Eventually the 93F and my other cars were kicked out of the barn as the woman in my life decided to raise goats. It sat under a tree for a few years, and the woman backed her truck into it once, destroying the hood.
One day while working on some other
project in the yard, my friend Tony
asked, “Does that thing run?”
“Let's find out,” was my reply.
We determined that the engine turned freely, so mixed up some two stroke gas and gave it a try. After a few false starts, the engine slowly fired to life for the first time in ages in August 2012. However, I didn't dare attempt to drive it at that time because the brakes were shot.
Brakes
Once the engine was running, brakes was the next order of priority But where do you find wheel cylinders and brake shoes for a 50 year old Saab? As it turned out, it wasn't all that difficult.
Tom Donney had written about early Saab brakes and posted the information on his web site.
http://www.tomdonneymotors.com/2008/11/03/wheel-cylinders/
Tom referred to the different braking systems as:
Type I called Shitty, Shitty, Shitty
Type II called Shitty, Shitty
Type III called just Shitty.
In truth, there are other variations in wheel cylinder bore, NPT or British threads on the cylinder and brake lines (which therefore necessitates the use of Whitworth wrenches), and brake drum size. It was also possible that a former owner might have used whatever he had available that wasn't exactly correct, but would work okay.
Ultimately I was able to deduce that what was needed was the same as an MG-TD/TF. This didn't surprise me as Saab, being a small company, often used off-the-shelf parts from some other car. Lockheed-Girling made brakes for many manufacturers in those days. I was able to order what I needed from Moss Motors. Installing the new wheel cylinders went pretty smoothly, though removing and re-installing the brake drums was, as usual on those old Saabs, a pain in the butt.
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| Front brake cylinders installed |
While I was at it, I also replaced the brake master cylinder with one from some old GM model. That's what was on the car when I bought it, replaced long ago to prep the car for ice racing. I also decided to replace the steel brake lines, at least up front. That meant buying generic length brake lines, bending them to match the existing lines, then cutting and flaring the ends, using the old fittings. Once the job was done, the brakes took several pumps to properly pressurize. I surmised that one of the lines must have gotten pinched while bending it.
Other race car projects took precedence in the garage, so the 93F was put aside for a few years.
Body and Paint
The 93F project was dormant until 2019, when it was sent to Hennepin Restomods in the Twin Cities. Their assignment was to repair the rust holes, replace the fenders which had been cut back for racing, and install a fuel cell which I ordered from ATL. They also replaced the single master cylinder with a dual M/C from a Ford Pinto, and got the brakes to work properly.
I picked the 93 up in the spring of 2020 with a lot of the work completed. From there the plan was to install a roll bar and racing seat during the summer, give it a simple paint job, and be ready to race at the Put-In-Bay Sports Car Races in September. Unfortunately a worldwide virus canceled most events in 2020 including PIB. Fortunately, that gave more time to prep the car. As it turned out, the extra time was a blessing.
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| Fresh out of the paint booth at Twin Ports Collision Repair. |
While I had requested a pastel blue, the same shade as the Fart-hinder Racing Saab 900 and 93, the guys at the shop talked me into a a blue closer to the color on a Swedish flag. The finished product looked great. They also tried to talk me into yellow stripes to complete that Swedish flag look, but I had other ideas.
Different projects got in the way for a few months, including adding shelves and lighting in the barn, and cleaning the garage sufficiently to get a car inside, but eventually the 93F found it's way to the garage stall.
Goals for 2021
A Black Friday deep deal on a QuickJack lift brought one to my garage, and that took a bit of time to get sorted and functional. By January 2021, it was ready to go and the 93F went up in the air. Front fenders were removed and work commenced on removing front suspension pieces.
There were several goals for 2021.
Take the running car to the Intermarque Spring Kick Off Car Show in Osseo, MN. That was in May. Intermarque is an organization of vintage import car clubs that puts on a few events each year specifically for older import cars.
Take the running race car to the Saab Owners Convention in Albany, NY. A bonus would be to have it running for the track day at the New York Safety Track.
