Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Ray White]

In tonight's episode (repeat) of a Saab 900 turbo, Fuzz Townshend discovered that one of the a big end bearing shells had been forced into the cap on top of the existing shell. NOT GOOD!

I have not seen this before and wondered just how rare this disaster is ??

Anyone come across it before.?

I was surprised to find such an event on a Saab 900 16 valve engine which to my mind is one of the all time greats and capable of phenomenal mileages. I suppose it is an example of what can happen if overheating issues are ignored.

[V8 Nutter]

I worked at an engine reconditioners for 20 years, I have seen it many times. The first time was in a Ford V8 with fully floating shells. It usually happens when one shell ceases on to the crank.

[ukdave2002]

[Ray White]

Seeing the CAR SOS team restore a Saab 900 reminded me that it was car I always wanted in the day but for one reason or another I never did get one.

I then thought about my friend's situation and wondered if they could do a rebuild on his wife's 1973 Triumph Stag which - for health reasons - has not been restored. It is a rare magenta model.

On further investigation I discovered that they will not take on cars that they have already restored ...and the 7th car they rescued was a Triumph Stag.

[alastairq]

Having owned a couple of SAAB 900's....one a turbo model [HP]....whilst they were 'nice' cars to drive, I found them rather tank-like in the road manners......quite the opposite to the Lotus theory.

Plus, they seem to suffer from droopy headlining syndrome...[the glue unglues itself] and as a result, were a beggah to put right.

So a droopy head lining would put me reet orff having one today...
_________________
Dellow Mk2, 1951 built, reg 1952.
Fiat 126 BIS
Cannon special [1996 registered. Built in 1950's]
----------------------------------------------
Ford Pop chassis, Ashley 1172 bodyshell, in pieces.

[Rick]

I'd have another 900 Turbo one day. In fact I know of one sat on a driveway, looks surprisingly solid with slightly faded paint. Common sense says stay away.

RJ
_________________
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[Ray White]

[Rick]

[Vintage Fly Guy]

A sagging headlining is usually an easy enough fault to fix on an 80s to modern day type car, as long as the correct colour and cloth type can still be sourced. It's often not a particularly expensive job to have done either (providing it's not overly complex to strip the car down to remove the headlining to re-cover it); earlier this year it cost me 380 quid + VAT to get the headlining on my 92 Range Rover Classic re-covered, with the work carried out by a leading RR specialist car trimmer.

Compare that to the cost of having just one bodywork panel repaired/replaced and resprayed and I'll take a saggy headlining any day of the week!

However, as we know, cars can vary, so get a quote from a trimmer who specialises in that particular make and model, so you know what to expect cost-wise before buying something that looks like the inside of a Bedouin tent!

Interestingly, while people tend to blame the glue for failing and causing a headlining on an 80s to modern day car to sag, it's often the thin layer of backing foam on cloth that perishes, rather than the adhesive. Once the backing foam starts turning to breadcrumbs there's little choice other than to replace the cloth lining, unless you like drawing pins and the Chesterfield sofa look!

[alastairq]

Headlinings can be fairly easily removed from SAAB 900s providing they have a tailgate.

Yes, the thin foam backing is the culprit....
However, ?380 + vat, would have been, and still is, completely out of my price range. I think I paid less than that for the 900 turbo?

I did manage to sort out the 900 auto's headlining [which was my personal favourite to drive...the Turbo really did feel like an ocean going tug to drive....despite it's ''speed'' capabilities....which were, and still are, somewhat irrelevant in today's traffic environment.]

A large carton of spray glues, and several really fine days saw it done, using the original, but cleaned [both sides] material, and new under-material. The stiff backing was in good condition too, which helped.

The Turbo was another story entirely.

My attempts to fix that headlining [not drooping quite so badly as the auto's]...resulted in an explosion, amongst other issues.
I had ordered another carton of spray glue, but it arrived whilst everybody was out of the house [rural living for you]...and the courier put the box inside a very neat condition Skoda Estelle that I had been 'given'....

Quite why, I'm not sure...it wasn't amongst the instructions left on a note pinned to the house door!
But it was one of the hotter days of that summer....and the glue decided to explode in splendid fashion, inside the Estelle....Whilst nobody was 'in!'

The rocket propelled glue grenades took out the windscreen, the sunroof, andalso managed to penetrate the doors...luckily not getting through the outer door skins.
There was dinosaur snot everywhere...

I ended up parting with the car for the same price I paid [nowt],, but in a far less decent condition.

