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Peaches En Regalia - My '88 Turbo

10K views 62 replies 15 participants last post by  SaabHat93 
#1 ·
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. :D

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.
 
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#4 ·
Thanks. :D

I have considered an SPG kit, but I wanted to keep it as stock as possible, and seeing as how they never made a rose quartz colored SPG, I don't think it would fit very well with the color (or my black bumpers, which isn't exactly stock, but my bumpers were in bad shape).

Squaab99t said:
I have a friend who has a 900cvt. Top ten list: is to get rid of the front wheel gap too. You have a nice list there. All very doable, but they take time. Not only to do the item, but find a source for the part or specialty labor.
Yeah, the front wheel gap is insane. I first noticed it when I looked back on that profile pic above a year ago or so. Ever since it's been driving me crazy. I have a few pretty good sources for the items I need, and even some I don't.

Front SPG springs and engine mount go on tomorrow. Going to put the rest of my dash back together today and maybe go for a drive. Really nice out today.
 
#3 ·
Welcome to the 900c board. Looks like a great car to get back her original glory. I have a friend who has a 900cvt. Top ten list: is to get rid of the front wheel gap too. You have a nice list there. All very doable, but they take time. Not only to do the item, but find a source for the part or specialty labor.
Good luck, another 900c saved...
 
#6 ·
No snow here! Those spacers are really good idea, and if I ever start towing stuff I'd definitely get a set. The back end is high enough off the ground for me, but with fog lights on the front, even with it so high up I had to be really careful when going up even small driveways. :roll: Terrible place for them, and they didn't do a whole lot with no fog in the area.

The HELLA 500 driving lights were a much better investment and look a whole hell of a lot cooler.



One thing I figured out a few nights ago is that I can leave my high beams on all the time. Drove on some fairly dark roads and no one flashed me their highs. The beam pattern is about the same as other car's, but I think my headlamps need to be aimed. How do you aim them with broken brackets though? The plastic knobs you use to aim them are broken off.

Changed the oil, cleaned the AMM and throttle body and went for a drive. Really smoothed the idle out and it almost entirely stopped the mirrors from shaking at stop lights. Pretty happy about that. I haven't cleaned the AMM for fear of having the chemicals break it, but lo and behold it helped quite a bit.

This is the stuff I used:



Sprayed 10 or so shots on the wires, let it dry, and put everything back together. Very worth the 6 bucks.

My camera is supposedly on it's way back from the Geek Squad service centre, so hopefully in the next week I can have pics of the SPG springs up.

Also picked up a few quarts of Honda MTF for a gearbox oil change. Keep forgetting to get more. Don't want to not have enough and get stuck. New set of rear brake pads going on soon as well. Who knows how long they've been on there. :roll:
 
#8 ·
Your leather seats aren't missing or a different color! :eek: :eek: I'm going to steal everything from your interior... :cheesy:

I LOVE the flat nose in Rose Quartz. My absolute favorite c900 evar. Your wheel gap is perfect. After fitting the SPG springs today I'm still not happy with my wheel gap. I'm still close to a reverse rake, and I can still fit my fist in the wheel well. I'm hoping they will settle more so I don't have to buy a lower set.

Just in case anyone attempts.. Don't use a clamshell type spring compressor to put in SPG springs. Get the type that has two separate pieces and hooks on either end of the bolts.

This type:



Took all of 20 minutes a side, as opposed to an hour and a half for one side with the clamshell.
 
#10 ·
For one the bolt you use to tighten the compressor down will go through your wheel well unless you cut it down, and two the parts that hang on to the spring will get caught in between the coils when you try and uncompress it on the bucket mounts. We tried going down a few coils, but then it wouldn't compress enough to go on. The two rods was a lot easier.
 
#11 · (Edited)
FINALLY got my camera back... kind of.. Best Buy service centre decided to send it back unrepaired after a month. Good thing no one at the Geek Squad called me to let me know. :evil: I'm sure it would've taken another two weeks to get a new one had I not called 3 times and gone into the store twice.

Either way, after much frustration and a chat with the manager I wound up with a new camera valued a whole $30 more than my old one. Sony CyberShot DSC-H55. Very nice lens on it and HD video.

Got my new Lobro/GKN tripod bearing in this week along with a set of Alpine SP600 6.5" speakers, two inner C/V boot kits, a new Bodum french press and some MANN oil filters. Very nice.

The quality of the tripod bearing is just outstanding. Feels solid and very well put together. I'm hoping it'll last as long as I have the car.



Here's some shots of the painted bumpers, HELLA 500FF driving lights and a profile shot before and after of the SPG springs.










