TOPOLINO HEATER/DEFROSTER CONTROL BOX

MR T, my 1937 Fiat Topolino EuroRod, got a bit more attention during the last week. Above is the custom heater/defroster control panel that I built. The car is very small so I've attempted to make every part in the car do two or more jobs. This panel is no exception. The knob on the left controls heater fan speeds, the slides just to the right

control heat, vent and defrost on the heater "box" itself. The center orange lamp indicates when the secondary direction signal semaphores pop out and flash. The red lamp just below lights up when the emergency brake is "on". The two slides on the right control the outer air inlet door on the side of the cowl ahead of the right door, and the 3 position switch on the right controls the semaphore flashers on each side of the car.

 This shows the INSIDE of the panel and all the gubbins that go into, or onto, it. The flasher units [top right] are for 1] the regular direction signals, and 2] the semaphore flashers.  The latter are just for fun, but they were standard equipment in 1937. 

 This is the inside with all the bits mounted up. Two relays are mounted outside the box [extreme left side].The unit under the box on the left is the intermittent windshield wiper switch [a standard item on '70's-'80's Fiats], and the two flasher units are under the box on the right. It will get a lot more interesting when all the wires are added, plus the five operating cables. Like I said, I like to make one item do a lot of jobs, and this is typical of the whole car.

For some reason the front surface looks grainy in this photo. It isn't--it's smooth. The box is 10.5" wide and 2.75" high.  My wife says I'm having WAY too much fun with this little car. I just look at her and grin and say, "Yeah--ain't it great?" 

SAAB RIBBON SPEEDOMETER REBUILD

This is a "ribbon" speedometer from a model 93 or early 96 Saab. The photo below shows how the poor thing looked when I took it apart---YUK! After I took it completely apart, blew the spiders out, cleaned out the rust and general crud, it began to look a whole lot better.

 The unit has five main parts--the cast aluminum face [top], the clear plastic "glass" [behind the face], the sheet metal number panel, the cast aluminum back case, and the speedometer gubbins themselves [shown here inside the back case].

 I went through several cups of coffee getting the speed drum out and cleaned up. I had to "unfreeze" the input housing with the magnet and the primary odometer drive [extreme right, at top]. The geartrain leading to the odometer wheels was a mess, as usual, and looked like they had been underwater for a few years [they are all cleaned up here, ready to go back in the case and be properly lubed and adjusted].

I painted the case--inside and out--and polished out the badly scratched plastic "glass".  You can see that the odometer is reset to all zeros plus point four miles--the last number wheel is for tenths of a mile. I even replaced the colored  plastic for the indicator lights--seems like those litle buggers are always shot. The small one right under "SAAB" is red, the larger one below that is green. So this remnant of Saab antiquity looks and works like new once again--it's ready for another 50 years of faithful speed-O-ing.  Old Trolls are like that.

FIAT TOPOLINO----HEATER CORE CHECK

Now for a change of pace!   The top photo is my 1937...yup THIRTY-seven...FIAT Topolino ["Little Mouse"] "EuroRod".  The running gear is almost all 1980 Fiat 124 Spider--2-litre twin cam engine, 5 speed transmission, 4-wheel disc brakes, tilt wheel, and more. Saab parts include a Sonett steering rack, a 900 Turbo aluminum radiator and 99 rear suspension trailing links. Sonett coil springs are fitted on all 4 corners.

The hood/front fenders ass'y is all new fiberglass [and tilts forward as a unit] as are the rear fenders [which do NOT have wheel cut-outs]. The rear fenders are removed by taking out one bolt. The fiberglass center roof section is removed by unsnapping four convertible top over-center clamps.

The heater assembly was pirated from a Fiat 124 Special Sedan. I thought it might be wise to check the heater core and heat control valve for leaks--OUT of the car. This is  the test set-up, using a cooling system pressure tester.

The valve--top left on the core--leakd, so I replaced it. The pressure gauge has 13 psi on it, a pressure that held for 30 minutes. Good to go. One more block checked off.
Oh!  Yes, those ARE suicide doors!

SPECIAL SPEEDOMETER TOOLS--VW

So far in the speedometer reconditioning adventure, I've built close to 50 special tools. Each VDO speedo is enough different that new tools have to be figured out and built as the job progresses.  This is a VW late Beetle [not the NEW Beetle] speedo with the tools required to do the internal reconditioning of the bugger.  There are some more special tools to get the outer chrome ring, glass and inner ring off [these parts are shown laying behind the speedo unit in the photo].

Ahhh...but the formerly grimey, ugly, siezed-up speedo looks and works so GOOD when I'm done with it!

DISTRIBUTOR HELP

 My drawing shows a typical Saab V4 distributor in all its glory. Pretty wires, wire separator, condenser, and vacuum control unit [the round pot on the right side].

