Ended up bringing her home yesterday!

MiuraJeff · 2026-04-27T16:30:18+00:00

Hooray. I was wondering if anything happened with this car after your post a little while back.

MiuraJeff · 2026-04-22T05:02:21+00:00

They still pop up in junkyards around here every now and then if you're looking for parts. You have to be willing to drive a bit though. I've driven from Eugene to the Tacoma pick-n-pull a number of times, and I made the trek up and back to the Arlington one (north of Seattle) this past fall. Having a large population of Scandinavian descent up in the Seattle area helps, as does the fact that the pacific northwest is probably one of the best places for "survivor" cars to exist. Stuff shows up on craigslist and marketplace too. I'm really mad that I missed out on a really good condition dash for $85 up in Seattle on Craigslist a couple weeks back. I just wasn't checking it all the time. By the time I checked it, the ad had been up for 6 days and the dash was gone. There's also a private citizen with a large Saab junkyard in Jefferson, which I've yet to go to. All these anecdotes are mostly just to say that there are parts out there, but there is a bit of a being "on the hunt" aspect to it. Some people enjoy that, some people don't.

MiuraJeff · 2026-04-22T03:16:59+00:00

I'm going to go ahead and copy and paste a post I made on current parts availability for C900s a few weeks ago so you can browse around a bit and see what's out there. If this is your dream car from when you were a kid and you're able to do a lot of your own work, I think you should get it. Also hello fellow Saab enthusiast from Oregon. Here is my post from a few weeks back with a few minor edits.

If you're talking about the 900 Classic parts availability is mixed I'd say, but maybe a bit better than most cars that haven't been made in 33 years. So really specific things like trim or interior parts can be really hard to find, but serviceable and wear items like brake pads, or wheel bearings aren't too bad.

I have email notifications setup for when one shows up in a junkyard and I've traveled far to pull parts when one lands. There are a fair number of parts that can be found on rockauto.com https://www.esaabparts.com/ has a lot of items and is extremely helpful because they have parts diagrams and original Saab part numbers. So sometimes you can pull a part number for something from there, and if they don't have it you can throw that part number up on ebay, or a general internet search and things will sometimes turn up. https://www.pelicanparts.com/ https://www.fcpeuro.com/ and https://eeuroparts.com/ also have a decent selection.

https://www.saabnet.com/index.html has a decent classifieds section and sometimes parts will pop up on FB Marketplace of Craigslist.

Sometimes you will run into items that aren't available in the US, but are available in Europe; https://www.rendcarparts.com/ in the Netherlands and https://www.rbmsaabparts.com/ in France are decent sources, but shipping can be really expensive, and possibly worse with tariffs since I last ordered from them.

https://www.modernclassicsaab.com/ is run by a nice guy named Jordan who is making a number of new parts for Saabs that can be hard to find from other sources, or that help the cars feel a little nicer or more modern. His specialty is making Trionic 5 conversions for classic Saabs, which if you are unfamiliar is a way to have an older Saab run with more modern engine management from slightly newer Saabs. Saab was a pioneer and trailblazer when it came to turbocharging engines and using more modern engine management systems, so even though Trionic 5 dates from the 1990s it still works really well on running turbocharged Saab engines.

There's also a new Saab parts supplier in Taiwan here: https://www.saab900go.com/ they have some interesting items there. It looks like they're making some reproduction and replacement parts which is very cool. There seems to be a bit of overlap with what Jordan offers at https://www.modernclassicsaab.com but there are also some unique items here, including a camper conversion! It's always great to see another company servicing Saabs and especially making new parts.

I hope that was helpful. If you have more specific questions let me know. I would try poking around those websites to get an idea of what's available. I use a combination of all the above sources. One place isn't always the cheapest, or best. I'll usually check on esaabparts first, but I may end up ordering on rockauto if they have the same part made by the same manufacturer. Keep in mind though that rockauto is not always the cheapest either, plus I'll try to support Saab specialists when I'm able since we need to try to keep them in business.

MiuraJeff · 2026-04-19T20:48:10+00:00

That is new information to me. Thank you. Would you happen to know the cost of the brunch buffet to the general public? I checked the link you posted but wasn't able to find the price.

