Show us your Saab!!

[lewis328]

[DanSaab]

My current two c900s:

[RedLeicester]

lewis328 said:

Lovely rare colour and nice wheels too.

[JimmyJam]

DanSaab said:

My current two c900s:

Lovely!

[JimmyJam]

DanSaab said:

My current two c900s:

Lovely!

[tog]

DanSaab said:

My current two c900s:

A lovely pair. Pre-facelift convertibles must be pretty rare now.

[DanSaab]

Thanks

Pre-facelift Convertibles were never sold in UK.
I had to create my own

This car started out as a non-turbo 900i convertible, on standard wheels, cloth seats...

It's now a full Flat Front (and back) conversion, running a full pressure turbo engine and 'box, twin pipe exhaust, minilite wheels, leather interior...

[tog]

DanSaab said:

Thanks

Pre-facelift Convertibles were never sold in UK.
I had to create my own

This car started out as a non-turbo 900i convertible, on standard wheels, cloth seats...

It's now a full Flat Front (and back) conversion, running a full pressure turbo engine and 'box, twin pipe exhaust, minilite wheels, leather interior...

Interesting : )

When were the first convertibles sold here? If that's G-reg, when was the facelift?

[DanSaab]

The c900 Convertible was introduced in 1986 for the USA market. The first shipments all being flat front silver turbo models.
The entire c900 range was facelifted late 1986 (D plate). The first convertibles made in RDH were in early 1987 (D plate cars had the face lift body but still had the earlier front handbrake. Late 1987 (E-Plate) had the later rear handbrake arrangement used until end production in 1993.

[pti]

£750 Abbott Racing 9-5 Aero. Bargain.

[pti]

pti said:

£750 Abbott Racing 9-5 Aero. Bargain.

I may have spoken too soon

Car isn't in use yet (aside from 50 mile drive back from collection) but went to move it last night and it appears it's voided itself of the majority of it's coolant. Had a long test drive, ran it up to temperature, left it, let the fans kick in etc. All fluids looked good. Performed faultlessly on the way home and now this.

Topped up the reservoir last night and could visibly see it dropping but as it was chucking it down I was't able to spot any leaks. Thankfully the weather is good today so will investigate when I get home.

Have messaged the seller merely to ask if he's ever had to top up the coolant before (caveat emptor and all that jazz) but heard nothing back. His silence is deafening and I can't help but think this may have been a known issue. However, he seemed a decent chap and I may have just been unlucky - it is a 216k mile almost 300bhp lump.

Such a shame, it drives far better than any of my previous Aeros and has clearly been loved.

Fingers crossed folks.

[QBee]

At least if it is visibly losing coolant it should be easy to spot now the weather has returned to sensible. Good luck!

[Robatr0n]

A little late to the party but check the lower hose from the expansion tank for leaks and the coolant bypass valve which is situated on the bulkhead. Both are fairly common places that 9-5s leak from and are an easy/cheap fix.

[jackthelad1984]

My aero's waterpump let go all of a sudden on way to mot retest, was fine the day before at mot. Noticed it when up on ramp as was dripping fluid everywhere. Was easy enough job to do at home, just a few ancilliaries to move out the way and job done, fine ever since.

[GeordieInExile]

A shed budget 2.0T in Vector form. I like it.

[pti]

pti said:

pti said:

£750 Abbott Racing 9-5 Aero. Bargain.

I may have spoken too soon

Car isn't in use yet (aside from 50 mile drive back from collection) but went to move it last night and it appears it's voided itself of the majority of it's coolant. Had a long test drive, ran it up to temperature, left it, let the fans kick in etc. All fluids looked good. Performed faultlessly on the way home and now this.

Topped up the reservoir last night and could visibly see it dropping but as it was chucking it down I was't able to spot any leaks. Thankfully the weather is good today so will investigate when I get home.

Have messaged the seller merely to ask if he's ever had to top up the coolant before (caveat emptor and all that jazz) but heard nothing back. His silence is deafening and I can't help but think this may have been a known issue. However, he seemed a decent chap and I may have just been unlucky - it is a 216k mile almost 300bhp lump.

Such a shame, it drives far better than any of my previous Aeros and has clearly been loved.

Fingers crossed folks.

Little update on this as I've only just got it on the road after selling my other Aero. It's the fking head gasket.

Turns out the bargain was too good to be true

[MrHappy]

Here's my 2004 model 2.3T (220 bhp) Vector Auto. Owned from new, now topping 130k miles. Sadly reduced to tip runs mostly but I'd like to give it a new lease of life, replace the saggy suspension and give it a bit more low down torque.

I haven't seen another one of these capital 'T' models on the road and I haven't seen them mentioned on tuning sites, just the 2.3t 185bhp and aero models. Is mine simply a factory tuned 185bhp or a de-tuned aero? i.e. am I in a good position to achieve a high output?

Thanks in advance.

[QBee]

MrHappy said:

Here's my 2004 model 2.3T (220 bhp) Vector Auto. Owned from new, now topping 130k miles. Sadly reduced to tip runs mostly but I'd like to give it a new lease of life, replace the saggy suspension and give it a bit more low down torque.

I haven't seen another one of these capital 'T' models on the road and I haven't seen them mentioned on tuning sites, just the 2.3t 185bhp and aero models. Is mine simply a factory tuned 185bhp or a de-tuned aero? i.e. am I in a good position to achieve a high output?

Thanks in advance.

I have now had a total of four 9-5 2.3s. Two Aeros (one 1999, one 2006), two 2.3t SE LPT.

Which was the best to drive? The first 1999 2.3 SE LPT
Why? Because the anorak-sleeping, meticulous previous owner had not only really looked after the car (I bought it at 136,000 miles), but he had fitted the one upgrade that really makes them go faster. No, not anything engine-wise. He had fitted sport suspension to it, which was stiffer dampers and springs.
It cornered like it was on rails, and so gave me so much more confidence when driving it at speed on country roads.
Acceleration of all the above cars is/was good, especially at overtaking speeds, and to be honest I have never felt the two aeros were any quicker on the public road than the 2.3SEs, probably because the quoted 250/260 bhp is only achieved right at the top of the rev range and in a very narrow rev band.
The rest of the time, with the turbo only moderately spinning, the two models are pretty well identical, IMHO.

I can see this with the TVR I presently own - yes, I have more power in theory since I changed the engine and added a turbo, a whole 80 bhp and 175 ft lbs, but the peak power band is fairly high up the rev range and is quite narrow. The car will be quicker on a track day on the straights, but on a public road it is still the same car I fell in love with.

Of the two Saabs we now own, my wife's 1999 2.3SE is the nicer car to drive as it is an auto, and my 2006 2.3 Aero manual has the slightly more comfortable seats.

So my suggestion to you is try uprating the suspension to the sports variety. Good luck!

Edited by QBee on Friday 28th July 16:02

[MrHappy]

Hi, many thanks for the input, much appreciated. As you say, sorting out the suspension sounds the way to go and I'll see how it goes from there. With regards to the actual equipment, are you using lowered springs and Koni (yellow?) shocks?

Cheers.

[QBee]

Sorry, I sold that car about 6 years ago. It was whatever Saab sold as sports suspension. However, any damper/spring/anti roll bar combination that stiffens the suspension reasonably to reduce roll and dive without compromising comfort too much will be a good thing. There's lots of advice on the SaabUK forum as to what exactly to buy.