Compete at the Put-In-Bay vintage sports car races in September. Saab was one of the featured marques, and I wanted to join other Saab racers to celebrate these remarkable cars in competition.
Suspension
Saab wasn't about to change something that worked just fine, so the control arms, tie rod ends, and ball joints were the same for all Saabs from the first Saab 92 in 1950 to the end of the run for the 96 in 1980. As a consequence of that stash of salvaged Saab parts, I had several spare control arms and other front end parts.
I started digging through the pile of front suspension assemblies and came up with about a dozen ball joints and several tie rod ends. According to restorers of old Saabs, the original ball joints and tie rod ends seldom wear out, and checking the play on several old ball joints I found that information to be correct. Some had rubber boots that were cracked or disintegrating, but the joints themselves were mostly tight. It turned out to be pretty easy to come up with four good ball joints and boots.
The tie rod ends seemed to be in good shape, but the boots were not. Many years of twisting on the rubber boots had torn them. In looking at other parts, I found a possible solution: The boots on the anti-roll bar links from a 1999 (+/-) Saab 93 looked to be similar in size. Measurements with a caliper suggested they were about a millimeter smaller in diameter on the shaft and base. They should work just fine on a car that will see only racing miles, maybe 100 miles a year. As much as possible, the ball joints and tie rod ends were cleared of the old, crusty grease inside, and were filled with Redline CV-2 synthetic high-performance grease.
The shock absorbers that were on the 93 when I bought it were Gabriel Red Ryders. They were a cheap shock when new, and were just fine for ice racing where loose shocks were preferred. After 40+ years, they weren't pretty. For pavement racing I wanted performance shock absorbers, and looked to Koni and Bilstein for appropriate dampers. Neither company lists a shock for the old Saabs, though enterprising Saab racers have come up with part numbers that will work from the Bilstein catalog. No luck, however, on Konis. A newer alternative in adjustable shocks comes from AVO in the UK. The price was competitive with Koni and Bilstein, but they have to be shipped from England. I placed an order for a set of shocks for the 93F, and another set for the Sonett V4 ice racer.
Poly bushings for the upper and lower control arms, the front sway bar ends, and the locating arms for the rear axle were sourced from PowerFlex USA. The replacement bushings are primarily multiple pieces, with two pieces of poly pushed in from each side with a steel sleeve to keep them in place. The Saab factory manuals suggest that the mounts for the bushings need to be set at a particular angle for installation. However, the poly bushings are quite slippery compared to the stock rubber bushings, so attempting to properly position the mounts was a lesson in futility. They were installed however they fit.
All of the suspension parts that were removed were cleaned and painted prior to reassembly. All of the nuts and bolts are United States Standard (USS) thread, not metric. I was able to replace all of the bolts and nuts on the control arms and suspension mounts with Grade 8 fasteners from a local hardware store. Total cost was about $25. Before assembling everything I cleaned up all of the captive nuts and bolts with a tap and die set, and used a drop of thread sealer (a.k.a. Loctite) to better secure the fasteners.
The right front axle boot was torn and desperately needed replacement. I was able to get some from David Baugher in a trade for some generator/water pump cores. For those who may not know, unlike today's outer axle boots that are part of the axle assembly, the early ones attached to the brake backing plate and remain stationary. The outer joint spins inside the boot. The inner end of that boot is attached to a tube with the axle shaft inside. I gooped it all up with Redline CV-2 synthetic grease
.
Engines.
There were several engines in the cache of parts bought from Ken Cich, most disassembled. I was able to inventory blocks, heads, intake manifolds, and other important parts based on the casting numbers and dates stamped into the blocks from the list of such numbers compiled by Bud Clark. There were also crankshafts, both standard and GT/MC. I sold some of them to Tom Donney and to Paul Nielsen, but kept a few.
There were three GT crankshafts in the mix. Two had been rebuilt long ago by a well known Saab engine builder in Kansas, but it appeared that a couple of the connecting rods were bent. All three were shipped to David Baugher, who rebuilt one and returned it to me as payment for the other two.