SPG on:


SPG off:


After looking at the pictures side by side I realize that the shadow has a lot to do with how the car looks. In the picture without the SPG springs I had the flash on, so there are no false shadows, and the pictures I took today make the car look a bit lower than it actually is. The change is definitely noticeable, but I'd still prefer the nose down a bit more i.e. MOAR LOWAR.

Still need to take off that upper rub strip. Looks ugly as all hell half on like that.

Here's a shortish video I took driving down highway 101. I realized halfway through while talking about the springs what I was doing, and then I tried to focus on driving because of the truck I was stuck behind, so I start babbling and forget what I was going to say. I was trying to say that the Kilen springs gives the exact wheel gap I want, but it came out sounding like gibberish because I wanted to move over and pass that truck and talk at the same time. Didn't work out so well. haha

 
#13 ·
I called them about a year ago and they told me they stopped stocking them because the demand was too low. I don't know any place in the US to get them, but PFS and E*K parts stock them in the UK, except it's almost as much to ship them to the West Coast as it is to buy them.

Thesaabsite has their brand, which are "house" but from what I read they are a variant of Intrax, which I would buy as well as the drop is similar if not the same to the Kilen.
 
#14 ·
#15 ·
GREAT weekend for me and my c900.

Went on a bit of a road trip out to Stockton and Modesto, CA to see a few friends and went jet boating at the Modesto Reservoir. 60 mph on the water is pretty crazy.



Put in the tripod bearing and a new inner CV boot on today. It completely got rid of the play in the axle, only problem is the shaking didn't go away, so at one point or another a wheel weight fell off. The shaking actually got worse without the play in the tripod, so tomorrow I'm going in to where I had them weighted and balanced and have them fix it. Definitely glad I don't have to replace the inner driver companion.



Now the good stuff... About an hour ago I went up to San Carlos and picked up a set of 4 Super Aero rims for...

wait for it..


80 BUCKS

The tires on there are useable, but will need to be replaced soon.

Before I got them cleaned up:


Gotta love the hatch.

#1


#2


#3


#4


And tires:



 
#17 ·
Took the car in today and had a look at my alignment specs..



My toe in on both front and rear are way out of spec, along with too much camber. This would explain the extremely uneven wear on my tires. The outside was down to the wear bars, whereas the inside still had quite a bit of life left.

The front isn't an issue, but getting the rear done is going to be interesting. Anyone ever done it before? How do you do it? I was told I need to get some shims and put them in the hub to push everything back into place.

I'm going to need new tires here pretty quick, and I really don't want to replace the rears after 6 months because of uneven wear. I'm not sure I'll be able to use the warranty with the camber and toe in so far out of spec. :evil:

Put the Super Aero's on today as well. Even with balding unevenly worn tires they still ride smoother and corner better than my manhole covers. Falkiens are definitely not on my list of tires to buy.
 
#18 ·
The front isn't an issue, but getting the rear done is going to be interesting. Anyone ever done it before? How do you do it? I was told I need to get some shims and put them in the hub to push everything back into place.
I am quite sure you can't adjust the rear alignment in any way. The hubs go onto the axle with flat splines, and the axle is solid. Some have inadvertently bent their axles by jacking underneath them, but this usually takes the car out of alignment. The rear tends to wear tires on the inside, while the front tends to wear them on the outside. Good, regular tire rotation should keep either from becoming a problem.

Also, are you sure your inner driver cup was not bad? If you still have vibration, then it's either the left side gone also or the right one had some very shallow divots in it. ANYTHING other than perfect is suspect in this case, with regards to the Driver Cup--and you need to feel all three driving faces and all three overrun faces of the cup.
 
#19 ·
I'm fairly positive that my right side inner driver was good. I'm going to be renewing both outer C/V boots and the left inner C/V so I'll be able to check the left when I do that.

Between my tires balding on one side and my alignment so far out I'm almost certain that this is the issue. I'm getting new shoes on all four corners here in short order along with a front end alignment, and seeing as how it needed to be done anyways, that's one less thing to rule out if the shimmy is still there. If it is then our culprit will definitely be the inner driver.

So.. jacking up the car on the rear axle = no no..? I've done it once in the centre of the axle to get the rear end up on stands, but if you can't use the rear axle, how do you get the whole rear end up to use stands? Jacking up one side doesn't work because you can't get the stand + jack under there at the same time.

I've also got an odd scraping noise coming from the rear end when going up driveways at 5+ mph, even really slightly angled ones. If I go slow, it doesn't yell at me, but this didn't happen until I put on the Super Aeros. Could the rear end be rubbing?

Super Aeros are on.. I think they look fantastic. The rubber that came with them are Kumho Ecsta Supra's and they ride and handle 100% better than whatever was on my manhole covers. Even with the balding on one side the grip is so much better and I can take a corner without feeling like I'm going to understeer off the road.



