Well, I couldn't resist it and wound up buying a 1996 Saab 900 SE (5MT, B204 2.0l turbocharged direct-injected DOHC) with about 152K miles. It's pretty clean, save an unfortunate collision on the rear passenger wheel well. The turbocharger is pretty tired, too, I'm assuming, though it does seem to provide full boost (10psi or so).
Just starting out on evaluation/maintenance. Did some exterior cleaning (was dirty), gave her an oil+filter change today after driving home from the purchase.
Saab definitely 'thinks different,' some eccentric design elements, but it's a fun drive with probably a bit more potential than my civic (though it pains me to say so) out of the gate. It seems like a lot of car for $1500.
Craigslist Saab 900 SE
I'm still figuring out my plans, but right now, I'm thinking I want to overhaul its engine to factory spec, install a rebuilt turbo if/when needed, fix the dents and get a respray done. Even with all those miles, and I don't think I lot of major service to date, it's a fun ride, firm suspension and almost no body roll in the corners. It's kind of demure until the turbo is spooled up, like two completely different personalities, probably old hat to anyone who has been driving with FI, but new to me. Longer term, maybe some performance mods, but I need to get to know it better first.
It's got me thinking about selling the civic, honestly it's already beyond anything I'm likely to mod the Honda up to being, but I've the luxury of taking my time to figure that out.
It's got me thinking about selling the civic, honestly it's already beyond anything I'm likely to mod the Honda up to being, but I've the luxury of taking my time to figure that out.
- RX-7 Chris
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I agree with Justin.
I'm not a huge fan of the styling of Saabs. There name is Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (Swedish Airplane Limited)
I'm not a huge fan of the styling of Saabs. There name is Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (Swedish Airplane Limited)
1984 RX-7 GSL-SE [size=84]My restomod project[/SIZE]
1964 Ford Galaxie 500XL flat black w/ white interior, 2 dr fastback, 390 thunderbird, C6 auto, 2500 rpm high stall converter, shift kit, AC, Holley 750 cfm
[size=100]RIP 1983 RX-7[/SIZE]
My Car Blog
chromal wrote:It's kind of demure until the turbo is spooled up, like two completely different personalities, probably old hat to anyone who has been driving with FI, but new to me.
Yep, that's boost. Ah, I miss it sometimes lol. Be careful though, it is addicting.
2015 Ironman Silver Veloster Turbo - Bone stock and staying that way
1990 Crystal White Miata - Beater - Bignose 1.6L Swap, Robbins Top w/Glass Window, E-Codes, Air Horns, Brembo Rotors
Former Rides:
2011 Kona Blue Mustang GT 5.0
2009 True Red Mazdaspeed3 GT
2005 Flame Red SRT-4
1990 Crystal White Miata - Beater - Bignose 1.6L Swap, Robbins Top w/Glass Window, E-Codes, Air Horns, Brembo Rotors
Former Rides:
2011 Kona Blue Mustang GT 5.0
2009 True Red Mazdaspeed3 GT
2005 Flame Red SRT-4
Aw, no love for the Saab's quirky looks? I think it's timeless! But yeah, I'm not expecting turnkey reliability from a 15-year old Saab, but so far it seems well-built and worth maintaining. Surely easier than my roommate's 92 Audi 100 CS Quattro! My 900 SE is new enough to have OBD2, which should help, too, when things do go wrong. It's my third car, so I don't really need it to be too dependable.
More updates here on the state under the hood, and repair/maintenance progress.
More updates here on the state under the hood, and repair/maintenance progress.
Congrats on the new ride.
~Brandon~
720.935.6438
720.935.6438
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This is Bunny. Bunny has the following mods: BNR Supercars GT28RS TC - Mazdaspeed CAI - ACT Streetlite CK - Vibrant TIP - Extreme Turbo Systems TMIC - SLS Performance TP - Magnaflow CBE - James Barone Racing SSP & HSK - Cobb AP - Xcarlink iPod integrator - VG Sharkfin - RX-8 Wheels - Fiber Images CF Hood w/BCM accents
Have driven the Saab around a bit. Drove out to Georgetown on Wednesday to do title transfer and get temp tag. No drama, has run well and quieted down a little with the fresh engine oil.
There's still a lot of noise coming off the front of the engine, I'll probably need to replace some accessory belt pulleys, and I want to run the engine sans serpentine belt for a few moments to see what just the timing chain alone sounds like. I can also pull the main timing chain tensioner to get some idea of how much the chain has stretched-- if the tensioner has extended more than 11mm, the chain will definitely need a replacement.
