Beam Style Winter Wiper Blades, an Observation

As I promised in a previous post I replaced my traditional style winter wiper blades with a set of “beam” style wiper blades. I purchased these Michelin Optimum blades at Target for $16/each. That is very pricey compared to my usual $8 winter blades from Autozone. I would have purchased this set of blades from Autozone, but they were priced at $20 a piece!

These wipers have a flexible shaft instead of the normal wiper framework. I’ve only seen them around for about a year or two and only in specialty catalogs before this fall. I figure this new style of blade will either go down in price as more companies offer the “beam” style… or they will go out of fashion like those brightly colored double blades from the early 90s and you will never see them again.

Winter hasn’t visited Kansas yet, so no word on how these do in snow, sleet and ice; but they’ve done a great job in the rain so far. Plus the low profile looks nice on the 9-5… better than this photo makes it appear.

Radioactive SAAB, Part 2

Infrared radiation edition.

Inspired by Dean W. Armstrong’s near infrared photography, I modified an old digital camera this weekend so it will take near IR photographs.

I’ve taken a lot of photos with the camera, pointing it at all sorts of things. Most impressive was the stove burner that was warming up but absolutely not glowing to my eyes.

I also took a photo of the engine bay of the 9-5 after a spirited drive home from work. I also took a photo of the exhaust under the car, but it was not as impressive as I expected and not worth posting.

And here is a photo of our back yard in near infrared. The trees and ground look vividly green to our eyes but show up white with the camera.

I modified the camera by removing the infrared filter inside the camera and adding three layers of (developed) exposed camera film over the lens to block out the bulk of visible light.

The camera has a “video” feature. I haven’t tried yet, but I look forward to playing with it soon.

HD Lip, One Day Later

Color me surprised.

I drove the 9-5 for a total of 40 minutes at 70-80mph today and the HD lip held strong. There weren’t even any ripples in the lip when I finally parked the car. I also noticed that my new lip was very similar to a co-worker’s stock lip on his new Mustang.

The lip sits about a thumb’s width from a standard concrete parking block.

I was planning on keeping the lip for a month and then removing it. After today I think I’ll keep the lip installed until it wears out. We’ll see how it holds up to rain, snow and ice.

Vintage SCCA Shirt

My father handed me a bag of his old t-shirts. Here is what I found:

It says, “SCCA National Rally Championship” “Mid-South Region Sports Car Club of America” “The Bluff & The Truth” on the front and

“Beck Arnley Parts For Imported Cars, Inc.” “Sponsor” on the back.

I’m trying to track down the year. The folks were active in the Mid-west Region in the 70s and early 80s. I couldn’t imagine them going to Memphis for a rally after I was born, so I would guess it’s from the early to mid-70s.

Update: My father was not much help on nailing down a year for that shirt. He said, “early 70s, ‘72 or ‘74.” but he didn’t seem too sure.

Install a Front Lip Spoiler on the SAAB 9-5 for Only $25

This is how to add a front lip spoiler known as an “HD lip” to the SAAB 9-5 for $25. What is an HD lip? Well, the HD stands for “Home Depot”.

This project is not for everyone. It is just for fun and just for appearance. For $25, it is a project that you can do in an hour. The lip can be easily removed if it gets damaged or if you get tired of it.

I picked up this modification from an autocross forum I frequent. I don’t autocross and I wouldn’t use my SAAB if I did, but I grew up in an SCCA family and I love to keep up with the sport. I saw the HD lip and had to try it out.

You will need:
9 feet of “rubber garage door bottom” (preferably from Home Depot)
two 1.5 meter rolls of outdoor mounting tape (I used Scotch brand)
a dozen self-tapping lathing screws
a bottle of rubbing alcohol
clean rags
a pair of scissors
a screwdriver that matches the screws

You can optionally jack or ramp the car to get to the front bumper easier, but the installation will still work at ride height.

Use the rubbing alcohol and rags to wipe down the underside of the front bumper and the edge of the rubber “garage door bottom” strip. Apply the mounting tape to the strip. I ended up with an extra 2 feet and 4 inches of rubber. You could just tape 7 feet of rubber and you should be safe, but I wouldn’t cut the rubber yet. Take your time adding the tape and really press it into the rubber strip. It will take about 1 and a half rolls of tape for the entire project.

Peel back to expose about a foot of tape at a time and, starting at a wheel well, carefully place the strip around the edge of the bumper. Cut the end of the rubber so it is flush with the end of the bumper. Really press the tape into the bumper as you go to make sure it sticks. You could stop here if you only wanted the lip to be temporary.

I went ahead and used some screws at key points under the bumper to make sure the new lip will hold for awhile. No pre-drilling was required, the screws went in by themselves.

It actually looks quite finished for $25 worth of hardware store items. Maybe I should have cut and pre-taped some strips and then sold them online for $$$ instead of writing this post. (c:

There are two ways of mounting the rubber strip, one is a thicker “aggressive” looking lip and the other a thinner lip. I went with the thicker lip by taping the smaller of the two edges to the bumper. A thinner lip can be made by using the other surface of the rubber strip. Play with the strip before you add tape and figure out which edge you want to use.

Here is a closeup photo soon after I installed the lip. The edge near the wheel well was at the center of the roll. It straightened out after a week in the sun.

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11/29/07 Update:

Welcome to the visitors from redlineforums.com and ionforums.net

I ended up using satin black bumper paint and toothpick to carefully blackout the places where the gray tape could be seen. A month and many highway miles later, and the lip is holding strong, no ripples or sagging. We will see what winter weather does to it.

