Epoxy Primer – Dave’s Garage

About 10 years ago I discovered epoxy primer. It was recommended for rust repair, and later as a primer for restoration. Epoxy primer seals metal, preventing further oxidation of the bare metal. The problem with conventional primer is that it does not protect from moisture, it is porous and literally absorbs moisture like a sponge.

For rust repair, conventional primer does not provide adequate protection against the further advancement of corrosion. For restoration and body work, epoxy primer is an excellent way to coat and protect bare steel. If while block sanding I sand through the primer back to bare metal, I will apply another coat of epoxy primer over the bare metal to ensure there is a coat of epoxy primer protecting all the bare metal.

I have rust repair work almost ten years old that is still holding up quite well, holding up better than the factory corrosion protection and paint.

For years I have been coating metal with epoxy primer after I have done any hammering and welding. Clean, bare metal is epoxy primed, then all my body work is done OVER the epoxy primer. The primer instruction sheet will provide instructions describing the adhesion window for body filler or subsequent paint of the primer. There is usually a time window of a number of hours before the primer must be sanded and recoated. Filler instructions state that it must be applied to bare metal. I have not had any adhesion problems applying filler over fresh epoxy primer.

Body filler is also porous, and absorbs water. It will cause extensive corrosion if it comes in contact with moisture and is applied over bare metal. This will easily ruin even the best paint job.

Epoxy primer also makes an excellent sealer too. I use reduced epoxy primer as a sealer before applying the color coat. This provides a moisture proof seal against any body work and primer-surfacer, protecting the body work and the metal underneath. Epoxy primer-sealer also prevents those nasty sanding marks from appearing months later. Conventional primer is somewhat plastic, and shrinks and settles for months after being sprayed. Instructions for using the primer as a sealer are included in the instruction sheet.

I have been using PPG paint products for years, and have been impressed with the results. I use PPG DP-40LF Epoxy Primer. It has proven to be quite effective at stopping the further advancement of rust after rust repair, and I have not had any adhesion problems or other failures with this primer.


Please email all inquiries to: Dave
or snail mail
32 Turkey Hill Road
Richmond VT 05477

The VAE Mobile Museum & Classroom Vision

Started with a seed of an idea to “have our own museum”. During one of the discussions Gene Fodor spoke of a car club in New Jersey that has a “Museum on Wheels”. It was the Vintage Automobile Museum in Beachwood, N.J. (they are the folks whose museum was devastated by Hurricane Sandy just a few days after their grand opening). The idea started a chain of events that started with looking at everything from step vans to even fifty-cent tours of the UPS trucks you see driving around town. Gael Boardman was the chairman of the VAAS Board at the time and probably mentioned the exciting idea a few times at home when his son Owen happened to find a Bluebird bus for sale in the Plattsburg, NY area.

Thus, the picture you see here and on our Wheel Tracks front page. The VAE membership voted to purchase the bus at last November’s annual meeting and the journey was started!

The bus found it’s first temporary home at Duane and Marnita Leach’s home in Fairfax and then after leaving it’s mark (huge ruts in the Leach front yard) it made it’s way to Vermont Technical College to get a “look over” at the school’s auto tech garage. After a few repairs at VTC it moved to Tom Mchugh’s yard for a while and currently it is parked at Wendell and Mary Noble’s home. In the few short months since the VAE has owned the bus it has been cleaned up very nicely, some signs have been made for it’s exterior and some display cabinets have been installed. A tow hitch has also been installed if an old car needs a trailer ride to a classroom event.

It’s first big outing was at the Stowe Car Show where you might have seen it proudly parked by the front gate. It was open to the public in it’s “beginning form” for all to see and to share their vision of how we might proceed in our mobile museum and classroom project. Some visitors thought there should be lunch pails and books around, others thought we should have a gift shop and ice cream bar inside. Another was that we should have videos of past parades and car shows to view. Some advice on outside painting was to leave the yellow and paint the lower area green. Another idea was to do the outside in a vinyl wrap with old cars and car parts.

So now how does the ‘mobile museum project’ go forward? As you can see there are some great ideas and if you have been around the block a few times you know those ideas will give birth to other great ideas. A discussion with a Vermont career center auto tech instructor said it all. When he was told about our plans and how we could someday roll into his facility pulling a trailer with an antique car prepared to show his class “how they did it back then”. His response was that we could have his classroom as long as we would like. During the seventeen Golden Wrench Award presentations this year we met many top notch high school juniors and seniors with amazing abilities. One wonders if being exposed to our hobby if some of those students might get into the lucrative world of restoration?

