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Some years ago I was road testing--at a good rate of speed--a Sonett III with one of my high performance engines. I had taped my radar detector to the top of the instrument panel and was making "good speed" on a local winding road. As I rounded a bumpy curve at a speed some 20 mph too fast, I hit a serious bump. Simultaneously, the engine shut off, the radar detector went ON, and the headliner came down around my ears. Talk about an adrenalin spike!
Clearly, it was time for a new headliner. I decided that trying to glue another vinyl headliner in place was a fool's errand. I used a foam-backed CLOTH headliner and it worked so well that I offered them as KITS to Sonett III owners. The cloth headliners absorb sound, rather than reflect it, they look really good and best of all--they stay UP THERE! I sold dozens of the kits over the years and I still do.
The kit includes the new top material [pattern cut for good fit], new trim panels for above the doors, a can of excellent spray-on contact cement, a special scraping tool to get all the old crud off the top, and an eight page instruction booklet. If your headliner is down around your ears, contact me and I'll tell you more. You never know what will happen when you're going too fast on a bumpy road!
Direction signal switches get tired after 40+ years of directing, and they come to me with a variety of maladies. They don't stay switched on, they don't GO on, the handle is broken, and they are ugly dirty and nasty. I have to take 'em all apart, clean out the grime and old, solidified grease, renew the electrical contacts, and do other magical tricks to them to make them think they should work for another 40 years or so.
Above is a 4410 [manufacturer's number] switch, as used on the early Saab 95/96/97 [Sonett] cars. There are a number of wee springs, retainers, and movable contacts in there. This shows them after I've worked my magic on them, and the switch is ready to go back together.
Here is the before and after. The one at the top of the photo has given up on directing. The one below has had my magic wand passed over it and is ready for the next 40 years. If your switch has gone wonky on you, don't despair--I can probably make it work like new once again!
Somebody said, "Hey! Reconditioning speedometers is great, but...what about the speedometer cables?" What? Your speedometer won't run without a cable? Oh, all right, then, I'll build you a new speedometer cable. 
Vintage Saabs [1961-80, models 95, 96 and 97(Sonett)] used two different style cables, each in two different lengths. The Saabs through 1969 used the early style cable, shown above. This is about the early style cables. I'll deal with the later style...ummm...later. You can see that the early cables used metal screw-on connectors on both ends.
I need your old, dead-as-a-doornail cable, even if it looks like this, which most of them do. I need the end connectors. The rest is junk.
The INSIDE cable shown here is a not-quite dead-as-a-doornail Saab 95/96 cable. The OUTSIDE cable shown is one of my new cables. Saab thought they needed a fat, bent, rubber section on the transmission end. Not one of their better ideas, because A--the cable is constantly bending in that area, and B--the rubber rots and breaks [see the photo above]. Later cars did NOT have the fat, bent rubber piece and guess what? The speedometers worked just fine with a "normal" cable. I do add a piece of plastic sheath about 8" long at the transmission end, to protect the outside of the sheath. I also use modern sheath material with a vinyl tube inside, so the rotating cable never rubs metal-to-metal. So if YOUR speedo cable is dead-as-a-doornail, I can make it all better!
This is what usually gives up in a Lucas wiper motor--the brush plate. I keep a good supply of these on hand because ALL these 40+ year old Lucas motors need a new brush plate to run like new once again.
After about a jillion rotations of the armature, the brushes wear down, the brush springs get weak [and sometimes rusty]. Result? Motor runs slow, or not at all. No big deal unless it rains...
At this point, I have turned the armature commutator, installed a new brush plate, lubed the moving parts and tested the self park switch. Lord Lucas' wonder is ready for the final assembly, adjustments and bench testing.
This delightful array of switches, wires, relays and holders is my bench tester for ALL the Lucas wiper motors. With it, I test the speeds, self park and general operation of the assembled motor. It's nice, y'know, to see that the sucker is actually working right when it's connected to an actual circuit, just like the one in the car.
This is what the reconditioned Lucas wiper motor looks like just before I chuck it into a CLEAN bag, box it and ship it to the customer. Pretty cool, eh?
The Lucas wiper motors in Sonetts have a hard life. Saab engineers, in their infinite wisdom, placed the motor right where rain water drips on it, so after a number of years, the motor's gubbins get tired, rusty and ugly, and give up their good work. But, of course only when it's raining...
So the sucker has to come out of the car. No problem, just take a few hours to get the hood assembly off the car, and then you can go to work. I'll be happy to send you a HOW-TO on that process. One of the pages of my HOW-TO is shown below.
My instructions are good [see above], but of course, you will only want to refer to them when all else fails....
These motors do NOT live in a friendly environment and this is typical of what they look like when I take their nasty carcass out of the slimey bag you sent it to me in.
This is an exploded view photo of the motor and its "innards." Note that these are the CLEANED UP parts. It is all ready to go back together again, be adjusted, and then bench tested. I also use modern, temperature stable, non-hardening lubricants. See--I want the sucker to last ANOTHER 40 years or so!
