My 99 isn't currently running .. so I did the logical thing and bought a bargain-budget 900

It's a 1988 3-door 5-speed with 173K on the odo; supposedly has a 1991 motor with fewer miles (~125K), upgraded clutch, and boosting at 17 psi.

Previous owner drove it hard but got it from Travis Decker (Atomic Auto) and it seems to have been (mostly) cared for.

I haven't driven it since I got it home last month; immediate needs:

-Reverse gear fixed
-Titled and Reg'd
-Flat tires fixed/replaced
-E-brake and AC re-installed (and figure out why heat is on blast non-stop?)
-stereo and tint
-edit: forgot headliner and maybe new seats

I have a broken 1987 trans for parts and a donor 1981 turbo sedan with a rebuilt 1986 trans available if needed.
Starting at ground zero with 900 knowledge but looking forward to some new adventures.

Will post pics/updates when I start working on it ... too slow on the job but too busy at home on the weekends

Welcome to the 900 club!

SalemSaab wrote:(and figure out why heat is on blast non-stop?)

Are you saying its full heat even when you turn the knob, or its full fan speed all the time?

If its all heat regardless of knob position, there is a little rod behind that knob that falls off behind the dash. If you take the radio out its easy enough to see if it fell off and then fix. If its full fan speed all the time then its probably the fan speed switch has fried, I believe when it does it defaults to full fan to all positions if the knob is in any position other than closed.

If you don't have one already grab a Bentley manual to help diagnose everything, it makes life much simpler if you are getting used to working on 900s.

The heater control valves also tend to get stuck in the open position, resulting in heat all the time. The last I knew the OEM control valves were NLA and the aftermarket ones didn't last. But that may have changed in the past few years.

guess I forgot about this post ... 1 year of 900 ownership now

since my 99 was parked most of the year, been driving the 900t frequently.

fixed reverse gear & e-brake, got new tires & tint, clean leather seats to replace crap cloth ..
picked up some center-caps but i kinda like the wheels without them
not much else so far but want to get it ready for a long trip, so a stereo might be next.

also after an exhaust and some springs ..

I thought I had some aftermarket front springs coming but my guy couldn't find them ..

How are SPG springs improved from turbo springs? slightly lower/stiffer?
My buddy thinks he has a set stashed somewhere.

Spg springs are considerably lower and stiffer than turbo springs.

Crazyswede wrote:Spg springs are considerably lower and stiffer than turbo springs.

sweet. will definately have to track those down.

Might buy an additional set of wheels this weekend (cos two per SAAB is clearly not enough)

The seller is parting out a 1989 9000 turbo ... anything worth grabbing off that?
My 900 is an '88 with the 91 turbo (mitsubishi) engine

its too bad you were not closer. I have a pile of those directional 3 spoke wheels I would like to get rid of.

Got my SPG springs (front at least) installed, and my coveted 9000 wheels on.
My Guru said it is 1 inch lower in front, I do not notice, but it does seem to turn in better ... find myself oversteering w/ the power steering!

time to fix a few more crucial things .. thermostat, distributor oil leak, brakes, broken gauges (tach is dead; speedo is incredibly over-enthuiastic and bounces around in a 10-25MPH+ range ...)

Plan to buy some accessory gauges from SAS to install along with a stereo I have

boost gauge is a must (noticed my 1991 motor swap still has the 1988 ECU/APC box which has been tuned to an unknown degree)

Need to pick 2 of 4 from SAS:

-Ammeter
-Voltmeter
-oil Pressure
-oil temp


I assume the oil gauges would be best but if someone with more 900T experience recommends otherwise I'd like to know.

My friend's 1981 turbo sedan (soon to be parted) has the boost gauge, oil temp and Voltmeter.


further interior & exterior work needed but that's down the line, got to empty my account on my cottage soon ..

Wow those wheels look really nice on the car!

I find SPG springs to be just about the perfect street spring, the Lesjofors are really nice too though...

As for gauges I usually go with boost, oil temp, and voltmeter. I've had oil pressure but unless you really fry the engine its pretty much always just gonna tell you its working as normal, same with the voltmeter to be honest, if anything it just makes me nervous for the lousy alternators in c900s haha. My friend had an outside air temp gauge that was pretty cool but with smartphones these days pretty useless...