I managed to salvage just enough unexploded glue to more or less fix the Turbo's lining.....and parted with it to some poor unwitting begger in MAnchester...
_________________
Dellow Mk2, 1951 built, reg 1952.
Fiat 126 BIS
Cannon special [1996 registered. Built in 1950's]
----------------------------------------------
Ford Pop chassis, Ashley 1172 bodyshell, in pieces.

[alastairq]

Headlinings can be fairly easily removed from SAAB 900s providing they have a tailgate.

Yes, the thin foam backing is the culprit....
However, ?380 + vat, would have been, and still is, completely out of my price range. I think I paid less than that for the 900 turbo?

I did manage to sort out the 900 auto's headlining, which was my personal favourite to drive...the Turbo really did feel like an ocean going tug to drive....despite it's ''speed'' capabilities....which were, and still are, somewhat irrelevant in today's traffic environment.

A large carton of spray glues, and several really fine days saw it done, using the original, but cleaned , material, and new under-material. The stiff backing was in good condition too, which helped.

The Turbo was another story entirely.

My attempts to fix that headlining [not drooping quite so badly as the auto's]...resulted in an explosion, amongst other issues.
I had ordered another carton of spray glue, but it arrived whilst everybody was out of the house [rural living for you]...and the courier put the box inside a very neat condition Skoda Estelle that I had been 'given'....

It was one of the hotter days of that summer....and the glue decided to explode in splendid fashion, inside the Estelle....

The rocket propelled glue grenades took out the windscreen, the sunroof, and also managed to penetrate the doors...luckily not getting through the outer door skins.
There was dinosaur snot everywhere...
_________________
Dellow Mk2, 1951 built, reg 1952.
Fiat 126 BIS
Cannon special [1996 registered. Built in 1950's]
----------------------------------------------
Ford Pop chassis, Ashley 1172 bodyshell, in pieces.

[alastairq]

Headlinings can be fairly easily removed from SAAB 900s providing they have a tailgate.

Yes, the thin foam backing is the culprit...
.
However, ?380 would have been, and still is, completely out of my price range. I think I paid less than that for the whole 900 turbo?

I did manage to sort out the 900 auto's headlining,

A large carton of spray glues, and several really fine days saw it done, using the original, but cleaned , material, and new under-material. The stiff backing was in good condition too, which helped.

The Turbo was another story entirely.

My attempts to fix that headlining [not drooping quite so badly as the auto's]...resulted in an explosion, amongst other issues.
I had ordered another carton of spray glue, but it arrived whilst everybody was out of the house [rural living for you]...and the courier put the box inside a very neat condition Skoda Estelle that I had been 'given'....

It was one of the hotter days of that summer....and the glue decided to explode in splendid fashion, inside the Estelle....

The rocket propelled glue grenades took out the windscreen, the sunroof, and also managed to penetrate the doors...luckily not getting through the outer door skins.
There was dinosaur snot everywhere...
_________________
Dellow Mk2, 1951 built, reg 1952.
Fiat 126 BIS
Cannon special [1996 registered. Built in 1950's]
----------------------------------------------
Ford Pop chassis, Ashley 1172 bodyshell, in pieces.

[alastairq]

Headlinings can be fairly easily removed from SAAB 900s providing they have a tailgate.

Yes, the thin foam backing is the culprit...
.
However, ?380 would have been, and still is, completely out of my price range. I think I paid less than that for the whole 900 turbo?

I did manage to sort out the 900 auto's headlining,

A large carton of spray glues, and several really fine days saw it done, using the original, but cleaned , material, and new under-material. The stiff backing was in good condition too, which helped.

The Turbo was another story entirely.

My attempts to fix that headlining [not drooping quite so badly as the auto's]...resulted in an explosion, amongst other issues.
I had ordered another carton of spray glue, but it arrived whilst everybody was out of the house [rural living for you]...and the courier put the box inside a very neat condition Skoda Estelle that I had been 'given'....

It was one of the hotter days of that summer....and the glue decided to explode in splendid fashion, inside the Estelle....

They took out the windscreen, the sunroof, and also managed to penetrate the doors...luckily not getting through the outer door skins.
There was dinosaur snot everywhere...
_________________
Dellow Mk2, 1951 built, reg 1952.
Fiat 126 BIS
Cannon special [1996 registered. Built in 1950's]
----------------------------------------------
Ford Pop chassis, Ashley 1172 bodyshell, in pieces.

[Ray White]

One thing about modern trim to watch out for are the plastic clips. Supposing you can find them (and they are often hidden) they may be marque specific and require special tools to prevent them from snapping. In fact some fasteners are single use and will need to be renewed.

[Vintage Fly Guy]