Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 00:58:42 -0400 From: Dexter J <lamealameadingdongnospamlamelame.org> Subject: Re: SAAB To buy or not to buy
Salutations: Hey Lloyd - welcome back.. In 20 years think Barrett's.. You may well have the only standing example of a Fuego Turbo on the planet.. I think I saw some weird Messerschmitt thing go for $12,000usd this year.. HAH - bet it'll outrun anything on the road then!.. And don't give up shopping on the SAAB there man - it can be much more reliable and long lived than the GM - think of it hunting around for good skates.. Keep checking them out till you come across something that feels right and follow up as prescribed.. Sorry the thread has gotten away from the point - but that's kuel.. It's one of the reason's I like alt.autos.saab.. Lots of motormen with a story to tell.. I currently travel around in a 1979 GMC 260 motorhome that sports a cast 403 Olds Bird motor in a Toronado front wheel drive cradle.. It's a thing of beauty as regards throttle response and drivability.. I'm not old enough to have done a serious muscle car as the first heavy gaz crisis came along just as I got my license and some money all in one place.. What amazes me about the motorhome powerplant is how just f*ing powerful it actually is.. I can haul 10,000pds of 26 long motohome up a mountain side at the Canadian end of the Appalachians with complete ease at 2,500rpm at 60 miles (not kms - actual calibrated miles per hour) at the end of 200 or so miles of 70mph cruising - around 1,800 rpm.. I don't know what it breaks down to in CC's - I think somewhere around 7 or 8 liters .. Park it hot and wet - and do it again the next day - all day - after the second try in the morning.. It politely boils the fuel out of the carburetor at the end of the day - a holly four barrel that you could store golf balls in.. I don't sell that big old yankee iron short anymore - it can take a shit-kicking of the kind that would void the warrantee of pretty much any new non-military application out there and come right back.. The deal with the devil is the fuel trade off of course.. However, I have noticed something that surprised me.. Big American Irons seem to burn like stream engines (like by the hour) so that while the Firebird 403 Turbo Trans Am this engine was also in got 19 miles to the gallon - my 26 foot motorhome get's 13 miles to the gallon on the highway too and at considerable velocity - I can tell you.. Not the 180mph the Trans Am was rated to of course, but I've had my motorhome up to 87mph with 1,400 RPM left on the tach and I have the small engine.. ! .. Most were sold with the 455 Olds - but they get no more than 9 miles to the gallon and so is somewhat less desirable right now.. Still, that's got to better the weight to capacity to performance ratio of the Denaldi Uber Ford Death Star Wagoneer.. The motor and drive layout is exactly the same as the old 900's and it has always tickled me to think that I could probably squeeze one of these power train packages into the 80-88 900 series SAABs.. The problem, as near as I can work out whilst sailing down the mightily Annapolis Valley here on a sunny day in the summer - is that the powerplant and driveline package itself would likely weight more than the entire chassis of the SAAB.. Here's tune from my bitcaster that you might get a kick out of if you haven't heard it yet. You'll need free version RealAudio: Kathy Matea - 455 Rocket http://www.dexterdyne.org/888/051.RAM -- J Dexter - webmaster - http://www.dexterdyne.org/ all tunes - no cookies no subscription no weather no ads no news no phone in - Real Audio 8+ Required - all the Time Radio Free Dexterdyne Top Tune o'be-do-da-day Sinatra Martin Davis - Ain't That A Kick in the Head http://www.dexterdyne.org/888/036.RAM Lloyd Cimprich wrote: > > Thanks all, I have learned al lot from all the comments. > > Actually I have the Fuego engine well worked out, turbo and all and after > much searching I have found two rear springs, new ball joints, tie rod ends, > alternator .... I hope to get the car on licensed for road for fathers day > as my Dad is a long time Renault fan and it was he who gave me the Fuego a > few years back. I have also had an R8 and R10 and yes they were prone to > rust but were amazing in the winter and real fuel misers. > > My Dad would be thrilled to see my roll up the street in Fuego but parts > availability will require me to store it for very occasional use. Too bad, > great car when sorted out. > > I went away from small cars when I got my first Detroit Iron, 1968 Pontiac > Firebird, so much raw power and simple reliability. The bird easily reached > 120 MPH! and would slow down well to about 80MPH when total brake fade set > in. Sudden steering imput at speed was also greeted with limited response > from a front end that was partially airborn. > > I spent a bit of money to upgrade brakes/suspension/fairing and had one heck > of reliable ride for many years. I have been a GM fan for many years and > benefitted from their long faithful service. > > On a rare out of of office lunch time walk I stopped into Lang Motorcar and > that is where my interest in aquiring a SAAB started. I had always thought > that a SAAB would be as or more reliable than GM and might have bought it on > the spot if I had more time. However as luck would have it I had a deadline > and had to get back to the office. That evening I surfed the net for SAAB > info/impressions which convinced me that I had to consider/investigate and > SAAB purchase carefully. > > "Jez" <jl.webnospamorld.com> wrote in message > > > > > > > > I will second this opinion. Renaults are shit. I had a Renault Fuego a > > few > > > > years back, the worst car I ever had. > > > > > > I must admit that I thought they looked weird - but I knew someone who > got > > > the engine worked out (you know - like for a summer) and the Fuego Turbo > > > > was a fast - fast - holy crap that's fast - ride with fresh tires.. > > > > > >
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