[sirbow2]

Painted the new Brembo brakes for the front in black. They come anodized dark grey, but that doesn't match the color scheme and the anodizing is not that great (thin and not very hard anodizing)

I also started welding the electrical studs for the new aluminum fuel pump top hat. these will be insulated from the aluminum and fuel proof while passing the fuel pump/level sender wires through.

 

[sirbow2]

Time for another update.

Ive been continuing work on the brakes. I turned all of the rotors, even though i dont need the front:

The painted stock calipers have been reassembled with new seals, hardware and ceramic pads, then installed on the rear trailing arms:

The front knuckles have been assembled with the new brembos and rotors.

The center of the front rotors did need to be bored for the saab hubs:

I did make some 3d printed brackets for holding the ABS sensor wires in the front wheel well. The original brackets were busted and also did not fit well with the SS brake lines. I have attached the cad files for these below (remove the .txt extension).

Next up would be forming the new brake lines and reinstalling the fuel tank.

 

[sirbow2]

The goal with the fuel pump was to try to keep everything as stock as possible with a 450lph E85 pump.

First up was this replacement aluminum top hat I designed and welded. It was also anodized to prevent any possible current paths for the electrical studs. There are two 8an bungs, one with a 5/16 barb bung (pump), the other with a 1/2" (return).

The basket parts were modified to fit the pump. There are two main modifications here. The bottom piece fits the pump well, but it is too tall, so I cut and sanded the standoffs flush to the top of the flange. Next the mesh shroud needs to be bored so the larger diameter pump slides in. It also needed a 38 x 2.5mm viton oring instead of the stock one.

Next, I needed a new T fitting mainly because the stock one is very restrictive and I'm using 5/16 submersible hose to my 8 AN fitting (oem bulkhead fitting and venturi pump is ~6mm). I couldn't find anything off the shelf, so I found two different sized tees and cobbled them together with a lathe and a bit of tig welding. So I have 8mm (5/16) barbs for the fuel pump and AN fitting and 6mm (1/4) for the venturi pump. These were actually listed as 5/16 and 3/8 on ebay but they were the proper size to stretch the 5/16 hose and 6mm and 8mm nylon lines over.

It takes some very careful planning and heating of the nylon lines to slip them over the barbs which are staked with SS hose crimps. Note orientation of the pump outlet.

Installed the wiring and SS with nylon (note: fuel safe) sleeves. This is to prevent chafing on the wires and prevent corrosion between the AL and SS. It's hard to see, but there is also a piece of 5/8 OD nylon DOT brake line which was heated and pressed over the 1/2" return barb. It was also formed into an oval on the other side to fit in the slot in the pump housing so fuel returns into the basket.

Top hat with studs and labels for wires.

Overkill, but futureproof for a larger turbo in the future. If I didnt install AN lines earlier, i probably would've just used stock lines, but that's potentially troublesome on the return side.

 

[sirbow2]

New nickel copper brake lines have been formed, flared, installed and bled.

The SS brake lines I bought had the strut clip installed in the wrong place (I realize these are brembos, but it wouldn't have worked on stock brakes either). I cut these off and will work up something to attach these lines to the strut.

I've also been 3d printing a bunch of broken parts (hvac line clips, hood seal clips, washer nozzles) as I get the engine bay back together.

 

[sirbow2]

Here are a few of the clips

 

[sirbow2]

I'm still chugging along over here (this is the home stretch, not 2 year gaps in progress this time!)

I redid the clear coat on the upper radiator support so I could move the engine bay along. It's hard to remember where everything goes, so I've basically organized all the parts and then pick something up and figure out where it goes

I'm satisfied with the rear brake lines, in that they wont leak, so I reinstalled the gas tank and the new fuel pump hanger. I would do the electrical connections a bit differently and weld around the bungs on the outside, but it will work as is.

The oiled mesh airfilter was looking a bit degraded, so I bought a RU-2820 K&N reusable filter and 3" AL splice to build a new intake. I will also make a plastic belly pan for the engine and filter.

The yellow reflectors in the turn signals had shattered as well as the fog lights, so I bought all new from ProPartsSweden.

The headlights were in good condition but foggy, so a bit of sanding and some clear coat took care of that. I'm planning on switching these to HIDs at some point using nhk g5-r projectors with hella gen 3 ballasts.

Up next... lets see.
-Fuel filter.
-Paint a couple brackets I missed on the latest round
-fix a little gouge in the fuel tank. I don't believe it goes through, but I will cover with fiberglass filler.
-Swap back to T7 cams so the break-in and first startup goes as smooth as possible. Still hoping to build a twin scroll manifold for the 19t and swap the b202 cams back in at some point.
-Install the new-used engine harness to replace my patched original.
-Install engine/test drive
-Knock out the rest of the paint. doors, trunk, hood.
-wet sand and polish body.

 

[sirbow2]

Ive been on work trips for the past three weeks so the Saab has been neglected. Really annoyed about that.