What the drawing doesn't show is what happens INSIDE when the distributor has a jillion miles on it, things get worn, and the engine runs a bit wonky. 

Note the drive gear at the bottom of the distributor shaft. Just above it, where the shaft passes into the distributor housing, the housing itself wears, because Bosch did not see fit to install a bushing there.





 

Here is how to test YOUR gesparker to see how bad that wear is, down at the bottom of the housing. 
Take off the distributor cap and the rotor, rotate the engine until the ignition points are OPEN, then push the center shaft toward the point, as I show here.












This is a drawing of the cam on the center shaft, and the ignition points [the points gap should be 0.016"].

Watch the points gap. Push on the center shaft. If the gap increases more than about 0.004", the wear at the bottom means the housing will have to be bored and bushed.




The drawing below shows the distributor parts. Another malady of distributors is a bad diaphragm in the vacuum chamber [shown by the unnamed arrow]. Put a hose on the pipe to the chamber and suck on it. The breaker plate must rotate anti-clockwise as you suck on it. If it does not rotate, the diaphragm has a hole in it and the vacuum control unit must be replaced.The good news is the distributor can be reconditioned and new vacuum control units are available.

VW VINTAGE VDO SPEEDOMETER REBUILD

I got into a mini-production line fit of rebuilding Volkswagen VDO speedometers. This is the mess of nasty, corroded, gummed-up parts of two speedometers from so-called "Type 3" bugs-- the Fastback and Squareback VW's of the 1960's.

Note the discoloration of the plastic "glass", which was caused by demon rust on the metal panel that supports the plastic. Both of these speedos were in pretty rough shape. The input shafts were seized up and the old grease was about the consistency of dry clay soil. I had to build a couple of new special tools for these two, even though many of their "innards" are very similar to the VDO speedos used in Saabs.

Above is one of NINE pages of sketches I made as I disassembled, cleaned, adjusted, re-lubed and reassembled these speedometers. I do this on EVERY speedometer TYPE that I rebuild--the first time I encounter one. Makes great reminder information for the NEXT time I get one of them in for reconditioning. I could never see the point of reinventing the wheel....

Here are the two reconditioned Type 3 Volkswagen speedometers. Other than some very minor scratches on the plastic "glass", they're completely reconditioned, calibrated and ready to go--good as new!

SAAB V4 COOLING SYSTEM

Saab did a lot of things right with the V4 cars, but one of the areas they could have done much better was the cooling systems. They were great for Sweden but not so great anywhere south of the 38th parallel. My "COOLING IT" book tells you not only where the weak spots are in these cooling systems, but how to test the systems and how to improve them.

The poor bugger shown in the cover drawing [above] has probably lost not only a couple of V4 cylinder head gaskets but a sexy girlfriend, thanks to the effect of an already too-small cooling system in his 96...Poor Sven...

This is one of many drawings in the book. It shows where hydraulic erosion often occurs in the timing cover mount and the water pump back plate on the V4 engine.This erosion reduces the coolant flow through the system and invites overheating. Further text explains how to repair these areas. I wrote the book to help you avoid Sven's fate, and there are many more very helpful How-To tips like this in the book.

The best major fix for a marginal cooling system is always a bigger radiator. This is a Sonett radiator equipped with dual electric fans, a MUST with a V4 with more than stock horsepower or an air conditioner. Especially if you live south of the 38th parallel. The book has all the spec's and dimensions for the fan framework as well as the wiring diagram, which shows all the switches, relays and indicator lights and where to locate them.

The bottom arrows show where the front grille sheet must be trimmed in order to use the Sonett radiator on a Saab 95 or 96 V4. The top arrow shows where fan clearance must be maintained when the Sonett radiator is used with a conventional belt driven fan. This 56-page book is jammed full of information like this, all intended to make hot weather life bearable for the little engine, and more pleasant than it was for Sven. For more information on this--or any of my books--contact me at jacksonashcraft@gmail.com. And...stay cool!

SAAB RHEOSTAT TEST SET

I always think it is a very good idea to TEST any unit or part that I have reconditioned. I test the rheostats for the proper resistance with an ohmmeter, and that is a good first step. The proof that the job was done right is to load the rheostat with instrument lamps, just like the ones in the speedometer, tachometer, clock and other gauges in your Saab.

You can see eight 2-watt instrument bulbs mounted on the test panel, along with one of my reconditioned rheostats. To the right is a 12 volt car battery. The reconditioned rheostat is hooked up and ready for the "hot check."

This photo shows all eight lamps ON. Loading the rheostat in this manner gives visual proof that the rheostat provides a smooth increase in light intensity from dim to bright as the knob is rotated. When the 'stat passes this final test, I know my reconditioning job was done right.

