Saab 9000 Aero revival
Discussion
So I couldn't help myself when I got offered a 9000 aero that had been off the road for about 6 years (or so I'm told)
I've had Several 9ks now but never an Aero, So I had to add it to the collection. The idea with this one is rust proof as much as possible, generally tidy up and make it into a semi sensible 300bhp daily driver. It's over 200k miles already so I don't mind racking up the odometer on it.
Got it into the shed and started looking over it and building a list
PXL_20241116_141434477.MP by Steve, on Flickr
IMG-20241116-WA0007 by Steve, on Flickr
IMG-20241117-WA0008 by Steve, on Flickr
Got offered some very questionable wheels for it....which I shall not be using but bought for some reason (I have a pug 107 they'd fit somewhere)I have some three spoke 16 inch super aero wheels on the way
IMG-20241116-WA0012 by Steve, on Flickr
Interior obviously needs a good clean...for some reason it has the analogue clock when i'm fairly sure it should have the digital clock/trip meter
IMG-20241117-WA0012 by Steve, on Flickr
Dug around in the neatly organised spares pile and found a few of these spare
IMG-20241117-WA0018 by Steve, on Flickr
Found a free 10mm ratchet spanner on the lower arm, it's been thrown into a bucket of diesel to see it will ever ratchet again
IMG-20241117-WA0006 by Steve, on Flickr
All in all it's not overly bad, a couple of patches needed on the back and a small repair needed where it's been jacked up incorrectly at the front. Needs a NSF wing which came with the car, headlights need replaced/modified as the chrome has flaked off, OSF lower hydraulic engine mount has collapsed which is fine as I have spares, brakes where all replaced right before it was parked up (zero miles one them) so they will burn in with a few good stops, exhaust manifold gasket is blown and a couple broken studs which is a standard fix
First off was the task of getting it running, it would crank but not start. After a bit of sensor swapping end head scratching I'd failed car revival 101....stale fuel was the answer. Armed with a 20l jerry can i popped off to the petrol station and grabbed 20l of V power and a bottle of injector cleaner
IMG-20241123-WA0004 by Steve, on Flickr
Old fuel drained and noted that the wrong sender unit had been fitted and a broken fuel line retaining clip replaced with a block of wood jamming the pipe down...awesome
Thankfully dug into my spares pile again and found a good 9000 sender unit, in two minds about fitting the usual walbro 255LPH pump or an Aeromotive 340LPH unit...leaning towards more is more as you can never have too much headroom on your fuel system in a turbo car
PXL_20241123_132606059 by Steve, on Flickr
Last weekend I decided to get through as much welding as I could on the back end, the only picture I got was at the very start because by the end I was in a foul humour after first running out of welding gas and then an hour later running out of wire....so after two trips to the motor factors by the evening the back end was welded up
PXL_20241123_161212485.MP by Steve, on Flickr
This last week I've spent building up an order list for parts and getting the first lot of parts on the way. I'm going for replacement on all the bushes I can still get (i now have 95% of them thanks to Saabits) as the car came with a box full of poly bushes.
So far the list is, new stainless braided brake lines, stainless braided clutch line, oil pressure/temperature and boost gauges (may yet fit a wideband gauge kit as it can be looped into the standard ECU for more data) VXR Z20LEH injectors as these flow more than the usual bosch green giants that people generally use, 3 bar map sensor, 3 inch downpipe sports cat and exhaust...although I may just order the parts and make this myself and probably loads of other stuff like new drive and that
Thinking of getting a new condensor for the A/C and all new seals to see if it can be brought back to life
I did take out the ECU for a look see and saw a tuning companies sticker on it...A bit concerned for the gearbox now as the boost curve wasn't touched, but injectors were maxed out at the top end and the boost fuel cut limit was raised to the maximum the 2.5 bar map sensor would read, along with the boost limit in second being removed...gives me the feeling the ECU came with a manual boost controller which would explain the APC lines being all to hell and the APC valve being unbolted
IMG-20241117-WA0010 by Steve, on Flickr
Really hoping to keep this a nice straight forward project by keeping scope creep to a minimum....but we all know how that goes
I've had Several 9ks now but never an Aero, So I had to add it to the collection. The idea with this one is rust proof as much as possible, generally tidy up and make it into a semi sensible 300bhp daily driver. It's over 200k miles already so I don't mind racking up the odometer on it.
