Merritt Parkway, Friday night a few hours after work.  The great deluge is playing out in front of you as you truck along, earlier provisions to wax the windshield proved to be fruitful.  The revs begin to drop, you take a quick look at the tachometer.  It is broken.  A glance out of the corner of your eye reminds you of the 500+ needless pounds of junk (this is a camping trip after all!) packed into the back of this 1986 SAAB 900s 2-door, lovingly referred to in some circles as the Notchback.  The RPM continues to sag until you resign and downshift into 4th gear.  It seems you’ve just found a hill, hopefully.

Only made for 2 years, 1985 as an 8v, and in 1986 16v non-turbo, the chances of coming across a Notchback 900 in the wild are quite slim.  Especially one with functioning electric locks, smooth power windows, and a flawless sunroof.  However, when you work at eEuroparts.com and have a SAAB constituency to rival the size of Greenpeace, they tend to show up.  Zak actually spent a few months with one to brave the harsh CT winter this year.

We were allowed to borrow this car from our friend Josh, who we occasionally race our SAABs with in LeMons, after deciding that the excellent condition, shiny, comfortable 9-5 Aero sitting in the parking lot was too boring to make the trip.  Six hours tick by and we eventually rattle and weave all the way to Carlisle, Pennsylvania for the Import & Kit Car Nationals.  More specifically, SAABs@Carlisle, where SAAB guys and gals from all corners of the country roll out for a celebration of all things SAAB.  Of course as we roll up to get a bead on the campground, we hear our name shouted out from a short distance.  It was Gary Reider, a 900 racer and friend of eEuro for years.  Based out of Pennsylvania, he always shows up to the show.  It quickly became apparent we were in the right place.

The second realization was that there were a LOT of rare and interesting cars, making our weathered SAAB look kind of plain.  From AC Cobra to Z car, the car clubs were all arranged by country.  I particularly found the adjacent French area to be quite interesting.  I love the quirky, weird, practical, and sometimes hilarious aspects of SAABs, some of the Citroens parked there had all of that with a 5X multiplier added on.  Single spoke steering wheels, hydraulic suspension…. One was even complete with a group of retirement age men with screw drivers trying to open the hood.  Now that’s what we’re talkin’ about.

The SAABs@Carlisle tent was where the best of the best parked.  Mostly classics, there were SAAB race cars, street cars, a 9000 Police car from Aspen.  This 99T had a mirror finish done up to the 9’s (pun slightly intended).  Besides the obvious joy of getting to see cars you never would see elsewhere, the best part about the show is how owners from every walk of life could get together and appreciate the time and effort put into every car sitting there.  The guys in slammed Viggens stop to watch two stroke 96’s putt by.  9000 owners got together with Sonnet drivers for dinner and told stories about how their mother and law was stranded in Nova Scotia that one time in 1996, and had to be rescued in a SAAB 95 because the daily was in the shop getting a clutch.  Things like that are the mainstay of every good car show.

It’s safe to say that Zak and I took too many pictures this weekend, so I might as well go ahead and post some images!  The link to the gallery is listed at the bottom of this page.

Next year we plan on having an official representation at Carlisle, so look forward to that.  Until then, happy driving, be safe, and don’t forget maintenance is key to keeping these gems on the road!  Link to the condensed photo gallery HERE.