Washing off the dust..

Sitting still for a long time is never a good idea. And if you look at the freshly added Fabulous Flatnose with serial number 020510 in the picture above, it shows. Flat tires, tired looks, dust: ingredients you just don’t want in your life. That is why, after quite some time, the register has been updated with some new cars, of which this one car from the original series. It is an early example, procuded in February or just March 1986. With only 62,507 miles, it is a very nice survivor, although it is a bit rough on the outside.

I am not sure what the LT-sticker is about. But if you look through the dust and the roughness, there is probably quite a nice Saab 900 turbo convertible beneath all of it.

So after washing off this register we are again on the lookout for new additions, as there still are unregistered Fabulous Flatnoses out there! And meanwhile we hope the winnter of the auction of this 020510 will give this wonderful classic a wash as well… And we hope to see it again in the future…!

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A red mystery

As I was reading some old SAAB-brochures I stumbled upon a rather interesting photo in a 1986 brochure called ‘Development and production of advanced cars’:

Apart from the subtle smell and great atmosphere of the brochure itself, there was a small but to me eye-catching photo in it:

What you see is a red 900 convertible that is clearly not a production car. Not only is it being constructed manually, it also lacks the side indicators of the 1986 model year and the A-pillars are red instead of black. Even the (mostly red) pre-production cars had side indicators and black A-pillars.

So if this is not a production or pre-production car, what is this red mystery? It could be a potential crash test car, a yet unknown prototype or a study model for construction purposes, who knows? Suggestions? Please comment!

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Bargain summer sale?

A Fabulous Flatnose is a rare car all the same, so finding one for sale is not so easy. Although, now might be the moment to orientate on one, since there is actually quite some choice in the market. Here are five available Fabulous Flatnoses from around the world:

#022196, my own former Flatnose, for sale in Chemnitz Germany (price n/a)
After quite a lot of work, the new owner of my Fabulous Flatnose has now put it on sale again (ad).

This is a manual with 214,000 miles and functioning well, including the top, A/C, central locking and even the Clarion audio system with equalizer:

#025556, a project car in need of TLC, Austin, TX, USA (price n/a)
This Flatnose is in need of quite some love and repairs, but doesn’t look all to bad (ad). It will be auctioned via Autobidmaster, after not having sold there in a previous attempt. The mileage is 264k.

The interior is far gone and the car is well used, but if you are in for a nice project with a rare Swede…

#unknown, for sale in Den Haag, the Netherlands, € 11.750 / USD 13,300
A nice and well taken care of Fabulous Flatnose. that is not yet in the register due to unknown serial number (ad).

It looks quite original and is the first Fabulous Flatnose that was registered in the Netherlands, in 1991. It is an automatic with 139,000 miles.

#025748, a great example in Hässleholm, Sweden, € 18.600 / USD 21,000
That’s right, prices for good examples are going up. And this automatic is one of the better cars that are out there (ad).

With just over 91,000 miles, it is one of the few examples with little experience.


#026379, a needy Flatnose in Myerstown, PA, USA for € 2.600 / USD 2,900
And there is this Fabulous Flatnose in the USA, that needs quite some attention to become the enjoyable convertible it was (ad).

Nonetheless it looks like a good base to start from and a lot of work has been done already.

Own a piece of Saab History, 1 of the first 300 convertibles commissioned by Robert Sinclair (very low vin number, 1 of the first 75 built). Restoration was started, has recent new convertible top, runs and drives, transmission shifts well, most all electrical functions including top, most lighting, gauges, heater ,etc. tested and operating, dashboard very good-only a couple small cracks, seat leather worn but usable. still needs some body work completed and paint and misc work. battery was relocated to trunk and larger oil cooler installed in battery area by previous owner.

So if you are looking for either a project car or a nice and ready example, it is time to get out there and check out these wonderful silver convertibles.

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Fabulous Sadnose in Austin, Texas

Found at autobidmaster.com, this Fabulous Flatnose with serial number 025556 looks quite sad and tired.

Although the outside looks a little rough…

…it seems worth saving. But the interior is a mess and the a-pillars show swell up from moist . There is however still an original Turbo-headunit from Clarion still mounted, although the accessory equalizer appears to be missing.

