Photo Credit: Saab History

This past weekend, I managed to get the classic 1992 Saab 900 Turbo out and have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of driving it over the course of memorial day weekend with my wife. You should have seen the nods we got on the highway, and interestingly enough, the majority of them from not Saab owners, but Toyota Prius drivers and passengers!

Three days of driving this classic Saab, really brought back the enthusiasm for the 900 Turbo, in contrast to the daily driver 1997 Saab 9000 CS. The handling, the passing ability, the visibility and the turbo rush were all unique characteristics reuniting me with the thrill of driving.

Outside of the driving, I took advantage of the Thule bike rack adapter, thanks to Saab USA parts, to carry our gary fisher mountain bikes for use through some incredible trails in New Hampshire.

The pinnacle of the experience was a trip last taken 10 years ago in a similar Saab 900 to an old drive in movie theater located in Northfield, Massachusetts which has been open almost as long as Saab Automobile has been manufacturing cars. The best moment was just after we arrived where we parked in between a minivan and an SUV. While we finished popping the hatch, folding back the seats and laying down to watch the movie under the stars, my wife said, “Wow, the classic Saab 900 really is the best!” It literally made my weekend!

Photo Credit: Saab History

There has been a lot of news lately, but I have to tell you, after reading through all of the paperwork, learning about the possible buyers for Saab, etc. it hit me that it’s really nice once and a while to drive a Saab you really like. Furthermore, I also believe it’s even better for you the readers, here on Saab History, to see some actual Saabs on this website once and a while instead of just far from exciting court documents and other such material.

This weekend, will be the first weekend of the year that I am taking the 1992 Saab 900 Turbo restored last year, out for its first drive of the season. After a nice list of work done by my mechanic this past week, it’s running well and I’m learning all of the lessons on what to do and what not to do when storing a vehicle indoors over the course of a cold winter.

“Waiting for my car to be completed over the past three weeks, was almost akin to waiting for Saab Automobile’s three-month reconstruction process to end, you knew their was a light at the end of the tunnel, you just hated the process.”

I am hoping to use this long memorial day weekend here in the United States, to reclaim my Saab driving enthusiasm through this classic Saab 900 Turbo, much like Phyllis Lamb in the Pacific NorthWest has in her 1972 Saab Sonett III.

I will report back to you about my experience early next week, and so I leave you and wish you a wonderful weekend yourself. Happy Saabing!

Photo Credit: Saab History

I will be taking off with my wife for Swedish Car Day 9 in the 1992 Saab 900 Turbo that takes place on Sunday, October 19th, 2008.

It appears that it will be quite a well attended event, including some special guest appearances from former NESA members.

It looks like the weather will also be incredible, so I wish everyone who is attending safe travels to this wonderful annual fall Saab event in New England.

Photo Credit: Saab History

Now that the 1992 Saab 900 Turbo Project has been completed, it’s time to thank everyone who participated in the project from December until just a week shy of the 2008 Saab Owners Convention.

I need to begin by thanking John Goguen of J.G. Service in Lunenburg, Massachusetts who, without his time, critical expertise, part availability and all around attention to detail during the duration of the last 9 months, this project would not have been possible.

I also need to thank Carl Levine of Granite-Embedded Systems of Portsmouth, New Hampshire who always made himself available during the most critical phases of this project and to him, I also owe a debt of gratitude.

Lastly, I want to thank my fiancee for supporting this project from the start until completion. It was our decision in December when we were living in Washington, D.C. to rescue this vehicle and I think after all of the time we’ve been away from each other, we are both happy with the results.

Saab History Prepares to travel to the 2008 Saab Owners Convention, now that the 1992 Saab 900 Turbo Project is complete, just one day shy of the opening day!

This project was quite an undertaking since I acquired it in rough shape this past December in rust-free Washington, D.C., but it’s finally done, and I’m a very proud owner of a beautiful 1992 Saab 900 Turbo!

Photo Credit: Saab History

The 1992 Saab 900 Turbo Project is now making some significant progress in terms of its exterior and interior reinstallation since the completion of the recent paint job.

This work is really becoming more and more fun here at this point, but I still have to now get the cylinder head back and reinstall it back on the block, replacing chain guides, etc, head gasket, then redo the HVAC system and inspect it, replace steering rack and tie rod ends cv/joint boots, replace brakes all around and replace and inspect all suspension items.

The final stages once those areas are tackled, will include the undercoating treatment, any remaining POR15 in the engine bay and of course, and placing the Saab-Scania badges back on in the “exact” order and configuration as they came from the factory in Trollhättan, Sweden back on February, 1992.

If you are interested in seeing some of the previous work of this project, please view the archive directly by clicking on this image.

Photo Credits: Saab History

The painting and body work of the 1992 Saab 900 Turbo project is finally complete!

After nearly 2-months of waiting, the paint shop where I had this work done completed the job in the original 153B Cirrus White color that the car was painted in at the Saab factory in Trollhattan Sweden in May of 1992.

