Update:

Just to update my current progress with the car, Ive been on UKSaab forum for a while and ive got some catching up to do on this forum with regards to the above post and updates

Big thanks to my Saabnut friend Rich, Who sorted out OpenSID a few weeks ago and fitted a Pbus connector for quick ECU access, After about an hour of WOT runs (on a private road) and checking the loggings etc we decided to turn things up a bit and the car is now circa Stage 3.

Ive also been collecting a few parts including....

A brand new set of Bilstein B8 dampers and full Powerflex bushing kit.

A 9-5 Aero gearbox with bigger QDH8J Quaife LSD fitted and a pair of Viggen driveshafts Just need a Viggen intermediate shaft and a spare 9-3 casing to put it in then ive got a full Viggen set up with bigger C.V's etc.

A complete T7 head, B234 bottom end, T7 sump, Timing chain cover and some T5 cams for my engine build and an Intercooler kit with 600mm x 300mm x 75mm core.

Got many more plans on the horizon including tyres, Brakes and rebuilding the B234/B235 engine....

Then ive got to decide on what turbo to go for :th_MySaab900Like:

 

Beauty. Not fair having a 2dr 9-3 tho.

 

Beauty. Not fair having a 2dr 9-3 tho.

Thanks, Its quite a rare car in Laser Red over here and i was very lucky to get a 2dr Aero model especially in this condition!

Most of the Aero's are Silver, Black or Cosmic Blue in the U.K and Viggens are only available in Lightening blue, Black, Silver or very rare Monte Carlo Yellow.

 

Very handsome car indeed.

 

holy shit you bought what basically is the most perfect viggen ever <333

 

not a viggen

 

did aero's have a 2.0 or 2.3?

 

Engine:

Standard B205R engine, T7 Suite Stage 3 software, Custom 3" turbo back exhaust with sports cat and oval tailpipe, Forge FM007 Recirc dump valve.

Looks like a 2.0.

 

Standard B205R engine

yeah..... not a Viggen. They're Aero is like our 9-3 SE HOT.

 

Except that you could get an Aero with the Viggen Body work over there. In the USA, the only place it showed up was on the 2003 'vert with the "Sport Package" along with those dbl spoke wheels.

 

Its not a Viggen but its not far off both externally and on the interior side of things Since mines a facelift Aero it has the Viggen bodykit and Viggen interior as standard plus the carbon dash.

I could have bought a Viggen as a base car but it would have cost me atleast £2000 more to start with and i would have still replaced the engine regardless as the B235 wouldnt be enough, Plus ive never seen a Viggen in the U.K for sale with 62000 miles like my Aero and in as good condition. Once ive rebuilt my B234/B235 engine with T5 cams and fitted it in my Aero and have got it upto 350-400bhp it wont matter

Thanks for all your kind words boys :th_MySaab900Like:

 

Very nice looking aero!
The double Y wheels in that color is what I dream to find
I think your steering wheel is on the wrong side thou

 

Many thanks, I like the double Y's too especially in Anthracite. They come standard on my car but i have considered replacing them at some point but we shall see.

The steering wheels on the right side :th_SmlyROFL:

 

Well it had to happen, Ive had my first negative experience of Saab ownership in the form of a faulty oil pressure switch. I had the usual burning oil smell when stationary and the sump and downpipe was covered in engine oil :lol:

I knew i had a weap from the timing chain cover but when i had the car on the ramp on Saturday i noticed a bit more than a misting on the sump and spotted the leak coming from above the starter motor :roll:

Cheap fix thankfully but a PITA to get to and one of my work colleagues 24mm spanners had to be cut down to do it but we managed to sort it earlier today without removing the starter

Thanks to Neo Brothers speedy service for supplying me with a new genuine item.

Other than that not much else to report, Ive got a complete B234 out of a 9000 Griffin which is ready to be stripped down, Checked and rebuilt with new Oil pump, Water pump, chains/SealsGaskets etc. I need to locate a 9-3 Gearbox casing to transplant the insides of my aqquired 9-5 Aero box with Quaife LSD into, I also need a flywheel and a Viggen clutch/Pressure plate.

Fingers crossed the Bilsteins and full Powerflex bush kit i bought from Neos are getting fitted over the next few weeks which im looking forward to and ill also be replacing the front wishbones, Suspension links and track rod ends at the same time so its all freshened up.

Cheers Simon

 

What a beautiful car. I fucking love it.

 

Heres a few pics of mine and my friends 9-5 Aero after a good cleaning/detailing session, Both cars Dodo Juice waxed on top of Super Resin Polish, awesome stuff to use even in temperatures which werent double figures....


http://www.flickr.com/photos/outhousepics/6270329099/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/outhousepics/6270328081/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/outhousepics/6270857076/

 

Dipped my hands in my pockets (Again) and bought it a set of new tyres to replace the ditchfinders that where fitted, Went for some Toyo T1R's in 225/45R17 94Y XL flavour as ive had good experience with the Toyo's in the past and we had a set in stock at work.