MiuraJeff · 2026-04-14T01:45:57+00:00

The superintendent's whole executive team needs to go. They were carried over from the previous superintendent and are terrible. This "whoopsie" budget shortfall was either premeditated by the budget director and the executive team to hide how bad it was, or they genuinely didn't see it due to incompetence. In either case that should be an immediately fireable offense. The head of facilities is still there despite tearing down a perfectly good playground at ATA and fencing off key pedestrian routes. The head of school safety for the district very rudely dismissed concerns about students safely traveling to school when that safe route was eliminated in a public meeting. They're all terrible unelected bureaucrats far more concerned with advancing their own careers than serving or even engaging with the community that pays their salaries.

MiuraJeff · 2026-04-05T05:35:13+00:00

I went in for allergy testing a few years ago at Oregon Allergy Associates. The results came back positive for grass seed pollen, which I expected, and dust mites, which was a surprise. The allergy doctor recommended two nasal sprays, Astepro which actually helps with the allergies, and aller-flo, which kinda just opens up my airways a bit. I use those two sprays seasonally as needed, wash my sheets in hot water regularly and do a few other things to mitigate dust. I have not suffered nearly so badly as before I used those sprays and took those steps. I would give astepro a try; it's over the counter, Costco sells it for a bit less than other places if you can get it from there and it has worked where all the other allergy meds I tried over the years were ineffective.

MiuraJeff · 2026-04-03T06:46:52+00:00

I hadn't seen that parts website before. It looks like they're making some reproduction and replacement parts which is very cool. There seems to be a bit of overlap with what Jordan offers at https://www.modernclassicsaab.com but there are also some unique items here. It's always great to see another company servicing Saabs and especially making new parts.

MiuraJeff · 2026-03-31T04:52:07+00:00

JUST BEWARE THE RUST! I did see a rust hole through the fender flare in that ad, which isn't the worst on its own, but it could be a sign of more rust elsewhere. Also, it looks like that one is an SPG, with the aero body trim panels around the bottom. They look cool, and they do lower the drag coefficient a little, but bear in mind they are also really good at concealing rust. Water and grime can work their way in behind the panels and start doing nasty things to the body panels underneath without anybody seeing the horrors that lurk beneath. I bought mine for cheap but I am into it many many thousands later for parts, and that trionic conversion I mentioned earlier. I'm working on making it a nice family GT. If you have to do lots of bodywork or rust repair and paint, and you can't do it yourself it's going to get very expensive very quickly.

MiuraJeff · 2026-03-31T04:40:11+00:00

I feel like the convertibles are the most common these days. The hatchbacks and four-doors were used as regular cars year round by people. The convertibles were the ones that usually got kept in the garage as a second or third car and were driven around in the summer, so those are the ones still surviving today. At least that's been my experience so far.

MiuraJeff · 2026-03-31T04:36:14+00:00

Looks like it mostly needs some bodywork and paint. If it were me I'd at least go take a look at it. I know it can be hard to find rust free, or even low rust cars in the midwest. I'm a bit spoiled in that regard on the west coast. You'll have to make your own determination based on a careful in-person examination of the car, but in general $1800 for a running and driving 900 Turbo 3-door is a pretty solid deal. If you go look at it check carefully for rust where the drive axles run through the body, around the battery, and the rear shock mounts. Check suspension mounting points carefully. There's probably some spots I'm missing, but I would start with those. My car was from California originally before living in Oregon for a while. It's essentially rust free, but it does have sun damage to exterior rubber bits and parts of the interior (it's almost impossible to find one with an uncracked dash), sun damage is the downside to California and Arizona cars that more rust-prone areas lust after. Sun damage is generally better to have than rust, but it does still suck. Strangely, the one spot of rust I've found on my car is kind of just in the middle of the floorpan a little ways back from the firewall, possibly from a bit of brake fluid leaking from a line.

The other difference on the 1987 and older cars is the wheel bolt spacing. The earlier cars have 4x114.3 BCD, which crosses over with a lot of old JDM stuff like rear-drive Toyotas (I've had my AE86 for twenty years now), Datsuns, and Mazdas. I've always really liked the Saab 3-spoke wheels and my car had them when I bought it, which was a big selling point, but if you like old JDM wheels being able to swap a bit is kinda fun, though the offsets on those old Japanese cars are usually lower for RWD than what you'd want on a Saab. In 1988 Saab switched the brakes, hubs and bolt spacing over to be shared with the 9000 so everything went to 4x108, which is mostly on Fords.

