[greenpython]

Hey, I just picked up an old 1983 900 turbo, it's black with tan interior, super inca alloys, super low price ... BUT... it's a bit ill and needs some work... so my dilema is:

The car has been sat for 2 years, and is currently non-runner, apparantly due to clutch slave cylinder needing replacing. There could be other stuff, but that's what I know for sure... Now, I also bought a refurbished engine and gearbox, the same as the original (8v turbo), however now I'm thinking, would it be better working on the original one rather than replacing it?

And if I would be better replacing it, why not go for the 16v? Can the car take it without other modifications needed? Or is it just a baaad idea

I'm not speed crazy, but i did like my previous high pressure turbo, but then maybe with a bit of tuning i could get more out of the 8v?? oooh eerrr please advise!! :cheesy:

 

[Si]

There's a guy on UKSaabs who for laughs turned the boost right up on his 8vturbo with minor mods, got a very short power spike but i think it peaked at about 260bhp:lol: he's got a very simple extra injection triggered by boost to get the extra fuel in that's needed.

You can easy get the 8v up and beyond stock T16 power, just requres a half descent front mounted intercooler and 3" downpipe, without extra fueling.

The k-jet fuel injection is quite simple but effective up to about 4,500rpm where it starts to lean out the mixture a bit once you push the engine, realistically anything above 200bhp with k-jet will require a 5th injector.

If you did decide to swap to 16v you'll need various sensors and probably the loom aswell to make connecting the ECU up a bit easier, realistically you 'll need access to a complete T16 to strip and get all the required parts.

Really depends on your time/money ratio, a few hundred quid and a fair bit of time ll get you your engine swap, or a little more cash and not so much time will get you a nice fun 8v, they sound better aswell, so it's always a bonus .

I'm kinda an x T8 nut, still got it languashing at the bottom of the garden with a couple of £k worth of performance parts to put on it, just not got the time at the moment, some of those parts are wending their way onto my Ng900 as that's my daily driver, hopefully i'll get my second wind of classic tuning next spring and stop myself putting all the bits i've aquired on the new un.

Still miss the wait wait wait wait whoosh as the seat bends of the ole 8v with a garrett T3 on it, i'd done a few interesting mods, was getting 1.5bar boost at just over 3k rpm, unfortunately my fuel system was not upto the job and just shut down about 95% of the time when it went on boost, still was fuggind amazing the 5% of the time when the fuel pump actually managed to keep the required pressure up

Here's a few pics of my T8 before it was retired to wet your apetite!







Here's a clip of it on the dyno, from discussions with the tech guy i figured out that the fuel mixture was leaning out so badly that it actually prevented combustion, to much air and not enough fuel.

http://www.saabphotos.com/gallery/Project900T8/dyno

The brighter blue blob on the boost gauge is 0, you see the gauge bounce off 1.5 bar!

 

[greenpython]

nice one, thanks man, this is good stuff...

i kinda wanna keep the original engine n stuff, as the geeza said it was running great when he last used it... and again similar to what you said, i have not alot of time to spend under the hood, although a few hard-earned is sitting in me piggy bank for just this kinda thing ...

... so knowing that i could tune n tinker to get some improved performance is the answer i was kinda hoping for!

now, last thing is, should i install in the refurb engine and gearbox, or just keep it for spares "just in case" ?

 

[Si]

TBH my engine is sitting without oil in it at the moment and has been for about the last year, i'm hoping it'll be OK, they are reletively tough! Any oil would just be sitting in the sump so not an issue, I think as long as the internals still have a film of oil on them there won't be any real issues with condensation or rust, i'll probably fill it with oil and run for 10-20 mins then flush and refill when i actually get it started again.

I've done a 8v engine swap aswell after killing my fist one (had done 210k miles though so a good life) and it's not too complicated, just remember to lable all the electrical connectors before you dismantle it.
You don't have to go completely crazy (like i did and will do...another story!) try searching for threads started by pda in this forum, he had a volvo intercooler and a 3" DP and was making just under 180bhp, think about 220ftlbs of torque, enough to play with your average hairdresser porsche anway .