Now we have to throttle back to the one-step-at-a-time pace. Where will our museum be parked, what color will it be, how will the inside be arranged to best serve our needs, who will drive it through the hills of Vermont?

Mobile MuseumHow do we raise the funds to complete our mobile museum? Checking with our treasurer there have been about $3000.00 contributed to date. You will soon have your chance to throw a few coins into the contribution pot. A fund raising campaign is being prepared as we speak.

If you would like to write a check today just write it to the:

VAAS
c/o Dick Wheatley
PO Box 180
Underhill, VT 05489

(Oh, by the way, you can write your contribution off on your taxes.)

Old Age – Comes At A Bad Time

To be honest, my age never really mattered to me until last December when I received my Medicare card in the mail and I was informed that as of February 1st, 2013 I was eligible! I didn’t want it but there it was and now there was no turning back or trying to fool myself. That small little card was staring me in the face saying ‘you are getting old’!! Isn’t it amazing how ‘old’ 70 was when we were 40! But, how young it really is, right? When I found a few gray hairs, I found a great hairdresser. When I told Gary I was coloring my hair, his comment was “Emmylou Harris let her hair go gray” – my comment back “when I can sing like Emmylou I’ll go gray”! I can’t get over how age just creeps up on most of us. One day you are working 40-60 hours/week, shopping, laundry, cooking, cleaning, gardening, raising vegetables and two boys. Then, the boys were the first to go! I didn’t throw them out they just somehow grew up and left. Or maybe it was the cleaning first, but the garden was next, reasoning that the ‘Farmers Market’ does a great job and we DO need to support it, next, Gary took over the laundry (I wash – he dries and folds), he also took over the dishes, then the 40-60 hour/week job went to about 10 hours a week and the paycheck disappeared!, still shopping and cooking (but far less of both). Unbelievable, one day I was doing it all and with what seemed like overnight, my body feels like it still is, but certainly isn’t! My question is when did I cross ‘the line’? Maybe it was back when I realized I needed singing lessons. Got to close, I have a 4 o’clock audition to sing back up for Emmylou. Just think of the time and money I’ll save not coloring my hair!

Safety Wire – Dave’s Garage

Recently, an acquaintance with an MG TD changed his oil. He happened to notice that there were some metal wires in his used engine oil. I suggested he drop his oil pan and have a look to see where the metal came from. It is a good thing he did. The person who rebuilt the engine did a lousy job safety wiring the main and rod bearing caps.

Fortunately, nothing came loose, and his engine did not grenade. Here is a chart showing the proper way to use safety wire. Following this chart and using a little patience and common sense you can properly safety wire your own projects.

safety wire pliers
How to properly tie Safety Wire

Safety wire pliers are available at many tool stores and on Amazon. I buy my safety wire on Amazon, they seem to have the best price.

Speaking of safety, always securely clamp sheet metal when drilling holes. I was making a patch piece today, a piece about the size of an index card. The piece was going to be butt welded on three sides, and spot welded on the fourth side to duplicate the factory sheet metal. I was drilling several 1/4 inch holes every inch or so on one edge for the plug welds. I had the piece of sheet metal on a piece of scrap wood when I was drilling it. I had the drill in my right hand and was holding the metal with my left. The drill bit grabbed the metal and spun it, cutting my hand. I spent the next five hours in the Emergency room getting stitches in my left hand.


Please email all inquiries to: Dave
or snail mail
32 Turkey Hill Road
Richmond VT 05477

White Kress Fire Truck

Tom Mclays’ White Kress Fire Truck

White Kress Fire TruckI first discovered the fire truck in 1974 in a shed in Washington, Vermont. It belonged to Frank Bushey, a school teacher from Bloomfield, Conn. Frank had purchased it to use in his Gremlin Camp for Young Boys. Instead it had rested in the shed for 23 years. I had surveyed and designed a pond for Frank at the time. A couple years later I was working on two more ponds in Orange and Washington and I stopped to visit with Frank while traveling by. I inquired when he was going to get the fire truck out and get it running? His answer.. “I’m going to sell it”. I agonized for a couple days and much to my wife, Shirley’s objections I bought it….I still loved her though . The date July 29, 1976. When I went to bring the truck home Frank said he would get the headlights. He had hidden them in a closet under a pile of house-hold goods, so as he said, “old man Miller couldn’t steal them” (A K Miller the Stutz man lived a mile away.) The lights were Gray and Da-vis 1912-13 Cadillac brass. My son, Tim, and I towed it home and began working on it. We tinkered on the motor and had it running in short order. Then began the process of restoring it. We disassembled the body, fenders and sand blasted everything. It was painted and put back together. As fate would have it, the fire chief from East Berkshire, Norm Lavallee, was at the Middlesex Fire Equipment where Tim worked at the time and he mentioned I had their first fire truck. Norm looked up some old pictures of the truck and told me to come up and we could search in the old fire house. We found most all of the old brass rails and fittings that had been taken off the truck when they sold it. What a discovery!!

