The Drunkie Saab Story
Transmission is back. B3Design built it.
Played with some wheels
Put the Enkeis on the wagon for 5 minutes...didn't like them.
Been working on the Wagon alot. New passenger wheel bearing, new OEM axles, new headlights, tow hitch installed, new brake booster, new window trim, new crank pulley, new ac compressor/condenser, just a bunch of stuff.
and New wheels
Played with some wheels
Put the Enkeis on the wagon for 5 minutes...didn't like them.
Been working on the Wagon alot. New passenger wheel bearing, new OEM axles, new headlights, tow hitch installed, new brake booster, new window trim, new crank pulley, new ac compressor/condenser, just a bunch of stuff.
and New wheels
Damn, do you ever stop working on these cars 
Very nice job as usual. That transmission is beautiful, I may have to paint mine now! And damn, OEM axles? That must have cost a pretty penny! And how did you do the window trim? I've been wanting to put SE black trim on my car to replace the chrome, but I couldn't figure out how to remove it from a car at the junkyard without bending it. I liked the Enkeis, but maybe it was just the gold color. But I like the new wheels too. Maybe they'd be even better in gold?
Very nice job as usual. That transmission is beautiful, I may have to paint mine now! And damn, OEM axles? That must have cost a pretty penny! And how did you do the window trim? I've been wanting to put SE black trim on my car to replace the chrome, but I couldn't figure out how to remove it from a car at the junkyard without bending it. I liked the Enkeis, but maybe it was just the gold color. But I like the new wheels too. Maybe they'd be even better in gold?
Damn, do you ever stop working on these cars Very nice job as usual. That transmission is beautiful, I may have to paint mine now! And damn, OEM axles? That must have cost a pretty penny! And how did you do the window trim? I've been wanting to put SE black trim on my car to replace the chrome, but I couldn't figure out how to remove it from a car at the junkyard without bending it. I liked the Enkeis, but maybe it was just the gold color. But I like the new wheels too. Maybe they'd be even better in gold?
Very nice job as usual. That transmission is beautiful, I may have to paint mine now! And damn, OEM axles? That must have cost a pretty penny! And how did you do the window trim? I've been wanting to put SE black trim on my car to replace the chrome, but I couldn't figure out how to remove it from a car at the junkyard without bending it. I liked the Enkeis, but maybe it was just the gold color. But I like the new wheels too. Maybe they'd be even better in gold?I can't wait to get that transmission in, saw you were going 6 speed with a 4.4FD, gotta say I love my 4.45FD even though I'm a 5 speed. that turbo slingshot feeling comes on so different.
OEM axles are rebuilds from Napa, only $52/each!
The window trim on this car was easy, there was just a single torx screw at the edge of the door by the seal and pry/pull it up and off.
And I'm done with messing with the wheels on this car now, got the suspension (Stock with minor upgrades), brakes (bigger brake options front and rear), interior and exterior exactly how I want it. And plenty of power for a daily. This wagon is exactly how I imagined it. Stock with the upgrades that make it mine.
4th saab?! Goot lawd. Saab makes some ugly cars, but they drive very well. Don't tell my Saab snob hs classmate I said that. He had a 9k then a 9k aero in HS, got the aero tuned in college and oi boyyyyyyyy that thing was scooootin. He's the one that pretty much got me into cars today, learned manual on those two Saabs.
Their family's workhorse was like a 89 or 90 or whatever 900t coupe/wagon ugly thing had like 400k on it I think? Car only needed regular maintenance as far as I knew and it towed boats. Even after 300k miles it was tuned as well and good Lord half mercy when that thing spooled.... apparently had to be granny shifted cause the trans was glass but still that ugly brick shouldn't have boogied like that.
He got rid of the aero due to fuel tank issues and moving onto more awkward euro cars, I think he still has his Saab TrailBlazer he bought after college.
Basically I've learned there's a Saab snob around every corner and now that you're active here again you're now that Saab guy
Their family's workhorse was like a 89 or 90 or whatever 900t coupe/wagon ugly thing had like 400k on it I think? Car only needed regular maintenance as far as I knew and it towed boats. Even after 300k miles it was tuned as well and good Lord half mercy when that thing spooled.... apparently had to be granny shifted cause the trans was glass but still that ugly brick shouldn't have boogied like that.