:cheesy:

Maintenance items on the way: Front and rear rotors, rear pads, inner and outer C/V boots and grease.
 
#20 · (Edited)
So.. jacking up the car on the rear axle = no no..? I've done it once in the centre of the axle to get the rear end up on stands, but if you can't use the rear axle, how do you get the whole rear end up to use stands? Jacking up one side doesn't work because you can't get the stand + jack under there at the same time.
FOR THE REAR: Do each side, one at a time, from under the spring link or well outboard on the axle. I promise it won't come off the jackstand on the first side while you're raising the second side. Alternatively you can jack from the spring link bushing mounts (aluminum and painted black, bolted to the bottom of the car). Then shove the jack under the jackpoint and lower the car down onto it.
FOR THE FRONT: Jack up at the jackpoints and put the jackstands under the frontmost A-arm bushing mounts, again black painted aluminum. If your car is really from California, it should be rust-free enough to hold here.
IN GENERAL: I never jack the whole end of a car up. I find it too tippy with only the central support of a jack, and I find that pieces can more easily bend when they're holding the whole damn car. I tried once with the front and it scared the bejeesus out of me, how much that cross member bent. And yes, the rear axle is CONFIRMED to bend when the car is jacked repeatedly from it, by many users of these forums. Instead, jack one corner at a time. Get some pre-'87 brake pads from a junker and stick these in the slots where the little trunk jack goes on the jack points for added stability and durability when jacking. I find the front jackpoints to be too far aft, which is why I use them only for raising the car and the front A-arm mounts for holding it up. The rear jack points are plenty strong for anything, but jackstands tend to cup the bushing mounts much better than they do the jack points. Be creative--there are a lot of ways to skin this cat.

I've also got an odd scraping noise coming from the rear end when going up driveways at 5+ mph, even really slightly angled ones. If I go slow, it doesn't yell at me, but this didn't happen until I put on the Super Aeros. Could the rear end be rubbing?
I believe the tires that originally came on the super aeros are probably too big for a 900, as those wheels likely came off a 9000 with more clearance to accommodate them. You should search the forums for some threads about what tire size to use with these big rims before you buy new tires. I know there are many good threads on the subject of Super Aeros on a 900 on the 900 workshop and tuning boards.
P.S. The car looks really good with those wheels :)
 
#21 ·
I normally jack the front end up via that cross member and have never worried about tipping. Never had any issues at all, and if you look you can see the slope of my street is pretty intense when you get near the drains. Either way, I will heed your advice and do one side at a time and use the rear axle no more.

Looks like I'm going to have to get some 205-50-R16. 55's rub in the rear. No Kumho Solus KR22's for me. :( Sucks because that 800AA traction/temp/handling rating was really looking good. 100,000 mile warranty doesn't hurt either.

For the rear end alignment, though, there's nothing we can do to correct that toe in? 1/4" is quite a bit out.
 
#22 ·
Got new shoes for the car. Kumho Ecsta ASX in 205/50/16. Pretty good tire so far, not super loud, but tons of understeer so i think I need to pump them up a bit more. I need to go back in tomorrow for an alignment and I'm going to leave the rear as is for now. I've already spent too much time and energy worrying about it. :roll:

Finally got some holes cut in the parcel shelf so I could upholster it and put the Alpine SPS-600 6.5" speakers in. It turned out alright, but I kind of rushed it because I'm impatient and wanted to get it done faster rather than better.

Step one was finding someone with a jigsaw to cut the holes in my parcel shelf.

Turned out all right:



Step two was upholstering it with maroon suede to match my interior:



Kinda hard to see because of the light. My camera's flash really isn't fantastic so it makes everything look weird.

Test fit:



It got dark while I was waiting for the glue to dry, so I'm going to wire it up tomorrow and see how they sound. Probably better than the stock 4x10's that are there now. :roll:

Finished product:



I'll get some better pics tomorrow with everything wired and the new tires.. my camera's flash is just pitiful.
 
#23 ·
Got the alignment done and boy what a huge difference that made. My shimmy under load is completely gone and acceleration is smoother. Doesn't feel like I'm sitting in one of those vibrating chairs at the mall anymore.

New rubber as well. Kumho Ecsta ASX in 205-50-R16. Pretty good so far, but definitely not as grippy as the Ecsta Supras that were on before.



It's good to see some quality tires with a bit of meat on them.

Got around to replacing the rear brake pads and rotors yesterday. Ran into a bit of trouble with the rear hand brake and pushing in the caliper piston. Took me a while to figure out how to adjust the hand brake after I got the pads in, but I eventually got it. Braking is much smoother now, and pedal feel over all is much better. Ordered a set of front rotors as well, so hopefully that will be it for a while. I'm done with spending money on this car.



