My Classic 900 Story (lots of pictures)

[rpiereck]

I guess it's about time to do a "build" tread on my 900i. The car has been seen by all here in this site, but I figured I'd consolidate all posts about it here.

Short recap: bought the car on 14 April in Sarreguemines, France. The car has no rust on body, it's a daily driver, good interior, strong high mileage engine. 8 valve, non turbo, no catalytic converter. Originally a Belgian market car bought under the Saab International and Diplomat Sales Program.

Picking up the car in France. Notice the smile!


248,827 kilometers since new


On the way back home, refueling both my Saabs at the time. My friend Bienamie was driving my newer 900 Turbo on the return trip.


Back home I took an inventory of all documents with the car:

Original Saab plastic document carrier


Roadside assistance card still inside


German language 1987 owner's manual, with lots of handwritten notes and highlighting inside


The change of address card that came with the car when new is a bit enigmati: the final delivery says Belgium, the owner's address street name is in French, the city of Essentho is in Germany, but the country is written in Danish. Tyskland is Germany. Odd.


Saab International and Diplomat Sales Service Book


Service book shows only the initial service was done at the dealer. This car runs well so somthing tells me the owner must have done all the work himself.


European Service Guide (in English) shows all Saab dealerships in Europe for 1987


Brochure in French...


French Vehicle Registration Card


Looking pretty when we got home






Clean doors


Red velour interior


I like that Nardi steering wheel


Rear seat looking good too


French plate is riveted to the car




#230 at IntSaab 2010 in Switzerland


Swiss Autobahn sticker


French insurance papers on windshield


More to follow

[rpiereck]

The 900 was my ride in the German summer time, I drove it almost 20,000 km this summer.

Exploring logging roads near home




Visiting other Swedes in Nuremberg


We drove to the edge of the Danube river


At a small farm near home


Hanging out with the Saab Club Rhein Main in Frankfurt


Outside the Merks Motor Museum in Nuremberg


The only Saab on display at the Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz Classic Car Day


Hanging out with other Saabs at the Bavarian Forest ride

[rpiereck]

All that above is the good stuff every owner likes to do with their cars: drive, meet other drivers, drive some more. Enjoy the machine.

Of course it wasn't all riding. I had to replace two tires because the rear ones were worn out. Alignment was checked and all is well, it seems either the tires were bought used or the car was driving out of alignment before. I also had to replace the lower left ball joint, as well as replace burnt light bulbs, etc. Oil changes every 5,000 km with 5w30 regular oil. Plus air and fuel filters, etc.

The bad.
- The oil temperature gauge on lower cubby hole is inop. I have replaced the sender on the oil drain but no change. I still have to shoot the wires and figure out if I have to replace wires somewhere.
- Front brakes are OK but obviously getting old. I have bought new rotors and pads, just have to get around to installing them.
- There is a nightmarish tangle of wires behind the stereo. No doubt there were a few radio upgrades and their installation were piggybacked onto each other. The least that could happen is audio quality suffers. The worst that could happen is I die a fiery death while listening to the Buzzcocks while driving the 900. Must fix.
- Shifting is sloppy and somewhat enigmatic, but improves as the car warms up. In a way that makes me a better driver as I have to match revs and sometimes double declutch. It would be nice to have good shifts.
- Engine mounts are old and need replacement. Probably have a lot to do with the shifting issues above. I have left and right mounts ready to go in, need to order front mount (which usually is the culprit of poor shifting).
- Just recently found out both steering boots are torn. Must replace.
- Oil leaking from oil pump. This one is a must do, as my engine is an oily mess near the bulkhead. The car goes through 0.5 liter of oil in 3500 km.
- Car is debadged and I'd like to return it to factory style badges. I have all but one badge right now, but will wait for warmer weather to install them.

Things I did to the car since buying it:
- Two "new" tires. I say "new" because they were bought used but with lots of thread left.
- New lower left ball joint.
- Replaced burnt light bulbs in dash.
- Bought a set of Saab Ronal Silverspoke wheels, and also a set of center caps for the wheels. They look great on the car now.
- Properly aimed headlights. The prior owner drove the car mostly during the day and the headlights were myopic.
- Installed new speakers on dash.

Things I bought that still have to be installed on car:
- Bosch fog lights. Got the factory brackets, just a matter of mounting and installing them now.
- Factory badges (see above).
- Front brake rotors and pads.
- R & L engine mounts.
- Front lower left air dam. Car came with this one piece not installed, I just got one used, just have to install it now.

Oil temperature gauge on left is inop:


The mess of wires behind the radio, which I found out when I pulled out the radio to fix a speaker that wasn't working.


Next week I am picking up winter tires and Fluid Film corrosion protectant for the car. On a dry day I'm putting it on a lift and going over the bottom of the car with the corrosion protection compound.

[rpiereck]

Today was the first time I took the car out in the snow. I stayed out of salted roads, drove slowly without winter tires, just a short test drive after attempting to adjust the shifter.

A few centimeters of snow on the car.


Center caps installed on the Ronal wheels. They look great on the car!




Took it on an unpaved road near my home




De-badged body soon to be changed

[Chips900s]

Nice read! And nice photos, what a beautiful car and it looks like it's in really decent shape!

[rpiereck]

Nice read! And nice photos, what a beautiful car and it looks like it's in really decent shape!

Thank you. The reason I went all the way to France to get the car ( a four hour drive one way) is that it looked so good with no rust on the body

[nordwulf]

Thank you. The reason I went all the way to France to get the car ( a four hour drive one way) is that it looked so good with no rust on the body

I wish I could find my Saabs that close to home. However, buying a car far away from home is part of the fun.

These threads are great, each older car has its own history and it is nice you still know this much about its origin. It's rare service work is recorded in the owners/service manual with the car. Wouldn't it be nice if you would know all the places in Europe where this car has been? At least we'll know about its travels in the future.

[rpiereck]

I got these in the mail today. These are not too rare but getting harder to find: gutter end trim pieces. These are in as-new condition despite being used; they only show some minor glue residue inside. Add these to the list of things I'll do after the end of winter, as these need to be glued onto the body. The ones on the car are most likely stock, brittle and deteriorating. These are but a detail on the car, but make all the difference for a car that looks fresh for its age. They are all black, the crappy cellphone camera makes them look blue from the reflection of the book below it.


Before yesterday I also drove two and a half hours north, almost to Leipzig for a set of winter tires for the car. The seller is a German guy who's going to the US for college next year, so he's getting rid of some Saab stuff. He currently has a 900 8v and a 99 for sale too. Paid 100 Euro for four Pirelli Snowcontrol tires that are near new. The drive there was one of the scariest winter drives I ever did, as going there you must drive through the Fränkische Schweiss (Franconian Switzerland), a mountainous area that is known for heavy snow fall, and low temperatures. As I drove north the snow came down in force, and we were driving 30 km/h on the Autobahn. The 9-5 on winter tires didn't disappoint, however, and I got back home safe.





I'll probably mount these on the Turbo wheels that came with the car and use those for winter tires.

[3MaSaab]

A wonderful story and obviously a gorgeous c900.

[rpiereck]

A wonderful story and obviously a gorgeous c900.

Thank you, and nice to see you here. I know you from Instagram, same handle there, rpiereck.