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Considering saving a 1979 900 EMS

6K views 20 replies 11 participants last post by  900t 
#1 ·
Hi all! This is a potential project thread... recently GIVEN to us was this '79 900 EMS, and a whole 'nother car's worth of spare parts, including an entire spare B motor.

Presently it doesn't run--no spark. I haven't even started to troubleshoot it yet. It was converted to run some groovy hall effect setup with a precariously-mounted Nissan ICU... I'll swap that for a Bosch unit, check all the wiring, and see what's up. I suspect the signal from the sensor will be compatible and that the ICU is just dead.

The big problem is body rust. The wheel arches are horrific... I haven't been under the car (which is lowered on Jamex springs...) yet, but from the top and sides, the usual structural stuff (driveshaft tunnels, lower control arm mountsings) looks spotless!

Came with a mounted set of soccer balls, as well as a spare set...

No headliner :( Are the headliners for these early 900s the same as the later cars? This one has a manual sunroof... is the headliner for a manual sunroof car the same as one for a power sunroof car?

I'm inclined to spend very little time trying to make the B motor work... not even sure I'll bother replacing the busted clutch slave--we have a spare '82 8VT H motor in stock which just needs a head gasket. Has a great 5sp under it, though I would prefer to keep this car as a 4sp...

Pictures are worth quite a few words apparently, so here are some arty shots my girlfriend has taken of the car.

Unfortunately, black isn't the car's original colour--it was red. The paint looks like it'll be quite nice with a good polish and wax.

Anyway... what do you guys think? Totally insane to take on, or worth saving a cool, early 900? How original should we try to keep it?








 
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#7 ·
Nice to see the enthusiasm!Don't understand it, lack of parts availability, legendary water pump failure... plus we have both an '82 8VT and '84 8VNA sitting around... The NA engine is in fabulous shape with just 175,000km on it, and is sitting on a mostly broken T37... I've never driven a car with a B engine... do they sound/feel totally different?
 
#5 ·
There it is...been wondering what it looked like. Formidable project but definitely not the worst we've seen rust-wise. You should get it on a hoist and take some more pictures. Have you got someone who can do the body work? Would later-model fenders fit a '79? Reattaching replacement fenders would likely be less work than repairing those, or so I would guess.

I think you should definitely make this a project thread! ;ol;

EDIT: PS - there's some nice reflection in that paint - I see what you mean. Once you clean it inside and out you'll be convinced to save it.
 
#10 ·
Have you got someone who can do the body work?
That's sort of the thing--we're all comfortable with anything mechanical on a Saab other than gearbox rebuilding and automatics in general... but we're useless with body work. We were kind of thinking of using this as a project to learn... but part of me is wondering if this car is too special to be a guinea pig... we do have a close friend who welds... Tom (Woywitka on here) wants to learn to do paint work...
 
#8 ·
Legendary? They're as reliable as any other waterpump - Just a bit finicky when it does come to repairing them :) Rebuild kits for the pumps are readily available.

Some engine bits are getting hard to find (eg. timing chain guides) but they are about, and they last for ages anyway.

Should feel pretty much the same as an H engine.
 
#11 ·
Headliner is only different in the back where the hatch hinges are located from what I recall. "B" engine is a PITA for changing out the H2O pump & you will chip the gear on the shaft that runs the pump if you do not have the special tool. Definitely go "H" engine with 5 spd. EMS was available with 5 spd. in '80. I have an intercooler kit for it that would make it really sweet! Good luck!
 
#12 ·
wheel arches not that bad, I had worse on my 87 900 S
 
#14 ·
That twin vented bonnet is one of the sexiest things I've ever seen on a Saab, as is the front grille..

Go for it!
 
#15 ·
So... we've enumerated all the projects on our plate, and we're not going to save this car :(

We've got Woywitka's convertible to sort out (leaking head gasket, broken centering mechanism in transmission, top hydraulic issues, need to revert to stock stereo for Collector plates), I just got SaabKen's Matilda and therefore need to pull all useful bits off of my Aero to keep for Matilda (including all bits required to do 5sp conversion and Aero conversion for when the ZF 4HP18 kicks the bucket), we've got to build one solid car for my father out of two '84 8V NA 900s (drivetrain swap to do a 5sp conversion on the 4dr as the 3dr has brutal structural rust), and somewhere I want to squeeze in getting lower springs on my SPG and axle conversion to run 16" Aeros...

If anyone wants to take this on and can manage transporting the non-running car from Vancouver, speak now or forever hold your peace...
 
#16 ·
So... we've enumerated all the projects on our plate, and we're not going to save this car :(

We've got Woywitka's convertible to sort out (leaking head gasket, broken centering mechanism in transmission, top hydraulic issues, need to revert to stock stereo for Collector plates), I just got SaabKen's Matilda and therefore need to pull all useful bits off of my Aero to keep for Matilda (including all bits required to do 5sp conversion and Aero conversion for when the ZF 4HP18 kicks the bucket), we've got to build one solid car for my father out of two '84 8V NA 900s (drivetrain swap to do a 5sp conversion on the 4dr as the 3dr has brutal structural rust), and somewhere I want to squeeze in getting lower springs on my SPG and axle conversion to run 16" Aeros...

If anyone wants to take this on and can manage transporting the non-running car from Vancouver, speak now or forever hold your peace...
Well, if you're disappointed, at least you scored Matilda to console you! ;ol;
 
#21 ·
Give to Ken he needs a new Saab! :p
 
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