SAAB 9 3 'Vert Shed
Discussion
With the need to do House stuff and school fees, trips etc increasing my Wife did a deal with me: Sell my beloved XK8 and buy something cheap and sensible, and then once we have the 'important' stuff done I can then go back into a Porsche 944/968 as my main car.
Knowing that my definition of sensible and hers didn't quite align I tried to come up with a shortlist of shedtastic fun cars that would also have the right image and drive appeal for a fat 45 year-old bloke:
BMW E36 6 cylinder coupe/vert
Volvo C70 T5 coupe/Vert
SAAB Vert
Alfa 156/GTV
Toyota Celica
having already had 6 of them, the last thing I wanted was a SAAB....what i really wanted was that lovely straight 6 soundtrack and the E36s seem to last better and rust less than E46s
I tested a C70 T5 (£695), it was tired but OK, but sold whilst I was sat in Mcdonalds thinking about it
I drove a 2004 Alfa 156 2.0 JTS that looked good on paper (£675), but the variator needed doing (so may as well do the Cambelt as well) and the check engine light was on...
I went to see a well-photographed 328 manual Convertible in blue (£800), but the hood had 5 'stab wounds' and a rotten back window, but the dealbreaker was the dent in the front, inboard of the OS headlight that had pushed the slam panel back and bending the bonnet....
I then went to look at a 328 Convertible Auto in Aubergine (£990)which again sounded so promising on paper....but had un-mentioned front damage, a badly fitted M3 body Kit, Schnitzer 19" wheels and the most hideous coloured interior I have seen on a Beemer. On the drive the engine was glorious but the front end was soooo vague....but that engine! could I sell the wheels to fund the rest of the resto?
As an afterthought whilst thinking about the Purple beemer I went to see a Saab (£800), it was low-spec with the ickle turbo (150bhp) and horrid 15" wheels...but apart from the front end needing re-bushing (they all need that) and the fact that the hood was a bit reluctant to work I could not find any real fault with it...it was the first car that was exactly what was described...so after a 5 minute lecture from the dealer on not giving discounts and the price is the price, he took £750 for it!
My Wife approved of the choice, even though it is my 7th SAAB and I have had it for a month now
It has done 4 Airport runs now, most early morning and I don't mind leaving it with Purple Parking Drivers (I was always nervous with the Jaaag)
The first bit of work was to sort out some duff bulbs and then sort the hood. It worked kinda, but would take around 18-21 pushes of the button to put it down and then about 10-14 pushes to get it back up, with an error beep between each. Researching on the internet made me realise that the first thing to check is the hydraulic system, so last weekend we took it out to have a look:
It all looked OK, but had hardly any fluid in it, so after a suggestion from my 11 year old son we fashioned an extension funnel by drilling an old Cigar Tube and topped the system up
After a couple of attempts, the system has now bled itself and the hood usually goes down in 2 pushes and comes up in 1!! Love it when a simple job yields big results!
Next is to change the front tyres, one is bald and the other OK, but they grip so awfully I want to feel a bit more secure for the winter. I thought about changing the wheels up for 16s or 17s (like I did on my last 9 3) but have decided to stick with the 15s for the winter whilst i get the rest of the chassis sorted and then change them when these tyres are worn.
I did try to swap the wheels front to back, but the locking wheel-nut disintegrated on the front, so I have ordered a replacement set and will get the Tyre place to get the broken one off
once the wheels come off and on OK I will then do the Front Disks and pads...the current disks are almost transparent! i will also have a good poke around at the Bushes and engine mounts to decide what needs doing there.
I have checked the bulkhead and that looks OK, but if I end up poly-bushing the front it will put more strain on it, so may have to get an Abbott brace for the Steering rack.
I am aiming to have a nice smooth, effortless fun car that will do my sporadic long journeys with ease, whilst having a sharp enough handling for a bit of fun (without going overboard on the spending either)
Knowing that my definition of sensible and hers didn't quite align I tried to come up with a shortlist of shedtastic fun cars that would also have the right image and drive appeal for a fat 45 year-old bloke:
BMW E36 6 cylinder coupe/vert
Volvo C70 T5 coupe/Vert
SAAB Vert
Alfa 156/GTV
Toyota Celica
having already had 6 of them, the last thing I wanted was a SAAB....what i really wanted was that lovely straight 6 soundtrack and the E36s seem to last better and rust less than E46s
I tested a C70 T5 (£695), it was tired but OK, but sold whilst I was sat in Mcdonalds thinking about it
I drove a 2004 Alfa 156 2.0 JTS that looked good on paper (£675), but the variator needed doing (so may as well do the Cambelt as well) and the check engine light was on...