He got rid of the aero due to fuel tank issues and moving onto more awkward euro cars, I think he still has his Saab TrailBlazer he bought after college.
Basically I've learned there's a Saab snob around every corner and now that you're active here again you're now that Saab guy
4th saab?! Goot lawd. Saab makes some ugly cars, but they drive very well. Don't tell my Saab snob hs classmate I said that. He had a 9k then a 9k aero in HS, got the aero tuned in college and oi boyyyyyyyy that thing was scooootin. He's the one that pretty much got me into cars today, learned manual on those two Saabs.
Their family's workhorse was like a 89 or 90 or whatever 900t coupe/wagon ugly thing had like 400k on it I think? Car only needed regular maintenance as far as I knew and it towed boats. Even after 300k miles it was tuned as well and good Lord half mercy when that thing spooled.... apparently had to be granny shifted cause the trans was glass but still that ugly brick shouldn't have boogied like that.
He got rid of the aero due to fuel tank issues and moving onto more awkward euro cars, I think he still has his Saab TrailBlazer he bought after college.
Basically I've learned there's a Saab snob around every corner and now that you're active here again you're now that Saab guy
Their family's workhorse was like a 89 or 90 or whatever 900t coupe/wagon ugly thing had like 400k on it I think? Car only needed regular maintenance as far as I knew and it towed boats. Even after 300k miles it was tuned as well and good Lord half mercy when that thing spooled.... apparently had to be granny shifted cause the trans was glass but still that ugly brick shouldn't have boogied like that.
He got rid of the aero due to fuel tank issues and moving onto more awkward euro cars, I think he still has his Saab TrailBlazer he bought after college.
Basically I've learned there's a Saab snob around every corner and now that you're active here again you're now that Saab guy
My wagon is on a 325HP tune and the Sedan is setup to go as far as 400-500hp area.
Still love this wagon. I need to touch up the tune, its been getting rich for some reason, when I get on it.
Built Transmission in
Subframe back in, wheels on the ground. Honestly probably going to change the wheel color.
New manifold
Upskirt, after 1000 miles engine broke in perfectly.
Built Transmission in
Subframe back in, wheels on the ground. Honestly probably going to change the wheel color.
New manifold
Upskirt, after 1000 miles engine broke in perfectly.
It is back together and I just primed the engine with good oil pressure. Will start it Saturday when my Dad is around, since he has helped build this car every step of the way and stitch it back together now 3 or 4 times.
The turbo got a little bigger, the tubular manifold got bigger, so the radiator fans had to get smaller, it now has 2 14" SPAL fans versus the stock 12" fans. I made a custom bracket and mount for them, so that I can remove them to service things.
Last edited by DrunkieTheBear; Jun 5, 2020 at 03:00 AM.
Drove it today. Fans work...but after about 30 mins in stop and go traffic, it was having a hard time to get down from 100* C, in fact it pegged there when I parked for a minute at my friends place. It creeped up to 101 for a brief period then 100 again, but couldn't get to 96. The SPAL fans I used are looking to run with more than 9A on the low setting. At full tilt they drop the temperature no problem.
SOOOOO. I have a couple of options
1 - pull out the fans, put the 14" curved SPAL fan in instead of straight blade fan.
2 - pull the turbo...again. and move the recirculation tube up higher to the BPC and relocate BPC
3 - Wire in a relay setup that takes the trigger from the low setting and send a full 12V/40amps from the battery straight to the fan so that it runs high on Low fan speed.
4 - Reprogram the DICE temps (this is actually an option)
I'm going with option 4 to start, I plan to try having the fans come on low at 95* down to 92*, then high at 100* down to 96*.
I'll let you know how it goes.
Pictures from today
Sticky tires pick up EVERYTHING
Rinsed the tree garbage off my wagon
And after 30 miles, got the Sedan in the garage to play with the fans and look things over and notice my radiator upper hose was pressed firm into the delivery pipe. Huh. Look and see this
SOOOOO. I have a couple of options
1 - pull out the fans, put the 14" curved SPAL fan in instead of straight blade fan.
