So many months had passed since I had removed the carburettor from the engine that I had forgotten what it looked like. Thus, when I came across a tiny carburettor, still secure in its allocated space on the shelf, I thought it was off the Atco motor mower but then saw that it had ‘FoMoCo’ stamped on it. The hole down the middle looked awfully small for all that air to pass through. I measured it at one inch diameter and the area is further reduced by the spray bar.

It was at this point that I came to the conclusion that Ford/Saab had done an amazingly good job of designing this engine. Chopping off a third of a V6 to make the engine short enough and then fitting a balance shaft to counter the uneven 60 degree firing is clever. Then there is the use of the camshaft that not only does its own job but drives the distributor and the oil pump too. On top is that tiny little carburettor that does its job well by keeping the gas speed high which is good for atomisation and for torque. Then there is the clever inlet manifold which is arranged to have its four inlet tracts of equal length to achieve equal mixture density to each cylinder. And the inlet tracts are carefully curved to the valves in such a way as to optimise gas swirl which improves burning and reduces the chance of detonation. A lot of thought has gone into this effective and durable little engine, but because it is good at its job and so reliable it doesn’t attract attention and therefore misses out on the praise it deserves.

The original clutch driven plate, or in modern parlance clutch disc, had been soaked by gearbox oil. A new disc cost £72, which included a 15% discount. I later learnt that it is usually better value for money to buy a ‘clutch kit’ from a motor factor because you also get a pressure plate and release bearing for not much more cash. I needed a clutch centring tool and Graham MacDonald of McDonald Classic Cars kindly came to my aid with the postal loan of the tool. That’s one of the nice spin-offs about rebuilding an older car, you meet all sorts of really helpful folk. G McD is an enthusiast. Proof of this can be seen in his garage which is packed with two-strokes and Sonnets.

Removing and refitting the engine/gearbox assembly is made simpler if you first undo the top swivel joint of the suspension. This is not difficult or time consuming to do and makes life so much easier.

Something else that makes for a stress-free life is to use a small double pulley block (the sort used on dinghies and small yachts) to enable exact alignment of the angle of the weighty engine/gearbox assembly so that amongst other things the rear gearbox mounting lines up and goes together nicely. The pulley ropes form the third side of a triangle. They go from behind the output shafts up to the crane hook. It is by the adjustment of the length of the pulley ropes that you can achieve everything you want. And because of the gearing of the double pulley this can be done with great accuracy and hardly any effort. Use of the pulley block system relegates any heaving and grunting to the Highland Games.

Reconnecting the drive shafts to the output shafts of the final drive is a messy business because of the moly grease in the joints, which the rubber boots have to fit over. I wore special vinyl gloves for this and did a superb job. I was prematurely congratulating myself on completing this messy job successfully when I discovered that I had trapped part of a vinyl glove under the hose clip I had just tightened. Murphy’s Law states that, ‘If you think you are winning, you don’t know all the facts’. Before firing-up the engine for the first time I removed the plugs and the rocker covers and cranked the engine over till oil could be seen to be exiting the rockers.

When I began this project I had too much enthusiasm with the result that I was driven to fix every minor ‘challenge’ that appeared. I failed to distinguish between what was imperative and what could be overlooked. I wanted it all to be like new. The piece of string has proved to be as long as the Andrex dog’s roll of paper and then has stretched too. It has also proved to be more expensive than anticipated.

My advice to anyone thinking of comprehensively renovating an old engine with a rebore is don’t bother, just buy a complete younger engine. I will qualify this rather blunt statement with this: The crank in the V4 is amazingly long lived. It probably won’t ever wear out provided it is lubricated properly. On the other hand the bores do eventually (it is a long ‘eventually’) wear and you can’t get Saab oversize pistons any more. However you can fit Volvo ones. (Another possibility that I have heard about but haven’t checked is Ford Pinto pistons.) If there should ever be a Next Time I’d go down the path of finding a younger engine. If that wasn’t possible I would ream the ridge out of the top of the worn bores and then match the existing pistons to new piston rings. My reasoning being along the lines that there are companies dedicated to supplying replacement piston rings in a huge range of sizes. If the grooves in the piston are worn (very likely for the top rings) chose rings that are minutely thicker, top to bottom, and then machine the piston ring groves to match.

My work on the V4 has brought me good fortune in the meeting of many kind and generous people who have provided help and advice. Most of this was happening in 1999, the same year that both my parents became ill. My world has changed and I have now sold the car to someone else with, hopefully, enough enthusiasm to complete what I started.

Mark Dunn