I went to see a well-photographed 328 manual Convertible in blue (£800), but the hood had 5 'stab wounds' and a rotten back window, but the dealbreaker was the dent in the front, inboard of the OS headlight that had pushed the slam panel back and bending the bonnet....
I then went to look at a 328 Convertible Auto in Aubergine (£990)which again sounded so promising on paper....but had un-mentioned front damage, a badly fitted M3 body Kit, Schnitzer 19" wheels and the most hideous coloured interior I have seen on a Beemer. On the drive the engine was glorious but the front end was soooo vague....but that engine! could I sell the wheels to fund the rest of the resto?
As an afterthought whilst thinking about the Purple beemer I went to see a Saab (£800), it was low-spec with the ickle turbo (150bhp) and horrid 15" wheels...but apart from the front end needing re-bushing (they all need that) and the fact that the hood was a bit reluctant to work I could not find any real fault with it...it was the first car that was exactly what was described...so after a 5 minute lecture from the dealer on not giving discounts and the price is the price, he took £750 for it!
My Wife approved of the choice, even though it is my 7th SAAB and I have had it for a month now
It has done 4 Airport runs now, most early morning and I don't mind leaving it with Purple Parking Drivers (I was always nervous with the Jaaag)
The first bit of work was to sort out some duff bulbs and then sort the hood. It worked kinda, but would take around 18-21 pushes of the button to put it down and then about 10-14 pushes to get it back up, with an error beep between each. Researching on the internet made me realise that the first thing to check is the hydraulic system, so last weekend we took it out to have a look:
It all looked OK, but had hardly any fluid in it, so after a suggestion from my 11 year old son we fashioned an extension funnel by drilling an old Cigar Tube and topped the system up
After a couple of attempts, the system has now bled itself and the hood usually goes down in 2 pushes and comes up in 1!! Love it when a simple job yields big results!
Next is to change the front tyres, one is bald and the other OK, but they grip so awfully I want to feel a bit more secure for the winter. I thought about changing the wheels up for 16s or 17s (like I did on my last 9 3) but have decided to stick with the 15s for the winter whilst i get the rest of the chassis sorted and then change them when these tyres are worn.
I did try to swap the wheels front to back, but the locking wheel-nut disintegrated on the front, so I have ordered a replacement set and will get the Tyre place to get the broken one off
once the wheels come off and on OK I will then do the Front Disks and pads...the current disks are almost transparent! i will also have a good poke around at the Bushes and engine mounts to decide what needs doing there.
I have checked the bulkhead and that looks OK, but if I end up poly-bushing the front it will put more strain on it, so may have to get an Abbott brace for the Steering rack.
I am aiming to have a nice smooth, effortless fun car that will do my sporadic long journeys with ease, whilst having a sharp enough handling for a bit of fun (without going overboard on the spending either)
Thanks! One of the reasons for going for the SAAB is that they have a kind of ageless/classless image and the shape has aged very well.
I think that once I have my private plate on, change the wheels and perhaps lower it very slightly it will look very clean and simple
All of my SAABs apart from the 2 V6s have had some twiddling with to aid their 'breathing' J4cko so I don't see this one being any different, my last 9 3 was the 185BHP one with an Abbott remap to 230, but I know from my first 9000 and my specialist's courtesey cars that the LPTs with their little turbos when chipped become very eager little puppies in the lower and mid ranges even if they don't have the top-end puff of the larger-turboed FPTs and HOTs
Just ordered a pair of Toyo Proxes for the front to be fitted on Monday, hopefully they will grip a lot better than the Diyoung Slipmasters fitted and cure some of the vibration at the front
I think that once I have my private plate on, change the wheels and perhaps lower it very slightly it will look very clean and simple
All of my SAABs apart from the 2 V6s have had some twiddling with to aid their 'breathing' J4cko so I don't see this one being any different, my last 9 3 was the 185BHP one with an Abbott remap to 230, but I know from my first 9000 and my specialist's courtesey cars that the LPTs with their little turbos when chipped become very eager little puppies in the lower and mid ranges even if they don't have the top-end puff of the larger-turboed FPTs and HOTs
Just ordered a pair of Toyo Proxes for the front to be fitted on Monday, hopefully they will grip a lot better than the Diyoung Slipmasters fitted and cure some of the vibration at the front
Edited by Fat Albert on Saturday 27th September 10:01
A couple of tweaks at the weekend;
Firstly it had what looked like a paint blemish on the passenger door the size of a hand print which didn't bother me too much on this value of car - but would prefer it not to be there. So i tried a quick rub with Zymol cleaning polish which I used to use on my Guards Red 944 to restore the matt pink back to Red, it has a mild clay bar effect and lo & behold the mark has all but disappeared!
