BACK FROM THE BRINK
Richard’s Saab went away for work in November but didn’t come home until the start of April. Here’s why…
1996 SAAB 900S CONVERTIBLE
My Saab is finally back after spending five months unexpectedly overwintering in the Florence of the Fens that is Peterborough. It’s a long, complicated story, but in brief, it went into the garage with alternator issues. These were fixed, but because of where the alternator is on these transverse-engined Saabs (previous 900s had the same engines, but mounted longitudinally), low-down at the rear of the block, the exhaust had to be disturbed. This resulted in it developing a blow, right at the start of the most recent lockdown.
That alone would have made things complicated enough. But then it got worse. The mechanic got an NHS Test-and-Trace alert, so had to self-isolate for two weeks. Then the exhaust ordered didn’t turn up. Efforts to locate it came to nothing, so the money had to be refunded, and another sourced. By then, the Saab’s battery was no longer holding charge and its MoT had expired. The fact that it needed some underbody welding, plus a new steering rack gaiter caused a further delay, so the car that I had dropped off in November finally came back – with a fresh ticket – at the beginning of April.
Five months of winter incarceration in Peterborough hadn’t done much for the Saab’s appearance, so much so that it needed half a day of valeting just to get it looking presentable again.
I could also, at last, fit the overmats that I’d had hanging around on the kitchen table since Christmas, which spruced up the interior as well.
At last, though, the Saab was back, looking good and in action. Well, for a while at least. A week after its return, the Saab refused to start following a petrol pitstop in Rutland. It turned out the ‘good’ second-hand battery that had been fitted while it was away was anything but good. The RAC man condemned the battery when he arrived – but fortunately I wasn’t far from home so only needed a jump start. A new heavy-duty Yuasa battery from Halfords followed the next day, but here’s hoping that’s enough excitement for now!