VINTAGE SAAB CLOCK REPAIR

Below are two examples of what some of the VDO clocks I receive for reconditioning look like when I get them. Makes me wonder how long they were under water! YUK!

The clock on the left actually had PAINT all over it, the one on the right, just a lot of CRUD. I was able to save BOTH little tickers and get them ready to tick merrily along once again.

HA! An ASSEMBLY LINE of wee clocks. These have been through the ultrasonic cleaner, using high priced chemical clock and watch cleaner, then an ultrasonic rinse, using high priced chemical rinse. They have all been lubricated with watch oil, using some surprisingly expensive oil applicator probes. The oiling process has to be done under strong magnification because the parts of the tick-tock portion of the clock are VERY SMALL.

This shows the parts of a VDO clock. From left to right---the chrome ring, a retainer ring and the plastic "glass" with the time changing knob. Next the two hands of the clock, then the clock face. The main housing or can, with the illumination light holder is the lump in the center. Almost invisible in this view is the actual tick-tock clock mechanism, which is bolted to the back of the housing. Next is the auto rewind mechanism. The white plastic part is the cover over both the clock and rewind mechanisms. Th U shaped piece is the clock retainer that holds the clock in place in the instrument panel, along with the two securing knobs. Below all that is the in-line fuse assembly that I add to all my reconditioned clocks to protect them, since most have the [blown] fusible link soldered back together with high temperature solder.

Believe it or not, This is the wee clock that was shown on the left in the first picture. It wasn't easy bringing this one back to life! It usually takes me about a week to recondition your clock and get it sent back to you. It's good to hear these little clocks ticking merrily away in a vintage Saab. E-mail me at jacksonashcraft@gmail.com for information.

SAAB WIPER MOTOR 3RD SERIES

The third series of Lucas wiper motors used by Saab for the 95V4 wagon and 96V4 sedan was an interesting combination of several Lucas units. I always make extensive rough drawings of ANY mechanical part I take apart, like the rough of this motor, shown below. That way, after the parts are all cleaned, reconditioned, painted, etc, and scattered all about, I know how it all goes back together again, with no guesswork.

While Lucas wiper motors are all similar, there are important differences. The drum wheel [lower left in the drawing] is different from one style motor to the next, as are mounts and self-park switches. Incidentally, the drawing is one of FIVE I made to further detail this Lucas motor.

This is the disassembled motor. You can see why the rough drawings are important. I have already cleaned the grunge off the outer "can" and the main mount [top, center]. I have also cleaned out 30 years or so of nasty, mostly hardened grease off the gear case and drum gear [center left]. The badly worn brush plate and wire assembly is at bottom right.

AH! NICE LIKE NEW DEPT: The armature [left] has been thoroughly cleaned and the commutator [the brass "thingie" at the center of the armature] lightly turned. The main gear case has the new brush plate assembly installed. Time for lubrication [with modern, temperature stable, non-hardening lubes] and final adjustment and assembly.

Here is the finished, assembled motor ready to go to the owner. I showed you my test bed for wiper motors in an earlier blog and this motor passed the bench test with flying colors. No reason this motor won't give years and years of reliable service.

V4 SAAB TRANSMISSION SURVIVAL GUIDE

This is a really good book that tells you everything associated with the transmission in your V4--and for that matter, 2-stroke Saab, how to maintain it all, and how to replace parts when that is necessary.

Like all my books, I wrote it for the owner/wrench, to take away a lot of the mystery about all that stuff jammed way in the back of the engine bay. The exploded view drawing below shows just a few of the bits that are covered in detail in the book. You'll see how to change the clutch and pressure plate, the transmission seals, the rear transmission mount and how to rebuild the clutch release arm and much, much more.


I show you in nitty-gritty detail how to change the axle boot seals, and in the process, show you how the assemblies go together, what lubricants to use, what adjustments to make and many of the tools you need to do a lot of this work. The drawing below shows the inner axle driver [on the right], the axle shaft [on the left] and the universal cups on the "T" driver [center]. This drawing is typical of the dozens of drawings you'll find in the book. Specifications and dimensions are included where that will be of some help to you when you are skinning your knuckles on this stuff.

I show you the shifting mechanisms of each of the cars. The drawing below is for the shift "tower" used in Sonett III cars, which I describe in some detail, including how to change its bushings when that is needed, and how to modify the tower to help preserve the transmission itself. I even show you what you have to do to change over a column shift Sonett V4 to the floor shift Sonett III mechanism.