The results are quite remarkable and I am happy to see this phase of the project complete, now to begin the process of reinstalling & refurbishing every other item that was removed both inside and out!

Please stay tuned for more photographs as progress continues!

Photo Credit: Saab History

The 1992 Saab 900 Turbo Project gets the transmission full rebuilt completed today. Another great milestone for the progress of this project, so please stay tuned for more progress in the days and weeks to come!

When I first began this transmission rebuild, all I had planned to do was to replace the 2nd gear syncro which had problems back in December. To this day, I have inspected everything, and replaced everything that needed to be replaced, all necessary hardware as well as gaskets, so here’s to some smooth gear changing in the nearby future!

Although the photo above shows some covers and differentials uncovered, everything has been wrapped up and now on to other aspects of the vehicle!

Photo Credit: Saab History

The 1992 Saab 900 Turbo project that began in December of 2007 is in the process of having the engine and transmission completely overhauled down to the bare assemblies all the way up the proper “Saab” way.

Having personally spent a number of hours in this process already whether it was cleaning out and replacing bearings to replacing seals, I have learned a great deal about the build quality of the SCANIA built 2.0 liter robust engine as well as the 5-speed transmission, and believe this education will translate to a stronger comfort and confidence level once the Saab 900 Turbo is complete and ready to drive.

A number of you have noted that the color of the valve cover is not the original and being one for originality and authenticity, this is one area that my creative really took over. The reason for differentiation here is that this engine will eventually be E-85 “BioPower” capable, hence the coloring in the same fashion Saab has depicted in their more later model BioPower vehicles on display.

I look forward to completing these most difficult aspects of the project and to see the majority of the project coming together in due time so that it will see its first Saab Owners Convention later this year.

Photo Credit: Saab History

The 1992 Saab 900 Turbo Project that began in December of last year will be receiving a paint job this week in the original Saab color, “cirrus white”, paint code 153B.

Just about everything has been removed in order to best paint the exterior car within reason, short of a naked shell, given that it had virtually no rust being a mid-atlantic car from Washington, D.C.

I am looking forward to seeing this vehicle in process and of course, the final outcome once complete!

Photo Credit: Saab History

The 1992 Saab 900 Turbo Project has recently received reconditioned wheels from Viking Wheel Service in Wilmington, Delaware. These wheels are the original wheels for this year and model, known as the “directional” Saab wheels for the 1992 900 Turbo model year only, in 15″ by 5.5″ wide painted silver. The later 900 models had grey insets with polished outer rims.

In terms of the final product, I am very happy with the quality and attention to detail on these original reconditioned wheels from Viking Wheel Service. It is my opinion that the Saab community is fortunate to have such a global source for Saab wheel reconditioning no matter how old or how new your wheels are. Furthermore, if you believe your wheels are beyond repair, I would contact Viking Wheel Service to double check.

As you can see in the photograph above, not only did they do a terrific job on the wheels, they also did not remove the outer lip that many “typical” wheel repair shops do.

As you will see in the original wheels, prior to being reconditioned, even the pitting from road debris due to not being regularly cleaned, remained impossible to remove even with the most potent of eco-friendly wheel cleaners.

The results of their work are really quite amazing. What you ultimately end up with are basically, brand new wheels, like you would have directly from a Saab dealership. The catch is that most of the older wheels such as the case here with the 1992, are no longer available, so this is the way to go.

I am extremely happy that I chose this logical route and look forward to seeing them ultimately mounted, balanced and fitted to the Saab 900 Turbo in the near future.

A thank you goes to Viking Wheel Service for a job well done! I highly recommend this route with any of your Saab wheels no matter how old or new and urge you to visit their website, http://www.vikingwheel.com/.

As I have said before and I will say again, the spring is here, and the 2008 Saab Owners Convention is also just around the corner, so get those beat-up old Saab wheels into Viking Wheel Service, you’ll be glad you did!

Photo Credit: Saab History

The cockpit of the 1992 Saab 900 Turbo has been removed and will be completely restored in due time. Please enjoy the progress photo above.

As of now the following interior items have either been replaced, reconditioned or are in queue to be redone.

* Entire Floor carpeting cleaned like new thanks to my fiancee’s hard work this past weekend.
* Entire leather seat backs and bottoms of both driver’s and passenger’s side to be restitched.
* Dash Replaced with brand new dashboard unit.
* Front & Rear Speakers Replaced.
* Original Saab Tape & CD player reconditioned, complete with Ipod connector, care of the maker of the Audio Troll
* Window Motors & Assembly Units completely reconditioned
* Headliner in queue to be replaced, just choosing the “right” shade of white/light grey to match original material.
* Side Door Panels in queue to be replaced, also choosing the “right” saddle color tone to match original material.
* Rear Seats are in mint condition and need no restitching, just leather cleaning and conditioning with UV protectant material.
* All console bits are in good shape, steering wheel & shifter are good as well. Still looking for a good “like new” leather shift boot.

To see the previous work on this project, please take a look at the project directly by visiting this link “Saab 900 Turbo Project“