[skwon]

Greetings, trying to keep the forums alive. Seems like everyone is migrating over to FB Groups.

(for those who are interested, here is my youtube channel. I try to document everything done to this car) - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDxRI82DI5xrL5yKQSxZBog

I recently sold my dream Saab - The Viggen due to moving out of state and couldn't justify taking it with me (long story). The Viggen was my 4th and favorite Saab and I was sad to see it go.

So when I moved, I was on the search for another. I posted on the local Saab FB group with 2 conditions - It had to be manual and under $1,500. I got a few responses. One of them caught my eyes (mainly because it was $850 ). The owner worked with me down to $700 and it was a deal!

This is my 2004 9-5 Arc. It was sitting for a bit because the previous owner bought a new car and has not been used. It runs and drives remarkably well. Still a mystery to me why the owner let it go for so cheap. Maybe one day I will find out (hopefully I don't haha). It has zero rust, not even a speck! This is new to me because I am from the rust belt. It was weird to see an old car without rust!

Has 165k miles on the clock

It is indeed a manual

The first thing to do was to give it a good exterior wash. Body panels are in excellent shape, I could see no dings or dents, just a few scratches in the common places.

Next on the list is a good interior detail. It needs it badly haha.

I am also documenting the progress on my YT channel.

 

[skwon]

handbrake needs looking at ASAP..

haha! for sure it does, but honestly, it's a cosmetic issue so I'm not too worried about it just yet. I need to first clean the interior. The thing is pretty filty with old crusty foods and dog hair! Who knows what else I will find when I remove the seats?

 

[skwon]

i'm not referring to it cosmetically..

I'm not following, what do you mean? I assume you mean stuff will get in without the cover on property haha

 

[skwon]

It's very high, likely indicating that the brake shoes are very worn.

Oh yes, it does not work well. Getting it resolved asap. Thanks.

 

[skwon]

Did some introductory cleaning.

There were a lot of leaves and dirt everywhere.

And after a lot of elbow grease and an entire roll of cleaning wipes...

Much better!

 

[skwon]

Then I moved onto the interior. It was also dirty:

and removed a bunch of trash:

It's amazing what a quick and simple vaccum can do...The mats have quite a bit of staining, so I will be removing those soon.

 

[skwon]

The roof mounted antenna was an eyesore. The southern sun was not kind to it.

so I removed the old bits:

and lucky for me, the car came with a new dummy cover. Much better!

The side mouldings weren't in good shape either:

I had mcguire's back to black laying around so I did two passes with it:

Then I removed all the previous owner's touches, like this front plate (I think it is Startrek?)

and removed the "I aim to misbehave" quote. Anyone know where that's from?

And this weird thing haha

But I did put this SCNA sticker. Must support the club!

 

[skwon]

Latest pictures. It doesn't look too different than when I first got it, but it feels good knowing it's clean for now.

Here is the video version of the clean up:

 

[skwon]

Next up was replacing this old shift knob. It was coming off onto my hands every time I shift, and I got really sick of it. I probably will get sick because of it if I don't replace it soon.

An original knob is $138.00 on Esaabparts. And while I'm sure the quality is good, I wasn't ready to spend that much yet on a shift knob. So I got a replica one for $22.00. Surprisingly it felt good. I was expecting total crap but it was a pleasant surprise.

Looking much better!

Video summary:

 

[skwon]

Stage 1 tune coming soon!

 

[skwon]

Did my first oil change, also...I'm not basic anymore

Installing was quite easy. A bit nerve-wracking if anything but with proper steps, it was a breeze.

Video summary:

 

[skwon]

Did the bypass valve hose mod the other day. It was fun learning how the system worked. To me, I didn't feel much difference in sound. Slightly better throttle response though. Might be because I have a stock tune. One more reason to go stage 1!

And because it made no sound difference, I went ahead and got a cone filter from AEM. Very common mod, and a must have for any turbo car

 

[skwon]

Got new pedal covers and foot rest cover from Aliexpress. Cheap and effective lol.

Before:

After:

And my neighbor gave us a Porche to my son! Learning how to wash cars with it hehe

 

[skwon]

Nice thread, good looking after the car!

Thank you!!!

 

[skwon]

With all the built up leaves and crap in the hood area you might want to replace the cabin filter if you haven't already.

Thanks for the advice, i am dreading it because I know it's a PITA haha

 

[skwon]

Finally replaced my cup holder today. I never use it but it always bothered that it was broken!

I didn't know you had to open up the entire dash panel. It was fun but tedious. Broke tabs and cracked the dash a little. oops

I found the culprit! 1 ball was broken. I guess this is why most cup holders fail.

The other culprit. This gear was too free and it was causing the cup holder to come out too fast.

New one is in!

It's a very small thing but I feel good knowing that onemore thing is restored to its former glory. AND I got to learn how it all works inside. I had a very good time with this one. Video link below!

 

[skwon]

I just really really wish they had steel components and steel ball joints etc. Could be an amazing design but it's just too flimsy!

I have a 3d printer and I was thinking of replicating that ball part but it would probably break again. I was thinking the same thing! I wish someone made steel versions!

 

[skwon]

It's just a fun piece.

I rarely use it, only with something with a screw top or a stable straw set up, I would never put a cup of coffee in it.

exactly, I never use it either but it just feels so good knowing it works haha

 

[skwon]

I acquired some goodies. Sharktooth front bumper and projector headlights. The bumper is in pretty rough shape. I am not worried about the paint chips and scratches because those are easy to fix, but I am scratching my head over the upper grill portion where it is completely detached. Any advice, previous experience, horror stories would be greatly appreciated!

I can think of a few options:
1. Use heat to mould it as best as I can and use strong epoxy, metal mesh back to bond it back.
2. Cut up my base bumper's upper part and merge it with the sharktooth bottom. Cut would be at the black plastic trim line for the best possible match.
3. Just color match it and put the sucker on, YOLO.

As for the projectors, I saw conflicting opinions online whether they would work on a base model. Some said they are plug and play (I doubt it), some say it will work but with errors on the SID, some say it is impossible and you need level sensors and wiring. Instead of reading about it and giving up, I decided to actually try it for myself. My ideal situation would be to just remove the xenons alltogether and put high quality LED bulbs in as a replacement. We shall see...!

 

[skwon]

Today, I installed the xenons. mostly plug and play as you guys have said

Look at the difference!

Cutoff line comparison

Did a quick polish before leveling them.

My best friend WIS

leveled according to WIS.

on the road comparison

Video summary:

overall, 1000% happy with the conversion!!!

next up is restoring this rough looking sharktooth bumper. Stay tuned!