it has not been touched
for many years. There comes a time in all of our lives
when you need to cut the strings and let go your desires that have been re-routed. Over time we all acquire not only one car but two cars and a boat load of
parts, engines, transmissions, radiators and some of
the rarest NOS items. Ray approached me and asked
me if I would take his entire collection off his hands.
Guess what I now own.
I asked Tom Nelson, Bruce Harbison, Bob Buck and
Tom Jensen from our Rocky Mountain Saab Club to
assist me one Monday morning to help me clean out
Ray's collection. It was like a treasure hunt. What fun
that morning was. Bruce Harbison acquired the sec-
Club Project—Rocky Mountain Saab Club
by Jerry Danner
The Rocky Mountain Saab Club of Colorado gathered for the final detail of Project Colleen January 19,
2015 at Mile Hi Body Shop in Denver Colorado.
This is the final detail prior to our putting this project
up for sale. We had 9 gatherings with over 245 combined man hours invested.
We as a club gather for the enthusiasm and learning
knowledge of each project. After Project Colleen is
completed it will be offered for sale, initially to club
members only—later to the public. Proceeds from the
sale of our club projects is what funds our club. If
anyone is interested in a mechanically sound classic
All our club projects are cars offered to our club usu- 900 at a reasonable price, please contact our club at
jerry@milehiauto.com for more details.
ally in a hard ship case. Project Colleen was owned
by Colleen Wells who had a great 1991 900 NT 3dr Our Club just acquired another project. "Project
she dearly loved. It has a great body however had
Robb" 1986 900 SPG 3dr Edwardian Gray in excelmechanical issues. Our Club took on the challenge
lent condition. We will keep you posted.
bring her back to mechanical soundness. Phase I we
bench rebuilt a 5 speed transmission to replace at a
later date. Phase II we gathered to replace transmission, reseal motor, replace clutch & water pump, detail engine compartment when engine out, replace
headliner. Phase III was replacing headliner and miscellaneous detail items. The car is now drivable and
runs great.
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Loading a Modern Saab onto a Tow Dolly
by Charles Stoyer
damage to the bumper and air dam is avoided.
I did this with two blocks of wood so that the wheels
Tow Dollies, at least the older ones, are not designed
for those modern cars with the air dams in the front.
The main problem is that the ramp going up to the
tow dolly is too steep and the front bumper or air dam drive onto the wood which has also flattened out the
hits the tow dolly before the wheels lift it up enough loading ramp. Depending on your clearance, you may
to clear it.
need more or less than two blocks.
Too few blocks will result in insufficient reduction in
steepness, so it’s better to have too many than too
few. Do the same while unloading the car.
To fix this, you reduce the steepness of the tow dolly
loading ramp so that the wheels raise the car and
Classified Ads
Items restored were under supervision of Jerry Danner from
Mile Hi Body Shop, Inc, Denver’s premier Independent Saab
repair facility. Items we restored were ; Rebuilt transmission,
rebuilt clutch hydraulics, resealed motor, new voltage regulator,
new headliner, repaired drivers leather seat lower panel, detailed
carpet, repaired and refinished LF fender from slight damage
and numerous minor items. This car has a few slight exterior
blemishes however presents well. Brakes, muffler, lights have
been inspected and are in top quality condition.
1991 Saab 900S, 3dr, black, 199,224 Miles
To all RMSC Club Members,
Project Colleen is now being offered to our Rocky Mountain
Saab Club of Colorado Members. Our first priority is to offer it
to those who worked on the project. Second priority is any
RMSC member who lives in Colorado. Third priority is those
RMSC Members who live out of Colorado. If no takers then we
will post in the open markets.
This car has great curb appeal. “It is a Colorado Car, meaning
no rust”. We are asking $3,900 OBO. This vehicle is ready to
go. Write us and we will send you detailed pictures of the minor blemishes. You will not be disappointed when you see this
car in real life. E-mail jerry@milehiauto.com to request additional detailed pictures.
This vehicle is owned by The Rocky Mountain Saab Club of
Colorado and is named “Project Colleen”. This car was offered
to our Club by Colleen Wells as a Club Project. Colleen had a
few mechanical issues and did not want to put the money required to upgrade. She donated this car to our Club and as a
Club we gathered for 9 meetings with over 245 man hours to
undertake and restore this to quality mechanical condition.
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