At the time, my plan was to stick primarily with the stock 850 block from 1960-64 bull nose cars, which could be modified with the GT cranks and some porting work. I also had one 850 engine that came from Larry Williams' estate. Ultimately I decided I wanted one good, reliable short nose engine, plus one long nose engine as I had several triple carb manifolds, with carbs of course. There was also the engine that was in the car since it was raced in St. Paul in 1977. It still ran, but having sat unused for many years, I wasn't convinced the bearings would last very long.
I started with the Larry Williams engine, took it apart to see what kind of condition it was in. It looked good, the pistons and rings were good and the bearings spun freely. Both Marty Adams and Tom Donney said I should put it back together for a spare, which I did. I gave it a coat of fresh Pontiac Blue paint before I reassembled it, then put it in a plastic bag in an attempt to keep humid air from rusting the steel surfaces.
I took the remaining engines, empty blocks and transmissions to Tom for evaluation. Few were really rebuildable, but had usable parts. Ultimately I ended up with two fresh engines as described above, and a freshened 4-speed transmission to replace the original 3-speed box that was still in the race car.
With all the trips to Iowa to drop off and pick up race car goodies, I took another look at a rusty Saab 96 ice racer in southern Minnesota. The drivetrain had come out of a former racer that had gotten too rusty to continue. The original car had been a bullnose 850GT used for D-Sedan racing in SCCA. In addition to the short nose 850GT engine, the transmission was said to have gears from Saab Sport and Rally. The drivetrain, including the front disc brakes and rear 4-hole brake drums, had been transferred to a 1966 body, which now looked as though it had been hit on all sides and rolled. The windshield and rear window glass was intact, but the door and rear side windows had been replaced with Plexiglas, which was now very scratched and cloudy. It eventually followed me home, along with a hood from the 1964 GT that had Safari vents in it.
The GT engine was seized, but I hoped with some persuasion it might break loose again. Hopes were dashed when I removed the spark plugs. There was what appeared to be fiberglass insulation in the #2 cylinder. The head was removed, and sure enough, there was a mouse nest made of insulation. The cylinder walls were pretty rusted as a result.
Once the GT engine was out and disassembly begun, a hole was found in the bottom of the engine where the rear (#1) connecting rod had broken through. In addition there were pieces of piston ring in the #1 cylinder that had done a bit of damage to the combustion chamber on the head. The inside of the engine had decades of accumulated crud inside and there was a coating of rust on some of the internal pieces. The oil pump was seized, and I thought the distributor shaft was as well, but I gently tapped the distributor out and the shaft turned just fine. For the moment, that engine has been set aside until I can get it to a machine chop for further evaluation.
The original radiator looked good, and a local radiator shop confirmed that it held pressure and had decent flow. A fresh paint job to the brass tanks and it was ready to install.
As anyone who has played with the early Saabs will know, the water pump was located on the back end of the generator. This car had that unit replaced with an alternator and a 12-volt electric water pump. A small (very small) electric fan replaced the overhead fanshaft.
Several auto manufacturers now use a 12-volt pump to assist the heating system on newer cars. I was able to find one that was unused and sitting on the shelf from another Saab restorer for a fraction of the cost of new. Electric radiator fans are commonplace in new cars, and one was strapped to the back side of the radiator. A small racing alternator was installed to replace the one that was on the engine as the old one did not really fit well, and locating a suitable belt was nearly impossible.
Transmissions
The standard gearbox in 1960 was only three speeds. The spider gears in the ice racer had been welded to defeat the open differential, so both drive wheels would continue to grip under acceleration. My preference was to add a 4-speed for racing. I took several gearboxes to Tom Donney in hopes he could build me one good one. However, I wanted to retain the cable clutch, which meant locating the correct bell housing that could accept a cable mount. The 3-speed housing is apparently slightly smaller and won't fit any of the 4-speed transmissions. Jerry Danner said he had one and offered it for use in my project.
In addition, I wanted to convert to front disc brakes from a later 96, which meant using the inner drivers and axles from the later gearbox.
