I got my c900 as a project car at the end of November 2008 for a mere $500. I don't know why I haven't started a thread until now, but here it goes.
I bought it from a guy in San Bruno, CA who got it at an auction in San Francisco. I got no records, other than an oil change sticker on the window from Planet Saab in San Francisco. Mileage listed on the odometer was ~87,000, but alas, the odometer did not turn so the mileage is unknown. I don't even know how many miles I've put on it since I got it.
Pics the day I brought it home:
Things broken when I got it include: every gauge on the cluster except for the speedometer, radio, back lighting on the dials/knobs on the dash (all of them), door card missing, passenger's side power window, 3 engine mounts, rust in the cooling system, leaking cooling coolant, water pump bearings bad, leak in the exhaust manifold gasket, 3 broken exhaust manifold studs, driver's side headlamp failing, 2 bent rims, blue velour front seats and leather Colorado Red bench seat in the back (not "broken" per se, but still, blue velour with a red interior? :roll, seat heaters, old and decayed vacuum lines .. I'm probably forgetting something..
But among all the bad, the good: headliner was professionally redone, transmission, engine, cylinder head looks pristine, timing chain, recent head gasket according to my mechanic, only small spots of surface rust, the paint is not fading or peeling in a major way. Basically all the major stuff was in place and good to go. All I needed to do to get it running was regular service items: oil, dizzy, cap, plugs, wires, fix vacuum leaks and we were off.
My goal for this thread is to catalog my progress thus far and continue to fix what's broken. After I sold my 2001 9-3 SE this car became the DD, so I not only want it to last a very long time, I need it to because I don't have anything else to drive. It definitely is a work in progress. I'm extremely happy with this car and I'm really glad it hasn't up and quit on me. It has taken me up and down almost the entire length of the west coast of the USA and has been a real work horse. The versatility of the hatch has proved very useful for my job making deliveries all over the Bay Area where I live and work.
Things to do are mostly cosmetic and ICE related:
An almost recent pic:
My camera is being fixed right now, so no up to date pics as of yet, but since then I've removed and refinished all the bumpers in satin black (took those ugly parking permit stickers off), plus the grille and reupholstered the door cards in maroon suede and fitted a wooden shift knob.
Since I got it I've fixed everything listed in the "broken" section above, sans what's on the to do list.
Today I replaced the passenger's side window motor and FINALLY found a speedo with a working odometer/tripometer (4 tries, can you believe it?), replaced a burned out bulb on the dash. The window motor turned out to be a bit of a nightmare. I took the whole assembly out, but something got caught on the door latch mechanism, and of course not knowing, I tried to yank the thing out and broke one of the plastic pieces that holds the metal rod to the mechanism. Then I couldn't figure out how to get the elevator back in the right way, and when I finally did, one of the rollers came off, so I nearly had to take the whole thing out again and start over. :lol: Doing it the hard way.
Hopefully I'll get my camera back soon. Thanks for looking.
I bought it from a guy in San Bruno, CA who got it at an auction in San Francisco. I got no records, other than an oil change sticker on the window from Planet Saab in San Francisco. Mileage listed on the odometer was ~87,000, but alas, the odometer did not turn so the mileage is unknown. I don't even know how many miles I've put on it since I got it.
Pics the day I brought it home:
Things broken when I got it include: every gauge on the cluster except for the speedometer, radio, back lighting on the dials/knobs on the dash (all of them), door card missing, passenger's side power window, 3 engine mounts, rust in the cooling system, leaking cooling coolant, water pump bearings bad, leak in the exhaust manifold gasket, 3 broken exhaust manifold studs, driver's side headlamp failing, 2 bent rims, blue velour front seats and leather Colorado Red bench seat in the back (not "broken" per se, but still, blue velour with a red interior? :roll, seat heaters, old and decayed vacuum lines .. I'm probably forgetting something..
But among all the bad, the good: headliner was professionally redone, transmission, engine, cylinder head looks pristine, timing chain, recent head gasket according to my mechanic, only small spots of surface rust, the paint is not fading or peeling in a major way. Basically all the major stuff was in place and good to go. All I needed to do to get it running was regular service items: oil, dizzy, cap, plugs, wires, fix vacuum leaks and we were off.
My goal for this thread is to catalog my progress thus far and continue to fix what's broken. After I sold my 2001 9-3 SE this car became the DD, so I not only want it to last a very long time, I need it to because I don't have anything else to drive. It definitely is a work in progress. I'm extremely happy with this car and I'm really glad it hasn't up and quit on me. It has taken me up and down almost the entire length of the west coast of the USA and has been a real work horse. The versatility of the hatch has proved very useful for my job making deliveries all over the Bay Area where I live and work.
Things to do are mostly cosmetic and ICE related:
- Find matching front seats
- Replace third and final engine mount on the driver's side
- Make support brackets for my HELLA 500FF driving lights so they don't wobble around
- Fit front SPG springs to get rid of that awful wheel gap and reverse rake
- Reupholster rear parcel shelf and cut holes for speakers
- Wire said speakers
- Passenger's side door latch that I broke. ;oops:
- Fit new fuel level sender so the gauge reads accurately
- Replace passenger's side tripod bearing and inner driver
- Repack driver's side inner driver with grease
- Eventually sand and repaint hood
- Add speakers to doors
- Refinish SHADOW louvres
An almost recent pic:
My camera is being fixed right now, so no up to date pics as of yet, but since then I've removed and refinished all the bumpers in satin black (took those ugly parking permit stickers off), plus the grille and reupholstered the door cards in maroon suede and fitted a wooden shift knob.
Since I got it I've fixed everything listed in the "broken" section above, sans what's on the to do list.
Today I replaced the passenger's side window motor and FINALLY found a speedo with a working odometer/tripometer (4 tries, can you believe it?), replaced a burned out bulb on the dash. The window motor turned out to be a bit of a nightmare. I took the whole assembly out, but something got caught on the door latch mechanism, and of course not knowing, I tried to yank the thing out and broke one of the plastic pieces that holds the metal rod to the mechanism. Then I couldn't figure out how to get the elevator back in the right way, and when I finally did, one of the rollers came off, so I nearly had to take the whole thing out again and start over. :lol: Doing it the hard way.
Hopefully I'll get my camera back soon. Thanks for looking.