RE: PH Carpool: Saab 900 Carlsson

RE: PH Carpool: Saab 900 Carlsson

Monday 13th August 2012

PH Carpool: Saab 900 Carlsson

With a username like 'twosaabs' it's not hard to guess where this week's Carpooler lays his hat



Name: Dan Wentworth (twosaabs)
Car: Saab 900 Carlsson
Owned since: April 2012
Previously owned: Mk1 Fiat Uno, Peugeot 306 D-Turbo, MG ZT+, Saab 93 2.2 TiD (current)

Twosaabs by name...
Twosaabs by name...
Why I bought it:
My dad owned several Saabs when I was young, a pair of 99s and a 900. I grew up pretending to drive a broken down 99 which we still had in the garden. Something must have stuck because I got distracted while browsing the classifieds for a BMW E30. A few months later and after some missed opportunities I ended up with G837 KOG.

What I wish I'd known:
Most of the bad points about these cars are well known and fairly obvious (weak gearboxes, sagging headlining). One of the previous owners has added some non-standard buttons. I wish I'd asked the previous owner what they do, because I still have no idea, other than make an LED blink.

Dan with his treasured Carlsson
Dan with his treasured Carlsson
Things I love:
The noise and the smell. The smell of the interior is magical, it must be something to do with the materials used at the time but the smell reminds me of my first car - vinyl with a hint of petrol. The noise is addictive, the low burble of the slant-four combined with the whistles and rushes from the turbo and big pops and crackles on the overrun. The stainless exhaust fitted by a previous owner helps too.

Things I hate:
Keeping it clean. I hadn't fully thought through the implications of owning a white car. Any time it goes through a dirty puddle causes an immediate countdown to getting out the buckets and microfibre cloths.

It's of its time but oh-so-cool
It's of its time but oh-so-cool
Costs:
So far costs have been low. Insurance was nice and cheap from Adrian Flux on a classic limited mileage policy. The fuel economy is actually pretty good, especially compared with the MG ZT I owned previously. I tend to service most cars myself, however I intend to pay a trip to Jon Saab in Poole for a check-over. Most parts are shared with the more common Saab 900 T16s and the car came with a spare body kit, so I'm not too worried about the cost of parts in the future.

Where I've been:
Our biggest adventure has been to the PistonHeads Sunday Service at the Vauxhall Heritage Centre. I usually take it out closer to home, around the Blandford/Shaftesbury area and out to the New Forest. I'm hoping to be able to drive it to Le Mans next year as well.

What next?
I think I'll be hanging on to the Carly for a few years yet. The previous owner did a good job at touching up paint to keep rust in check, but the finish wasn't always the best. I'd like to get it resprayed at some point in the future if I can find a set of replacement decals.

 

Author
Discussion

tomoleeds

Original Poster:

770 posts

185 months

Monday 13th August 2012
quotequote all
the flashing led is a 80"s thing to make it look like a car alarm for a £5

chazwozza

724 posts

185 months

Monday 13th August 2012
quotequote all
Mate of mine bought one of these when we left school about 14 years ago for a laugh, mentally quick at the time and too cool for skool.... big acid faced thumbs up

hwajones

775 posts

180 months

Monday 13th August 2012
quotequote all
Turbo Power!

Leins

9,412 posts

147 months

Monday 13th August 2012
quotequote all
My first car was an '85 900i Sedan, but was always dreaming of a Combi Coupe, preferably a T16s or Carlsson. Might have to scratch that itch myself soon

Lovely car btw!

Frimley111R

15,533 posts

233 months

Monday 13th August 2012
quotequote all
Nice, rare car! (Although please remove the black corner rubber things!)

wormburner

31,608 posts

252 months

Monday 13th August 2012
quotequote all
hwajones said:
Turbo Power!
Give us a clue then.

(just joshing, chief)

anything fast

983 posts

163 months

Monday 13th August 2012
quotequote all
wormburner said:
hwajones said:
Turbo Power!
Give us a clue then.

(just joshing, chief)
you stole my joke!

I will just have to say "wow you had a coupe and a cabrio at the same time"


Only kidding, Please forgive my childish humour, I love the old 900 Turbos! proper Saab's!

AlexS

1,550 posts

231 months

Monday 13th August 2012
quotequote all
Do these buttons really just switch on a flashing LED or does the LED flash when the car is accelerated hard?