Also, the engine bay shows quite a lot of rust, so the question is if this flatnose will eventually be auctioned and can be saved.

I fear the worst…

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The Founding Flatnose …sold!

Today was a special day for the Fabulous Flatnose register: the Fab Flat that started all this was sold …by me. Yes, the car that inspired me to start the register and that kept me motivated is no longer mine. After seven years of ownership, it went to its new owner:

Children, job, and what not have done what they are good at: consume time and make life worth living. Thusly, time for the 022196 was limited. And it needed attention, in terms of both mechanical maintenance and drives along the Dutch coast. The obvious combination of fun rides and taking children just didn’t do it for me. So I decided to let her go…

But the register still is mine and will remain so, no worries. I just had to clean the barn and have done so by selling six of my Saabs in the past 1,5 years, only leaving my Polar (off-)White 2008 9-5 Aero that I truly enjoy:

Life has changed and the herd has thinned. Let’s see what’s next!

Please keep sending your additions and stay tuned, the register is alive and will be updated whenever needed. Like, well …now.

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The 033132 for sale in Finland

It’s just a few times a year that an original Fabulous Flatnose comes up for sale. Last week, the wonderful 033132 came up for sale in Finland:

The Saab was of course built in Finland in July 1986, but was originally delivered in the USA, in Erie, Pennsylvania. Later, it ended up in Florida and after that in Philadelphia,
where it sat for 10 years dismantled. Spotted on Craigslist for sale as a body on wheels and 20 boxes of parts, it was put together by Tommi’s friend living in Philadelphia a couple of years ago. After that, Tommi bought it. This Saab still has the USA headlights.

With just 100,000 miles or 160.000 kilometer, it should be able to please another enthousiast for quite some time to come!

 

https://www.nettiauto.com/saab/900/9843921

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Provkörning: Saab 900T 16 Cabriolet

Here is a nice new addition to the Fabulous Flatnose Library: a scan of a June 1986 article of Teknikens Värld:

One of the pages of the 1986 article

This Swedish technical oriented car magazine was founded in 1948 and still exist.

In 1996 Teknikens Värld hit the news when the all new Saab 9-5 (at the time only known as the successor of the 9000) was spotted, photographed and revealed in the magazine, being at an airport storage hall. Saab went crazy and GM threatened to sue Teknikens Värld. Journalist PeO Kjellström even went to jail for a few hours. Eventually, there were no charges and all ended well.


‘The new Saab – the images Saab tried to forbid’

Our thanks to Jonas Claar for sending in the article!

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Another Flatnose saved: the 026970

It was in May 2017, that I was searching the internet to find some interesting Saabs 900, a bargain maybe, or a unique car in pristine condition – who knows what you encounter when sitting behind your laptop, looking at the screen?

On Craigslist.org, a rather interesting advertisement came up on the ‘Saab 900’ search: a black 1989 900 SPG, located in Seattle. But is was not this car that drew my attention. Rather, the unicorn peeping behind it made this posting worth an extra look:

Unmistakably, there was something with a flat nose and a softtop behind the SPG. On behalf of the Fab Flat Reg, I grabbed some guts, wrote the seller an e-mail and awaited response – if any.

*PLING!* – An e-mail found my mobile device and demanded attention:

You are correct and have a good eye to notice. I was trying to keep the photo cropped enough so as not to show the convertible and am surprised that you were able to distinguish the difference from it. [Well, we’re not the Register for no reason..]

I no longer own the car, but I know the new owner wouldn’t mind if I share the information. The VIN starting at the G is G*028644. It currently has 231,216 miles on it and is in operating condition. It has a second used transmission installed, but I have rebuilt the original transmission and will be installing it over the next couple weeks when I have the time. I’ll most likely replace the timing chain and tensioners along with replacing all gaskets and seals on the engine before dropping it back in. At that point, it will be mechanically ready for another
200,000 miles. The best way to get the background on the car, or at least as much as I know personally, would be to go to this thread. I documented the car from purchase until its current state:

http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=178260

Well look at that! A true 1986 convertible was trying to hide behind his young black brother. This 028644 was already in the register, but since the serial number was not known, it was in the ‘unidentified’ section. So for one, we could luckily verify that this car is still existing and being well taken care of:

After writing back, we got into an e-mailing conversation in which the seller of the SPG, Mike, nostalgicly thought about his former flatnose and pointed out that he’d see one or two flatnoses around once in a while. One of them, he recalled, stood at a local workshop called Scanwest. Mike didn’t know anything about the car, nor who owned it.

