1,000,000 mile Saab

[Welby]

Dayum



http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=538098

This Saab story is one in a million
Traveling salesman from Glendale rides trusty vehicle to extraordinary milestone
By RICK BARRETT
rbarrett@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Dec. 4, 2006
Not long after his divorce, Peter Gilbert treated himself to a new sports car - a Saab 900 SPG, which stands for Special Performance Group.

Saab Story


Photo/Jeffrey Phelps

Peter Gilbert is shown in front of the Wisconsin Automotive Museum with his 1989 Saab, in which he put over a million miles on the same engine. The car will be on display at the museum.

Quotable
When I hit 600,000 miles, the car still wasn't burning oil. That's when I thought it could go a million miles.

- Peter Gilbert,
on his 1989 Saab 900 SPG

Peter Gilbert's Car
A 1989 Saab 900 SPG with 1,001,385 miles.
In 17 years the car used more than 600 quarts of synthetic Mobil-1 motor oil, which can travel significantly more miles between oil changes than regular oil.
In its time, the car burned two tanker-truck-loads of premium gasoline and averaged about 28 mpg.
It went through about 22 sets of tires, changed every 45,000 miles.
The transmission was replaced at about 200,000 miles, but the engine was largely untouched.
The engine head gasket was replaced three times because constant warming and cooling stretched it.

AdvertisementSeventeen years and more than 1 million miles later, Gilbert donated his car to the Wisconsin Automotive Museum. The car survived eight deer collisions, including one that punched a hole in the radiator, before it was parked for safekeeping at the museum in Hartford.

"I couldn't kill that many deer with a gun," said Gilbert, a financial services salesman from Glendale.

Saab, the Swedish car-maker that's a division of General Motors, verified the high mileage on Gilbert's car last summer. Almost everything on the vehicle was original equipment, except for the front hoods and other parts that were replaced after the car-deer collisions.

Gilbert was meticulous about vehicle maintenance, including regular oil changes with premium, synthetic oil. He replaced the car's transmission at about 200,000 miles, but beyond that the engine was hardly touched.

"I knew someone who put 2.5 million miles on a Volvo, but the engine was rebuilt several times," Gilbert said.

Originally from Britain, Gilbert fell in love with Saabs when the cars were winning European road rallies in the 1960s. His trusty 900 SPG was no slouch, either, having once clocked 135 mph at the Road America race track in Elkhart Lake.

"I was taking the lead in a race for a while," Gilbert recalled.

A long journey
That was the same car he drove seven days a week, 365 days a year, racking up extreme mileage in his business travel across rural Wisconsin.

"When I hit 600,000 miles, the car still wasn't burning oil. That's when I thought it could go a million miles," Gilbert said.

But Wisconsin winters, and road salt, took their toll on the sporty little car. While its exterior still looked pretty good, the frame had rusted to the point where it might not have been safe in a serious collision.

"There was no point in driving the car any longer, even though it might have gone another million miles," Gilbert said.

With some sadness, he donated the car to the museum, which has some rare vehicles such as the "Kissel," manufactured in Hartford from 1906 to 1931, and a Nash built in Kenosha in 1916.

For Gilbert, turning over the car's keys to the museum was like putting an elderly family member in a nursing home.

"But I know where the car is, and I can visit," he said. "And before I took her to the museum, I had a full detail job done. She was like a bride getting ready for her wedding. It was the first time that her carpets were thoroughly cleaned in 17 years."

Saab showed some interest in the car and videotaped it when the odometer rolled over the 1-million-mile mark, at a Saab owners' convention in Lake George, N.Y., in August.

Saab executives rode in the car and discussed putting it in their museum in Sweden. Gilbert hoped they would give him a new car, as a replacement, but he didn't get so much as a T-shirt from Saab.

"I am a little disappointed in them," he said.

Maintenance pays off
Putting a million miles on a car, while unusual, is possible with stellar maintenance and a little luck.

"People who get tremendous longevity from a vehicle almost always have taken great care of it," said Joe Wiesenfelder, senior producer for Cars.com, a Web page for car enthusiasts.

To extend the life of his Saab, Gilbert said, he always used premium, synthetic motor oil.

Not everyone agrees that synthetic oil helps. Regular motor oil, changed at 3,000-mile intervals, could be just as good, according to some mechanics.

Most of the things that will make a car last longer aren't very expensive, said Kathleen Schmatz, president of the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association, a trade group.

"The problem is that some people take better care of their sweaters than their cars," she said.

Certain brands of cars, such as Lexus and Acura, are known for reliability. But that's not the same as longevity.

Driving habits are important if you want a car to last for hundreds of thousands of miles.

"I think the single most important thing is not to drive the car hard," Wiesenfelder said. "Anyone who is gradual on the gas pedal and easy on the brakes is limiting friction, shock and other things that cause wear."

Today's cars are built better than ever, and many of them could last for decades.

"A big part of this is a willingness to keep putting money into a vehicle," Wiesenfelder said.

Gilbert paid $29,000 for his Saab, which he bought on Nov. 30, 1989. He replaced it with another one that has far fewer miles.

"There's nothing more to prove," he said about reaching a million miles on one car.


Peter Gilbert's car
A 1989 Saab 900 SPG with 1,001,385 miles.