Each summer Shirley and I would vacation in Maine. In my inquiries about White Kress Fire trucks I was referred to Harold Walker in Marblehead, Mass. Harold knew all the fire departments in Maine that had White Kress trucks and sent me the list. So each year we traveled to different locations and visited with the fire departments. Finally information came out that the truck came from Augusta. With that in hand we came up with old pictures of the truck. The folks in Augusta believe it was their first motorized fire truck.

It was fun to search and find missing pieces for the truck. The hose bracket came from an old Plainfield fire truck. The siren came from Roxbury. I found lanterns and nozzles at flea markets. A good friend from Suncook, NH sold me the lantern brackets I needed.

The steering wheel was an interesting event. When stored under the high drive** to the barn a beam broke one winter and fell across the steering wheel and dash board breaking the wheel into eleven pieces and gouging out a part of the dash. Frank had saved all the pieces of the wheel and I had them welded back together. When it came time to reassemble the wood parts of the wheel I found one was missing. For some reason I was looking over mechanical parts and there was the missing piece on the inside web of the frame. Talk about luck!

The truck is now back in Augusta Maine. I donated it to the Fire Department. I know it’s in a good home and will be well taken care of. I still miss it when I walk into the garage but it was more than I could handle at my age.

* Tom’s Pumper is the 2nd from the left pictured here in it’s early home in Augusta, Maine
** Some folks in Vermont call a ‘high drive’ a ‘wharfing’….it’s the ramp where one would drive a load of hay into the barn “hay mow”. The Picture at the top is of the Hartford Fire Station in Augusta, Maine early in the fire trucks history.

1928 Ford AA Dump Truck

The 1928 Ford AA Dump Truck“Don Adams’ Doodlebug”

These are some possibilities that Don Adams would not have his Doodlebug parked in his garage today…

  1. That our Vermonter Calvin Coolidge had not left a nice ‘surplus’ in our U.S. Treasury when he left his presidency in 1929.
  2. That our Washington politicians had not voted to give ‘war bonuses’ to all of our veterans returning from WW1 and then reneged on their promise.
  3. That our stock market crashed in 1929 and the ‘Great Depression’ took up most of the 1930s.
  4. The November 1927 flood did so much damage, especially in the Winooski River watershed area in central Vermont.

    Don Adams bought his Doodlebug from his brother-in-law, Bob Rowe of Montpelier, in 2008. Bob had done a lot of work on the vehi-cle since he purchased it in 2003. The story goes that the vehicle was purchased by a Cuttingsville gent at a government auction after the Waterbury dam was completed in 1938. The Cuttingsville gent bought a number of the construction dump trucks but they were in such bad condition he made Doodlebugs out of them. Doodlebugs at the time were used by many farmers to replace horses. You can see an ad on page 12 where for only $195 you could buy a “Staude Make-a-tractor” kit and plow with your Ford the next day!

    Don’s Doodlebug was made from a 1928 Ford AA one and one half ton dump truck (serial # AA65814). It has 40 Hp, a 4 speed transmission and very stiff suspension. No one knows when this truck was put to work on dam construction but we do know there were three dams involved and 184 dump trucks were leased by the Corps of Engineers when the first dam construction started in 1933. The first dam to be built was the East Barre Dam, the 2nd was the Wrightsville Dam and the last was the Waterbury Dam. When did Don’s AA start work…we don’t know, but we do know that between 1933 and 1938 some 4 million yards of material was hauled to build these dams. A lot of trips for trucks with a 4 yard capacity!

