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The truth is... this project started with the rims.
I was in Sacramento to pick up a basketcase 1987 Saab 900 turbo. The original owner actually won the lottery and gave it to a friend. The friend drove it till the battery died, then put it out to pasture. I found it on CL and took a train from Utah over Donner Pass to see it. Bought it for a song. It was full of black widows... The name stuck. Black Widow.
Anyway, that's a totally different car story for a totally different day. On the way back, I found a post for a set of unique Saab rims for $750. That price was so nuts, I had to see them. Turned out to be original Epsilon 15x6.5s. Black centers with all lugs and center caps. The story went that the rims had been custom made by a dealer in CA who was selling Saab 900 turbos alongside Porsche 911s in 1986. He wanted similar sex appeal, so he had a batch made. I've only run across 2 more of the sets on Saab 900s. I couldn't turn them down. Offered him less than half and he took it.
It took another two years to find the car for them. When it came up, I recognized it immediately. 1980 Saab 900 turbo with 87k miles. Sat in the high desert in Oregon for almost 15 years before an enthusiast rescued her and rebuilt the engine and turbo. Only one partial picture came with the ad (the one below - it's the blue one). It was such a tease. The owner had since moved to the other side of the country and had no way to take more pics. Didn't matter - I was enchanted by it. He was flying out for one day, so I told him I would meet him.
Took a 28 hour bus ride to get to it. Sat next to some REAL characters. One guy had just gotten out of jail for possession and was on his way to Oregon to start a medical marijuana farm. Said it was what he was really good at.
A friend met me at the station in Eugene and I crashed with him. He told me i was crazy for coming so far to buy a car I'd never seen... that hadn't even been started in over a year! AND expecting it to make the drive home. I agreed.
The next day, the guy showed up with the car. I watched it come up the road. Like seeing your future love for the first time and KNOWING. Just knowing. She was loud, but not too loud. Old loud. With maybe a hole in the muffler. Straight as an arrow. But the interior was destroyed. Headliner falling down. Seats a mess. Dash with Grand Canyon cracks. Wheels pitted. Tires bald.
But man, the patina!
She had been blasted in the desert. It looked like a painting. No, it looked like a car that should not be alive.
...I HAD to have it.
She drove beautifully, albeit the terrible brake squeal. I paid him his asking price and for a barter of one custom pencil drawing (my trade), he threw in a whole set of original shop manuals that had never been opened! As I drove away, I had no idea if I would make it back, but somehow I was not worried at all.
I was in Sacramento to pick up a basketcase 1987 Saab 900 turbo. The original owner actually won the lottery and gave it to a friend. The friend drove it till the battery died, then put it out to pasture. I found it on CL and took a train from Utah over Donner Pass to see it. Bought it for a song. It was full of black widows... The name stuck. Black Widow.
Anyway, that's a totally different car story for a totally different day. On the way back, I found a post for a set of unique Saab rims for $750. That price was so nuts, I had to see them. Turned out to be original Epsilon 15x6.5s. Black centers with all lugs and center caps. The story went that the rims had been custom made by a dealer in CA who was selling Saab 900 turbos alongside Porsche 911s in 1986. He wanted similar sex appeal, so he had a batch made. I've only run across 2 more of the sets on Saab 900s. I couldn't turn them down. Offered him less than half and he took it.
It took another two years to find the car for them. When it came up, I recognized it immediately. 1980 Saab 900 turbo with 87k miles. Sat in the high desert in Oregon for almost 15 years before an enthusiast rescued her and rebuilt the engine and turbo. Only one partial picture came with the ad (the one below - it's the blue one). It was such a tease. The owner had since moved to the other side of the country and had no way to take more pics. Didn't matter - I was enchanted by it. He was flying out for one day, so I told him I would meet him.
Took a 28 hour bus ride to get to it. Sat next to some REAL characters. One guy had just gotten out of jail for possession and was on his way to Oregon to start a medical marijuana farm. Said it was what he was really good at.
A friend met me at the station in Eugene and I crashed with him. He told me i was crazy for coming so far to buy a car I'd never seen... that hadn't even been started in over a year! AND expecting it to make the drive home. I agreed.
The next day, the guy showed up with the car. I watched it come up the road. Like seeing your future love for the first time and KNOWING. Just knowing. She was loud, but not too loud. Old loud. With maybe a hole in the muffler. Straight as an arrow. But the interior was destroyed. Headliner falling down. Seats a mess. Dash with Grand Canyon cracks. Wheels pitted. Tires bald.
But man, the patina!
She had been blasted in the desert. It looked like a painting. No, it looked like a car that should not be alive.
...I HAD to have it.
She drove beautifully, albeit the terrible brake squeal. I paid him his asking price and for a barter of one custom pencil drawing (my trade), he threw in a whole set of original shop manuals that had never been opened! As I drove away, I had no idea if I would make it back, but somehow I was not worried at all.
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