I find that a fair percentage of speedometers I receive for reconditioning have broken speed needles. This one happens to be for a VW Beetle, shown with the stainless outer ring, seals and trim plate removed.The speed needle is a little short, though only on one end.....
These speed needles are made of unobtainium, so it was up to me to figure out how to make new needles, which had to be not only light, but shaped exactly like the originals and the same color.
The first order of business is to remove the needle without damaging the face of the speedometer. I use my special puller for that job, shown here. This particular speedo is a VDO for a Saab, but all the analog VDO speed needles--from Audi to Volvo--use the same needle mount system, so their needles can be removed with the same tool.
I make up a super light needle blank with the same cross-section as the original needle [at bottom in the photo]. Next up in the photo is a needle center cap with what is left of an old needle, plus one of my needles, sanded to the correct cross section, but not quite small enough. At the top is a finished, repaired needle, ready for installation. I get the length, shape and section exactly the same as the stock speed needle.
This is the VW speedometer, reconditioned and with the new speed needle installed. I set this odometer at 00000, at the owner's request. I also provide the owner with a data sheet showing all the work that was done, plus the original, and current odometer readings, since some states are "picky" about this sort of thing, and demand such documentation.
A change of pace! My son Chris wanted an interesting painting on the fuel tank for his wee Kawasaki Bushmaster motorcycle. Chris rebuilds and restores these little smokers and has a small herd of them---Honda, Hodaka, Yamaha, Kawasaki and a couple whose names I can neither spell nor pronounce--a dozen or so all told. 
I did half a dozen pages of sketches of dragons and scarcely clothed women, y'know, to get into the mood of boobs and dragons. This is the final work-up layout--done in ball-point pen--for the painting. I knew it was going to be interesting when I transferred this from the two dimensional sketch to the three dimensional tank, but I had to start somewhere.
So here they are, the dangerous-looking woman with lance, pistol and boobs, and the even more formidable-looking dragon with teeth, tail, claws and a ton of pointy thingies all over it.
I wrapped the background and the dragon's wings around the tank, and since I know dragons pretty well, I knew this meant Mr D was about to launch and eliminate an adversary with teeth and flame, waiting only the removal of his mistress's hand.
Yup, that's me, with the evidence in hand. By the way, the paint used is ONE-SHOT sign writers oil base enamel. There are a lot of brush strokes on the tank, necessary to get all those scales and claws and boobs and stuff just right. Someone suggested it should be clear-coated for protection. Chris vetoed that, since he wanted it to look hand painted and not air brushed! He and I both know that One-Shot is a very tough enamel that holds its color extremely well. Enjoy.
This is one of 14 technical books I've written [and illustrated] on vintage Saabs. I've also written and illustrated 3 books on the 124 Fiat series, but that's another story. I've been sorting automotive electrical systems for 40 years or so but you might be surprised to know how often I refer to this 130 page book myself! I went to a lot of time and effort to write the book in the first place, and it is by far the BEST you can lay your hands on if you are trying to figure out something electrical in a Saab 95, 96 or Sonett. 
I used the schematic of the Sonett III headlight relay system for the back ground on the book's cover. I repeated it in the text and I take you through how it works, in great detail, like I do for the dozens of other schematics in the book.
I show you 13 different switches in the book, including how they are internally wired, and then describe in the text how they work. I also cover the fuse box, different relays, ballast resistors, coils, ignition switches, instrument panel wiring and a ton more.
I don't have x-ray vision, so I take stuff apart to see how it works. This is a typical Saab 95, 96 and Sonett headlight relay. I describe in detail how it works and better yet, how to repair it when it decides to take a vacation on you. You won't find that kind of help in ANY other repair manual, including the old Saab Factory manuals!
This is typical of how I show you the way something works in these cars. This is the primary wiring--the under-the-bonnet stuff--in a Sonett III. The Sonett V4 and the 95/96 cars are different so there are two more drawings like this for those cars. The accompanying text takes you by the pinkie and leads you through each one, wire by wire.
My son Mark sells this 130 pager through his business, Ashcraft's Vintage V4 Parts. Give him a growl at 541-779-0731. It ain't free, but it will show you how all those mysterious electrons zing around in your Saab, and it will save you hours of head scratching. Best of all--YOU might be able to chase those electrical gremlins out, and keep your wee Troll out of a hundred dollar an hour repair shop!
I've just finished rebuilding four speedometers for Saab, and, surprisingly enough, for Volkswagen owners [!]. All these instruments were built by VDO, of course, and while they have similar "innards", there are important differences. So I have to use different techniques on each one.
This one [above] is from a Saab Sonett III. Just visible is the SAAB logo, right under the trip register.
This one is from a "Type 3" VW. You know, the Squareback and Fastback models.
This VDO unit is from a VW Beetle, when VW was trying to convince buyers the car would go 90 mph. The first USA Beetle speedos only were calibrated to 80. 