Got it into the shed and started looking over it and building a list
PXL_20241116_141434477.MP by Steve, on FlickrIMG-20241116-WA0007 by Steve, on FlickrIMG-20241117-WA0008 by Steve, on FlickrGot offered some very questionable wheels for it....which I shall not be using but bought for some reason (I have a pug 107 they'd fit somewhere)I have some three spoke 16 inch super aero wheels on the way
IMG-20241116-WA0012 by Steve, on FlickrInterior obviously needs a good clean...for some reason it has the analogue clock when i'm fairly sure it should have the digital clock/trip meter
IMG-20241117-WA0012 by Steve, on FlickrDug around in the neatly organised spares pile and found a few of these spare
IMG-20241117-WA0018 by Steve, on FlickrFound a free 10mm ratchet spanner on the lower arm, it's been thrown into a bucket of diesel to see it will ever ratchet again
IMG-20241117-WA0006 by Steve, on FlickrAll in all it's not overly bad, a couple of patches needed on the back and a small repair needed where it's been jacked up incorrectly at the front. Needs a NSF wing which came with the car, headlights need replaced/modified as the chrome has flaked off, OSF lower hydraulic engine mount has collapsed which is fine as I have spares, brakes where all replaced right before it was parked up (zero miles one them) so they will burn in with a few good stops, exhaust manifold gasket is blown and a couple broken studs which is a standard fix
First off was the task of getting it running, it would crank but not start. After a bit of sensor swapping end head scratching I'd failed car revival 101....stale fuel was the answer. Armed with a 20l jerry can i popped off to the petrol station and grabbed 20l of V power and a bottle of injector cleaner
IMG-20241123-WA0004 by Steve, on FlickrOld fuel drained and noted that the wrong sender unit had been fitted and a broken fuel line retaining clip replaced with a block of wood jamming the pipe down...awesome
Thankfully dug into my spares pile again and found a good 9000 sender unit, in two minds about fitting the usual walbro 255LPH pump or an Aeromotive 340LPH unit...leaning towards more is more as you can never have too much headroom on your fuel system in a turbo car
PXL_20241123_132606059 by Steve, on FlickrLast weekend I decided to get through as much welding as I could on the back end, the only picture I got was at the very start because by the end I was in a foul humour after first running out of welding gas and then an hour later running out of wire....so after two trips to the motor factors by the evening the back end was welded up
PXL_20241123_161212485.MP by Steve, on FlickrThis last week I've spent building up an order list for parts and getting the first lot of parts on the way. I'm going for replacement on all the bushes I can still get (i now have 95% of them thanks to Saabits) as the car came with a box full of poly bushes.
So far the list is, new stainless braided brake lines, stainless braided clutch line, oil pressure/temperature and boost gauges (may yet fit a wideband gauge kit as it can be looped into the standard ECU for more data) VXR Z20LEH injectors as these flow more than the usual bosch green giants that people generally use, 3 bar map sensor, 3 inch downpipe sports cat and exhaust...although I may just order the parts and make this myself and probably loads of other stuff like new drive and that
Thinking of getting a new condensor for the A/C and all new seals to see if it can be brought back to life
I did take out the ECU for a look see and saw a tuning companies sticker on it...A bit concerned for the gearbox now as the boost curve wasn't touched, but injectors were maxed out at the top end and the boost fuel cut limit was raised to the maximum the 2.5 bar map sensor would read, along with the boost limit in second being removed...gives me the feeling the ECU came with a manual boost controller which would explain the APC lines being all to hell and the APC valve being unbolted
IMG-20241117-WA0010 by Steve, on Flickr Really hoping to keep this a nice straight forward project by keeping scope creep to a minimum....but we all know how that goes
Austin_Metro said:
With those wheels and part wood steering wheel, I’m wondering is that an Anniversary model?
I recall my Dad having one once - never an aero though!
I actually think it's been rescued from being stripped for parts and had whatever parts someone's had lying about thrown on it. Previous owner said it didn't have an exhaust system at all when they bought it, which lends towards that theory.I recall my Dad having one once - never an aero though!
It's definitely an Aero on the logbook though and the vin decoder says Aero.......well I certainly hope so anyway with the tasteless reg I've bought for it
I can’t remember the logo. On the seats. Might have been a “50” on some little black badges externally… but my memory fails me.
Wiki tells us
“A limited-edition Anniversary model was introduced in 1997 to mark Saab's 50th anniversary, featuring leather seats embossed with the classic, aircraft-inspired Saab logo and a colour-keyed body kit. The engine type was freely selectable from the available turbocharged engines from the 1997 model year except the engine used in the Aero model. The "Anniversary" could be ordered until the end of the 9000's production in 1998. During 1998, the "Anniversary" could be also ordered with the engine of the Aero model.”
So OPs could be an aero anniversary- the body colour skirts and wooden wheel fit. Is it a 98?
Wiki tells us
“A limited-edition Anniversary model was introduced in 1997 to mark Saab's 50th anniversary, featuring leather seats embossed with the classic, aircraft-inspired Saab logo and a colour-keyed body kit. The engine type was freely selectable from the available turbocharged engines from the 1997 model year except the engine used in the Aero model. The "Anniversary" could be ordered until the end of the 9000's production in 1998. During 1998, the "Anniversary" could be also ordered with the engine of the Aero model.”