I had a spare hour this afternoon so fitted them myself, Also Nitrogen inflated them too

Fingers crossed there will be some progress next week as im off work, Hopefully the new Bilstein dampers, Polybushes, New wishbones, New Suspension links and New track rod ends should be going on early next week one evening which means i can get a full geometry/alignment check done.

Also if i get the chance in the later half of next week ill be going through the braking system and fitting new discs allround inc uprating the fronts to 308mm, EBC pads allround and Goodridge hoses allround along with some decent DOT 5.1 fluid in there.

If im feeling really naughty il buy a 22mm SAS rear anti roll bar too....

Then thats pretty much the chassis sorted out so i can focus on rebuilding my B234/B235 motor that ive got tucked away at a friends garage

 

looks great love the red coupes. and nice tire choice

 

Nice car. You're doing some serious work! Glad you found no sludge.

Though I'm not a fan of dark wheels, overall it looks tasteful, and I love the 3-door 9-3. The Aero rear spolier for UK Euro/UK model Saabs is so minimal and restained. I prefer it over the Viggen rear spoiler. Nice photos too.

With cost no object, I'd spec my US base-model car like a UK Aero/Sport. Sometimes I wish I chose red when I bought mine, but I always wanted a silver Saab, so that was my first choice.

I am very happy with my Bilstein HDs, so those should work out well for you too.

Why did you choose Nitrogen for tire pressure? When you need to maintain tire pressure can you add regular air?

 

I am also glad its not sludged Ive heard so many horror stories and seen loads of T7 engined Saabs getting broken over here in the U.k. Most of its down to lack of maintenance on the owners part IMO.....Doing short journeys and not changing the oil regular enough.

Im happy with my Aero, I nearly bought a Lightening Blue Viggen earlier this year but it wasnt a tidy car and was a £1300 more than what i paid for the Aero which is a much better condition and IMO alot more understated. Plus i really love Laser Red and you cant get Viggens over here in that colour.

The current Double Y alloys im currenty undecided on, Somedays i like them and others i dont, I think if they where a little wider i.e 7.5J or even 8J they would look more aggressive. Its along way off as ive got alot of other bits to sort first but i might even buy a new set once everything else is finished but we shall see.

As for the Nitrogen, I can add regular air if i need to top up but lucky for me the Nitrogen machine is at my work anyway so i will generally use that.

I've been meaning to comment how much I dig this car. Keep up the good work!

Thanks :th_MySaab900Like:

 

I've been meaning to comment how much I dig this car. Keep up the good work!

 

Awesome looking car!

You'll also need Viggen uprights, or you will need to clearance your existing uprights to fit the larger axles.

 

Thanks, You are right and there is a way around that regarding fitting the Viggen shafts/axles as my friend uses normal NG900 hubs with Viggen shafts/axles.

He has fitted some Viggen ABS sensor brackets which allow clearance for the bigger ABS rings on the Viggen shafts/axles and has made a slight modification to the hub in the way of some gentle grinding to take the imperfections off the casting which gave enough clearance.

:th_dblthumb2:

 

Tyres and Goodies

Bit of an update...

Managed to find a Viggen intermediate shaft from Salvogroup....Only one for sale in the U.K i could find!

Also with thanks to Neos for their speedy service for supplying my new Discs, EBC Pads and 308mm Carriers Im still waiting for Jamsaab to sort my Goodridge braided hoses out which will hopfully be coming over the next few days and i need to get some Dot 5.1 brake fluid.

Quick snap of the new rubber which i bought earlier this week after i gave the car its usual weekend clean...

My collection of bits which ive been gathering since buying the car a few months ago and now im off work for a week and will be fitting them all over the next few days which will give me a bit more space in my bedroom haha...

This time next week it should hopefully be a very different car to drive, Plans are to fit the Dampers, Polybushes and new Suspension arms, Links and Track rod ends Tuesday night and hopefully get a full Geometry check carried out a day or so after which will give me an idea of how much Negative camber the backs currently running and what shims ill require to sort it, then fit all the brakes Thursday or Friday.

Just to add you may notice their is only one Lower Suspension Arm in the picture thats because the car had a new OSF item when i bought it 600 miles ago so ill just rebush that one with the poly's and rebush my new one.

Then over the winter i can...

: Strip the 9000 Griffin B234 motor i bought down, Inspect and rebuild with anything it may require inc Balancer shaft delete, new chains/gaskets/pumps etc, Fit the T5 cams into my spare T7 head to create B234/B235 combo.
: Remove Air Con rad and all pipework from my car, Using shorter belt and freeing up some space for my 600mm/300mm/75mm Intercooler to go in when the engines fitted.
: Dismantle my aqquired 9-5 Aero FM55 gearbox with Quaife LSD and refit into a 9-3 casing to make what is essentially a Viggen gearbox.
: Decide what Flywheel and Clutch combo to go for using a new Viggen pressure plate?
: Buy some Bosch Greens, A wideband Lambda, An EGT gauge etc
: Decide what Turbocharger to go for?

Should keep me busy.

 

Great car. The grey wheels look awesome with the red.