It isn't unusual to wire in an LED to a pin on the APC which is grounded if knock is detected. This then gives a visual warning to the driver that the boost is having to be backed down to protect the engine.

twosaabs

18 posts

141 months

Monday 13th August 2012
quotequote all
AlexS said:
It isn't unusual to wire in an LED to a pin on the APC which is grounded if knock is detected. This then gives a visual warning to the driver that the boost is having to be backed down to protect the engine.
There's a separate LED that's been added to the top of the dash that's wired to the APC.

The Donster

163 posts

204 months

Monday 13th August 2012
quotequote all
Need to get the correct wheels on it, too! They're either the flat three-spokes as found on pre-90 T16 S's or the 16" Aeros. smile

Been 11 years since I last had one and still miss the noise. It's very addictive.

MrMoonyMan

2,582 posts

210 months

Monday 13th August 2012
quotequote all
tomoleeds said:
the flashing led is a 80"s thing to make it look like a car alarm for a £5
Could be a knock led, commonly fitted off the apc.


OP, nice write up of a lovely car. I know exactly what you mean about the smell and noise.

Really superb cars.

bangerturner

157 posts

221 months

Monday 13th August 2012
quotequote all
I Loved my Saab but really hated having to put it in reverse to take the key out, the clunky gearbox never liked to engage reverse with the engine off (as I always managed to forget to put it in before switching it off)


Leins

9,412 posts

147 months

Monday 13th August 2012
quotequote all
bangerturner said:
I Loved my Saab but really hated having to put it in reverse to take the key out, the clunky gearbox never liked to engage reverse with the engine off (as I always managed to forget to put it in before switching it off)
Took me a while to remember to have the key in my right hand when getting into my next car after the Saab too

kwak

210 posts

151 months

Monday 13th August 2012
quotequote all
Great cars, I've been looking for a nice t16s for months now. Not sure about the white bodykit though, I think they look much better in the usual black bumpers and side panels.

GraemeLambert

519 posts

213 months

Monday 13th August 2012
quotequote all
Any old excuse...



Not a Carlsson I know, but a T16s with lots of money, time, blood, sweat and tears poured into it.
Loved it, but sold it to fund a VX220-shaped habit. Think the current owner may be thinking of selling it actually.

And OP, you do need to sort the wheels and rubbing strip things out - otherwise looks a tidy enough car.
Surprised it has a knock LED wired in though, presume it has been tweaked?

G

The Donster

163 posts

204 months

Monday 13th August 2012
quotequote all
Lo and behold, on the day a Carpool article pops up, so does this Carlsson AGAIN:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3867348.htm

Too much money, if you ask me - decent nick or not. Perhaps the reason why it's not been attracting interest in the six+ months it's been up for sale. If the owner perhaps started around the £5.5k mark, he might get some takers. Going up against the Paradise Saab and Citikars of this world, price-wise, doesn't do it any favours (even if the car may be better than anything these two companies can muster).

twosaabs

18 posts

141 months

Monday 13th August 2012
quotequote all
GraemeLambert said:
Not a Carlsson I know, but a T16s with lots of money, time, blood, sweat and tears poured into it.
Loved it, but sold it to fund a VX220-shaped habit. Think the current owner may be thinking of selling it actually.

And OP, you do need to sort the wheels and rubbing strip things out - otherwise looks a tidy enough car.
Surprised it has a knock LED wired in though, presume it has been tweaked?
It was actually your T16S which put the 900 back on my radar.

As for the LED, I think one of the previous owners just had a thing for extra gadgets, there's a completely unnecessary aftermarket boost gauge installed too (which will probably have to be removed).

The previous owner actually offered me a set 16" wheels for £100 when I bought it. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to negotiate any money off of the car since another buyer had shown up early and offered me money to walk away from the deal, therefore all my cash went on the car weeping.

pSyCoSiS

3,581 posts

204 months

Monday 13th August 2012
quotequote all
I love these Carlsson Turbos - an itch yet to scratch!

But, I do agree about the wheels - the photo of the black one from the other PHer looks just perfect!

pSyCoSiS

3,581 posts

204 months

Monday 13th August 2012
quotequote all
Leins said:
bangerturner said:
I Loved my Saab but really hated having to put it in reverse to take the key out, the clunky gearbox never liked to engage reverse with the engine off (as I always managed to forget to put it in before switching it off)
Took me a while to remember to have the key in my right hand when getting into my next car after the Saab too
What is it all about - leaving it in reverse to start it?!

Never quite got that - what's the reason then??

DouggyMc

769 posts

162 months

Monday 13th August 2012
quotequote all
I absolutely love that! I seem to remember seeing it at the last SS at Vauxhall? Looked great!