My Saab 900 : Version 2

Alright so, I purchased the new (not really new) Saab 900 this past week, just picked it up Wednesday, and let me tell you, fast fast fast!

It is a 1995 900 SE, 2.0T, 3 door coupe / hatch ! The previous owner is a friend I met through Saab events and saablink. He did a substantial amount of work to the car, all of which are very noticeable. The list includes :

-900 transmission swapped for a 1999 9-3 transmission, which is hydraulic versus cable.
-Upgraded shifter linkage, much sturdier
-Stock turbo swapped for larger TD04 turbo from a Saab 9000 Aero
-Cat delete
-Full 2.5inch Flowmaster from cat delete back
-Stage 2 road tune from a genius by the name of Mike D.
-Custom intake piping leading to open air intake
-Boost Guage in ashtray spot (horrible spot, but I have seen it reach 13psi)

Thats about it I believe. The transmission + clutch + upgraded linkage make shifting so much quicker, precise, just spot on. The TD04 is certainly felt, much higher boost.

The downsides (what car doesn't have them?)
-Brake pads are nearly gone... guess I have an excuse for slotted rotors
-Cosmetic issues within the car, and exterior. HUGE dent on the passenger panel, but he threw a gray one in for free
-Way too loud, need to locate a cat.

I will add pictures very soon, I already swapped the rims over from my 1997, but the 5 spokes that came on this car, went to the 1997. They both look great.

Future mods:
-Helper wastegate spring : help hold higher boost, the stock t25 is not cuttin it.
-Brakes
-Crossflow intercooler, already got everything, he threw in the extra pipe I have been searching for!
-Paint job, black :bigsmile:
-Interior cosmetics

Stock images a week before I got her!

 

[Yugguy]

That's interesting about the clamp and torque steer.

How does it stop it?

 

[MasterAuron]

it certainly is looking good! And unless you already have this in hand, i think the car would look much better lowered, what do you think?

lower!

 

[Aikmanson]

It certainly is looking good! and unless you already have this in hand, I think the car would look much better lowered, what do you think?

Oh lowering is happening guys no worries there. I have ordered second hand bilstein HD's and vogtland lowering springs. 150 for the bil's, 80 for the springs!

Should lower it a decent amount, enough to make it look loads better and of course handle better with the bil's!

As for the clamp, to my knowledge the brace (the bar) helps in flexion of the firewall to strut tower on passenger side, while the clamp replaces the stock clack on the rack steering, it is much harder, and also helps in movement under the high torque levels. I have been told at my relatively low power levels (230whp, 25x wtorque) it should eliminate most of the torque steer. My 22mm ARB helped a bit as well, leveling the car a bit, especially on turns.

I will let you guys know about the suspension info, should be getting them soon.

 

[T9 man]

All sounding very good Aikmanson! would be very interested to read more about the suspension details when you have them

 

[Aikmanson]

Alright minor update here:

Suspension junk has not come yet, still waiting on the other two parties but whatever since the car is in the garage for winter. I have many projects going on with her while it is sitting there.

First off I broke my BCV (boost control valve, which was thankfully converted to T7 saving me 250 bucks buying a new one!). The result was the car randomly bucking HARD under boost or vacuum. Well the bucking SEEMS to be gone, don't want to jynx it, however it seems I have killed my passenger axle ! I was meaning to upgrade to 9-3 axles anyway so that is next up.

My dad tore into my exhaust manifold, painting it with high temp paint, also putting in a new turbocharger gasket and exhaust manny gasket as the old one was blowing a bit. New bolts all round as well.

From there the new intercooler and custom piping will be fabbed up.

Rust fixing shall continue.

Then we get to the suspension, which will hopefully go on while I am on break from college. Starting problem has been solved with a new tune, idling much higher at colder temps.

Carlisle 2011 is the goal for everything to be done, and looking as you guys say 'smart'.

 

[MasterAuron]

Haha smart indeed! Plans sound good, manifold gaskets are always prone to leaking and could have been loosing you a smidgen of power. Should be running and driving better than ever when it comes out of the garage. Good work

 

[T9 man]

This is turning into quite a project! look forward to reading the next installment

 

[Aikmanson]

Haha well ignore my last post, all #!#!#!#! hit the fan yet again. Working on debugging it but here is the details so far.

Car misses upon acceleration, and still bucks very hard. Seems to be a fuel cut, like I originally thought. Tried my spare direct ignition cassette, still does it. It has brand new spark plugs, gapped to 1.1mm. Tried my spare ECU, still does it.

I ordered a fuel rail from this guy in virginia who really hooked me up, fuel rail + FPR + injectors for 40 bucks + shipping. That will eliminate the whole rail system. I have a spare fuel pump that my dad is working on installing, as that is what I believe is causing all this. When FP's die on Saabs they do some weird #!#!#!#!, such as gradually failing, leading to missing and weird things.