This is not an overhaul manual for the transmission itself. You are NOT going to do that anyhow, unless you have the factory transmission manual, the factory press, a couple dozen very special factory tools and a good bit of experience doing this work. The book IS an excellent guide about repair and maintenance of everything associated with the transmission, and I include a lot of information about how to extend the life of the 'box in your Saab. If you are interested in this--or any of my books--contact me at jacksonashcraft@gmail.com. Keep On Saabin!

EARLY WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR REBUILD

This is what the average 52 year-old Lucas wiper motor looks like, taken apart. Actually the main case [top, left] and the mount [center, top] have already been cleaned up, ready for paint. This sucker was STIFF and actually had to be carefully pressed apart. 52 years in a crusty old Saab will do that to you, I reckon....

The build date was "02-66", so I wasn't surprised to have to dig the old, dead grease out of the gears with dentist's torture tools. The armature [bottom center] was burned and I carefully turned it just a bit on my lathe. After that it was just a ton of clean-up, brush and spring replacement, greasing [with modern temperature-stable, non-hardening lubricants], and reassembly.

Above is the wiring diagram for this motor in a '68 Sonett V4. The schematic for the same motor in the same year Saab 95/96 is almost identical.

Here is the 52 year old motor, cleaned, reassembled, adjusted, tested, painted and ready to go to work for another 50+ years. Good stuff, Olaf!

MAINTENANCE & OVERHAUL OF THE V4 ENGINE

My How-To book on the V4 engine was written for the owner-wrench. I take you by your little finger and walk you through the process of rebuilding one of these little engines. All the factory spec's are there as well as a LOT of information that was NEVER in any shop manual. I cover special tools, some of which you can build, cooling systems, carburetion, exhaust systems and much more.

I went to the trouble to make a TON of clear drawings to show you exactly what's going on inside the little Ford engine. including a sequence of drawings that show you exactly how to do a valve adjustment correctly. "Oh that's easy!" somebody says. OK, smart guy. point out where the number three exhaust valve is located in the drawing below. If you aren't sure, you need the book.

The drawing above, like many others in this 96 page book, is accompanied by explanatory text. The book is a good read, even if you don't ever mash a knuckle working on your own engine.

This drawing, from page 37 of the book, shows you every gasket in the engine. Another full page has drawings of every BOLT in the engine, and tells you the size of each bolt and where it goes.
The book is full of this kind of information, which I included, based on my 40+ years experience rebuilding these little buggers, so you could rebuild your engine right--the first time.

VINTAGE SAAB PANEL RHEOSTAT REBUILD

This is a selection of vintage SAAB instrument panel rheostats, which don't look too bad but....they refuse to work.Some refuse to rotate, some only work on full bright, but with most of them, they will rotate but nothing happens.

This drawing shows all the gubbins inside one of these little buggers. HEAT from the resistive coil of wire is the problem. It causes a really nasty build-up of crud on the brass contacts and no amount of squirting ANY commercial cleaner in there will blast off that build-up. I use some REALLY nasty stuff and some special cleaning tools to convince Mr Rheostat to do its thing once more.

This is a typical rheostat once it is dismantled. The resistive spring in this one is shot, which probably means it is a parts donor unit.

Below are three rebuilt rheostats, ready to happily dim the instrument lights in someone's Saab for another 40 or so years.

This photo--and the drawing--show a couple of different knobs. The short knobs are for early cars, the long knob came into use around 1970. I'm sure you will be pleased to know that the rheostat doesn't care what knob it has on it.

HIGH PERFORMANCE BOOK

Spring is coming, when every Saab owner wants to get his/her wee Troll out of mothballs [or from under a snowbank], clean it up, and go zinging about the countryside. Some of us want to zing FASTER about the countryside, and my 96-page book tells you how to do it. I have always recommended a balanced approach to performance improvements, and this book tells you what you need to know about building a hotter V4 engine, and also how to improve engine cooling, brakes, suspension, wheels and much, much more.

There are chapters on Weber carburetors--from single barrel to the formidable dual two barrel DCOE side-draft types. I cover anti-roll bars, skid plates, chassis stiffeners, ignition systems, racing oil pans, light flywheels and exhaust systems. The whole book is based on over 40 years of my own experience using these little Saabs in autocross, hillclimb and high speed rally competition.


I even cover turbocharging the V4 engine, which is a quick way to a LOT of power--if you do it right--or a super quick way to LUNCH an engine if you do it wrong.

Below you see yours truly with a 160 horsepower V4 engine, built for installation in a Saab 96, which was run in a Peking to Paris off-road rally. That engine--one of two I built for that race--has the twin, cross-ram intake manifold set, with a 40DCOE twin-choke Weber carburetor on each side. These were awesome looking little engines that produced awesome performance in little Troll cars. The book shows how it was done. This is THE how-to book, if you want to zing FASTER in your V4 powered Saab.

SONETT III HEADLINER

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!