Spud Gets a New Tranny

Bullnose, 95/96, 97, Saab Life, Q&A

E-Mail me at: [email protected]

This car is for sale!

June '98 John Johnston told me I'd need a new transmisson.."when the howling starts driving you crazy'. Well the howling and whinning did drive me nuts eventually and so I took on a one day swap.

It was kind of a domino deal. The howling transmission was pulled to be rebuilt and put in my 73. (It has a Sonett R&P and must be preserved. The rebuild parts showed today so lets hope this baby lands in the white car (AKA Cremepuff) soon.) The less desireable smooth case gearbox from the white car was partially torn down and pronounced a hummer. It would go into Spud. Three other spares were also torn down. One was a rusty mess with a hammered case, but it yeilded a clean freewheel, a salvagable R&P, and a steel speedo gear. Another from the orchard was 'rebuildable', and the last, a spare from my 95 project of a few years ago proved to be a bolt on and try it number that will go into the Golden Bull.

I got up early and drove the 60 miles to Johnston Machine in Nevada. The plan was to pull the old tooth and set in a new one...all in the same day...and drive the newly revived Spud back home over the Sierras at the end of the day. That's the way it worked out. Along the way the car got a new heater valve, new rear tranny mount, rebuilt pressure plate, new clutch, and through-out bearing. Also found the fuel pump was loose and solved an oil leak problem.

I'm happy to say that the job went smoothly enough, and with John's expert help at the critical stages it all went together as planned. The car is quite and tight. I've decided not to replace the radio now that I can hear the front speakers. Other than being damn sore for a few days it was a great experience!

Bullnose, 95/96, 97, Saab Life, Q&A

E-Mail me at: [email protected]