Anyways, i'm trying to keep going on this. I pulled the motor out from under the bench to swap the cams and wiring harness. I stumbled upon the arduino pressure sensor I swapped into the stock location... I'm putting a stock one back in there and using a remote AN line from the turbo feed line to plumb a secondary sensor. The Max Tow pressure gauge I bought for my turbo bike a year ago has doubled in price, so i will be going homebrew on that. The rear main seal needs a new crank sleeve while im here.

I don't think ill need them, but I also installed camber bolts on the front struts.

 

[KevinC]

Compliments on an excellent project.

You have the tools, skills and time and are restoring it to better than OEM condition.

Inspirational

 

[skwon]

that was a very fun read. Great work and keep it up! Life gets in the way but that's ok we just have to keep going haha. Looking forward to the next update

 

[sirbow2]

You're in luck lol

I separated the transmission again to reinstall the splash guard I missed (i dont understand the oil pan... it can slide around so much and potentially interfere with the transmission mounting. there are no pins?). I was also going to sleeve the rear main seal but rockauto has the wrong sleeve. Correct PN would be SKF 99481 which is for 87.8-88mm but it is 29mm wide so it would have to be shortened in the lathe. I cant find that one either, so I pulled the oil pan and it looks like the new seal is just missing the groove...we shall see.

Original cams are installed (actually T5 cams) for break in.

New engine harness installed.

I also bought a turbo blanket to protect the paint on the block. Took the time to improve the header wrap a little as well.

I did order the banjo parts for the oil pressure sensor, but then I made this instead....

So my list now looks like:
-Fuel filter mount
-fix a little gouge in the fuel tank. I don't believe it goes through, but I will cover with fiberglass filler.
-Install engine/test drive
-Knock out the rest of the paint. doors, trunk, hood.
-wet sand and polish body.

I've been modeling urethane engine mounts that i'd like to build as well. I think my poured motor mounts will be too stiff.

 

[sirbow2]

So long since my last update Been busy with weddings, job interviews, etc.

I mounted the engine between the two side mounts last night. This is so I can figure out where to mount the fuel filter and regulator behind the engine. It's actually not too bad without a lift.. slide the motor under the bumper and use the engine hoist to lift into place.

Looks like I can mount the filter to the intake manifold stay as I thought. Need to check power steering and subframe clearance as well. Not sure on regulator position exactly yet.

I did finish measuring and modeling the new motor mounts. I don't think I will need them as badly as I thought though; the poured mounts are quite flexible when you consider the weight of the engine etc.

 

[sirbow2]

Mini update.

Dug out and cleaned all of the power steering lines. This is actually a cooler from a 2006 9-5 that I pulled from a junk yard years ago; the original is a rusty mess and the fittings are seized. Had to order a couple rubber isolation dampers to mount it as the originals were toast of course.

Made a little subframe jack adapter out of some spare wood I had laying around. I cut it down to 30" wide after this picture so the lower control arms don't bind which makes the whole process a piece of cake.

Clips were broken for the APC wiring... so 3d printer to the rescue again. Also, the valve cover paint is garbage so that will get fixed later.

Anyways, the subframe is easy to work with now so I can finish the routing for the fuel lines. There really isnt much left before a test drive. Just fuel lines and the rest of the engine bay misc.

Edit: new motor mount parts are done. No rush on these mounts so I'll do the few lathe parts remaining over my lunches.

 

[sirbow2]

Fuel system is done. I made a bracket to mount the regulator off of the intake manifold, and mount the fuel filter off of the intake stay. AN lines were routed and used rubber tubing to prevent abrasion as I bought unsheathed braided line. Testing was mostly uneventful. The only leaks were from the fuel filter drain and the schrader valve in the fuel rail that failed spectacularly (certainly because I left in while welding the AN bung!). Luckily a neighbor had a bicycle by the trash can and I used the schrader valve from that.

Oh, and I bought some of the siemens 60lb injectors with the proper EV1 connector (FI114961), not the ones with a EV6 connector (FI114191) and EV1 adapter that were currently on the car. A couple of those adapters were broken and may have contributed to the burned valve/lean condition.

The gouge in the fuel tank was also patched with epoxy and fiberglass. no leaks.... Filling the tank reminded me of that sweet E85 smell.

I also routed the oil gauge sensor wires over to the glove box. What a pain in the *** it was to plug the connector into the sensor while the motor is in the car... Anyways, the wires below split off the glovebox light to run the arduino/LCD (this was a fun project a couple weeks ago) and sensor. I replaced the cabin filter while I had all the kick panels off again and I'm glad I did.....

There have been some interesting developments over here. I basically have two job offers (requiring relocation in December) so I'd like to get the saab running and sell the acura before then. body panels might not all be the same color, but I think it's feasible to get it running. "All" I have left is now a standard powertrain install + body panels. well, and welding a vband flange in where I cut the exhaust, but that's no biggie.

 

[sirbow2]

I put 30hrs in this weekend... and... It runs! New video by Jordan There is a bad bearing somewhere in the accessory drive (its harder to hear in the video than in person), lifters are a little noisy still, but otherwise its doing pretty good. I have oil pressure according to the dummy gauge, but still need to plug in the display for the aftermarket one. Not too many pictures this time.

I finished the custom air intake mount. Just a bracket and short section of bead rolled tubing.

