The Morbidmobile Blog

[TomSaintJames]

940 dashboard successfully collected, it is a shame that a just under 2 hour trip to Luke's took nearly 4 hours yesterday! I left home just before 1pm and got back to a friends BBQ (just around the corner from home) at 9:10pm!!!! I know I can chat with the best but I spent about an hour and a half with Luke before heading back, I didn;t get to perv much at either of the 760's Luke has or his very smart 940...

There has been a slight change of plan with the Hearse's new engine, with the penta block being no good and the fact that there's more work (and more cost!) involved in swapping the penta crank to a different block than I expected, I have bought a complete bottom end from Luke from a late 2.3 turbo.
This was something i'd thought about but not really entertained until Luke mentioned the work involved in swapping the 2.5 crank to a different block and that it may be wiser just to get a 2,3 bottom end. Whilst we will miss out on the extra 200cc, torque and bragging rights it is good news in a way as it clears up several issues that I was anxious about:

-Removes the high compression issue with the n/a penta +T.
-Comes with all the brackets and LH2.4 gubbins that would need swapping onto the penta block, some requiring engineering to fit - especially the turbo oil feed and CPS amongst others.
-It's ready to go apart from a clean up, so that saves lots of time and money.
-It has squirters, 13mm rods and rear the thrust bearing so is the best block to use.
-It came from a car that Luke broke for parts that ran really well, the bores look really good too so I have confidence in it!

All of this fitted nicely in the Saab 900 convertible (pics to follow) with room to spare! I forgot to post this in my last entry, the Saab can get onto the drive - even without the rear mudflaps scraping the concrete! Handsome pair of Swedes



I've got to go collect the Saab from my BBQ friends place later, then we can have the fun of taking the block out of the boot! Christ knows how we're going to get in into the porch, i'll have to think on how i'll get the penta block off of the engine stand and this new block onto it without injury or breaking anything!

I heard from the engineering shop yesterday, the head might be ready for welding by the end of next week, the welder has a backlog of at least 2 weeks so I hope to get the head back sometime after 20th September, cutting it pretty damn fine for having the Hearse ready to go for 3rd October.

[360beast]

It was great to see you again yesterday Tom, a shame that the 2.5 idea isn't quite so straightforward but it might be worth looking in to doing it one year over the winter.

I think you will have to come up again and have a 760 turbo day haha.

As for getting the block out... what you need is a wheely chair

[Laird Scooby]

Have you got an engine hoist Tom? If so, sling the engine, lift it with the hoist then move the car out of the way, making adjustments to the height of the hoist as you go. Ditto for the one on the stand.

[TeamG]

The Saab’s number plate reminded me of Clarkson’s Porsche for the Argentina trip.

[Laird Scooby]

I know you're a bit of a way from getting the inside fitted out Tom but i saw this and thought you may be able to use some of the ideas in it :

https://youtu.be/4HF55vEVdDE

Essentially a storage box with parts that unfold to create a kitchen and a bed, obviously the exact dimensions are tailored to the weird thing it's ultimately fitted in but you just need to modify those dimensions to suit the hearse. Also you could modify the basic design to your needs as well.

[kiloran]

Cor, that Saab is gorgeous! Uncle had a 900 2-door, early 80s, which was lovely compared to our Allagro.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by kiloran

Cor, that Saab is gorgeous! Uncle had a 900 2-door, early 80s, which was lovely compared to our Allagro.

I doubt Tom will sell it anytime soon though! Fairly sure he bought it on a bit of a whim but has bonded with it.

I had a 900i (D reg) for a while, nice car but hated driving it as it gave me backache because the throttle pedal was so far inboard compared to most other cars.

On that basis alone, i'd prefer an Allegro/All-aggro and i had one of those too, similar colour to Toms Saab. Surprisingly it was a good little car, went alright, didn't have a drink problem (unlike two Maxis i experienced with similar engines), stopped and a nice smooth ride on the Hydragas suspension.

Granted the 'Aggro looked like a half-eaten slug but didn't wriggle as much as a half-eaten slug* but purely on a "need to get from A to B and back again" basis, i'd choose the Allegro. Even on another basis (undefined) i'd probably still make the same choice - can't be doing with that backache!

* I regularly feed the hedgehogs that come into my garden at night, was watching one eat the food on the plate when a slug slithered up next to the hedgehog and put its head on the plate. Hedgehog grabbed the slug with one front paw and took a chomp out of it, like us taking a chomp out of a breadstick with a nice meal and then more food off the plate, another chomp of the slug then it started wriggling so the hog grabbed it with both front paws, had another mouthful of food from the plate then despatched the slug in short order before finishing his fill of the food.

[TomSaintJames]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Luke - it was cool to meet your dad and see you again of course. Your dad's advice on the Saab's running issues was astute That wheelie chair was super useful! We made do with a wooden fold up chair with questionable structural inegrity... Nothing bad hapenned though! A 7 series turbo day would be awesome

Dave - no engine hoist i'm afraid, we wdoubled up some rope and wrapped it around the solid bits to make a couple of handles, heaving it out of the low boot of the saab whilst trying to not break anything (including ourselves!) or smack our heads on the bootlid anymore was a challenge i'll admit, but we did it. I'd disassembled the penta block and taken it off of the stand for scrap, so we moved the stand behind the saab and once the new block was on a chair we could attach it to the stand and wheel it into the porch. Once nuisance i'd forgotten about was having to remove the torque converter first as it was fouling the stand - I ended up doing it in the dark! But it is done.