next weekend I will give it a proper clean and zymol the whole lot to bring it up.
Secondly, the heating was a bit asthmatic, lots of noise but not much blow (I have known some girls like that...) and the sensor fan was intermittently screeching (standard problem) so I popped the front cover off of it and the button blanks either side, removed it from the back of the mount, twisted it 180 degrees and gave it a squirt of oil....when I took the car for a drive later not only did I have a quiet sensor fan....the heater system now blows as hard as a ****** Girl! (In the interests of taste and fairness I am not going to name the Town that I did my RAF training near!)
I do like fixes where it takes little time and no expense!
Firstly it had what looked like a paint blemish on the passenger door the size of a hand print which didn't bother me too much on this value of car - but would prefer it not to be there. So i tried a quick rub with Zymol cleaning polish which I used to use on my Guards Red 944 to restore the matt pink back to Red, it has a mild clay bar effect and lo & behold the mark has all but disappeared!
next weekend I will give it a proper clean and zymol the whole lot to bring it up.
Secondly, the heating was a bit asthmatic, lots of noise but not much blow (I have known some girls like that...) and the sensor fan was intermittently screeching (standard problem) so I popped the front cover off of it and the button blanks either side, removed it from the back of the mount, twisted it 180 degrees and gave it a squirt of oil....when I took the car for a drive later not only did I have a quiet sensor fan....the heater system now blows as hard as a ****** Girl! (In the interests of taste and fairness I am not going to name the Town that I did my RAF training near!)
I do like fixes where it takes little time and no expense!
Glad you are enjoying yours too JM!
I tried to swap the wheels front-rear when i got it as the fronts were more worn, but the wheel bolts must have been tightened with a 10' tommy bar as the locking wheelnut on one side just disintegrated.
I took it into www.northantsmobiletyres.co.uk in Corby today (normally they do my tyres on the drive) and they applied intellect, Philosophy and extreme violence to remove the locking bolts (I had bought some replacements) and then fitted 2 Toyo Proxes to the front:
and whilst the wheels were off i took a peak and a wiggle of the ball joints and bushes, and all seemed reasonably tight and in good condition
So I think the real issue at the front end must be the engine and/or gearbox mounts...just now to figure out which...!
The drive home was much smoother and for some reason the MPG was ticking up nicelY!
I tried to swap the wheels front-rear when i got it as the fronts were more worn, but the wheel bolts must have been tightened with a 10' tommy bar as the locking wheelnut on one side just disintegrated.
I took it into www.northantsmobiletyres.co.uk in Corby today (normally they do my tyres on the drive) and they applied intellect, Philosophy and extreme violence to remove the locking bolts (I had bought some replacements) and then fitted 2 Toyo Proxes to the front:
and whilst the wheels were off i took a peak and a wiggle of the ball joints and bushes, and all seemed reasonably tight and in good condition
So I think the real issue at the front end must be the engine and/or gearbox mounts...just now to figure out which...!
The drive home was much smoother and for some reason the MPG was ticking up nicelY!
Finally gopt the v5 through with my Reg on it today so after a quick call to the Insurance company I set about swapping the plates.
I then decided to remove the SE badges from the side as i prefer a cleaner look...and then got carried away and removed the rear badging as well....
I think it looks a lot cleaner now, I just need to decide what to do about the rear badge - it has completely worn away
Before:
After:
The plate was bought for me by my wife after I wrote the Porsche 968 off
I then decided to remove the SE badges from the side as i prefer a cleaner look...and then got carried away and removed the rear badging as well....
