Proud member of the cult of Saab: Rizzon repair keeps proud … – The Manchester Journal
5 min readDORSET — More than a decade has passed since Chris Rizzon opened the door of a Saab and breathed in its factory-fresh smell. The last new Saab automobiles sold in the U.S. were for the 2011 model year.
Rizzon is the owner of Rizzon Saab Repair, which since 1997 has specialized in fixing the distinctive cars from Scandinavia. The corporation Saab AB still exists in Sweden, but Saab Automobile .......
DORSET — Greater than a decade has handed since Chris Rizzon opened the door of a Saab and breathed in its manufacturing unit-current odor. The final new Saab automobiles purchased Inside the U.S. have been for the 2011 mannequin yr.
Rizzon is the proprietor of Rizzon Saab Restore, which since 1997 has specialised in repairing the distinctive automotives from Scandinaby way of. The company Saab AB nonetheless exists in Sweden, however Saab Car — hived from its mother or father in 1990 — has been defunct for almost a dozen yrs and the inhabitants of roadworthy Saabs has been reducing ever since.
“I simply Sort of figured As a Outcome of the Saabs died out, I might simply Sort of die out with them,” Rizzon, 69, said with Amusing on the final day of 2022.
He might joke Regarding the demise because currently he had been straind To level out amethod commerce. Outdoorways Rizzon’s two-bay storage at 5055 Route 30, which sits A pair of steps amethod from his house, the Saabs of 10 buyers awaited consideration from the technician.
“Enterprise has been staying pretty regular,” he said.
Rizzon’s Daily driver is a Saab, and he frequently providers the Swedish automotives That are used for getting their house proprietors from level A to level B. But road salt, mileage and The put on and tear and tear expert by all automobiles by way of use will strain the eventual eradicating of the automotives from lively service.
But, As a Outcome of the Quantity of Saabs on the road shrinks, Rizzon’s buyer base has grpersonal. He said he will get buyers from Glens Falls, Salem and NY metropolis, N.Y., and Burlington, too.
“It’s because Nobody else Desires to work on them,” Rizzon defined. “Or Nobody else hAs a Outcome of the diagnostics or the knowhow, in all probability, at this level of time.”
Sure fashions of the defunct mannequin have attracted The eye of collectors. Rizzon said he had carried out work on Saab 900s — which function wraparound windshields, huge bumpers and a beetle-agained type That is in distinction to somefactor created by Detroit, Japan, Germany, And even by fellow Swedish automotivemaker Volvo. These buyers had Rizzon repair up their Saab 900s So as that they might storage them Inside the winter and take them out on pleasure drives Through the summer time.
This method, they hope, the automotives will Last extra, They typically’re going to be In a place to take pleasure in them As a Outcome of their values respect.
“Saab was On A daily basis Sort of a cult automotive,” Rizzon said of the mannequin. “They have been completely different. They have been actually based mostly on safety and pertypeance.”
In 1997, Rizzon left his job as a technician for a Saab sellership in Rutland and opened his personal repair store that October. He renovated an current constructing subsequent to his house, which he had purchased in 1991, and created two service bays. There are enhances in every — one being a full enhance that enhances an automobile extreme enough for Rizzon To face beneath and work on its exhaust.
The completely different is a low-rise enhance, which enhances the automotive to a peak That permits tires to be modified and brakes To get changed.
These are the Kinds of jobs that occupy a lot of Rizzon’s workday: brakes, tires, exhausts, clutches, engine oils and axles. He Does not rebuild engines, however He’ll drop an engine from a donor automotive into an completely differentwise roadworthy Saab.
In the midst of a yr, Rizzon will pertype work on the odd Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Subaru, however these jobs are typically carried out For patrons who Even have a Saab. He estimated that 95 % of his income comes from providers rendered on Saabs.
Rizzon has diagnostics hardware That comes with specialised Computer software for Saab automobiles. He can plug the automotives into the gear and use it To discover a fault. Expertise Can additionally assist him decide A drawback even earlier than The client drives onto the property.
“I do know them so properly, the Saabs,” Rizzon said. “When somebody calls me, I Shut toly know whOn the automotive’s going To want.”
The labor price is $75 per hour. Clients convey completely different jobs to Rizzon, And a few have tiny repair budwill get.
Definitely one of many Saabs on the Dorset lot was purchased by a youthful man for $800. When he dropped it off for brake repair, he tprevious Rizzon that he Did not Want to sink Far Further money into automotive. He needed a beater automotive And by no means one factor to current at automotive reveals.
“I tprevious him for 125 bucks, I’d put a used caliper on there for him,” Rizzon said. The buyer agreed to the proposal.
Ancompletely different patron needed Rizzon to swap the dangerous engine Inside The client’s Saab for an engine the technician had salvaged from one of the parts automotives he retains on the property.
“It acquired here Shut to three-thousand bucks with the engine and the labor,” Rizzon defined.
The proprietor is The solely full-time worker. Rizzon engages some half-time assist Through the summer time months. Twenty yrs in the past, he had each full- and half-time staff, when new examples of the Swedish automotives have been nonetheless being produced from the meeting plant at Trollhattan.
“I had enough work again then,” Rizzon said. “There have been Much extra Saabs on the road.”
Distributors proceed To current parts for Saabs, Similar to elements for brakes and exhaust methods. Rizzon additionally has a cache Of latest-previous inventory parts, which he has purchased as sellers shut their doorways or As a Outcome of the house proprietors of completely different repair retailers retired.
He has many used parts stored on the premises, collectively with a pile of cylinder heads, A set of alternator cores, cabinets of radios and digital throttle our bodies.
Rizzon opened a door to a small storage That is near the desk in his office. The entrymethod is On The prime of A quick aisle lined with shelving Full of new parts.
The room was Full of extra elements, collectively with tires and axles and even a grille. A Saab 99 Turbo, from 1978, was additionally there and coated with a tarp.
Rizzon and a customer surveyed the room for A pair of moments earlier than the Saab specialist lamented about his lack of ability to inventory extra of the hardware needed for maintaining the Swedish automotives on the road For As prolonged as potential.
“I’ve had The prospect To buy Much extra parts,” Rizzon said. “My drawback is I simply don’t have any extra room.”