I will let you guys know how it goes. I come back from school next Friday, so I should be making money and spending it all on the car very shortly!

 

[T9 man]

Have had a similar problem and it was the injectors! had them stripped cleaned, new higher performance springs and seals fitted and the flow rates adjusted and proven. marvellous!

 

[MasterAuron]

Hope you get it sorted Aikmanson.

 

[Aikmanson]

Hope you get it sorted Aikmanson.

You can call me Troy if you want.

Um, tried the fuel pump, seemed to work great at first, until hitting throttle when it started missing again. My injectors + FPR should be shipped very soon, I hope...

In the meantime, my Bilstein's are also on the way! 180 USD including shipping, not bad. My lowering springs are also in the process of being shipped. So all I gotta do is get her RUNNING again. Thank god there is tons of white stuff so I have 0 temptation to drive it anyways.

 

[T9 man]

Plenty of the white stuff eh? we have just had a few inches of it in the UK and the country ground to a halt!! we never seem to be prepared for snow over here
Car works sound like they are moving along quite nicely

 

[MasterAuron]

You can call me Troy if you want.

Will do :amuse: A white christmas in New York must be pretty cool, makes me think of Home Alone 2

 

[Aikmanson]

Will do :amuse: A white christmas in New York must be pretty cool, makes me think of Home Alone 2

It is really cool. Right now we just had a nice ice storm, roads are horrible, but looks beautiful out. Just giving an update for those out there that like to keep up with this! I got the car running again, turns out the IAT (intake air temp sensor) went bad. Car no longer misses/cuts, and runs the way it should. I got a new(er) DI cassette for it, which also makes it feel a bit smoother.

Anyway to the modifications. Got some new speakers for christmas from the parents, went to work at getting them installed.

Rears:

Doors:

So the rear ones weren't an issue, mostly plug and play. Found some aftermarket Kicker speakers back there that I plan on cleaning up and sellin. The doors was a disaster. After ripping into my door jams, I noticed the stock door speakers were not unplugged from the speakers, but from the amp. After trying to source the wires and cursing, I decided I was too cramped and cold to figure out a game plan. Me and my dad plan on hooking those up this spring after the suspension overhaul.

Speaking of suspension, still waiting on my rear springs, but who cares, I am starting the work. My dad plans on ripping the whole front end apart to replace both axles. While he is doing that, the new bilsteins and springs will go in, followed by the viggen intercooler. Should be a winter full of work, hopefully I can get some pictures soon.

 

[T9 man]

It is really cool. Right now we just had a nice ice storm, roads are horrible, but looks beautiful out. Just giving an update for those out there that like to keep up with this! I got the car running again, turns out the IAT (intake air temp sensor) went bad. Car no longer misses/cuts, and runs the way it should. I got a new(er) DI cassette for it, which also makes it feel a bit smoother.

Anyway to the modifications. Got some new speakers for christmas from the parents, went to work at getting them installed.

Rears:

Doors:

So the rear ones weren't an issue, mostly plug and play. Found some aftermarket Kicker speakers back there that I plan on cleaning up and sellin. The doors was a disaster. After ripping into my door jams, I noticed the stock door speakers were not unplugged from the speakers, but from the amp. After trying to source the wires and cursing, I decided I was too cramped and cold to figure out a game plan. Me and my dad plan on hooking those up this spring after the suspension overhaul.

Speaking of suspension, still waiting on my rear springs, but who cares, I am starting the work. My dad plans on ripping the whole front end apart to replace both axles. While he is doing that, the new bilsteins and springs will go in, followed by the viggen intercooler. Should be a winter full of work, hopefully I can get some pictures soon.

Speakers look great and the future addition of the Bilsteins with springs and intercooler will make your car perform all the better
Hope the car plan works exactly as you intend it too

 

[Aikmanson]

Hope the car plan works exactly as you intend it too

Unlikely, I drive a Saab afterall. :bigsmile:

 

[Aikmanson]

Okay here we go. Finished the suspension job last weekend. The Bilsteins are an upgrade as far as handling goes, but wow what a rough ride. I knew it was going to be rough but damn, I guess I will get used to it. On the bright side it handles soo much better than it did, night and day difference. I also put NG900 Koni/Vogtland springs up front, with 9-3 Koni/Vogtland springs in the rear. The front is slammed very nice, but the rear is higher than I would prefer, but that is the complaint of all saab driver's who lower their car.

Here are some pictures, PLEASE IGNORE THE DIRTY CAR, it has been in the garage for a couple months now and I have not gotten a warm day to clean it off.

Also the sun messed with the pictures, I was limited on time.

 

[T9 man]

Looking good Aikmanson, the car is coming along very nicely
I have coilovers on mine and the front & rear are perfectly level

 

[Aikmanson]

The NG900 and OG9-3 platform has a notorious rake to the front, leaving more of a gap in the rear. I few people have had luck with intrax springs in the rear, and KONI springs in the front. Not a big deal right now, I will ride these for a while and see how they settle.