In 17 years the car used more than 600 quarts of synthetic Mobil-1 motor oil, which can travel significantly more miles between oil changes than regular oil.

In its time, the car burned two tanker-truck-loads of premium gasoline and averaged about 28 mpg.

It went through about 22 sets of tires, changed every 45,000 miles.

The transmission was replaced at about 200,000 miles, but the engine was largely untouched.

The engine head gasket was replaced three times because constant warming and cooling stretched it.

[mantis]

I had an 84 Saab 900 for my first car. Bought it with 200k on it, and sold it with 450k on it. The guy who bought it from me put another 100k or so on it before he killed it (crash).

They used to be good cars (before GM bought them).

[Travis Waldher]

"He replaced it with another one that has far fewer miles."

The funniest part of the article.

[preach]

The first volvo to hit 1mil miles was a p1800.

Volvo will send you a badge for your grill at 100k etc miles. When he sent in his proof of 1mil miles they not only sent him a 1000000 mile badge but also gave him a new volvo.

[KWTMECH]

I don't believe it---no fawking way a SAAB could last that long

[tacoma73]

Pretty cheap of Saab, if you ask me.

[welndmn]

I saw this too.
Whats odd is most saab's I ever worked on ran for 1000 feet.
Saabs suck.

[Offrhoder4x4]

I heard this on the radio the other day. He also said that the turbo charger had never been changed.

[DevinB]

Originally Posted by Saab owner

She was like a bride getting ready for her wedding.

Yeah, a bride that was ridden long and hard.

[Ebs]

Originally Posted by welndmn

Whats odd is most saab's I ever worked on ran for 1000 feet.
Saabs suck.

Maybe you suck

[Rip DeLips]

I bought a Saab for $200. Been trying to kill it ever since, and it just won't die. Minor fixes and it just keeps on going. Not quite what I expected at all.

It was intended to go into the demo derby fleet, but they just aren't set up for that at all. Distributor is damn near part of the front bumper.

She's getting mud/snow tires, offroad lights, and some suspension work...and maybe even a blower sticking out of the hood.

[Rip DeLips]

Might be some work unsafe stuff in there, but this driving is goot!....

[mantis]

Originally Posted by Rip DeLips

Might be some work unsafe stuff in there, but this driving is goot!....

Dood, I'm telling you, they are hard to kill. I was in an ice storm with mine, and went 50mph into a concrete median, and drove another 20 miles to my destination. I swapped out the hood and radiator, and beat the frame rails somewhat straight with a sledgehammer, and I drove it for another 150k miles.

Old Saabs were king shit. If mine had A/C I'd still be driving it, but without A/C I left it in MN when I moved to Houston

[Todd W]

Werent saabs just rated WORST in consumer reports or some other place online????? Everyone I talk to says they are TERRIBLE.

[Holocene]

Not that impressive. If he had been driving from the Earth to the Sun, he'd only be 1/93 of the way there.

[mantis]

Originally Posted by Todd W

Werent saabs just rated WORST in consumer reports or some other place online????? Everyone I talk to says they are TERRIBLE.

Like I said earlier in this thread... the new Saabs suck ass because GM has a controlling stake in them. The 80's Saabs kicked ass, and lasted for ever.

[Rip DeLips]

I bought mine for the very reason of killing it...and the damn thing just won't die.

If you've got some electrical genius, you're set.

[Rip DeLips]

Good Saab pics, some good old school...

dammit
hahaa

http://brentroad.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=446967

hope that works

[Rip DeLips]

Some damn crazzzy good driving...


http://youtube.com/watch?v=FPlFru4suXI

[Rip DeLips]

Ooops. I think this is the link I was lookin' for. If you don't laugh and slap your knee at eurofagdom kick ass driving...I will come to your houwze and beat you sensless.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zQ28qOsWcUo

[ToyFord]

Originally Posted by Holocene

Not that impressive. If he had been driving from the Earth to the Sun, he'd only be 1/93 of the way there.

But...he'd have made it to the moon and back twice, as good as some space shuttles, for $29k plus a couple tankers of fuel and a 200 cases of oil and a bunch of tires.

[Grim Reaper]

I don't know why that SAAB got so much attention.

Here is a Million mile 91 toy truck. The engine hase 600K he killed the first one by not adjusting the valves. Original Auto tranny though.
http://www.racetoretirement.org/

Jim Jeeter of Douglasville Ga was on Letterman in 99 with his Toyota Starlet that had a million miles on it.

http://www.tv.com/late-show-with-dav...9/summary.html

There is some Volvo running around europe with some ungodly miles on it. Its over a million.

Ohh found it.

There is a volvo with over 2.5 million miles on it in NY,
They guy is Europe S. E. Mäkinen has over 1.62 million
http://www.volvoclub.org.uk/miles.shtml

Actually the guy in NY is over 2 million in 2002.
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2...21/036086.html
That story seems to lead me to believe original motor too.

[Rip DeLips]

Oh shit, I feel compelled to demolish mine within the next 1/4 mile. There is no way I can compete with those million-milers!


I'll be right back....

[Rip DeLips]

I couldn't do it. There's too much life left in this car. And that's why God made '76 Pinto wagons.

[Halogrinder]

while this is cool, i had a 82 toyota that i bought with 450,xxx miles on it, and didnt think twice when i got it, about the miles. shame i wrecked it though.