12/13/07 Update:

Welcome to the sixthsphere.com visitors.

The lip stood up to the ice storm in the midwest this week. Tomorrow has a forecast for some real snow.

1/23/08 Update:

Welcome g20.net and 93forum.com visitors.

The lip seems to hold fairly firm at high speed with little bending or flapping. The fold of the foam gives it a certain strength.

My lip is still holding strong in all our winter weather and even in the automatic car wash. I really didn’t expect it to last long or look as striking as it does. I’ve decided that I’m keeping it on as long as it holds up and might even install a new one when it is time to retire the current lip.

3/16/08 Update:

Welcome celicatech.com visitors.

The lip is still on and looks as good as it did when I installed it, even after being folded over and pinched by the occasional curb when parking. Something that isn’t shown in the photos is how the lip looks when coated in an Armor All type rubber conditioner. I suggest giving it a wipe down with rubber conditioner ever so often because the stuff really makes it look better.

5/25/08 Update:

Welcome ecomodder.com visitors.

I don’t have anything really to add to the post except that it is still holding strong after more than six months. I put a coat of armor all on it occasionally to keep it looking fresh.

How To Remove The Rivet Panel Clips In A SAAB 9-5

The rivet plastic clips that hold various panels on the 9-5 (like the carpet on the underside of the trunk lid) are ingeniously made.

I grew up working on cars with the plastic panel clips that have one-way barbs. You were lucky to get the clip out in one piece, and forget about that clip ever securely holding the panel again.

The plastic rivets on the 9-5 are made of two pieces. They not only hold tight, they can be reused.

The way to remove these rivet clips is to first press the center of the head with the tip of a small Philips screwdriver. The center will sink in relatively deep and the clip can then be pulled out with your fingers.

The SAAB part number for these rivets is 5127683.

SAAB Secret: Oil Drain Plug Edition

This isn’t much of a secret, but I’m sure it will come as a surprise to some 9-5 owners. The oil drain plug on the SAAB 9-5 is 1/2 inch and not 13mm. The 13mm socket will work, but I think you’d run the risk of damaging the plug and the job is easier with the correct half inch socket.

Here is a photo of my drain plug. Notice the big drip of oil, how embarrassing. I had better tighten that before I lose too much oil and leave a mess on the garage floor.

And here is a blurry photo of my half inch socket securely placed on that plug. A little  pressure with the socket wrench and the drip is gone. And I swear the photo didn’t look blurry on the camera screen. I’ll retake the photo soon.

I wonder what other standard/English sized parts there are on the 9-5. The 5/8 inch spark plug is the only other thing I’ve come across that wasn’t metric.

I’m sure there is a story behind this…

…But I don’t think I want to know what that story is.

This is the frame of my SAAB 9-5 on the right rear side, just under the bumper. I first saw this gash at the dealer when we were first checking the car out. The angle and zoom make it look more massive than it is, but it’s still impressive in real life. It’s maybe four inches in length.

I can only imagine that someone, years ago, tried to tow the car with a strap attached to the hole and ended up pulling the hook across the frame like a can opener. That would be a strange thing to do because there are tow hooks under the bumper that are made for pulling.

Anyway, there is no point to this post except to share this horrifying feature of my car.

Remove and Replace the License Plate Bulbs

The SAAB 9-5 has two small lights above the license plate. The removal and installation of these bulbs takes five minutes.

You will need:
T20 Torx screwdriver
Small flathead screwdriver
2825 replacement bulb
A clean rag or rubber gloves

A photo of the license plate light

I found it helped to open the trunk so that the lenses were pointed towards me and at eye level. Each lens above the license plate has two T20 torx screws, remove them and then use the small flathead screwdriver to gently pry the plastic lens away from the foam gasket underneath. Remove the burned out bulb by pulling down like it was a child’s loose front tooth.

A photo of the bulb with the lens removed

A photo of the removed lens and burned out bulb

Wear gloves or use a clean rag when handling the new bulb to prevent skin oil from getting on it. The new bulb will install by pressing up into the socket with a little pressure. Turn the lights on to make sure it is working again. Return the plastic lens cover and install the two torx screws.

The license plate bulbs don’t go out very often, but they are easy to fix when they do.

Cheap Terrycloth Shop Towels

Our local “Family Dollar Store” sells washcloths that are perfect as shop rags. The washcloths are sold in $5 bundles of 25 + 5 “free” as a bonus. That is 30 new terrycloth shop rags for just 17 cents each! The washcloths are located on the aisle with the bath towels (not with the kitchen or automotive items). They come in tan or light blue and are about a foot square in size.

A photo of these towels

This is the best deal for towels in the store, cheaper than their standard red shop rags in the automotive aisle.

These towels do a great job of wiping away bird droppings, cleaning brake dust off wheels, checking fluid levels, cleaning the engine bay, drying windows, and any other place you might use a towel or shop rag. But I wouldn’t throw out the nice detailing towels yet; these washcloths are very thin, very linty, and are of a very horrible quality.

Theoretically they can be washed and reused. I haven’t dared to stick them in the washing machine yet. Heck, at 17 cents, just soil the usefulness out of the rag and pitch it.

I have a sort of “cleanliness hierarchy” inside my mind. I use a new rag for drying the windows, then use it to clean bird poo and bug splat, then clean the wheels, then use it to soak up spilled fluids, finally throwing it in the trash. That doesn’t have to happen all in one day, I keep several piles in various states of soiled-ness and grab from the pile that I need.