I never thought i'd end up modifying it... c900T16s hands-free tuning.

[Saabstudent]

Bear with me as i add more posts over the next few weeks. I've got 4 years of history and mods to get through just to get up to date!

Inspired by other project pages on here (one of the main reasons i visit this site tbh) i've decided that it's time to stop talking and actually get posting...

So first up i am not a mechanical genius as those on here who know me will testify :roll: . Apart from the odd oil change and minor maintenance all the work to my car has been completed by Saab specialists. A cheque book tuner if you wish, only thing being that my cheque book isn't exactly the biggest in the locker-room and unlike some people on the net i'm happy to admit my hands-free status rather than trying to blag you.
/ I am not ashamed
/ I am not ashamed
/ I am not ash...

However, the c900 has been my first and only car and over the course of 4 years we have been through a lot together. Although i might not be the one picking up the spanners for more speed, i have gathered lots of information on what can be done and sometimes how to do it - normally from sites like this. What i have and probably what i plan to do might not be perfect but more often than not budget constraints have restricted my modifying enthusiasm - even if it does sometimes win priority over normal life. Still i like beans on toast...

Time to introduce the car (which doen't have a name before you ask...)

As said i bought it 4 years ago, completely standard with 127k on the clock. It was previously owned by an RAF engineer who did approx 3000 miles a year in it, and was only selling as he had a new toy to play with. It was my dream spec - late model car (Nov 1992), A/C, Red box, leather with suede panels and of course in the bestest and fastest colour - Black :cool:

Pics of the car the day i went to view it

http://www.saabphotos.com/gallery/albums/album32/as_bought_front.sized.jpg

http://www.saabphotos.com/gallery/albums/album32/as_bought_rear.sized.jpg

http://www.saabphotos.com/gallery/albums/album32/as_bought_rear_three_quart.sized.jpg

http://www.saabphotos.com/gallery/albums/album32/as_bought_rear_three_quart_lhs.sized.jpg

http://www.saabphotos.com/gallery/albums/album32/as_bought_front_three_quat.sized.jpg

http://www.saabphotos.com/gallery/albums/album32/as_bought_dash.sized.jpg

So as you can see, it wasn't in perfect condition, but it was a very sound base to start with. The gearbox worked perfectly (still the sweetest c900 box i've ever used), the paintwork was great, it had a full S/H and only 3 owners. From my initial viewing all it seemed to need was the bumpers tidied up, the A/C regassing and a new stereo (he held onto the pioneer pictured above)

A deal was done and i picked the car up one sunny afternoon in Forres (near Inverness in North of Scotland) and the rest as they say, is history...

And it never even crossed my mind to modify it ;)

[Saabstudent]

And it never even crossed my mind to modify it ;)

Yet before i'd even picked the car up i had struck a deal to buy my dream wheels for the car. These ones (though they weren't in this condition when i bought them...)

http://www.saabphotos.com/gallery/albums/album35/wheel_1.sized.jpg

And then i decided that clear lights were in order...

http://www.saabphotos.com/gallery/albums/album33/front_three_quart_western.sized.jpg

And that the rear lights should be darker ( one of the most inspiring cars at the time for me was Royce's SPG from Twinsaabs)

http://www.saabphotos.com/gallery/albums/album33/rear_end_old_bumper.sized.jpg

And so, heres a pic with these first few mods applied. It looks good to me. Taken outside the local (Newcastle) Saab Dealer

http://www.saabphotos.com/gallery/albums/album33/full_western_pic.sized.jpg

I should have been happy with it at that point...

[Saabstudent]

I should have been happy with it at that point...

... But i wasn't.
And so to tidy up the bumpers

http://www.saabphotos.com/gallery/albums/album35/rear_end_new.sized.jpg

S/Steel strips installed
http://www.saabphotos.com/gallery/albums/album35/front_plate.sized.jpg

And then nothing much happened...

[Saabstudent]

And then nothing much happened...

...Until a few mates from Uni decided it would be good to have a roadtrip to Monaco in Southern France for a re-union during the F1 GP weekend.

So stickered up - it was the finish of the Gumball 3000 Rally in the Province that weekend as well - we set off, and took in some of the best driving roads on the way.

