Craigs SAAB story

[Dagazenterprise]

i have the car high enough to slide the bolted up engine back under it, timing chain is good to go, i will tq the head in the car, gonna get a starter for it this week, hopefully you can do get the sway bar so i can get this thing together, 6 bolts for the cradle then 8 total for the brakes and struts and it's back to being one peice then install the radiator etc. btw it looks like the water pump wont have much traction without the ac compressor mounted in it, does anyone make an AC delete kit?

[g96nt]

It should be fine. The ac compressors are known to die early on the 9-3 engine. When they do, people just skip the ac compressor, or remove it. As for the swaybar, Im going to skip it. I'll do it some other time... I got an answer on the starter, and any will work from the 9-5. There's a before/after 2002 cutoff. Turns out it's the same starter body, but one's Bosch and the other is Mitsubishi. Im fine with whatever.

[Dagazenterprise]

Picked up the new starter motor 10 mins ago, gonna try to get this puppy bolted back into the car today.

Pics from last weekend

[g96nt]

Rob, I couldn't text back, but you'll likely need a "short belt" from a 9-3.
There were no non-a/c 9-3's in the US, but the belt length is pretty common.
do me a favor and measure what you have, but i'm pretty sure it should be 70-ish inches or like 2830cm (I'll look later)

[Dagazenterprise]

measure it, 65 1/2 inches should put good tension on it, did it with the tensioner held to loose position.

Engine in, cradle bolted up, steering, suspension and wheels connected, time for work now, pics tomorow. not much left to do but plug wires in

PS needs new trans mount, this one is broken apart

[g96nt]

Which mount? the one that bolts up from the bottom?

[g96nt]

http://home.jtan.com/~joe/saab/clutch.htm

looks like a bunch of great info for your next steps.

[Dagazenterprise]

I keep forgetting to upload the pics i've taken but the car is now running, need to fab up a new cold side intake piping and then install the front bumper and headlights, then it's time for a drive, Craig helped me yesterday we got the head torqued, serpentine belt on, clutch blead and a few other tasks done then fired it up. Took a few seconds of cranking, i'm sure the gas that's been in the tank for a good 18 months isn't to great for it but it still burns enough to keep it running, fingers crossed for wednesday or thursday to have it back on the road.

[g96nt]

I'm registering it today!
(and getting a replacement headlight for the one I broke)


Rob also Drove the t-5R yesterday... he is in love!

[g96nt]

So, It's official... The project is complete!
Rob and I drove the car this morning.

There was a little concern with the dry engine pulling oil through the system, but when we backed off the filter, it was full. After a little more cranking, we fired it up! after a couple sputters, it was up and running! the lifters quieted down pretty quick, and now, she purrs like it should.

Rob took a junkyard engine, split it, cleaned all the sludge out of it, and cleaned the pistons/front case/oil pan,and pickup, and the block deck, and modified the chain-guide bracket to remove the balance shaft chain.

In the end, we put a new set of guides, a new chain, a new top-end gasket kit, and we re-installed my ARP head studs, and my fresh head with older "t5" cams. We kept the stock fuel-system, and zipped it up.

Rob surprised me with a beautiful 3" mandrel-bent downpipe, and we eventually made some REALLY nice 2.5" Intercooler pipes. Rob made a nice cold-site set with the BOV, temp. sensor, and Boost-source for the MAP "hidden" underneath. If it wasn't for the recirc. line, we could have kept it nice and hidden.

All-in-all, this is was easily my best experience relying on another person to work on my car. It's not often that I do, and when Rob accepted my offer of the swedish-swap... I was happy to let him get into it. He did a ton of amazing work, and not a single thing needed to be re-done, or re-visited. We both learned a few things along the way, and the end-result was perfect.

Not to mention, Rob did all of this without a lift, and while being VERY careful of my freshly-painted wagon.

I'd recommend Rob in a second for any fabrication work, and I'm bummed I won't be around town long-enough to show-off his work. I'm hoping that he gets to work on the T-5R soon, and you guys can see exactly how talented he is.


He did everything by the book, and is an amazing fabricator.

[g96nt]

Here's a few pictures, in no particular order:

[Boosted Euro]

Saw the car last night , looks good a sounds good too.

[g96nt]

Thanks! It reaaaallllly needs to be cleaned. The only cleaning its gotten sine i parked it, was the rain it get yesterday.

[Dagazenterprise]

spirited driving at 40 and then getting on it in 3rd, less than full throttle will break the tires loose, this car has an amazing amount of torque, i will post some pics soon. Aside from the sludge issue, this is a truely great vehicle, and super quiet cruising at 80 on the highway.

[Dagazenterprise]

here are the pics