    So….“who” built these three dams? Most everyone thinks they were built by ‘civilians’ in the Civilian Conservation Corp. Very few ’civilian’ were involved, but instead were veterans from WW1. When the veterans started returning from the war they started lining up to get their promised “war bonuses” but there were none. The politicians had disappeared with the promise and the bonus. Coolidge had built a fairly nice treasury surplus during his time as president and the Congress and Senate spent much of their time figuring ways to spend it to make votes. The mi-nute Coolidge left, the war bonus was passed with much funfair. When a large group of war vets marched on Washington in 1932 for their war bonuses they were ’run off’ causing much embarrassment to the folks in power. The next year President Roosevelt decided to allow these older vets into the CCC which was designed to put young non-vets to work. Some 25,000 (out of the 4 million) WW1 veterans were allowed into the CCCs to earn a living. A very large group of these veterans came to Vermont from all over the United States to live in CCC camps and work on the dam construction. Vermonters of-ten made comments about how lucky they were to have these ’older’ vets in the work camp instead of ’young rowdy’s that many other states had to deal with. In fact over the five years that some 15,000 war vets came and went in the camps, other than some public drunk-enness there was only one crime reported. A prize chicken was stolen in the Barre area and blamed on someone in the camps.

    When construction began there were very few mechanized vehicles to help do the work. Some 2500 men used axes, shovels, picks, grub-hoes, bars, sledges, drills and 600 wheelbarrows to do the work. Then came the 184 dump trucks, 16 steam shovels, 4 draglines, the bulldozers and the huge cement rollers to pack the earth. All three dams are packed earth structures with Waterbury having the largest in the country at the time. Most of the men had wives and kids at home and they were able to make a living during the terrible depression. The dams were built be-cause of the 27 flood devastation and the decision to bring in the war vets. You wonder how many families survived the depression because of Don Adams’ Doodlebug…

    (From the editor, some depression and CCC facts vary depending on the publication)

Lead… Anyone? – Dave’s Garage

This month we dabble with valves and the myth that we need leaded gas for our older cars designed to run on leaded gasoline. The question comes from our own Wendell Noble with a question about his car.

Dr. Dave, Ever since lead tetraethyl was removed from gasoline, I’ve been unconcerned about what detrimental effects on my old car engine might result. I figure, what the hell, it’s not like I’m entering races with my car. This past fall, I noticed my engine was missing on one cylinder. It turned out I had an obviously burned exhaust valve on number one cylinder. Does this mean I should rethink things and start using a lead substitute additive? Can I blame the lack of lead for my valve problem? At least I learned how to do a valve job. -Wendell

Wendell, the short answer is no, you do not need to add a lead additive, and no, you do not need to rethink anything. When you do the valve job, talk with the machine shop to find the best solution for you. You will need to install modern valves made from hardened steel. You may or may not need to install hardened valve seats. This depends largely on the material the head is made of. The reality is that valve most likely would have burned eventually, even on leaded gas.
Now, lets discuss the whole lead story. First, some history:

In 1919, Dayton Metal Products Co. merged with General Motors. They formed a research division that set out to solve two problems: the need for high compression engines and the insufficient supply of fuel that would run them. On December 9, 1921 chemists led by Charles F. Kettering and his assistants Thomas Midgley and T.A. Boyd added Tetraethyl lead to the fuel in a laboratory engine. The ever present knock, caused by auto-ignition of fuel being compressed past its ignition temperature, was completely silenced. Most all automobiles at the time were subject to this engine knock so the research team was overjoyed. Over time, other manufacturers found that by adding lead to fuel they could significantly improve the octane rating of the gas. This allowed them to produce much cheaper grades of fuel and still maintain the needed octane ratings that a car’s engine required.

Subsequently, it was noticed that valve wear was reduced. Specifically, valve seat recession was reduced. Before leaded gas, exhaust valves would become so hot, they would temporarily micro weld to the valve seat, when the valve opened, this micro weld would open, causing a poor seal, valve seat regression, and eventually a burned valve or valve seat. The addition of lead formed a micro film of lead on the valve seat and valve, largely preventing this from happening.

It is estimated that 5,000 people were dying annually, with many more thousands falling ill due to the effects of lead poisoning.

What does all of this mean to the antique car owner who has a car designed to run with leaded gas? I would suggest continuing to drive the car and adding nothing to the gas. If there is a problem with a burned valve, replace the valves with modern, hardened valves when it is time to do a valve job. The valves on the older engines were prone to failure due to the materials available at the time of manufacture. While the lead did help, it’s effect was marginal at best. Remember, the purpose of the lead was to improve the octane rating of the gas Inexpensively, not to lubricate the valves.

Drive the car, enjoy it. If it needs a valve job, upgrade to modern valves and be done with it.