Here's the rear speakers as well:



Going to be making the trip down to Redondo Beach (near Los Angeles) for the 3rd Annual Swedish Car Fest, but in a proper Saab this time. Going down highway 1 last year was a lot of fun. Might also head out to Las Vegas to see an old friend. About 1,250 miles round trip. :cheesy:
 
#26 ·
The tripod bearing comes with a big hammer and after the circlip on the end is removed. Copper hammer works best so you don't destroy the needle bearings. To put a new one on you need an appropriate size socket to put over the end of the axle. Hit the socket and it will seat. reinstall said circlip.
 
#27 ·
Finally found a decent set of seats that match. They're from an 83 so they're quite faded, but they look so much better than the weird blue-purple things that were in there before. They have leather backs and sides. I've never seen that before, but I quite like it. Got the front two and rear bench all installed yesterday. They're more of a rootbeer color now, but some dye might make get them back to maroonish red.









The lighting wasn't that great out today, but the rear bench looks a lot better than the front. They're all quite a bit lighter and wider than the old ones, which I like. It's taken me FOREVER to find a set of these seats, so I'm perfectly okay with them being faded and from a pre-facelift car. They fit, and that works for me.

Here's a random shot of the car, too. I really like how it came out for some reason.

 
#28 ·
Took the trip down to Southern California and had a blast. If you've never driven highway 1 along the California coast and are presented with the opportunity I highly recommend it (just don't get stuck behind old people in a Honda Accord). As always it was great seeing the SoCal Saab Club. Got to meet a few new people and nerd out on cars for the day. Great fun.

Here's a few of my favorite shots from the trip:











 
#29 · (Edited)






Bud Clark's Quantum III. One of only three made and one of only two remaining. Three cylinder two stroke engine with only ~8k miles on it. He towed it there and back with his 9000 that had ~740k miles. Spectacular.





View the whole trip here: http://s301.photobucket.com/albums/nn58/xyphon112/3rd Annual Swedish Car Fest 2010/

After I left the meet I drove to Venice and took a walk on the famed Venice Boardwalk which was an experience in itself. Fell asleep in Santa Monica at 8pm and woke up the next day at 11 am and drove up to Santa Barbara for lunch with a friend. Took highway 154 to the Scandinavian town of Solvang (where my Saab seemed oddly out of place with all the Toyota's, Honda's and Nissan's) then headed home up highway 101. All told it was a total of 16 1/2 hours of driving and about 900 miles. The car ran great the entire time and I had no problems whatsoever. c900 seats make for fantastic road trips.
 
#30 ·
VDO boost gauge in headlight switch

Got a bit of work done..

Added a boost gauge in the headlight switch. It's a VDO Vision series gauge. Looks pretty good and it didn't take too long. I tapped into the vacuum line that runs to the stock boost gauge on the dash. The gauge didn't come with a 1/8" barb fitting, so if you're planning on getting this gauge you have to get a little creative at Home Depot. I wound up having to get a coupler to a 1/4" barb adapter (that's all they had that would fit), and just squeezed the vacuum line over the 1/4" barb. It's not exposed to any heat or extreme stress like the engine bay is so I didn't think it was a big deal stretching it out (it's silicone, too). For wiring I got female spade connectors and found a loose bulb that was burned out behind the dash (for the Fasten Seatbelts sign) and used the dash pad mounting bolt as a ground. Finding a good ground back there is kinda tricky.



Dremeling out the headlight switch was fairly easy. Don't do too much or it'll be loose. Mine sits nice and snug and I can't pry it out with my fingernails. A small screwdriver works to get it out.






From my driving position I can see all I need to see on the gauge, which is virtually from -30Hg to ~10psi. The line of sight is good and the gauge's backlight came with a green hat type deal for the bulb, so the backlight matches the dash (really happy about that).


All in all a good gauge at $34ish before shipping. High quality metals and plastics and it reads much more accurately than the stock gauge (duh). Looks are fantastic and match the rest of the dash and the rest of the car. It looks like it could have come in that position from the factory, too. At WOT I've been getting 5 psi in just about every gear. What do these cars normally make stock?

Got a dye kit from superiorrestoration.com for my insanely faded seats. I should be able to get around to it tomorrow, so I'll post a write up and my thoughts on that as well when I can.
 
#32 ·
Did some troubleshooting on my APC system earlier. Used the guide on thesaabsite via the FAQ and found out that either my knock sensor or it's wiring are bad. 5 psi with it on, and got up to 10 psi with it out and wrapped in a rag according to step 3 on the guide. Haven't figured out how to test the wiring yet, but does the sensor get replaced? A new one is about 50 bucks, which isn't bad.

Also, did the dye on the passenger's seat today. My camera isn't wanting to upload pics for some reason, but I'll have before/after pictures soon. Turned out fairly well from what I could tell in the dusky light.
 
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