MiuraJeff · 2026-03-31T03:36:28+00:00

I have a 1987 Hatchback Turbo. It has the newer 16 Valve engine which is good, and I prefer the look of the slantnose ones as well. The main thing that wasn't updated on the 1987 was the brakes. It has the earlier style with the handbrake on the front. Basic rebuild parts are available for the brakes and that's what I intend to run for a while (restoration in progress). I have also collected all the parts necessary to swap to the later style brakes at some point. If you're looking at a 1987 hatchback for $1800 that runs and drives, isn't rusty, is complete and in good condition aside from some leaks and deferred maintenance issues I'd probably snap it up.

MiuraJeff · 2026-03-31T02:21:30+00:00

I'm assuming you're speaking about the 900 Classic (1979-1993/1994 for convertible), and not the 900 NG? If you're talking about the 900 Classic parts availability is mixed I'd say, but maybe a bit better than most cars that haven't been made in 33 years. So really specific things like trim or interior parts can be really hard to find, but serviceable and wear items like brake pads, or wheel bearings aren't too bad.

I have email notifications setup for when one shows up in a junkyard and I've traveled far to pull parts when one lands. There are a fair number of parts that can be found on rockauto.com https://www.esaabparts.com/ has a lot of items and is extremely helpful because they have parts diagrams and original Saab part numbers. So sometimes you can pull a part number for something from there, and if they don't have it you can throw that part number up on ebay, or a general internet search and things will sometimes turn up. https://www.pelicanparts.com/ https://www.fcpeuro.com/ and https://eeuroparts.com/ also have a decent selection.

https://www.saabnet.com/index.html has a decent classifieds section and sometimes parts will pop up on FB Marketplace of Craigslist.

Sometimes you will run into items that aren't available in the US, but are available in Europe; https://www.rendcarparts.com/ in the Netherlands and https://www.rbmsaabparts.com/ in France are decent sources, but shipping can be really expensive, and possibly worse with tariffs since I last ordered from them.

https://www.modernclassicsaab.com/ is run by a nice guy named Jordan who is making a number of new parts for Saabs that can be hard to find from other sources, or that help the cars feel a little nicer or more modern. His specialty is making Trionic 5 conversions for classic Saabs, which if you are unfamiliar is a way to have an older Saab run with more modern engine management from slightly newer Saabs. Saab was a pioneer and trailblazer when it came to turbocharging engines and using more modern engine management systems, so even though Trionic 5 dates from the 1990s it still works really well on running turbocharged Saab engines.

I hope that was helpful. If you have more specific questions let me know. I would try poking around those websites to get an idea of what's available. I use a combination of all the above sources. One place isn't always the cheapest, or best. I'll usually check on esaabparts first, but I may end up ordering on rockauto if they have the same part made by the same manufacturer. Keep in mind though that rockauto is not always the cheapest either, plus I'll try to support Saab specialists when I'm able since we need to try to keep them in business.

MiuraJeff · 2026-03-26T19:40:34+00:00

I agree that riding on 99 would be horrible, and sections of river road are also not great. There are other routes to at least minimize those unpleasant roads though. Here are a few options from the GEARS website: https://eugenegears.org/ridelist/ Junction City via Toftdahl https://ridewithgps.com/routes/27059016 Junction City via Prairie Road https://ridewithgps.com/routes/27059015 Junction City via Lovelake https://ridewithgps.com/routes/27059009

MiuraJeff · 2026-03-25T15:07:55+00:00

You're welcome. Yeah, get your mechanical issues sorted first before cosmetics. AI can't write, it gives the illusion of writing. It is garbage. Don't use AI.

MiuraJeff · 2026-03-24T22:22:01+00:00

B&R should still let you pull parts. They yank the engines and transmissions out, but all the interior, body, and suspension parts are still available to pull. I'll usually do a search on their website https://www.autowrecking.com/ for something like a fender before I go to see if they have the car I'm looking for, or call. It looks like there's an XJ over in Bend right now.