So OPs could be an aero anniversary- the body colour skirts and wooden wheel fit. Is it a 98?
Austin_Metro said:
I can’t remember the logo. On the seats. Might have been a “50” on some little black badges externally… but my memory fails me.
Wiki tells us
“A limited-edition Anniversary model was introduced in 1997 to mark Saab's 50th anniversary, featuring leather seats embossed with the classic, aircraft-inspired Saab logo and a colour-keyed body kit. The engine type was freely selectable from the available turbocharged engines from the 1997 model year except the engine used in the Aero model. The "Anniversary" could be ordered until the end of the 9000's production in 1998. During 1998, the "Anniversary" could be also ordered with the engine of the Aero model.”
So OPs could be an aero anniversary- the body colour skirts and wooden wheel fit. Is it a 98?
My old S plate anniversary had those seats, as well as my partner's anniversary....which also has the 50 badges on the wings. Same Aero bodykit on both Wiki tells us
“A limited-edition Anniversary model was introduced in 1997 to mark Saab's 50th anniversary, featuring leather seats embossed with the classic, aircraft-inspired Saab logo and a colour-keyed body kit. The engine type was freely selectable from the available turbocharged engines from the 1997 model year except the engine used in the Aero model. The "Anniversary" could be ordered until the end of the 9000's production in 1998. During 1998, the "Anniversary" could be also ordered with the engine of the Aero model.”
So OPs could be an aero anniversary- the body colour skirts and wooden wheel fit. Is it a 98?
My one is a 97 with the standard Aero recaro style seats
Austin_Metro said:
During 1998, the "Anniversary" could be also ordered with the engine of the Aero model.”
I once had a 1997 CSE (neither Aero nor Anniversary) 2.3FPT with the full Aero engine. Was a nice car. Good luck getting this one back together. I'm on my 7th or 8th 9000 now, they have been my daily drivers for most of the last 25 years. Current one is a 93 Aero I bought in 2017 with exactly 200,000 miles showing. I should clock over 300,000 miles sometime in the spring. Will be following with interest on this one OP! Looks like you have some great plans for it.
I own two 9-3s (08/10) but have never owned a Saab pre-2006, yet I keep looking at various older Saabs. I must say if I'm ever in the market for a classic car, I'd certainly look down the Saab 900 route, although the Viggen looks pretty good too.
I own two 9-3s (08/10) but have never owned a Saab pre-2006, yet I keep looking at various older Saabs. I must say if I'm ever in the market for a classic car, I'd certainly look down the Saab 900 route, although the Viggen looks pretty good too.
Alex_225 said:
Will be following with interest on this one OP! Looks like you have some great plans for it.
I own two 9-3s (08/10) but have never owned a Saab pre-2006, yet I keep looking at various older Saabs. I must say if I'm ever in the market for a classic car, I'd certainly look down the Saab 900 route, although the Viggen looks pretty good too.
Always wanted a Viggen in yellow or Lightning blue. They are getting increasingly rare though.I own two 9-3s (08/10) but have never owned a Saab pre-2006, yet I keep looking at various older Saabs. I must say if I'm ever in the market for a classic car, I'd certainly look down the Saab 900 route, although the Viggen looks pretty good too.
Took a bit of inventory of what I have currently for the car, both the parts it came with and one's I've ordered
PXL_20241227_135458424.MP by Steve, on FlickrI need to sit down and order some suspension stuff. I've decided on the standard Aero springs with Bilstein B4 shocks, opinion seems to be that it's the best all round setup for road use, and if you really must lower them then use Eibach springs which are NLA unless someone knows a source. I'm going to replace every bush I can still buy while I've got the axle off as well.
I've decided I'm going to take the engine out to do some engine bay maintenance/tidying up, and will also probably do the head gasket, Timing chain, balance shaft delete and maybe the bearings while it's out. It will also make drilling out and tapping the broken exhaust manifold studs a lot easier.