As the conversation grew, Mike apparently fell in love again, because in the following e-mail he wrote:

After you contacted me, a [name censored] also contacted me in regards to the flatnose. I then got another inquiry from a local collector. I decided with all the interest that I should follow up on the others that I know of.

I contacted Scanwest Autosport where, as I relayed previously, one has been for a while now and asked if that ’86 convertible was a customer car or if they had purchased it. It turned out that it was a customer car and the customer had given up on it. […] SW relayed that the customer had donated it to a local charity but could not remember which one if he ever even knew. I don’t know if you have similar charity services over there [in Europe, that is], but here when a older car is donated, it pretty much always ends up being purchased for scrap and crushed.

As luck would have it, your inquiry […] had pushed me to check on it and not a moment too soon. The car was donated a week ago and was going to auction today!

If that isn’t coincidence! This story was growing into something nice…! This car, that was going up for auction, was actually added to the Fabulous Flatnose Register seven days ago! It was the 026790 ad it looked pretty decent:

With 174,000 miles on the clock, this car should be saved from the shredder, I mean: look at it! 

As I wondered about this ‘had to be’-history, I had a look at the other thusfar unidentified flatnoses, and for no specific reason I got to this car that was posted on Instagram in December 2015, and shortly after was saved on the register’s HDD:

I decided to do some search on ‘meestersam’ and came to find out that ‘meestersam’ is in fact a Scanwest-mechanic. This was the same car that Mike was after!

It is really nice to see what the register can do, both in uncovering a Fabulous Flatnose in an SPG-advertisment and, more importantly, in reviving one’s passion for this particular model, leading to an adoption right before the shredder likely came in. In addition, by means of this short history, two previously unidentified cars were suddenly identified:

 

Another e-mail from Mike came in:

I’ll be picking the car up today. […] Scanwest supplied me with a list of service records dating back to 2001 for the car and let me know that the only thing it needs is a starter to be operational.
They said there is minor damage to the rear passenger quarter panel, but I don’t yet know the extent. […] The extent of maintenance that has been performed on the car over the years makes me think it will be a very good car.

Let’s hope this car is worth the effort. I’m sure we’ll be hearing more from both Mike and his new family member…! Take care, Mike! Enjoy this new baby.

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Colorado sighting

As the Fabulous Flatnose register steadily expands, more people become aware of the special status the 1986 Saab 900 convertbile has – both in history as in appearance. One of them is Cameron, who spotted a flatnose convertible in Boulder, Colorado, and was keen enough to take a picture of the car:

This car looks to be in very nice shape! And Cameron also took a picture of the VIN:

And the VIN proves the originality of this flatnose. Also, it is a new addition to the register, since the 030244 was thusfar unknown to the register.

Thank you Cameron for paying attention and sharing this sighting of yet another Fabulous Flatnose that is alive and kicking!

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The 027484 up for auction

The fate of some Fabulous Flatnoses is not at all enviable… 

The 027484, a manually shifted car, was once rescued from a barn in Washougal, where it had sat for several years with the top down. One can imagine what this does to the interior – let alone the top itself. The saver of this car repaired the top, put on a new exhaust and two tires and had the front seats reupholstered. Also, the bonnet was replaced with another one, off-color, yet in better condition.

In July 2014, the 027484 was offered on Craigslist and was sold to a new owner in Washington State, with 163,000 miles on the clock and still going strong, according to the advertisement. The asking price was $1,750 firm.

Recently, this Fabulous Flatnose turned up at Whitey’s Public Auto Auction in Pacific, Washington, where it will be auctioned. Apparently, stakes of selling are not too high, since there is hardly any detail given about the car, let alone a description of its current state. Perhaps, this is a ‘what you see is what you get’, so best to head off for Pacific to judge for yourself.

    

Let’s hope someone will save this nice flatnose. Again. Meanwhile, we’ll keep an eye on the bids…

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