Found an '88 900 S for challenge money with a 5-speed, but other than a general fondness for Swedemobiles, I know little about Saabs. Can you slap a turbo on the NA motor? How hard are parts to source? Can they be made to handle? Educate me!
Found an '88 900 S for challenge money with a 5-speed, but other than a general fondness for Swedemobiles, I know little about Saabs. Can you slap a turbo on the NA motor? How hard are parts to source? Can they be made to handle? Educate me!
Yea I've seen that done with factory parts. I loved my old 87 turbo. Show us some pics.
the hardest part of a saab.. is the transaxle. Not only are they fragile, but parts are getting hard to find. The more HP you throw at them, the more they break.
If you get a 2.0 non-turbo, the trans is more than likely in decent shape.. as those lacked the HP to really hurt the transmission..
Other than the weirdness with the trans and the orientation of the engine (it is backwards with the flywheel facing towards the front of the car) they are very robust and logically built. One of the few cars were replacing the heater control valve is an easy job you can do in a parking garage (I did it)
IIRC, the H engine is the SOHC/8v 2.0l.
I've owned a few c900s, but never one of those, I've avoided them on purpose because of the CIS style injection.
If I had one as a project car I would look convert it to electronic injection with a T5 conversion or MS. For a NA engine I would seriously consider a pair of Webers.
They are pretty slow by today's standards, but they handle well are very engaging to drive.
In reply to HappyAndy:
I find conflicting reports on when the 8V was dropped in the US. If it's the 8v, I would probably go the Volvo route and stick boost on it. Hmmm. Anyone know if those 4x108 hubs can be swapped?
VIN check says it has the B202 which I think is the 16V.
In reply to Acme Lab Rat:
That's probably right. A 900s should be DOHC. A plain 900 would be SOHC. '87 or '88 would have been the last of those. The SAAB community doesn't generally refer to DOHC engines as H engines, but technically they are.
LOOK VERY closely at/inside the frame areas where the axles pass through. This section collects dirt and debris and drains very poorly... rot is the consequence.
Everything said so far in this thread is spot on--- especially the bit about the control arm mounting area rust. Since the front fenders (which are welded on, btw) are rotted out on that one, I'd take a VERY close look for structural rust before you pay more than scrap value for the car. Saf-T-Cap does make a patch panel for this area and it isn't expensive, but it is a lot of work for a $700 n/a car.
An '88S is a 16-Valve n/a 2.0 B202 H engine.
They can absolutely be made to handle, and even an n/a car is a blast to drive with some wider wheels, good rubber, and a bit of stiffening. This is the one that I drove to work today:
A photo posted by Tim (@powar17) on Sep 27, 2015 at 7:45am PDT
It's mechanically identical to the one in the ad.
87 was the last year for the front handbrakes and weird bolt pattern. The 88 used the 108s.
87 was the weird year.. it used the older mechanicals with the newer aero body work. 88+ can use the same wheels and brakes the 9000
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