Spent a bit of time on the rear brakes mainly trying out what colour to do the calipers in, Opted for this which I'm 50/50 on still....almost silver but with a tiny bit of blue so it's not an in your face contrasting colour
IMG-20241207-WA0015 by Steve, on Flickr
IMG-20241207-WA0022 by Steve, on FlickrFitted new slide rubbers and stainless bleed screws while I was at it
IMG-20241207-WA0017 by Steve, on FlickrAfter that I thought I better stop procrastinating and get on with the last bit of welding. Someone had previously jacked the car up on the jacking point incorrectly with one of those cheapy small trolley jacks by the looks of it and caused this
PXL_20241227_142806104 by Steve, on FlickrSo out with the hammer and block of wood and some fine adjustments were made, then cut out any of the metal that looked remotely rusty and thought I'd give weld through primer a go for the first time
PXL_20241227_151719198 by Steve, on FlickrWas not a fan of the primer, and I had to stop welding every 2 seconds because I have the fear when welding inside a car with carpets still in other areas, checking the car wasn't ablaze after every second trigger pull. This resulted in a weld that was strong but resembled the Himalayas. I broke out the flap wheel and removed the vast peaks so it was less offensive then camoflaged the rest of the abomination with seam sealer....it's under the carpet anyway so it can chew away at me for the next few months till I annoy myself into re doing it
PXL_20241227_155727550 by Steve, on FlickrPotentially one for the bad number plates thread (although it will be remaining legally spaced thank you) but I thought I'd give myself a bit of an end goal. So cheap personal reg purchased and waiting to go on the car when it's MOT'd
PXL_20241221_154248492 by Steve, on FlickrApart from that the only thing I've done is run it up with the decent fuel in it. I forgot how much I love the 80's/90's dash in these
PXL_20241227_134807784 by Steve, on FlickrThat's a really wonderful dashboard - does this 9000 have the 'turn off everythign but speedo' option for night driving?
Keen to see how you get on with the suspension refresh. I always wanted a 9000 Aero but couldnt let go of my other Type 4 platform, the Alfa 164, to scratch that itch!
Keen to see how you get on with the suspension refresh. I always wanted a 9000 Aero but couldnt let go of my other Type 4 platform, the Alfa 164, to scratch that itch!
tog said:
All looks like good progress : )
What is the benefit of the balance shaft delete? Does it not affect smooth running?
A bit freer revving, a bit more oil pressure and most importantly removes the drive cogs for the shafts that fail, then send shrapnel into the cam carriers in the head destroying the head. I've done it on both my B204 Astra and my partners 9000 and there is not really much more vibrationWhat is the benefit of the balance shaft delete? Does it not affect smooth running?
It does not have the night panel button, although my old 93 did
Not too much of an update, had a look around the shelves and found some braided steel brake pipes I didn't use on a previous 9000
PXL_20241229_131125105.MP by Steve, on FlickrI did however strip out the scuttle/wiper panel and have found some rust that will require the screen out....I will update once I've hopefully got a repair planned out
Got stuck in a bit more today
Decided the engine is coming out for a bit of a refresh and to give me a chance to do all the brake pipes etc in the engine bay
PXL_20250118_153442088 by Steve, on Flickr
PXL_20250118_163031949 by Steve, on Flickr
IMG-20250118-WA0031 by Steve, on Flickr
Super impressed with this impact driver taking off the hub nuts
IMG-20250118-WA0020 by Steve, on Flickr
Some more goodies arrived
PXL_20250118_121202104 by Steve, on Flickr
PXL_20250118_121238945 by Steve, on Flickr
IMG-20250118-WA0009 by Steve, on Flickr
Few small issues found, hydraulic engine mounts were not even complete anymore....I have spares. heater core has a leak and the heater matrix pipes from the cylinder head were fit to burst, so a bit glad I've decided to dig deeper
Decided the engine is coming out for a bit of a refresh and to give me a chance to do all the brake pipes etc in the engine bay
PXL_20250118_153442088 by Steve, on FlickrPXL_20250118_163031949 by Steve, on FlickrIMG-20250118-WA0031 by Steve, on FlickrSuper impressed with this impact driver taking off the hub nuts
IMG-20250118-WA0020 by Steve, on FlickrSome more goodies arrived
PXL_20250118_121202104 by Steve, on FlickrPXL_20250118_121238945 by Steve, on FlickrIMG-20250118-WA0009 by Steve, on FlickrFew small issues found, hydraulic engine mounts were not even complete anymore....I have spares. heater core has a leak and the heater matrix pipes from the cylinder head were fit to burst, so a bit glad I've decided to dig deeper
I had a '98 Anni 2.3t about 8/9 years ago, it was a lovely car and the B234 is a great engine, even at its age people commented on how quiet and comfortable it was.
I had a mild remap on it to ~240hp, it had the really leggy gearbox which would do 60mph in 2nd so it felt quicker than it was. At 160k miles the clutch started to slip but only on high boost so I managed another 7k on the clutch before throwing in the towel, it was worth very little at the time and a new clutch was getting quoted around £700
I do miss it dearly though, they make great sleepers although the around town MPG left something to be desired!
I had a mild remap on it to ~240hp, it had the really leggy gearbox which would do 60mph in 2nd so it felt quicker than it was. At 160k miles the clutch started to slip but only on high boost so I managed another 7k on the clutch before throwing in the towel, it was worth very little at the time and a new clutch was getting quoted around £700
I do miss it dearly though, they make great sleepers although the around town MPG left something to be desired!
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