The 4-speed gearbox that came from the 850GT ice racer seemed to turn okay, so I was hopeful it could be saved. To figure out the gear ratios I put the clutch disk back onto the input shaft, made a mark on the disk and on the bell housing, then made marks on the inner driver and corresponding marks on the case. By counting the number of turns on the input shaft it took to make one revolution at the axle, I determined that 1st and 2nd gears were the stock ratio for a GT gearbox, but 3rd and 4th were different. Apparently the story about having factory racing gears was correct. The result is closer ratios between 3rd and 4th. This table shows the difference between the factory specs and the gears that are in the gearbox that I have.
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|
GT850 factory spec |
GT850 observed |
|
1st gear |
18.3:1 |
18.3:1 |
|
2nd gear |
10.7:1 |
10.7:1 |
|
3rd gear |
6.6:1 |
7.6:1 |
|
4th gear |
4.3:1 |
5.3:1 |
|
Reverse |
16.7:1 |
16.7:1 |
|
Pinion/Crown ratio |
5.1:1 |
|
|
Pinion/Crown teeth |
7 to 36 |
|
The 850GT gearbox has the earlier rubber inner drivers, which means a return to the earlier axles as well. But the 850GT had disc brakes, so the brake assemblies could be transferred. According to those in the know, an MGB caliper was used so parts should be readily available. Rotors can be purchased from the Swedish Saab Club, though shipping costs are high.
Wheels
From the beginning in 1950, Saab wheels had a unique 5-bolt pattern. That wheel design was used on all Saab 92s through the 96 and Sonett, until end of production on the 96 in 1980. For much of the first twenty or so years, the wheel size was 4Jx15”. The early Sonetts came with steel wheels that were 4.5” wide. All use wheel bolts that have a 9/16”-12 UNC thread and 3/4” head. The steel wheels are generally not considered structurally able to withstand the rigors of racing. There are many reports of early Saab racers having wheel failures.
There are only a few alloy wheels that will fit the 5-bolt hubs on the early Saabs. The Sonett Soccerball style are the most common, followed by the earlier Sonett Cromodoro JP alloys, and the rare 10-spoke wheels of the Minilite design.
Back in the 1960s, ice racers who drove Saabs often used a modified wheel, featuring the Saab 5-bolt centers welded into Corvair 13”x5” rims. The offset was also moved to widen the track. At that time 13-inch tires were easier to come by. This usually also made modification of the fenders necessary to accommodate the wider wheels.
The wheels and hubs on the GT and Monte Carlo 96s are exclusive to those sport models. They have four bolts instead of five. The bolt circle is 4-1/2 inches, same as the 99s and early 900s, and several other cars as well. The GTs and MCs came with steel wheels only, but 99/900 alloy wheels should fit those hubs. Therefore the 99 Soccerballs, 99 Turbo Incas and Shelby 8-spoke alloy wheels could be used.
Over the years I have accumulated several sets of Sonett Soccerball wheels. All were a bit rough in appearance, but ran round and true. I blasted them with glass beads to get rid of excess dirt and paint. Since paint does not adhere well to aluminum alloys, the wheels were given a coat of Etching Primer, followed by a Satin White, which was also used on the front grille and grill trim.
Tires
There are a few choices of vintage tires to fit the elderly Saab. The factory specified 5.00x15 bias ply or 155x15 radial tires. Most Saab owners these days choose a 165x15 radial tire. For racing, I wanted something with a little bit wider tread, but still easy to fit the limited space under the Saab fenders.
Vredestein offers a tire called the Sprint Classic in size 175/70HR15. Most street tires have an “S” speed rating, which means they are considered safe up to 112 MPH (180 kph). The Sprint Classics have an “H” speed rating, meaning good to 130 mph (210 kph). While I doubt the 93 will ever achieve speeds near 100 mph, the speed rating is an indicator that the tires should be able to take the abuse of racing. In addition, the treadwear rating (Uniform Tire Quality Grading or UTQG) on these tires is 200. The lower number indicates a softer rubber compound which will wear a bit faster, but should also provide more grip in cornering.