We saw some wonderful sites.
http://www.saabphotos.com/gallery/albums/album141/DSCN2974.sized.jpg

http://www.saabphotos.com/gallery/albums/album141/DSCN2946.sized.jpg

And showed some American Muscle cars how it was done...
http://www.saabphotos.com/gallery/albums/album141/IMGP0616.sized.jpg

http://www.saabphotos.com/gallery/albums/album141/IMGP0612.sized.jpg

This may not have been the best idea.
It ended with these scenes
http://www.saabphotos.com/gallery/albums/album141/DSC00698.sized.jpg

http://www.saabphotos.com/gallery/albums/album141/DSC00719.sized.jpg

That'll be the Gearbox then :evil: :o
Welcome to Saab c900 ownership...

Not long after entering the millionaires playground i noticed a slight grind into 4th and not long after there was what can only be described as a 'klacking' noise on the overrun. Bu99er.

It soldiered on over the weekend and we decided to leave a day early, on the Sun night after the race, to take a slow trip back to the UK. We left a toll booth and i went to select 4th only to be met with a noise that emmanated from the bowels of Satan himself and crucially, a loss of drive.

It was recovered to a local garage who diagnosed it as a goosed box. The breakdown company's option was singular - have it fixed at a French Saab Main dealer. Where they would install a brand new gearbox. At a rough cost of £2800. Or more than i paid for the car only a few months earlier :nono;
We were still hundreds of miles from the French port of Calais...

I had visions of stripping the car for it's wheels, seats, dash etc and ferrying the parts back in a hire car, cutting my losses and selling it all on ebay. Then i had a brainwave - put the car on a roadtrain from Avingon to Calais, and then all i would have to do is put it on a ferry to the UK and i'd be home and dry (well the RAC would make sure i was). We put it on the train, only to be told by the ever helpful Frenchies that it only went as far north as Paris at that time of year. Grrrrrrrreat. We picked it up in Paris and i manhandled it, with limited, stubborn and noisy gear selection of those available, to Calais Ferry port. A call was made to the RAC who were informed the car would be rolling off a Ferry in Dover within 2.5 hours and i wasn't prepared to drive it any further.

We were picked up and car was recovered back to Newcastle for a replacement gearbox at my local specialist. This is where it went downhill...

[dlb]

Great story! I love that pic of the speedo reaching 120mph.:cool:

[Saabstudent]

Great story! I love that pic of the speedo reaching 120mph.:cool:

It actually went a little higehr than that - the photo is a little shaky.

http://www.saabphotos.com/gallery/albums/album141/IMGP0613.sized.jpg

Not bad considering we were 3 up with a full boot.
Still as i said, prob not the best idea in hindsight of the gearbox problems that were to come later :roll:

[woywitka]

That is a great story and you have a really nice car, you should be very proud!


I love the wheels, I had a set on my old '89, lots of compliments.

[unkleG'sif]

It actually went a little higehr than that - the photo is a little shaky.

http://www.saabphotos.com/gallery/albums/album141/IMGP0613.sized.jpg

Not bad considering we were 3 up with a full boot.
Still as i said, prob not the best idea in hindsight of the gearbox problems that were to come later :roll:


G,
I got mine about +10 from that on the way back from Le Mans in '06.... that was 3 up with a bootfull too
i was luck that my box lasted another 18months tho


G

[JeffCullen]

once hit an honest 220km/h (downhill...) in my 2.1 n/a...

[Breakin5speeds]

once hit an honest 220km/h (downhill...) in my 2.1 n/a...

I once hit 100 mph in my 86 base model, 8 valve non turbo, going down hill with a stiff wind behind me, I even got a speeding ticket to prove it...lol, my brother who sold me the car, who has his own saab garage, said "I didn't even think it could go that fast" :lol:

[ejenner]

I thought this was pretty good from my old 8v injection. This was on level ground as well. I think it could've gone faster but it was taking a really long time to get there!

http://www.red-green.co.uk/web/photos/saabpics/9008v/8v_speedo.jpg

[ejenner]

Good luck with the project G.