You'll have to excuse the state of the porch, it is a single skinned brick with a felt roof and rotten soffits/fascias so does get a little damp - hence the mould on the walls! It's a useful space for now but i'd like to be rid of it in the future, it is very ugly from outside and was built >20 years ago to house the (recently evicted) behemoth of an oil combi boiler.

The penta crank and unique pistons (smaller wrsit pin to crown height to account for the extra stroke) are out and stored for now, i'm undecided if I will use them or sell them to offset some of the costs, whilst I really like the idea of the 2.5 for the extra torque and that something a bit different, is it really worth the cost, work and faff of removing the engine again at a later date to swap another in.







Cheers Kiloran - the Saab has many foibles but I do love it. I've fixed a couple of things so far but have more to do, it pretty much needs all new suspension (shocks and springs at the very least) and upto earlier this week was runnig quite rich and lumpy, thankfully a good clean of all the EFI stuff and a set of new vacuum lines has really helped there, fixing the upper exhaust blow will also help! The brakes all need looking at etc... I could go on! But it's quite fun to drive, looks cool, is great in warm weather with the roof down, most importantly makes me feel VERY cool when cruising around in it

The inlaws like it too



So where i'm at with the Hearse now:

-Waiting for the engineering shop to finish with the 531 head and drop it off a few doors down to the welding shop. They thought this would happen at the end of last week, I haven;t heard from them yet but know they are very busy. Back in early August the welder had a two week backlog.

-Luke kindly sent me the Volvo part numbers for all the gaskets I need, I will have time to order these today along with an Elring headgasket, new hydraulic engine mounts, two exhaust valves, hushers and stem oil seals, head bolts, AW71 gasket set and i'm sure other stuff too... I got paid recently so this will probably wipe me out for the month, if not next month too!

-The gearbox is ready to be serviced, i've tidied and organised the workshop again too. These things do get messy!



-I've ordered some abrasive wheel brushes to start a bit of rust removal and protection in the engine bay, I have a fiar bit of etch primer, stonechip and UHT black paint left from the brake disc guards so will use that lot.

I am on annual leave now for just over a week, we are starting re-wiring the house on Sunday so there will be mass mayhem for a little while. This will be a very positive step forward for us, our house is very old fashioned and pretty much everything needs doing. The wiring has been a major stumbling block, so once done we can then do the kitchen, bathroom, plastering, doors and windows, mass decorating, carpets etc...

I'm hoping there'll be time for a bit of Volvo/Saab tinkering here and there though

[TomSaintJames]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

I doubt Tom will sell it anytime soon though! Fairly sure he bought it on a bit of a whim but has bonded with it.

I had a 900i (D reg) for a while, nice car but hated driving it as it gave me backache because the throttle pedal was so far inboard compared to most other cars.

On that basis alone, i'd prefer an Allegro/All-aggro and i had one of those too, similar colour to Toms Saab. Surprisingly it was a good little car, went alright, didn't have a drink problem (unlike two Maxis i experienced with similar engines), stopped and a nice smooth ride on the Hydragas suspension.

Granted the 'Aggro looked like a half-eaten slug but didn't wriggle as much as a half-eaten slug* but purely on a "need to get from A to B and back again" basis, i'd choose the Allegro. Even on another basis (undefined) i'd probably still make the same choice - can't be doing with that backache!

* I regularly feed the hedgehogs that come into my garden at night, was watching one eat the food on the plate when a slug slithered up next to the hedgehog and put its head on the plate. Hedgehog grabbed the slug with one front paw and took a chomp out of it, like us taking a chomp out of a breadstick with a nice meal and then more food off the plate, another chomp of the slug then it started wriggling so the hog grabbed it with both front paws, had another mouthful of food from the plate then despatched the slug in short order before finishing his fill of the food.

Whim indeed! A very similar whim as to when we bought the Hearse at that, ther may have been beer involved, or was it wine this time?

The offset pedals didn't bother me too much tbh, but then those in the AX I had before the Saab were very offset!

Glad to hear of your hedgehog escapades Dave, they are few and far between these days and we should all be doing what we can for them, lovely little huffers they are too.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by TomSaintJames

Glad to hear of your hedgehog escapades Dave, they are few and far between these days and we should all be doing what we can for them, lovely little huffers they are too.

Gratuitous furze-pig pic :



Actually from last year but have several similar from this year, last year i had 5 making regular visits, this year only three - a big one, a huge one and a baby one. Baby is growing quickly and probably the offspring of the other two.

Over winter this past year, my neighbour had a new fence put up, he and i both suspect some hedgehog "nests" may have been disturbed as a result so possible some of the 5 from last year have relocated.
Meanwhile as long as i'm here and the hedgehogs keep coming, i'll keep feeding them.