Have seen some recurring P1171 (mixture too lean) codes, filled up on 91 octane, also added some gumout injector cleaner. Am not sure about the primary HO2S voltages I'm seening via OBD2, can sit in a normal range, but sometimes drops to 0.015v, which seems suspect. Not yet sure if it's the sensor or possibly a grounding/electrical issue.
Today I'm going to drain the old green coolant, circulate and drain water, and then replace with Zerex G-05 / distilled water coolant mix. On a grocery run in the saab with the rear cargo area loaded, noticed the bent wheel well flare was impacting edge of tire. Pounded it out a bit with a small sledgehammer yesterday and then sanded, rust-fixed, and zinc-primered it.. I'll probably try to do some minimal wax protection on the rest of the car with a liquid Meguier's wax product. Also am going to be starting on interior detailing, leather cleaner and leather conditoner passes.
There's still a lot of noise coming off the front of the engine, I'll probably need to replace some accessory belt pulleys, and I want to run the engine sans serpentine belt for a few moments to see what just the timing chain alone sounds like. I can also pull the main timing chain tensioner to get some idea of how much the chain has stretched-- if the tensioner has extended more than 11mm, the chain will definitely need a replacement.
Have seen some recurring P1171 (mixture too lean) codes, filled up on 91 octane, also added some gumout injector cleaner. Am not sure about the primary HO2S voltages I'm seening via OBD2, can sit in a normal range, but sometimes drops to 0.015v, which seems suspect. Not yet sure if it's the sensor or possibly a grounding/electrical issue.
Today I'm going to drain the old green coolant, circulate and drain water, and then replace with Zerex G-05 / distilled water coolant mix. On a grocery run in the saab with the rear cargo area loaded, noticed the bent wheel well flare was impacting edge of tire. Pounded it out a bit with a small sledgehammer yesterday and then sanded, rust-fixed, and zinc-primered it.. I'll probably try to do some minimal wax protection on the rest of the car with a liquid Meguier's wax product. Also am going to be starting on interior detailing, leather cleaner and leather conditoner passes.
I have some belt noise in my Miata now, so may need to pull the accessory belts as well to see if it's the timing belt. The other two belts were new when I did the engine swap but that was 25k miles and almost 2 years ago.
2015 Ironman Silver Veloster Turbo - Bone stock and staying that way
1990 Crystal White Miata - Beater - Bignose 1.6L Swap, Robbins Top w/Glass Window, E-Codes, Air Horns, Brembo Rotors
Former Rides:
2011 Kona Blue Mustang GT 5.0
2009 True Red Mazdaspeed3 GT
2005 Flame Red SRT-4
1990 Crystal White Miata - Beater - Bignose 1.6L Swap, Robbins Top w/Glass Window, E-Codes, Air Horns, Brembo Rotors
Former Rides:
2011 Kona Blue Mustang GT 5.0
2009 True Red Mazdaspeed3 GT
2005 Flame Red SRT-4
Lots of small efforts continue throughout the weekend:
I've been separating every electrical harness plug and grounding I can find and soaking them de-oxit before reassembling. New battery and battery tie-downs from NAPA auto parts, battery leads cleaned and reassembled on new battery.
Also spent time yanking vacuum lines. Any line whose end has lost elasticity gets trimmed off before being replaced on union. Found coolant line on throttle body where metal clamp covered hole, cut damaged end off and re-seated, replaced clamp.
Lots of interior detailing. Pulled and lubricated cabin air sensor. Found hacked-up wiring harness near stereo, behind center console. Unsure of original purpose. Applied more leather conditioner on the seats. Reset tire pressures to 34.5 PSI front 33 PSI rear.
Filled up 18 gallon tank at 'empty', got 14.5 gallons of 91 octane in before full. Last tank had gum-out fuel system cleaner in it, fwiw.
Probably some more small stuff I'm forgetting. Took for a test drive, no drama or unexpected events indicated on dashboard, so that's progress?
I've been separating every electrical harness plug and grounding I can find and soaking them de-oxit before reassembling. New battery and battery tie-downs from NAPA auto parts, battery leads cleaned and reassembled on new battery.
Also spent time yanking vacuum lines. Any line whose end has lost elasticity gets trimmed off before being replaced on union. Found coolant line on throttle body where metal clamp covered hole, cut damaged end off and re-seated, replaced clamp.
Lots of interior detailing. Pulled and lubricated cabin air sensor. Found hacked-up wiring harness near stereo, behind center console. Unsure of original purpose. Applied more leather conditioner on the seats. Reset tire pressures to 34.5 PSI front 33 PSI rear.
Filled up 18 gallon tank at 'empty', got 14.5 gallons of 91 octane in before full. Last tank had gum-out fuel system cleaner in it, fwiw.
Probably some more small stuff I'm forgetting. Took for a test drive, no drama or unexpected events indicated on dashboard, so that's progress?
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