 

[T9 man]

The NG900 and OG9-3 platform has a notorious rake to the front, leaving more of a gap in the rear. I few people have had luck with intrax springs in the rear, and KONI springs in the front. Not a big deal right now, I will ride these for a while and see how they settle.

I see what your saying! have read somewhere that this is actually set like that deliberately for hatchbacks, due to them having the ability to carry considerable weight in the back! have you heard this?

 

[geraint13]

looking good troy !!!!

 

[Aikmanson]

looking good troy !!!!

Thank you I appreciate all comments!

And T9 yes I have heard that, and it makes sense. If I was to load up the hatch it would certainly press down even more. With 3 people in the rear and a hatch full of stuff, it would be slammed more than the front. When I go home for spring break I will take some good pictures with it all cleaned up.

Near future plans:

6k HID hi/lo kit for headlights
6k or 3k HID kit for fogs
Viggen Intercooler - still waiting to do that haha
Helper spring for wastegate

And that will probably be it for a while.

 

[T9 man]

Thank you I appreciate all comments!

And T9 yes I have heard that, and it makes sense. If I was to load up the hatch it would certainly press down even more. With 3 people in the rear and a hatch full of stuff, it would be slammed more than the front. When I go home for spring break I will take some good pictures with it all cleaned up.

Near future plans:

6k HID hi/lo kit for headlights
6k or 3k HID kit for fogs
Viggen Intercooler - still waiting to do that haha
Helper spring for wastegate

And that will probably be it for a while.

All good mods there Troy, I wish you the very best

 

[MasterAuron]

Looking good! Personally I like the nose-heavy stance.

 

[turbonutter69]

Looking smart buddy.

 

[Aikmanson]

I am bad at updating this. Bought a set of 6000K HID's a few weeks back. Installed them with little to no issues, had to bend a pin on the headlight relay to avoid the "front bulb failure" message on the SID. At first they were... less than impressive. Once I aimed them however, I realized that they are definitely an improvement over stock. What is limiting the light output is the stock lenses. They are glass which is nice, but fluted which scatters the light and messes with the cutoff point.

In the future I may plan on running projectors rather than the stock setup reflecting with the bezels, but I would need to form some plastic clear lenses first! Saw someone do it recently, might have to make some of my own! I will get pictures next time I head home.

Now, a little news is that another car may be joining the family... I use the word may cautiously... will know this weekend.

 

[T9 man]

Another Saab perhaps? Convertible?

 

[Aikmanson]

Another Saab perhaps? Convertible?

Well, deal fell through. Guy kind of jerked me around, I drove 3 hours home for him to then tell me the car sold, after he told me Sunday was a LOCK.

It was going to be a 2000 silver 9-3 Viggen, but wasn't meant to be I guess. Someday I will own a viggen. As for convertible, perhaps that could happen sometime soon as well haha.

Did a few minor things to the engine bay, will take pics this weekend along with light pics if i get the chance.

 

[PaulClio]

Looks good dude. Sorry to hear about the deal falling through

 

[Aikmanson]

It's been awhile since I have posted here, thought I should update.

Put matching springs in the rear, car has settled down to a good height in the rear and the ride is much more predictable and comfortable.

I have not done too much recently to the car. I added lamin-x yellow protectant over my fog lights. It was very easy to put on and looks great with the lights on and off. I also made a custom grille, cut the wing off the stock grille, sanded filled the old chrome, painted it silver + clearcoat, cut the black slats from the back piece and added mesh which I painted black.

Only picture I have is this crappy cell pic:

In this picture the grille looks crooked as I am still working on the final touches. It is also a little too see-through with the mesh, maybe I will double it up behind. You can also see my yellow fogs in the picture.

Future work now includes:
- Fixing the AC system (bought second hand lines off a friend)
- New passenger axle + intermediate shaft
- some custom interior work
- 3" Downpipe
- Finally installing that damn intercooler
- Hood re-spray
- and a great detail

Every time I think about unloading this car, I go for a drive and remind myself how much I love it.

Cheers

 

[T9 man]

The car is coming along a treat Will post up the finished article on my own beast soon, I too have been busy Once you get the 3" downpipe and intercooler fitted you will wonder why you had not done it sooner :amuse:

 

[Aikmanson]

The car is coming along a treat Will post up the finished article on my own beast soon, I too have been busy Once you get the 3" downpipe and intercooler fitted you will wonder why you had not done it sooner :amuse:

The IC I have no idea why I have not done it sooner. Laziness I suppose.

The 3" DP is because of money :bigsmile:

I will keep an eye out for your build thread! I just cant wait till my last Exam is done to go home and start work on the new interior (secret).