Saabs. bit of a performance bargain (Contains winter hackage)

233 · 21 Sep 2018 at 10:14

So after finding myself carless other than whatevers sitting in the yard at work I thought it might be a good idea to go buy a cheap fun fast car for over the winter.

que lots of looking at small hatches clio1X2s not looking at E36s as there seems to be no 6 pots under 5 grand left, vans and all manner of cheap cheerful crud I settled on buying a Saab.

Quirky fast and cheap what could possibly go wrong? so I set about scouring the classifieds until I found a bit of a bargain, a 2005 Saab 9-5 Vectors Sport 2.3 T fast enough lots of toys and a big comfy barge for over the winter. went our had a look slight bit of bubbling on the back arches 4 ditchfinders but a years ticket and apart from the brown leather rather unoffensive. all for the princely sum of £600

so lots of smugness all round and it seems like its putting out a few more than the 220 bhp it should be putting out so all good.

|https://thumbsnap.com/QbXdiObz[/IMG]

For a Day.

|https://thumbsnap.com/rPnx8piy[/IMG]

|https://thumbsnap.com/LUZzo66w[/IMG]

we have a err Minor issue, new engine required.

bad news is its a terminal engine failure,
Good news is I've already sourced a B235R to replace it

so a few more horses to be liberated.

Bad news only spare car sitting is a Toledo diesel,
Good news, really couldn't bear the thought of driving a diesel so brought the Omega out of storage after 7 years off the road. 4 replacement doors fitted headlights rebuilt and spiders removed belts fluids and brakes and we're ready for a MOT.

|https://thumbsnap.com/zhI4n2nB[/IMG]

this is going to be a bit of a joint project thread going forward as I really didn't plan on resurrecting the big Mig this year but needs must and the saabs a trip to blackpool for an engine and a days work from being back among the living.

-westy- · 21 Sep 2018 at 12:41

Let me guess, sludge in the sump blocked the oil pickup?

Dav4 · 21 Sep 2018 at 12:48

What happened to your new Mondeo that was used as a taxi?
You could have gotten a very good example of a Saab privately for 1.5k instead of buying that lemon

I’ve always been tempted by an old Saab because they do offer a nice drive and plenty of bhp with a remap for not much money but prices seem to be increasing. Same with the old 3.0 all wheel drive Jag X types they are now double the price of what they were 1-2yrs ago because anything with a decent engine is becoming rare nowadays.

233 · 21 Sep 2018 at 13:02

still here, or it was as of 5am this morning last time I checked

its out on the rental fleet now earning a living,

hence the new daily(s)

adam cool dude · 21 Sep 2018 at 13:17

Excellent cars you just bought a dud. Had my 04 Aero since Jan 15. Taken me to Lithuania and back. 150+ on the Autobahn and has passed every MOT with just basic servicing. Has been a bit pampered though. Engine has had new gaskets and a sump drop as preventative maintenance as it was leaking from the distributor bung. Also Noobtune remap. Just bought a set of new Sachs dampers to freshen up the suspension as it was a little bouncy on the way to the Lake District. Handles well for its size on Goodyear eagle 3's. Currently at 140k but wearing its miles well and turbo still pulls strong.

Mickcas · 21 Sep 2018 at 13:45

Aahh I loved my 9-3 vector, slapped the aero turbo and injectors on, new intercooler and silicone pipes with a remap. Good times and never missed a beat

Mickcas · 21 Sep 2018 at 13:46

I also went with a noobtune remap, guy was very helpful

Scania · 21 Sep 2018 at 14:20

To be honest I’d have thrown the £600 toward the Omega in the first place and got that back up and running instead of the too good to be true Saaaaaab

wedrum · 21 Sep 2018 at 14:24

yup had a 2003 saab 9-3 aero 2.0T noobtune stage 1 250BHP apart from a few coils it never let me down.

Agent_Smith357 · 21 Sep 2018 at 20:32

To balance out the praise, I bought a 9-3 Aero which went bang 2 months later...I did enjoy it up until that point however.

sigma · 22 Sep 2018 at 13:20

Is this the model that's based on a Vectra?

I don't quite follow the opening post. You bought a £600 Vectra (sorry lol) which went bang so then decided to resurrect the Omega? What's the reason? You need a daily that's not a taxi?

new boy · 22 Sep 2018 at 13:32

Yes, based on on vectra

I quite fancy a v6 one tbh

Mr_Sukebe · 23 Sep 2018 at 10:29

I'm a little confused as how a car requiring a replacement engine can be considered a bargain.
Particularly so as my brother bought a 9-5 Aero a couple of years ago for just over £1k, had it chipped to 275hp and hasn't had any significant issues with it.

Ricochet J · 27 Sep 2018 at 09:23

OK so I'm a big fan of old Saab's, and not too long ago I owned a Saab 95 Sport Anniversary Estate. It was good. It was equipped. And it was a bargain.

But most importantly it worked.

Yours does not?

233 · 6 Oct 2018 at 10:28

quick update,

saab is still sitting in shame round the back of the workshop, hopefully will get down to NW saabs later this month to pickup another engine,

The omega is now in the workshop

and she's a bit of a teabag

slowly but surely turning back into a car

shopping complete bar the usual recommissioning stuff belts fluids hoses and consumables

Kaeo · 6 Oct 2018 at 14:14

I'm not sure why you would bother with this level of effort for what are effectively common and not that special cars. Each to their own though I guess.

233 · 7 Oct 2018 at 13:45

Kaeo said:
I'm not sure why you would bother with this level of effort for what are effectively common and not that special cars. Each to their own though I guess.

when a metro can be worth 10 grand I'm pining my hopes on this going the same way as e30 bmws and cossies

already doubled in value just washing the thing. reckon its a 10 grand car in a few years

no seriously once its sorted I'll know its sorted. and all that for the cost of a couple of months lease payments on a new car.
its a 200bhp plus rwd manual car that will go sideways for fun. it has a decent level of comfort and for me ticks all the boxes. that and I can fix it myself without any of the fancy stuff to worry about like most modern cars (no canbus in sight). it has everything I need in a car HIDs comfy leather seats quick enough with a lot of potential for more power if I want to go that way and best of all I'm not exactly going to be worried about someone kicking my door in during the night demanding keys for it.

Tee Hee Johnson · 7 Oct 2018 at 23:00

233 said:
when a metro can be worth 10 grand I'm pining my hopes on this going the same way as e30 bmws and cossies

already doubled in value just washing the thing. reckon its a 10 grand car in a few years

no seriously once its sorted I'll know its sorted. and all that for the cost of a couple of months lease payments on a new car.
its a 200bhp plus rwd manual car that will go sideways for fun. it has a decent level of comfort and for me ticks all the boxes. that and I can fix it myself without any of the fancy stuff to worry about like most modern cars (no canbus in sight). it has everything I need in a car HIDs comfy leather seats quick enough with a lot of potential for more power if I want to go that way and best of all I'm not exactly going to be worried about someone kicking my door in during the night demanding keys for it.

Yep, apparently Clios will be worth £25k too in a few years, lol

233 · 8 Oct 2018 at 12:24

in reality it owes me very little, and even fully welded and MOTd with everything freshened up new belts etc will still only owe me circa £800 using the notorious man maths and working out on having owned it for 27 months already that works out at less than £7 a week

Saabs. bit of a performance bargain (Contains winter hackage)

Man of Honour