Please email all inquiries to: Dave
or snail mail
32 Turkey Hill Road
Richmond VT 05477

The Day I Didn’t Quit Smoking

A friend told me about a man down in New Hampshire who could hypnotize you to quit smoking. I had been smoking for a few years and this seemed like a good idea. Also, our son Clark had mentioned he wanted to quit, so I called him at Lyndon State, where he was a student, and he said yes he did want to quit, so I made an appointment with the hypnotist for the next Saturday. We agreed to meet at exit 19 or 18, and after some confusion about getting to the right exit, we finally met there. We parked my Camaro in a parking lot near a mom-and-pop store and gas station and both rode to the hypnotist’s in Clark’s old ”winter-beater” Cadillac.

When we got to the hypnotist, it was a simple office set-up with an inner room. I paid $50.00 for both of us and Clark went first. This session lasted about half an hour. Then it was my turn. A darkened room and I began to wonder if the man had to say the same thing over and over, or did he use a tape recorder? So, instead of concentrating on what he was saying, I kept listening for the hiss of the tape being played. I didn’t get hypnotized at all.

After we left, I realized I had just wasted $25.00. Clark said he seemed to have been hypnotized. Anyway we found a place to eat lunch and afterwards drove back to the Camaro. I took the keys out of my purse and was going to unlock the trunk to get my jacket. I inserted the key in the trunk lock, started to turn it and the whole key assembly fell into the trunk, including the keys! I expressed rage and frustration in language “not suitable for a family magazine” and agreed with Clark that maybe we could at least open the car with a coat hanger. He went over to the nearby store to borrow a coat hanger. He was gone quite a while. What’s keeping him, I thought. Finally he returned with a coat hanger and this explanation: he went over to the store and as he opened the door, he looked up and realized a man was robbing the store, pointing a gun at the clerk behind the counter. She was unloading the cash register into a bag he had on the counter. Neither of them saw Clark, who quietly and quickly withdrew. There was a sort of niche next to the door and he was able to hide in there. He couldn’t see the robber and the robber couldn’t see him. He waited, and soon the man came tear-ing by him, ran out and jumped into the car his accomplice had waiting. They roared out of the gas station and disappeared. Clark went into the store and after the clerk calmed down and called the police, she found a coat hanger and Clark returned.
“You could have been killed!” I shrieked. “I know it” said Clark, “but anyway here’s the coat hanger” he said, with a grin. We couldn’t open the trunk with the coat hanger so we fiddled with the door peg, managed to pull it up and opened the car. The only way to get to the trunk was to take the back seat out. After a fierce struggle, Clark managed to get it out and I squeezed in and grabbed the lock and keys.

After all this, we both were a little shook, so we talked for a while and then said good bye. Clark went back up to Lyndon and I headed for Burlington. I hadn’t had a cigarette since the night before, and my nerves were screaming. I pulled over at the Richmond exit and bought a pack of cigarettes. (After all, Clark could have been killed!) I happily started smoking once more. The best part of this story (which happened nearly 40 years ago) was that Clark never smoked again.

Sad(ly) Missed

I tentatively decided not to go on about my hang up with the loss of adverbs these days, like I once went on about the lack of manual transmissions. This is the “Softer Side” after all. BUT, how many times a day do I see a sign saying “Eat local”. What’s with that? What’s local? Is it something to eat? What’s it taste like? Or is it local? “Buy local”, “Drive Slow”? Is Slow some new kind of car imported from China? I drive a Ford. Whatever happened to adverbs? They “modify a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or preposition, a quality, place, time, degree, cause, opposition, affirmation or denial, and in English also serving to connect and to express comment on clause content”, according to Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. As an old English major, I, get a little frustrated, literal(ly), reading the Burlington Free Press, for instance, unlike our Wheel Tracks publication. Oops, I did it again, when I’d meant to just mar-vel at the welcome arrival of Spring: the cheery daffodils, crocuses, tulips, lilacs, fiddlehead greens and green leaves, and of course, the “peepers” in our swamp. It also means raking, lawn mowing, garden preparation, spring cleaning (what?). Uh oh, is this the start of negativity?? This being Vermont, we’ll have a rainy spell, but great(ly) needed. Dang, I finally gave up and faced the fact that this is another tirade – sorry. The adverb was my friend. I could use it to helpfully point out to my husband that he was sloppily dressed, rudely sarcastic and usually both. But that friend has sadly passed away – I actual feel real bad about that.