2 - pull the turbo...again. and move the recirculation tube up higher to the BPC and relocate BPC
3 - Wire in a relay setup that takes the trigger from the low setting and send a full 12V/40amps from the battery straight to the fan so that it runs high on Low fan speed.
4 - Reprogram the DICE temps (this is actually an option)
I'm going with option 4 to start, I plan to try having the fans come on low at 95* down to 92*, then high at 100* down to 96*.
I'll let you know how it goes.
Pictures from today
Sticky tires pick up EVERYTHING
Rinsed the tree garbage off my wagon
And after 30 miles, got the Sedan in the garage to play with the fans and look things over and notice my radiator upper hose was pressed firm into the delivery pipe. Huh. Look and see this
I'm happy with it, worth learning to do yourself, don't pay someone, because its not cheap either.
I Ceramic coated the vinyl after I was done and use turtle wax new ceramic detailer in between washes.
I'm almost fairly confident the Curved Fan I bought that is a 50% bump in air flow will resolve the issue without any other modification.
It runs a 9A on low and I calculated it was doing about 450CFM and the car wasn't overheating, where stock is flowing something like 600-620 on low, 1200 on high.
The new curved blade fan will bump me to 640CFM on low and 2400CFM on high. LOL
I still intend to mess with the DICE controller if I can hack into it like a few people have. 212* for just LOW fan kick on is too hot IMO.
The car is looking great, and so are those pictures. I wish I was that good at using my camera. I have mixed emotions about the dash, it does look cool, but I don't think it really goes with the plaid parts.
Took the wagon out for some pictures
Working up a few mods for this coming Spring.
-13.5" front brakes
-Stainless steel braided lines
-Bilstein Front struts
-Larger front sway bar
-Strut bar
-New rubber subframe bushings (not happy with the poly in this thing), steering rack, and sway bar bushings
-Knuckle reinforcement kit
Working up a few mods for this coming Spring.
-13.5" front brakes
-Stainless steel braided lines
-Bilstein Front struts
-Larger front sway bar
-Strut bar
-New rubber subframe bushings (not happy with the poly in this thing), steering rack, and sway bar bushings
-Knuckle reinforcement kit
So I bought a welder. First time ever, started with Flux, will be moving over to Mig. In a few weeks, it'll make sense what I am working on.
I'm building a newer, bigger, better garden bed to grow some food.
Klingons back on the wagon, thinking about getting some Saturn center caps for fun.
And "Bluey" as my daughter calls it, has been just enjoying life as a garage queen.
I think I'll finally have the alignment dialed in on a laser machine, corner balance it and recharge the A/C, since I'm done tearing apart now.
I'm building a newer, bigger, better garden bed to grow some food.
Klingons back on the wagon, thinking about getting some Saturn center caps for fun.
And "Bluey" as my daughter calls it, has been just enjoying life as a garage queen.
I think I'll finally have the alignment dialed in on a laser machine, corner balance it and recharge the A/C, since I'm done tearing apart now.
I guess I can recap what I have done in the past month on the wagon.
To begin with I worked inside the car and fixed a few things that were not working for me or upgraded somethings
I added the power folding mirrors and aluminum pedals from a Vauxhall VXR; along with vinyl wrapping the mirrors in a color shifting purple/blue/copper color (going to rewrap, not liking the color shift)
Saab would equip a power outlet in the cargo area if you bought their refrigerator (I am looking for one btw), I decided to take it a step further, I would give it power even when the car is off, a voltage meter, USB and 12V outlet. Wired in using the amp power line, I added a fuse block in the back for the outlets and the trailer harness.
My rear windshield wiper always leaked, I thought it was a hose, turns out the motor leaks. It pass the water through center shaft of the wiper, it leaked where the metal nipple joined with the plastic cover and nipple. I added some o-rings and greased it up, works like a charm.
Over winter I was getting some weird suspension feeling in the car, considering almost everything was new about 13k miles ago, I decided to investigate. I found 3 shocks blown (2 front and 1 rear self leveling), so I decided a major overhaul at this point.