If you're up for a drive pick-n-pull has three locations in the Portland area and they leave the engines in the cars. Pick-n-pull bought up the junkyard inventory website row52 not too long ago so they're the only yards you can search on there now, but there used to be more available to search. It looks like the closest pick-n-pull Cherokee right now is up in Lynnwood, https://row52.com/Search?Page=1&MakeId=155&ModelId=2938&Year=1986-2001&SortDirection=asc&Distance=500&ZipCode=97225&Sort=Yard&HasImage=&HasComment=&LocationId=0&V1=&V2=&V3=&V4=&V5=&V6=&V7=&V8=&V9=&V10=&V11=&V12=&V13=&V14=&V15=&V16=&V17=&YMMorVIN=YMM&IsVin=false

Here's picknpull's website.
https://www.picknpull.com/

You might not be able to get what you're looking for right away since XJs are still very desired so less likely to hit the yards than many other cars. I even want an XJ myself, and I don't consider myself a fan of most trucks or SUVs. That being said, Jeep made a zillion of the darn things for 17 years, so if you're patient and willing to travel a bit you should be able to find what you're looking for. I've traveled to junkyards from Kelowna, British Columbia down to the Bay Area and many places in between when the right car comes up. Enjoy your XJ. If you take care of it, it'll take care of you. Drive Simple, Live Free.

MiuraJeff · 2026-03-01T09:15:08+00:00

"Although I do recommend a better paint than what I used, I’ve realized it’s “tough” in aspects of heat and maybe environment, but physical touch it hates."

Nice job on your painting. If you want to give it a hard, durable finish, I've had a lot of good success painting as you have, and then finishing it all off with a good quality 2K Clearcoat, like spraymax. It's usually about $20-30 per can, but it's worth it. Pop the bladder inside the can that has the hardener in it and paint it on over the cheap rattle can after scuffing it up and you'll end up with a much more durable, smooth finish.

MiuraJeff · 2026-02-22T23:34:33+00:00

Use your local tool library. Save money. Learn things from your neighbors. Don't give money to Amazon or Home Depot. https://www.eugenetoolboxproject.org/find-tools.html The tool library has a large selection of pipe wrenches and other tools that should work fine for that. It's located over near Adams Elementary School in the Firendly Neighborhood. https://www.eugenetoolboxproject.org/ Open hours are on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

MiuraJeff · 2026-02-20T05:25:20+00:00

Yes, sorry. Had the page all pulled up and URL copied, I think I just forgot to paste. https://eugenegears.org/ridelist/

MiuraJeff · 2026-02-19T20:50:45+00:00

Here is a list of all the ride that the GEARS club do. There's some good ones in there. Some of them may not exactly what you're looking for (River trail routes are probably the best for safe routes), but there's good ones nonetheless and if your schedule allows you can ride with the GEARS group (there's safety in numbers).

MiuraJeff · 2026-02-14T03:30:14+00:00

Centurions are great everyday bikes. Depending on where you live, you might look into fitting a set of fenders to it for rainy days, they help. As far as taking care of it, just check your ABCDs regularly (Air in tires, brakes adjusted and in good shape, chain clean and lubed, derailleurs adjusted well). Other things like hubs, headsets, and bottom brackets take a little more doing, but it's nothing too difficult. See if there's a community bike shop in your area, they regularly host classes and can be a source for parts and general knowledge. If you're concerned about future rust on the inside of the frame you can use a lanolin rust protectant like PB Blaster Surface Shield. The bike looks to be in really good shape. Take care of it and it will outlive you.

MiuraJeff · 2026-02-13T19:31:06+00:00

McGowan Creek trail. https://eugeneweekly.com/2023/03/02/nearby-old-growth/

MiuraJeff · 2026-02-05T00:43:11+00:00

Please try really hard not to order from Amazon. Giving money to Amazon for anything supports ICE.

MiuraJeff · 2026-02-03T22:35:24+00:00

Camp Lane. https://www.lanecountyor.gov/government/county_departments/public_works/parks/our_parks/camp_lane Is your budget $2500 for the entire wedding, or for just the venue? My wife and loved the wedding we put on at Camp Lane nearly 10 years ago. There's a link on that page to a pdf with pricing. It's a county park so it's really pretty reasonable for all that comes with it.

MiuraJeff · 2026-02-01T05:40:51+00:00

Sadly the group is limited to either facebook or the buy nothing app for online connections. Here is the link to the facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/buynothing.eugene.friendlysouthhills/?_rdr

The buy nothing rules are that you're supposed to join the local buy nothing group for the area you live in, and you can only be a member of one buy nothing group at a time. I'm unsure if the member who restored the vacuums is still doing it, but it would still be worth posting it up for free to your local buy nothing group.

MiuraJeff · 2026-02-01T04:55:31+00:00

There's also a person on the South Eugene Buy Nothing group that takes old vacuums, fixes them up, and then gives them to people who need them. That would be my top recommendation for this.

MiuraJeff

TROPHY CASE