And, by the way, sloppy and sarcastic did some goodly things. He rototilled the garden, readied the lawn mower for me, split wood I could (hopeful) lift, put his dishes in the sink, helped make our bed, didn’t complain, too much, when I left the curry out of curried rice, and always comes home, eventual. After all, there is always a glass of wine waiting. In short, I real miss adverbs; they are great needed.

Why I Like Saabs – Dave’s Garage

Every month I like to take a particular topic pertaining to automotive restoration or maintenance and discuss it. I could not think of a topic to discuss this month, and have not received any questions to answer. I am going to move the column in a different direction this month.

Why I like Saabs

saab 900I have always liked the styling of the classic Saab 900, especially the 3-door hatchback. With a unique, aircraft inspired shape and a nod to safety, comfort and practicality, there was never another car with the look of a C900.

Saab had some unique features, lets take a look at a few of these.
The ignition key in Saabs were mounted in the center console, between the two front seats. The reason for this was that the engineers at Saab felt the ignition key was unsafe mounted next to the steering wheel, and found that a number of people had their knee caps shattered by the ignition key in frontal crashes.

Saab also realized that the locking steering column was potentially dangerous with the unlikely, but possible locking of the steering column while driving. In a Saab, the gear shift has to be in reverse to take the ignition key out. The ignition key also has to be inserted and turned to take the vehicle out of reverse. This was a successful theft deterrent. You know that annoying steering wheel lock cars have? You have to twist the wheel and jiggle the key to get it to unlock sometimes, not in a Saab! No steering wheel locks.

The engines in the c900 were in “backwards” and tilted at a 45′ angle, mounted on top of the transmission with the clutch next to the radiator and the belts and pulleys next to the firewall. The bullet proof Saab in line 2 liter engine is actually a Triumph designed engine. Think TR7. When Saab gave up on two stroke engines, they did not have the resources to tool for a new engine. They were buying engines from Triumph, but had some quality control issues. Again, think TR7. Saab bought the tooling rights to the engine and began to manufacture it in house. Saab later added a 16 valve twin cam head of their own design.

There is a three chain transfer case to bring engine power down to the transmission. The engine was mounted this way for several reasons. First, it delivered exceptional handling, achieving a near perfect 48/52 weight distribution. Second, it delivered outstanding traction. Third, the angle of the engine allowed the hood to slope down sharply creating both excellent visibility and a lower center of gravity. Fourth, the engine was mounted in such a way that it actually dropped down and under the passenger compartment in the event of a massive frontal collision. Lastly, with most front wheel drive cars the eventual clutch replacement is a major operation. Not so on a Saab. A clutch replacement is an easy job, that can be done in less than an hour.

The side doors on the Saab 900 curve inward toward the floorpan at the bottom, resulting in a door opening without the usual rocker panel/sill obstruction. The sunroof motor is mounted in the rear of the car, near the rear door lock where it is easy to service.

The Saab 900 has a curved wrap around windscreen. It makes you appear far more forward in the car than you actually are, and results in amazing visibility, creating the illusion the car was built around the driver. The driver’s side windscreen pillar (A Pillar) is angled so it’s slimmest section faces the driver creating the smallest blind spot I’ve ever seen in a car- yet is reinforced for some of the best rollover protection in it’s day (and probably since). You can also happily mow down large moose with confidence, as the reinforced windshield frame was actually designed to deflect the impact of an adult moose at highway speed.

I love the little things on my Saab that make it practical, the way they thought about things was just incredible, all for driver and occupant safety

  • The green lights in the glovebox and ashtray etc – they’re green so if you open them at night they don’t over expose your eyes which could increase the chance of you having an accident.
  • The vents on the side of the car are to allow a constant movement of air, the center vent always blows cold air to keep the driver alert even when the heater is on as heat makes the driver drowsy

It might seem a little odd to commemorate a vehicle’s air vents, but when they’re as distinctive as those fitted to Saabs then it’s understandable. With square holes and a round adjustment joystick knob, the airstream can literally be pin pointed to precisely where you want it.

The rest of the typical Saab interior was intelligently laid out, the heated seats were comfortable and the dashboard, while novel and unique, was easy to read.

All of the controls were placed in such a way so the driver could easily reach them without taking their eyes off the road.

They’re a solid car, they handle well, they’re comfortable, unique, interest-ing, quirky, intelligently designed, and fun to work on!


Please email all inquiries to: Dave
or snail mail
32 Turkey Hill Road
Richmond VT 05477