Author: Ed

As SAAB owners often discover, finding the correct–and good quality–parts for our cars has become increasingly challenging over the years.

Those who joined us for our online “Parts” meeting in January of this year heard from Tristan Vieira, who is building a parts supply for SAABs. He writes:

SwedeSource Canada was created in 2017 by an avid Swedish car enthusiast with the goal of finding and supplying quality parts for Swedish cars across the world.  Our goal is to provide an easy and well priced solution to parts for all SAABs and Volvos alike.

Here is contact information for Tristan’s business:

Email address: [email protected]

Website: https://swedesourcecanada.com/pages/special-order-request (Use this for special order requests.)

A group of Saab owners, including a couple of new faces, sat down for breakfast and Saab talk, and then walked over to the autocross event that was ongoing. We took a route that took us past the local Hell’s Angels clubhouse. Not much happening there at the time!

It was quite interesting to watch the various cars that were running, everything from vintage MG and Triumph roadsters (is that what Brits call them?) to Subaru BRZ/Toyota 86, some Porsches, a smaller Mercedes SUV, and of course many red Miatas.

While no Saabs were running (and that day, no Volvos), a Saab Club member who is a regular at the series said he is happy to take ridealongs. And depending on state of repair, there even might be a Saab there the next time the Club visits.

Tentatively, the next visit will be Saturday August 12, however there are PITL events before and after that date. Stay tuned! And enjoy the pictures below, courtesy of Fred our webmaster.

Meet at Ikea Etobicoke at 8:45 AM on Saturday June 17 for a $4 Ikea breakfast.

At 10 AM, we will go across the street where the Push It To the Limit (PITL) autocross event should be in full swing.

PITL is a friendly bunch, and if you sign the waver and bring your own suitable helmet (M2010 or SA2010 or newer), or use one of the loaner helmets, you may be able to cadge a ride around the course.

This is a good way to see what autocross is about. And have a cheap breakfast as well!

UPDATE: Jim Kenzie will be attending the tour, and he will have his book, In the Driver’s Seat with Jim Kenzie, for sale for the special price of $30! And he will auto-graph it for you, too! This is the book that holds the Saab stories, some of which he told us about in our November 2022 meeting.

You can’t get this book at the corner bookstore, and it is not currently available on-line. You can get it from Jim, though, and Jim will be happy to sell a copy to you!

Sale is cash only, exact change appreciated.

We will do something different this mild and messy season. We will take a tour through city and suburbs. On the way, we will:

• Get some remarkable views (for Toronto) and travel roads that may remind you of San Francisco (or maybe not!)
• Visit what might politely be called an environmentally questionable area
• Visit locations which look nice and pleasant now, but have a tragic history
• Tour middle-class suburbs, very posh suburbs, and rapidly mansionifying streets
• Take in some waterfront views (if it’s not snowing too badly)
• Travel through a cottage community founded in 1885
• Take a look at a massive waterfront redevelopment in Mississauga
• Finish at Stonehooker Brewery on Lakeshore Rd between Dixie and Cawthra, where you can explore their variety of brews, available in cans and large and small growlers

If this sounds interesting, join us in the parking lot of Amesbury Arena, 145 Culford Rd. This is in the Lawrence Ave W./Black Creek Drive/Keele St. area. Please arrive by 10:45 AM for the Driver’s Meeting. A route sheet will be available–hopefully it won’t be needed much! Most of our driving will be on 30-50 km/h streets.

We will finish the route at about 1:30 PM, for a tour time of approximately 2.5 hours.

Please also note the following:

Please bring clothing and footwear suitable for the weather and short walks (10 to 20 minutes maxumum) on park paths.

Although this tour is all on urban streets (with a stretch of freeway driving), there are many steep grades and sharp curves on the route. Good winter tires are strongly recommended.

Full details including map are found in the event listing.