- Posted on Friday, September 15th, 2006 at 9:46 am
The Long Way Home
By Peter G. Gilbert
Editor’s note: Peter Gilbert recently traveled from Milwaukee to Lake George, NY, for the 2006 Saab Owners Convention at the Roaring Brook Ranch to celebrate the 1 millionth mile on his 17-year-old 1989 Saab 900 SPG. He’s had some good times and even better stories with his SPG over the years; his journey back home from the convention was no exception.
As I left Roaring Brook at 7.30 a.m., there was an ephemeral beauty to the whole morning. Not only was it misty and damp, the odometer on the SPG read 000,001, which could only mean it was a new beginning!
When the engine fired up, I had visions of the last flight of the Memphis Belle, a long flight home without incident. (As an aviation lover, I’m an honorary member of the 8th Air Force. Had my SPG been a WW II bomber, 1 million miles would have been, on average, 1,666 return missions from England to Germany.)
The trip left early, so that Jonathan, my son, could catch the early departure from the Albany Airport. Taxiing toward Highway 9, the car had difficulty getting into gear, and by the time I left Albany, it could only take off by turning off the engine, engaging first, starting the engine again and then changing gear very slowly. There was a hydraulic problem, which literally cropped up overnight. Luckily my car was flawless for that millionth mile!
I reached Erie, Penn., on Sunday afternoon by doing the described remedy. Luckily there were only several stops along the Truway . I was waiting for my two fellow Milwaukee wingmen, Andy and Rudy, to finally touchdown with my 2001 Viggen.
By now it was apparent that it was going to be impossible to avoid the flak going through Chicago’s evening rush hour the next day. When the fighter escort finally showed up at 10 p.m., we debated on how to remedy the problem.
I decided to leave Erie at 5 a.m. and drive 200 miles all the way back to Geneva, NY. Upon my departure I met Dan Fitzgerald, the owner of GFS, a pre-owned Saab dealer. I knew he could get the clutch replaced quickly and have the parts available.
Other than the clutch that was installed in Trollhatten, I’ve only replaced two others, with slaves each time, and only one master replacement.
With all those million miles, you didn’t think I was going to have a boring flight home, did you?
One Comment
getalifeagain
Holy smokes! I read the usual knocks on GM’s other blog, but this is an accomplishment, period.
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