 

[Jokke A]

No T16, keep it as a T8! A T16 head conversion is quite a bit of work, on the other hand, making a WORKING ++200 hp T8 is not a walk in the park...

Tuning a T8 to nearly 200 hp is much easier than the 16v-conversion, of course with t16 you get more modern injection system etc, of course nothing stops you from fitting these to a T8.

But still, T8 is old school (and has a nicer valve cover!)

 

[NSE]

Yeah, stick with the T8.

I'd get the engine that's in the car running, using parts from the other engine if you need to.

Once it's running you can check its condition along with that of the gearbox. Then decide if the engine swap is needed.

I've found the T8 to be a great engine. It's easy to work on, very reliable, and they last forever. I had my head off at 160,00 miles and there was no visible wear on the cylinders.

I'm a bit of a tinkerer too and have done the APC mod, fitted a T16 intercooler, and 2.5" exhaust.

The exceleration puts a smile on my face every time. Especially between 2800rpm and 4500rpm. :cheesy:

Future ugrades are going to be a FMIC and 3" downpipe.

 

[woywitka]

The T8 is a fantastic engine. The T16 engine used in the 900 is fantastic too. I would disagree that one is better than the other, the T8 seems to pull off the line better IME. + I love the sound of the T8

That said "improvements" were made with the 16V engine. A more durable cylinder head has proved itself, and exhaust manifolds are super rare to wear out/crack.

That said: the T8 is very relaible and easy to work on, Saab had ECU troubles with the 16v cars, and as long as you can keep your T8 head from cracking then you're good to go. Plus that damm AMM keeps people on here super busy.

You can tune a T8. Keep your power reasonable and don't go putting "mickey mouse" mods on the car unless you know what you are doing. If you manage to blow up a T8 engine then you are to blame, the engines have proven exceptional strength within reasonable limits. The car was not designed with the intention to beat a Porsche (tho, on the freeway you might just be able to )

Sit back and enjoy a rare and special breed!

Welcome to SaabCentral

 

[Saab-Daniel]

Hehe, as a member of the 8v-performance board (wouldn't it be fun having an actual board ), I would say, stick with 8v if you are not wanting in excess of 180hp, and if you do, are you ready to ditch the old injection-system and go stand-alone?
I made 173hp on my T8 with standard fuel and ignition-system. I'm now around 200 with Megasquirt (191hp on paper, but with a shoot turbo that wouldn't produce the boost I wanted), large FMIC and stock turbo elbow!
I love messing with the 8v, there isn't really that much electrical bits that can go wrong!
Daniel.

 

[greenpython]

Hey guys

This is great stuff and exactly what i was after, many thanks! :cheesy: (just took me a few weeks after looking around to actually post a thread!)

So, I reckon I'll keep the original engine, have this serviced and given some of the "sensible" upgrades mentioned here (downpipe etc), if this goes up to around 170 / 180 then i'll be happy!

As I need to change all the discs and pads (car sat for 2 years in a field, not done for how long before that!?), would it be wise to go up to "performance" brakes?

Now, as I don't have tons of time, I had a look around and there's Malbrads of Huddersfield, who look like they can take care of the necessary work no problem. Anyone know of their standard? Or any recommendations? I'm in Halifax, West Yorkshire

 

[nashvegas]

8v to 16v

I'll weigh in here ... I converted an 83 8v turbo to a 16v. All I did was drop in a 16valve engine (from a 1986 900 Turbo 16v), and I kept the CIS injection. No LH computers. It worked fantastically. If you want to go this route, its basically as simple as fabricating injector brackets to fit the CIS injectors into the 16v intake manifold.

I then of course also added an intercooler to the engine.

This car was faassst. But definitely ran out of juice at around 4500/5000 RPMs. I did hook up a 5th injector triggered by positive boost pressure, but ended up selling the car (for an 85 SPG) before I ever got it figured out perfectly.