Q: Should I paint the SAAB?
I spoke with First Street Auto Body in Painesville and got a good price quotation to fix the couple of rust spots and paint them. He seemed to think that it would be easy to paint the ground effect at the same time. I got to wondering what that would look like and did a little photo editing. Here’s a Microsoft Paint edition of what it could end up looking like if the bumpers and side mouldings were included. What do you think? If it was you, would you do it?
Andy,
My father’s first Saab was a 1988 Saab 9000 T-16 almost exactly like yours but in Silver. This car remains the favorite Saab our family has owned, and it makes me very sad that it is no longer part of our family. There are so few of the first generation Saab 9000 T-16s left, that it would be a terrible shame in my opinion to do anything other than keep it original. My vote accordingly would be to keep it as is and not to paint the bumpers, spoilers, etc.
That car sure was a blessing – people forget what an enormous impact the 9000 T made when it came out – there was nothing like it on the road! When the 9000 was discontinued, the interior (which was left pretty much unchanged for over 12 years) was still considered to be modern and competitive with the best. I love the understated pureness of the first generation (especially the flatnosed version you have), and accordingly would urge you to keep it original!
Enjoy the car and keep the posts up – I check in here every once in a while and always enjoy reading your blog!
Greetings from Budapest!
Edward