Interior
Since this particular 93 had already been used for racing, the interior had been stripped. A roll bar was installed, but it was very basic, just a bolt-in hoop with a couple of bars angled back to support it. There were three gauges – water temp, ammeter and tachometer. None of them worked any longer. The seat that had been in the Saab for racing was a fiberglass bucket on Saab sliders. Even though I weighed 100 pounds lighter back in 1977, my butt would not fit, so we located a stock Saab seat and raced with that. All of the wiring went through a very nicely built switch panel immediately to the right of the driver. However, there was not a fuse panel.
Most vintage racing sanctioning bodies require only a roll bar and not a full cage. Besides, a roll cage in a Saab is redundant. I did, however, want something a bit more substantial, and that would bolt the racing seat to the rollover structure instead of to the floor. That project went to Chris Adams, Marty's brother, whose father had owned Meyer Garage in Iowa. Chris builds tube frame chassis for dirt track racing, so I figured he would have a good idea on how to create a safe structure.
The various vintage racing group rules range from “suitable roll bars” to a high of 1.50” mild steel with a 0.120” wall. Chris keeps a stock of steel tubing to build complete chassis, but would have had to order some in the specified size to meet the minimum specs. Instead he used 1.75” mild steel tubing which exceeds all of the rule book specs. In addition to the bar which fits nicely in the contours of the interior, there are two bars going back to the floor, and two bars that go forward to help protect the seat in case of a side impact.
The Racequip racing seat is FIA rated, extra wide, and it fits my bulk nicely. The seat is bolted directly to the roll cage, with some added holes on plates within the cage to adjust for height.
Some compromises were made to prep the car for Put-In-Bay, which has fewer rules than most other groups. Their safety harness rules specify “racing or aircraft quality seat belts having metal to metal latches” so I was able to use a harness that was barely out of date under the regulations of other groups, but still in very good condition. Updated belts are on the shopping list for 2022.
I had a few gauges in the garage from other projects, and was able to come up with a suitable VDO Voltmeter and Water Temp pair. None of the Tachometers that I had seemed to work, but I didn't figure I would be pushing the Saab that hard with a new motor on a short track. Installation of a working tach is another task for the 2022 season. An Exhaust Temperature gauge is also a good idea on any car, but especially so with a two-stroke engine, to determine efficiency in each cylinder. That feedback helps in the choice of carburetor jetting and choice of spark plugs. The switch panel was left intact for now, but will eventually be replaced by a panel on the dashboard, with a fuse panel.
On to The Saab Owners Convention
The bright blue 93F was loaded onto the trailer again in July, for the trip to the Saab Owners Convention in Albany NY. Along the way, I stopped at Claude Hutchings' Tired Iron Repair in New York. With Claude's help the 93 was readied for the SOC Track Day at New York Safety Track. Though the event was really just a bunch of parade laps, it gave me a chance to see how well the car ran.
It did pretty well, considering it still had the 850 engine that we ran at the 1977 St. Paul ice race. A quick mental calculation says the car turned about 60 miles at that race on an engine built from good used parts. It probably didn't add another 10 miles during the ensuing 44 years.
The 93 had a stock single Solex F40 BI carburetor when we ran that long ago ice race. The purchase price of the racer back then included a manifold with a Solex P40-II two-barrel downdraft carb, essentially the upgrade carb for the 750GT, which had later been installed by one of the previous owners, and was on the car when I bought it. After a few fun laps at NYST I decided to load back up for the trip to Albany. As I was about to drive the 93 onto the trailer, one of several Saab enthusiasts who were guiding me shouted “FIRE!” I shut everything down and the fire went out immediately. The problem was the screws that held the top of the carb in place had fallen out and gas was dumping into the engine compartment. Fortunately there was no damage, and several bystanders helped to push the car onto the trailer.
Upon arrival in Albany for the convention, several volunteers again stepped up to help unload the 93 and push it into its parking spot. There were plenty of visitors, including many long time friends, who had questions or offered comments about the blue racer, parked among the largest field of two-stroke Saabs I can recall seeing at a convention. Imagine my surprise that it won the People's Choice in the SAAB 92-93 (1950-60) category. Further surprise came when I was given the Walter Kern Award, for contributing to the knowledge of other owners shared in my Facebook posts as I discovered the mechanical side of the early SAABs.
Goal number 2 complete with an A+.
