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My new 9000 :)

7K views 30 replies 14 participants last post by  quattro 
#1 · (Edited)
1997 9000 CSE anniversary edition
2.3l turbo
Scarab Green
Auto tranny
180K km (110K miles)

These are the crappy cell pics I took when I test drove the car last Sunday. Haven't taken any pics since but its already showing alot nicer :)







The good:
-Everything works and the car drives great
-Aero body kit
-Two tone anniversary seats w wood/leather steering
-Turbo pulls strong
-No leaks
-Body in great shape except for one fender

The bad:
-Rusted out driver side fender
-Needs new brakes all round
-Transmission takes its time shifting to 4th gear
-Car needs a really good detail

The thought of getting an auto Saab was a 'nice to have' idea since I now live in the city and my wife doesn't drive manual. Last weekend I left the house to check out this gem and ended up buying it the same day.

All in all, a great car. Already grabbed a clean, rust free replacement fender at the wrecker on Saturday for fifty bucks and will install and have it painted to match. Spent the remaining part of the weekend shampooing the carpet and cleaning the leather as well as fixing some issues w the rear lights that caused the pictogram to light uop . Driver's seat has some cracks on the base which I'm probably going to repair at some point but I'm quite happy with how the seats came back to life. The interior on these anniversary models really clean up nice. Surpisingly, for an anniversary edition, this car doesn't have a sunroof...I thought this was standard equipment but obviously not.

Anyway, will be replacing brakes/pads next weekend and changing all fluids, hoses, tensioner and idler pulley, thermostat, and serpentine belt.

With the help of Paul (paul92conv), the tranny issue should be sorted out with some replacement springs in the valve body, tightening the cable, and a full flush. Worse case if I need to do the governer seals, will do that also.

With my work schedule and the fact that I can only work on the car in my parents garage which is more than an hour drive away, it'll probably be more than a month before I'll have the car on the road. Will be posting more pics in this thread as I progress.
 
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#2 ·
Nice find! I would think it should have Aniversary wheels and not Super Aero's - but close enough! Exposed lug vs. those. Car looks nice! I was going to say - the trans problem is usually just Valve Body parts... should be a "simple" fix in the car. Mine has a cold issue where if in "D" it will slip and rev out instead of hitting 4th - so I drive it in 3rd until warm and it's fine - has never gotten worse and I beat the piss out of that trans anytime I drive it. Clean Fluid and filter is the trick. You always want to manually shift it too when driving it sporty - seems to keep it working somehow :)
 
#11 ·
Shots from last weekend. If I'm lucky, I get one afternoon a week to work on my 'to do' list, which is long...may be another month before I officially get the car on the road. Apart from changing all 4 rotors and pads, attacked the body and interior:

old fender:


Here's the junkyard find which will be resprayed. Still needs to be aligned perfectly.




Full cleaning of the seats.
1. Wash with soapy water and dry
2. Scrub lightly with Mr. Clean Magic Eraser
3. Lather on Leatherique conditioner
4. Clean with Leatherique cleaner
5. Dry again
6. Condition once more with Simoniz leather conditioner/cleaner

Apart from the cracks, the seats look like new. The lighter shade of the two tone seats went from a tan cream to a white cream color. Will probably fix the cracks and re-dye the seat bottoms as well.







Now looking forward to getting the car back from paint and changing hoses, fluids, and pulleys :)
 
#13 ·
Got the car back from paint and now reinstalling the 'aero' bumper cover and wheel arch moulding.

questions:
1. The sides of the bumper cover have inserts that should slide into clips mounted along the fender. For the life of me, I can't get the clips to hook themselves into the bumper. I'm sliding the bumper into position while trying to keep the fender and bumper sides as close to each other as possible, hoping that the clips will catch..but its just too tight. Suggestions?

2. The aero fender moulding also has a series of clips with screws that mount onto the fender. However, the last mounting point on the moulding (closest to rocker panel) doesn't use a clip, but probably a flat square headed screw/bolt that's pressed directly into the moulding. Obviously, I lost the screw, but if anyone has a picture of the back of an aero moulding (I'm too lazy to remove the remaining ones on the car), it would help me determine how best to mount it.

thx
 
#17 ·
Finally had some time today to mount the bumper.

I ended up doing away with the original clips on the fender and cut them off. Removing them revealed the fender holes which made the solution simpler. Had some leftover clips w screws from a junkyard wheel arch moulding and simply hooked them into the bumper sides and secured them on the other end of the fender with nuts. Looks perfect and flush now :)

Latest shots from today:







This is the best I could align the fender. Slightly narrow towards the edge of the hood but otherwise its all good:



Had the hood resprayed also:

 
#19 · (Edited)
Ontario Make Belief plates! :p

Had a busy afternoon today. Changed the tensioner and idler pulley along with the serpentine belt. Don't wanna take any chances on used rotating plastic.

The highlight of this afternoon's work:

Before:





After:






Didn't have much sun left by the time it was over and so the flash doesn't flatter the steering wheel but believe me it looks a hundred times better than before.

As for the seats, I redyed both driver and passenger - its tricky with the two tones but turned out well. I'll be back at the car next weekend to put on a final coat after letting it cure.
 
#24 · (Edited)
Update...

Clear corners (called up a junk yard in the UK, had them ship me the pair for $40 all in! :)
Smoked turn signals (freebie from a fellow local enthusiast)
Tinted windows
Roof rack, Thule fairing (ebay)
2.5 inch custom stainless exhaust
New brakes and rotors
Transmission fully serviced including governer seals and accumulator springs
New misc items like belt, all new pulleys, tensioner, suspension bushings, tie rod ends, etc

Im using it as my daily now.

Still to do:
Install center armrest (got one off ebay)
Infinity basslink subwoofer waiting to be installed
Upgrade head unit (toying with the idea of doing a double din install)
Full detail..I've still to take a buffer to paint





 
#27 ·
Wow, looking good.


Did an engine swap for someone with really nice Ann. Ed. with perfect amethyst violet exterior. The seats are a bit rough and the clear corners I ordered for him are on back order; now I know where to look.
 
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