Started in the rear, since I did the rear lateral arm inner bushings and rear subframe bushings were inspected when I built the car, I decided to move outward. I replaced the rose bushings at the trailing arm (1 of the 4 was showing about 1-2mm of excess movement), replaced rear trailing arm bushings with PowerFlex, new self leveling shocks in the rear, changed out the rubber brake lines for HEL stainless braided, replaced rear sway bar bushings and links, and coated the braking plates with rust inhibitor inside and out (I will do the same with the trailing arm and other components this fall before winter)
Protect your nuts on your shocks in the back
To begin with I worked inside the car and fixed a few things that were not working for me or upgraded somethings
I added the power folding mirrors and aluminum pedals from a Vauxhall VXR; along with vinyl wrapping the mirrors in a color shifting purple/blue/copper color (going to rewrap, not liking the color shift)
Saab would equip a power outlet in the cargo area if you bought their refrigerator (I am looking for one btw), I decided to take it a step further, I would give it power even when the car is off, a voltage meter, USB and 12V outlet. Wired in using the amp power line, I added a fuse block in the back for the outlets and the trailer harness.
My rear windshield wiper always leaked, I thought it was a hose, turns out the motor leaks. It pass the water through center shaft of the wiper, it leaked where the metal nipple joined with the plastic cover and nipple. I added some o-rings and greased it up, works like a charm.
Over winter I was getting some weird suspension feeling in the car, considering almost everything was new about 13k miles ago, I decided to investigate. I found 3 shocks blown (2 front and 1 rear self leveling), so I decided a major overhaul at this point.
Started in the rear, since I did the rear lateral arm inner bushings and rear subframe bushings were inspected when I built the car, I decided to move outward. I replaced the rose bushings at the trailing arm (1 of the 4 was showing about 1-2mm of excess movement), replaced rear trailing arm bushings with PowerFlex, new self leveling shocks in the rear, changed out the rubber brake lines for HEL stainless braided, replaced rear sway bar bushings and links, and coated the braking plates with rust inhibitor inside and out (I will do the same with the trailing arm and other components this fall before winter)
Protect your nuts on your shocks in the back
Moving onto the front suspension, I found a LCA bushing I guess wasn't torqued under load right and was busted. I upgraded my front struts from Meyle's Junk to Bilstein B4s. I did the HEL stainless steel brake lines and upgraded the brakes from 308mm 9-5 Aeros to 345mm TurboX brakes with dust shields. You can modify the dust shields from a 9-3 TurboX to fit with minor cuts and it works great.
This car lived on a dirt road, the amount of dirt I pull out of places is incredible.
Finished, I do have to run spacers for these calipers, minimum would probably be 5mm, but I choose 15mm for the stance/flushness. (I'm going back to black lugs, not feeling these Mevius neo chrome lugs)
My car was equipped with corner lights in the fogs (a rare option as it was only offered in 99-00), I thought I would get the appropriate fog lights. I got them and hooked up the LED bulbs to it, turns out regardless if the main headlights are on or off, these turn on anytime you use the turn signal. I didn't care for that, so I wired them into the main fog lights to give my fog lights a wider beam, works great, and the cutoff line is straight across.
I put a tiny Lego Darth Vader in my headlight cause I was bored
This car lived on a dirt road, the amount of dirt I pull out of places is incredible.
Finished, I do have to run spacers for these calipers, minimum would probably be 5mm, but I choose 15mm for the stance/flushness. (I'm going back to black lugs, not feeling these Mevius neo chrome lugs)
My car was equipped with corner lights in the fogs (a rare option as it was only offered in 99-00), I thought I would get the appropriate fog lights. I got them and hooked up the LED bulbs to it, turns out regardless if the main headlights are on or off, these turn on anytime you use the turn signal. I didn't care for that, so I wired them into the main fog lights to give my fog lights a wider beam, works great, and the cutoff line is straight across.
I put a tiny Lego Darth Vader in my headlight cause I was bored
After completing my brakes on the front, I took a look at the rotors, they were wearing funny and had hot spots/glazing (These are EBC rotors too). My rears aren't looking so great either, I may update the rear sometime this fall. Only 13k miles on these
Fronts
Rears
I polished this car up and ceramic coated it, but polled is a fickle *****
Fronts
Rears
I polished this car up and ceramic coated it, but polled is a fickle *****