If it’s January, it must be garage time
Jan
2008
Busy weekend at the TeamD garage. Dan and Hans worked at reassembling the Saab from its rust repair and other activities while Eric started the various wiring tasks necessary to rallify the BMW.
Having a power inverter in the car is important for an event like Alcan. Laptops and cameras and other devices need charging — who knows when you’ll need some AC power? Eric is installing his inverter under the rear deck where it will be out of the way.
Also needed is communication via ham and business band radio. Just about all the TeamD folks are ham operators. Time to install an antenna. Fortunately this went smoothly:
Hans was busy too — he’s good at installing control arm bushings.
Meanwhile I tackled the very ugly aftermarket car alarm installation that had been installed by an underpaid teenager some time back in the ’80s, long before the Saab came to live with me. Maybe there was too much New Wave music playing in the shop (Flock of Seagulls can have strange effects on reality, — “I Ran (so far away)” is still the universal solution for getting a stuck song out of your head. But be careful — it’s a powerful Cure that may be worse than the ailment). I’ve been staring at these wires for a couple of years, afraid to find out that removing them would lead to a mysterious non-start capability. Yes, there are numerous wire nuts, random zip ties and even some masking tape. But even better, all the copper coming out of the alarm are standard speaker wires. Can you say “mystery trace”? But since the interior was removed to repair the rust damage on the floor pan, it was time to turn this:
Into this:
After that laborious job was accomplished (and yes, the car starts and runs!), it was time to apply some additional insulation. The front footwell got double stock pads, while we put some silver bubbly stuff in the rear. Not only should it be warmer and quieter, it also has a strange calming effect.
We still have a bit of work to get the Saab on the road. Center console and related accessory wiring, connect the shifter to the transmission, install that not-broken shock, and then it’s time to get the car smogged and registered. This coming weekend is ice driving practice so no more slacking.
