RE: SOTW: Saab 900 Turbo
Discussion
I like it. Bit of class.
Mate of mine had the original 99 turbo. Four speed box with chasms between ratios and turbo lag to beat all turbo lag.
However what it did have was a knurled knob under the bonnet which you could use to turn up the boost. Which he did. With predictable results......
Mate of mine had the original 99 turbo. Four speed box with chasms between ratios and turbo lag to beat all turbo lag.
However what it did have was a knurled knob under the bonnet which you could use to turn up the boost. Which he did. With predictable results......
Wouldn't be without mine. It doggedly refuses to die and is still as tight as the day it came out of the factory 21 years ago. Quirky, over engineered, intensely practical, easy to work on, sounds as distinctive as a flat four and makes you smile. Allegedly capable of 60 in about 7 secs (feels about right) and still gives 30+ mpg. Unequal length double wishbone suspension makes it handle remarkably well too. There's no real torque steer as the driveshafts are near enough equal length, and no turbo lag on the post 1990 or so Mitsubishi turbos.
Can rust like any 70's design but the metal is so thick it's easy to weld and oe quality repair panels are available at reasonable cost. Gearboxes and other coggy bits do give up, sometimes without warning. At 109K, outside lane of m'way, diff bearings dropped. Oh well, very nasty noises and oil everywhere as the sump split - gearbox is in sump housing. On the up side I had about the last fully recon'd box left in the country so should be good to live as long as the rest of it now.
Get the info from an expert and check one out. A good daily driver and cool in whatever condition it's in.
Can rust like any 70's design but the metal is so thick it's easy to weld and oe quality repair panels are available at reasonable cost. Gearboxes and other coggy bits do give up, sometimes without warning. At 109K, outside lane of m'way, diff bearings dropped. Oh well, very nasty noises and oil everywhere as the sump split - gearbox is in sump housing. On the up side I had about the last fully recon'd box left in the country so should be good to live as long as the rest of it now.
Get the info from an expert and check one out. A good daily driver and cool in whatever condition it's in.
MadDog1962 said:
Anyway, quite a sheddy sort of shed. Looks tatty under bonnet and in a few other places, but definitely useable and a bit different. Only concern (for me) would be the turbo. If anything went seriously wrong it would very likely be scrap.
The turbos don't usually fail it's the gearbox which can spell the end, you often see them for sale with "occasionally jump out of gear" in the advert.This would be my choice if it stays below a bag!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SAAB-900-16v-2ltr-TURBO-...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SAAB-900-16v-2ltr-TURBO-...
smileymikey said:
I've had few of these babies and they are more fun than a hot tub full of hookers...changing the gearbox's is truly a pain in the arse!!
Yes indeed to the first comment, and as for the second - ah well, changing a clutch is an absolute piece of pi55 with these.Shame clutches seem to last longer than gearboxes on spiritedly driven ones. ;0
Howard- said:
What's the benefit of mounting the engine longitudinally, given it is FWD?
Equal length driveshafts; engine moving about in its mounts having less influence on the dynamic behaviour of the car; engine sitting inbetween the front wheels instead of hanging out in front of the axle line (the engine sits on top of the gearbox, the top of which doubles as engine sump. To keep the CoG and bonnet line low, the engine is slanted 45 degrees). 900T-R said:
Equal length driveshafts; engine moving about in its mounts having less influence on the dynamic behaviour of the car; engine sitting inbetween the front wheels instead of hanging out in front of the axle line (the engine sits on top of the gearbox, the top of which doubles as engine sump. To keep the CoG and bonnet line low, the engine is slanted 45 degrees).
Gotcha 
Oh and most importantly - space for proper double wishbone front suspension - no sh*tty McPherson struts here...
(top tip - if your 900 turbo has anti-roll bars as most later ones do, remove the front one and up the damping rates a bit (the T16S got *softer* dampers than the older regular Turbos in conjunction with ARBs; this was more to counteract complaints of a borderline acceptable low speed ride than for any handling advantage). Goodbye understeer, hello traction and lift-off oversteer.
)
(top tip - if your 900 turbo has anti-roll bars as most later ones do, remove the front one and up the damping rates a bit (the T16S got *softer* dampers than the older regular Turbos in conjunction with ARBs; this was more to counteract complaints of a borderline acceptable low speed ride than for any handling advantage). Goodbye understeer, hello traction and lift-off oversteer.
)
Deranged Granny said:
Excuse my stupidity, but why is this harder to achieve with a traversely-mounted engine?
Transverse engines normally come with an end-on gearbox. If the engine sits in the middle(ish), the gearbox output will be at 1/3rd of the width of the car or so. Of course, you can put a bearing on the other end so the longer shaft is supported at an equal length to the shorter one, but you still have to deal with slightly different inertias (inertiae?) for left and right. Very cool and very tough cars. I've had mine for nearly ten years and it's just approaching 200k and is as good as ever, albeit after spending lots of money on it. Still....I don't think there's anything comparible out there for the money.
This one's got a rust hole on the driver's front wing, which shouldn't be a major trauma to have repaired. Looks tip-top apart from that.
This one's got a rust hole on the driver's front wing, which shouldn't be a major trauma to have repaired. Looks tip-top apart from that.
Deranged Granny said:
Excuse my stupidity, but why is this harder to achieve with a traversely-mounted engine?
'Cos the gearbox isn't in the middle of the car. Peugeot / Citroen etc got around this by adding a support bearing to the o/s driveshaft so the outer bit was the same length as the n/s. Saab much better with the longitudinal engine, but as pointed ouy, gearox woes are a real pain. last one I fitted about 10 years ago was an auto. 2000 for the 'box alone!!
Anyway, fantastic shed. Brilliant cars.
Just remembered, I had a customer who had a n/a one of these - he was a brief. (Normal people have a solicitor, hoity types have a lawyer, and criminals have a brief...).
Any old how, the throttle stuck open on the local bypass. He tried to stop it by braking rather hard. Cooked the brakes and cracked a number of cam followers with the over revving. didn't think to switch of he ign! Oh,cooked the clutch too....
Fixed all that for him, got a call a week later saying it wouldn't go and was making a "funny noise". Went and had a look - turned the engine over and got the distinctive chirrup of a broken crankshaft. Poor thing obvoiusly didn't want to live. Of all the 1000's of cars I have seen I really felt so sorry for this poor old abused thing. RIP.
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