I think it looks a lot cleaner now, I just need to decide what to do about the rear badge - it has completely worn away
Before:
After:
The plate was bought for me by my wife after I wrote the Porsche 968 off
I have decided that a quick service might cheer her up a little, so spark plugs and Air & Oil Filters were ordered over the weekend, with the Spark plugs and air filter arriving this morning in separate boxes from the same place <sigh>
I then decided to give the hood a bit of a clean and re-proofing - I ordered up the Turtle Wax 2 pack of cleaner & re-proofer (£12.95 from ebay or £39.95 in Halfords!!)
It was looking a bit green and the water was soaking straight in when it rained (but didn't seem to leak too much...)
Looks like someone tried a pressure washer previously and realised that it probably soaked straight through!
I followed the instructions with the cleaner, but it didn't seem to do much, so I got out the brush on the end of the hose and went over it a couple of times agitating the soap each time, which seemed to have an effect
I then let it dry a bit and did one coat of proofer. I let that dry and tested it and the water still seemed to soak in a bit so I used up the remaining proofer and gave it another coat, the water now bobbles in the main but still soaks in a bit.
I will see how it performs in the rain this week and decide whether it needs more proofer.
It is much cleaner and blacker now, but still a long way from perfect, so my plan is to proof it for over the winter and then dye it and re-proof it in the spring. In the meantime I have found two areas where holes are developing near the back window so have ordered a patch kit to catch them before they get any worse (bottom pic)
I then decided to give the hood a bit of a clean and re-proofing - I ordered up the Turtle Wax 2 pack of cleaner & re-proofer (£12.95 from ebay or £39.95 in Halfords!!)
It was looking a bit green and the water was soaking straight in when it rained (but didn't seem to leak too much...)
Looks like someone tried a pressure washer previously and realised that it probably soaked straight through!
I followed the instructions with the cleaner, but it didn't seem to do much, so I got out the brush on the end of the hose and went over it a couple of times agitating the soap each time, which seemed to have an effect
I then let it dry a bit and did one coat of proofer. I let that dry and tested it and the water still seemed to soak in a bit so I used up the remaining proofer and gave it another coat, the water now bobbles in the main but still soaks in a bit.
I will see how it performs in the rain this week and decide whether it needs more proofer.
It is much cleaner and blacker now, but still a long way from perfect, so my plan is to proof it for over the winter and then dye it and re-proof it in the spring. In the meantime I have found two areas where holes are developing near the back window so have ordered a patch kit to catch them before they get any worse (bottom pic)
Of my previous 6 SAABs only 1 wasn't remapped! (9000 V6 Griffin)
The plan with this is to get all the basics sorted over the next few months (engine mounts, brakes, service) and then if the car is still a solid foundation to do a few little tweaks in spring (rack brace, bushing, 2nd rear ARB, bigger wheels & remap)
My last 9 3 ended up as a useful bit of kit for a cheap station car, the dealer selling it didn't realise it had the Viggen Rescue kit, full polybushing and the Abbott remap to 230, so I then fitted a Leather Interior and swapped out the cruddy 16s for some cheap 17s that came with free Toyo Proxes (for less than the usual cost of the Toyos!)
Can't believe I sold this for £800 in 2009:
The plan with this is to get all the basics sorted over the next few months (engine mounts, brakes, service) and then if the car is still a solid foundation to do a few little tweaks in spring (rack brace, bushing, 2nd rear ARB, bigger wheels & remap)
My last 9 3 ended up as a useful bit of kit for a cheap station car, the dealer selling it didn't realise it had the Viggen Rescue kit, full polybushing and the Abbott remap to 230, so I then fitted a Leather Interior and swapped out the cruddy 16s for some cheap 17s that came with free Toyo Proxes (for less than the usual cost of the Toyos!)
Can't believe I sold this for £800 in 2009:
In a discussion about my DI Cassette on UKSAAB someone spotted my 15 year old brittle and perished vacuum hoses, so 3m of 4mm silicone hose has just been ordered (in blue of course)
I will leave the black DI in whilst I sort some of the other issues as it is not a big issue whilst running standard booooost, but a Red one will be sourced at some point soon
I will leave the black DI in whilst I sort some of the other issues as it is not a big issue whilst running standard booooost, but a Red one will be sourced at some point soon
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