 

my rear end camber was off from factory specs too. i replaced the rear struts and bushes and its perfect. i bought 4 shims just in case but didnt need them. i would aslo check the strut mount and stanchion arm bush. plus buy a new stanchion arm bolt most of them stretch and its hard to remove them without the strut assembly out of way. the new bolts dont have torx head

and are those rear brakes vented? like the front? if not thats a downgrade

 

Fingers crossed my new struts and Poly rear axle bushes might sort the camber out on my 9-3 too in that case.

The stanchion arms are getting fitted with polybushes, I bought the full 14 peice Powerflex bush kit for the car.

The rears discs dont come vented on the 9-3, Only the 9-5 Aero gets the vented rears in the U.K. I know of quite a few people that have upgraded the rears to 9-5 Aero spec but its deemed a bit overkill and not really an essential upgrade as the standard rear brake set-up doesnt do a great deal on the 9-3.....Apart from rust

 

Suspension and Polybushes

Bit of an update...

Everythings coming together nicely now, Thanks to Salvogroup for their speedy service supplying me with a Viggen intermediate driveshaft and support bearing which came today.

After a busy 4 hour session this evening the suspension/chassis refresh work is all done now with massive thanks as usual to my good friend Rich for the use of his workshop and his extensive Saab knowledge and skills

Everything went ok apart from a few stubborn bushes that didnt want to be pressed out of the suspension arms but came out ok after a bit of a talking to :lol:

The Saab now has New Bilstein B8 shock absorbers all round to go with the Eibach springs which where already fitted, New track rod ends, New suspension links and New complete lower suspension arms with ball joints. We also polybushed the new lower suspension arms, Polybushed the stanchion suspension arms, Polybushed the suspension links and polybushed the rear axle.

We have not polybushed the anti roll bar D bushes due to the subframe having to be dropped and steering rack bushes due to access but these will get fitted during the engine transplant. Just need to get the cars geometry looked at over the next few days and fit the new brakes on Friday then thats about it for that side of things.

Took a few pictures from this evenings work....

Polybushed lower suspension arm...

As mentioned earlier in my thread i bought a reconditioned 9-5 Aero gearbox fitted with Quaife LSD so i decided to use the internals of that gearbox and fit them into a 9-3 gearbox casing thus basically converting my gearbox to Viggen spec, Ive also bought a pair of Viggen driveshafts and a Viggen intermediate shaft but have been advised by a few members that the Viggen shafts will not fit into a normal 9-3 strut/hub assembly due to the bigger C.V joints and that i would need Viggen strut and hub assemblys. I knew it had been done before using standard 9-3 hubs that have has a slight modification to the metal work as ive seen the car that has them fitted so here goes...

Heres my standard front 9-3 strut/hub assembly...

Heres my front strut and hub assembly after some light metal work to remove imperfections in the casting...

Heres my front strut and hub assembly fitted with Viggen drivshaft which was bolted in for reference, No clearance issues now and all thats needed is the Viggen ABS sensor brackets and bobs your uncle...

And i thought id take a pic of this while i was down there, One of the FMIC thats going on...

 

Real nice Aero, Great color

 

i love the og9-3 with double y wheels. that color combo makes your car look great:th_MySaab900Like:
was thinking of getting those wheels for mine as well

Thanks boys

 

i love the og9-3 with double y wheels. that color combo makes your car look great:th_MySaab900Like:
was thinking of getting those wheels for mine as well

 

nice and fast progress. bet it drives alot different with new suspension and lsd. did the viggen axle splines lline up with the standard ng900 hub? i want to swap a f35 lsd in a f25 box but i was told it cant be done without a bunch of mods.

 

The LSD is not installed yet as i have not stripped the 9-5 Aero gearbox down that i bought and transferred it into a 9-3 casing, This will be getting done when i put the 2.3 in.

We just trial fitted the shafts while we where fitting the suspension and bushes, The Viggen axle splines line up fine on the standard 9-3 hubs but the bigger ABS ring fouls on the standard hub so the hub needs some of the roughness taking off the metal to give more clearance as shown in my picture above.

I have had to buy a pair of Viggen axles and a Viggen intermediate shaft so i can run the F35 size LSD. I will also need some Viggen ABS sensor brackets too.

 

Too bad your in the UK, I have some Viggen ABS brackets I bought by mistake that I would get rid of for dirt cheap.

 

Its a shame as i would have bought them, Many thanks all the same

no need of Viggen ABS brackets, just put some spacers behind the stock brackets of your ABS sensors (so that you pull them outer) and you are good to go!
At least, this is how I did with my 9-3og wheel hubs/spindles, when I installed the Viggen axles and driveshafts, having to trim out that inside of the spindles, also

Might look into doing that with the ABS sensor bracket, I was told that they dont cost alot to buy the genuine ones from Saab but if they do then ill do what you did.

Glad ive seen someone else doing the same thing to fit the Viggen shafts, Ive been told by quite a few people that it cant be done :th_MySaab900Like:

 

no need of Viggen ABS brackets, just put some spacers behind the stock brackets of your ABS sensors (so that you pull them outer) and you are good to go!
At least, this is how I did with my 9-3og wheel hubs/spindles, when I installed the Viggen axles and driveshafts, having to trim out that inside of the spindles, also