This one is from a Porsche 914. These VW-Porsche speedos caused me to design and build a whole NEW raft of special wee tools, but that's the only way to do it right. I also do a speed vs mph calibration on every speedometer and give the owner a complete rebuild data sheet.So why am I doing VW-Porsche speedometers? Well, like a whole lot of people over 60, I have owned a number of those cars. Lessee....hmmm....3 Beetles, a Westphalia bus and a '61 Super 90 Porsche coupe. Quite a number of Euro cars of the 1950's, 60's and 70's used the VDO instruments and I figured VDO didn't reinvent the wheel for every manufacturer they sold instruments to. Once I got into the speedos a while back, my suspicions were confirmed. See--I can have even more fun with speedometers now--HA!
Lots of guys have shops and that's great. Mine is heated, has plenty of light, a padded stool, a good radio....and AUTO ART! I painted these scenes, using One-Shot sign enamel, on galvanized steel sheet, about 20 or 22 gauge. 
These are all paintings of my cars. Above--a very fast '69 Sonett V4 rally car. It had about 130 horsepower and about a million candlepower of light out front. Nice to see where you are going, at 100 mph in the middle of the night! The sign forms the door of a 10" deep cabinet next to my shop drill press.
This was my first car--a '37 Ford slantback. It had the flathead V8 engine, which produced 85 horsepower on a good day. You can see the reflection of the old South Dakota farmhouse where we lived when I bought this old Ford. Cost me $65, at Rozum Ford, in Mitchell, SD. This painting is mounted on one of three cabinet doors over my workbench.
This is my all time favorite car, of the 70 or so I've owned, a '60 Jaguar 3.8 MK 2. It had a 4 speed box, plus a Laycock de Normanville overdrive, and a ton of walnut and leather inside. It would cruise happily at 100 mph, in quiet comfort. A real "gentleman's express". Quite! 
Between my big drill press [left] and my lathe [right] is a 4" deep cabinet with this painting on its door, of the homebuilt, composite POLLIWAGEN 2-place airplane I built. Typical Oregon scenery is the backdrop for this slick little bird.
Want some shop art with YOUR car in it? Give me a growl and we'll chat about it.
The passage of time produces interesting contrasts. One of the most notable is how we use our cars.
When I owned a Saab dealership (1967-1974), V4 Saabs were used as daily drivers. Twenty years later, only a few were in daily use, and the emphasis was on keeping them running.
Fast forward another 20 plus years...today most of the V4 powered Saabs are driven on weekends or occasionally and almost never in any inclement weather.
Restoration continues on some of the "lucky" V4 cars still intact and with that there is an almost anal emphasis on "originality."A number of owner/restorers "beat their chests and rend their shop coats"
over fuel pumps. We're talking about an item that is mounted low and almost out of sight in the engine bay.
"That's not original! It's not like the one I took off my engine!" claimed an owner. The logical response was "Is the pump you took off original? Do you even know what was original?"
I'll confuse you with some facts: Ford used at least THREE different series of Pierburg fuel pumps on the V4 engines sold to Saab on contract. 
As the years went by and the supply of "original" pumps dried up, Saab contracted with various manufacturers for replacement fuel pumps and sold them to dealers and customers.
So, does this make them "not original"? They DID have Saab part numbers and were sold by Saab dealers...
HELLO? We're not talking vintage Packards or Duesenbergs here...But if having a hissy-fit over a part that you can barely see when you look in the engine bay makes your day, then go for it. But do compare that greasy, drippy lump of a pump with the pumps shown here...just to make sure that the bucks you spend on rebuilding it are for an "original."
The Saab VDO speedometer is a good quality instrument. But like all of us, some parts get tired and gummed up after many years, and...uhh...some parts quit working. My drawing shows a dual register VDO speedo with the internal gubbins phantomed in. 
MILEAGE recording--on the odometer registers--is accomplished through a double set of transfer gears. My phantom drawing shows the SIDE set of transfer gears. Interestingly, SPEED indication is done magnetically--there is no physical connection from the speedometer cable input to the speed indicating needle. The input shaft is connected to a small magnetic drum that rotates inside a sort of cup that is connected to the needle. The faster the speedometer cable turns, the faster the magnetic drum, and the farther around the speed dial the needle moves. A tiny hairspring insures that the needle always returns to rest at the "0" peg. So now you know, generally, how the thing works.
Next is how to get it apart so what DOESN'T WORK can be fixed/replaced.
I designed and built a fixture [clamped in my vise] that holds the speedometer firmly in place. The ring removal tool [with the green handle] has a specially ground tooling tip that just fits under the stainless ring, that, as I move the tool around the speedo, gently stretches the stainless ring until it pops off the speedometer. CARE and PATIENCE are vital here, but the ring does come off with NO DAMAGE!
I've got the ring off--NO DAMAGE! Below it is the glass, and below the glass a painted trim ring. Now I can get on with the work on the speedo's "innards".
A look at the special fixture that secures the speedometer. Without this fixture it is REALLY EASY to booger up the very soft stainless steel outer retaining ring. I've completely rebuilt a number of these VDO speedo's now--for Saab, VW and Porsche--so if yours is AWOL in the function department, I can rebuild yours, too. Give me a shout---541-499-0246 or email me at jacksonashcraft@gmail.com.
Next---I take you into the VDO "innards". I know---you can hardly wait....