I installed the aftermarket intercooler I bought 4-5 years ago.

It has a JT dual resonator exhaust that is normally clamped together but I got tired of dealing with that and removing the subframe brace, so I cut the exhaust just infront of the brace and installed a vband. All other joints welded solid.

Other than that, it was the pretty standard powertrain install. Lots of time spend figuring out where poorly labeled parts go but the parts pile is dwindling

Oh and I just want to say, the short shift kit, my custom linkage bushings and the urethane mounts make for one dang good feeling shifter.

to do:
Install new injectors
Wait for front hub spacers to do a test drive (tomorrow). A post on here said Aero wheels fit over brembos, but my Aero does not have aero wheels haha. The 16" snow shoes definitely do not fit either.
Still need to make a splash guard so I don't hydro lock the motor.
Radiator side caps started leaking when I filled it, so I ordered an aluminum replacement (plus the stock one chafes on the aftermarket intercooler)
Alignment - have toe plates I made, but I'm not sure about the rear. It will be tricky to get those straight AND centered to the front.
Final interior assembly
I'd like to paint more body panels but it is a bit cold.

 

[Germaniac]

just for your efforts.

Wish I could do at least a tenth of what you did, but a) I have no place where I could do some larger works on my 9-5 and b) well...my days of crouching on a floor for hours doing the mechanics' twist are definitely over.

 

[sirbow2]

Thanks, its certainly a lot. If I do something like this again ill be more careful with the organizing and get a lift/rotissery.

Wheel spacers coming in today, but its also snowing so not sure about the test drive.

 

[sirbow2]

Wheel spacers are late so the test drive is scheduled as asap. I did find out that 5th doesn't engage while on the jack stands, but I'm guessing it's just a matter of tweaking the shift link.

The gauge for the digital oil pressure sensor is now in place but the news isn't as good as I would hope. Looks like 10 psi hot idle and mid 30s at 2k, so basically the minimum. That is on 5w-30 though, so I will thicken that up to 5-40 and use a low pressure drop filter. I'll also check the pressure relief valve, thermostat, and verify the accuracy of my digital gauge.

Finished installing the seats (now that I had power) and wired up my can bus and audio connectors. I have the blusaab as well

I added some nut serts for the rear fender liners. I thought it was a good idea to delete these when I did the under body, but the plastic is good for absorbing rocks obviously, so they stay. Also, my previous rust patch job needs to be tweaked to fit the side skirts within the wheel well.

Couple shots of the exhaust

Injectors are swapped to the ev1 style without adapters. Had to trim the connectors a bit

Oh and the terrible noise in the accessory drive is the tensioner pulley, and I do have a spare for that

 

[sirbow2]

Getting close to ugly but functional over here. At this point it needs hood, front bumper, fenders and trunk installed now that they have been primered (as I had started sanding on them.) It is having trouble idling now, but im not sure if that is an injector issue or compression. maybe a vacuum leak.

I found 5th gear and reverse with some tweaks on the linkage. It is in my opinion that the genuine saab shifter should have a longer throw. It nearly hits inside the shift lever base and that's after I trimmed it for clearance for my previous homemade short shifter.

Oil pressure seems good now. Switched to the larger k&n filter, checked and shimmed the bypass valve, and switched to a 5w40 oil. 15psi idle now

The horrible noise was actually the alternator so that was a whole ordeal to replace. I loosened all of the motor mounts and went through the bottom as my fuel regulator is up top now. Turns out 5yr ago me overtightened the alternator pulley nut and it stripped the threads....

New radiator did not fit so I cut and tigged the hose attachment point for clearance.

Made a new rear wheel arch trim seal as the old ones did not work any more.. again 5yr ago me trimmed the inside fender lip for wheel clearance? because race car maybe? I don't remember.

 

[sirbow2]

I've been meaning to update this but I've been busy with the move and all of that.

There are a few issues preventing me from using the Saab on a daily basis.
1. Rear brake lights are always on when battery is connected (fully as if I was pressing the brake pedal). Might just be a bulb issue.
2. Starts ok, but is down a cylinder until you give it some sustained revs. Might be a fuel injector or vacuum leak. Need to do a compression check as well to be safe.
3. I'm in Colorado now. I left the Saab in a storage unit in South Dakota 😂

 

[sirbow2]

I had some time to look at the Saab today.

Brake light issues was easy to figure out. Somehow the master cylinder shifted forward an 1/8" so the linkage needs to be adjusted at some point. I had some neodymium magnets so I just stuck those to the pedal for now as I get the feeling adjusting the linkage will be time intensive.

As for the running issues, I started with a compression check and measured 175psi on all four with the tb closed. The evap/boost smoke test found a leaky pressure pipe throttle body oring and a leaky vacuum booster bung on the pressure pipe as well. But I believe most of the running issues stem from me never getting around to properly setting the fuel pressure on the new afpr (it was set while running, not while intake was at atmospheric). Duh.....

Ecu seems happy.

Tested out the blusaab module as well.

The plan is to come back again, verify it's running ok, give it an alignment, install the tow bar, and drive it to Colorado with the turbo motorcycle in the back.