Thread: Saab 900 Turbo - Swedish transportation device for five - magazine article

Not so much a car as a Swedish transportation device for five

Car and Driver magazine
Don Sherman

I love it !

That was a great looking grille. Too bad they changed it for the 1984 model year. The current Saab grilles are based on the 1984 design. The TRX 390 (390 mm) wheel was short lived and replaced with 15" wheels.

I like the early grille as well. I have one of those on my car now, pulled from an '84 base-model (these kept the early grille for another year) and restored. The logos on these also make better keychains, being extruded from a single piece of aluminum.

But check out Etienne900's '79, with the very early 900 grille! It almost looks like a 99!

Originally Posted by euromobile900

I like the early grille as well. I have one of those on my car now, pulled from an '84 base-model (these kept the early grille for another year) and restored. The logos on these also make better keychains, being extruded from a single piece of aluminum.

But check out Etienne900's '79, with the very early 900 grille! It almost looks like a 99!

Interesting...does the early, early 900 grille you speak of fit the post-facelift 900?

Originally Posted by nuclear944

Interesting...does the early, early 900 grille you speak of fit the post-facelift 900?

Unfortunately not. You'll have to change your whole car to pre-facelift. This is pretty damn easy actually, if you can find a donor vehicle (start at junkyards). Some convert to flat-front and leave the rear unchanged. I think this looks fine. If you can find a bumper, grille, and lights, I can mail you my old air-dam.

That's unfortunate. I was thinking about just changing out the grille. Why doesn't it fit though? Is it larger? Smaller?
Thanks

It's flat instead of sloped. The angles of the sides where it meets the lights are also likely different. I don't know about size, but I imagine it won't be a great fit.