The Journey Continues...

July 13, 2021 Eleven

After many months of work on the Scarab Green 9-5 Aero, it felt like the right time to pass-the-parcel so to speak. I wouldn't normally be a happy man to not have finished a project, but this one defies logic. I should be doing the bodywork next, but my heart says leave it as it is; a genuinely lovely Q car, so I'm letting its new owner decide what's next this time.

In its 21 years, it has only covered 83,000 miles, and with the work done so far, it honestly feels like a new Saab, the modifications have given it a new lease of life and it feels exceptionally tight; no rattles, no awkward noises, just super smooth and rather fast thanks to a Stage 3+ remap from Noob once again.

It took endless revisits to finally eliminate all of the issues with the suspension and handling. We've changed endless arms, bushes, brackets and bearings, we've added the B8 shocks with Eibach springs, put new Michelin Pilot Sport 4 rubber all round, fully refurbished the beautiful Hirsch alloys and we've had a full alignment done; utter perfection.

The interior was possibly the worst I'd ever seen; buttons were horrible, seats ruined and layers of dirt everywhere, but now it once again honours the quality and longevity of Saab craftsmanship. A new full Saab Carbon dash has been added together with all new units; SID, climate and Audio all changed, a spectacular new Nappa leather wheel by TunStyle and late 2005 Aero sand leather front seats, brand new carpet mats and later Aero door sills to finish things off.

I'm always sad to watch these go, but also fills me with joy to think that another Saab is going to be cherished and kept on the road for years to come, one day, one's of these Aeros is going to be the 'one that got away' could it be this one?

Perfection

June 3, 2021 Eleven

Perfection isn’t a word to be used lightly, but the Saab 9000 Aero comes close to it for me. Don’t get me wrong, it does have its faults, but all in all and being able to compare it to over 150 cars, I’d say it’s one of the best I’ve ever driven.

During the past year, I’ve been lucky enough to own what I’d class as the all time 90’s super saloon greats; the Mercedes Benz W124 E500, Audi C5 RS6 and the BMW E39 M5, and I can confidently say, the 9000 Aero stands its ground beautifully and dare I say it, in some areas, wins.

It’s got almost unbeatable proportions for instance; 25 years old and still comfortably seats four adults in sublime comfort and style, it’s a hatchback too, and with the rear seats down will take an enormous amount of stuff, and when you want it all to yourself for a full on B road blast or just a relaxed cross country cruise, well, it just handles that too.

This isn’t quite your standard 9000, it’s had various performance enhancements to make it feel utterly at ease with modern driving; a Turbo Technics Hybrid Turbo, upgraded intake and indiction kit, large downpipe and free flow stainless exhaust together with a lovely remap running at around 300hp. The suspension has been totally upgraded with Koni shocks and Eibach springs, and it’s just about to receive a full set of Abbott Racing motorsport drilled and vented discs, pads and a set of Michelin tyres.

I might just be a little biased here as this has been a long awaited dream for me, but in the first month of ownership, it has completely justified its high ranking spot on my list of best cars. They’re getting rare here in the UK, especially the Aeros, and ones without rust are like gold dust so I count myself a lucky man to have found a lovely example. These things should be easily worth 2 to 3 times their value, the stunning interior designed and made by Recaro, is worth buying a 9000 Aero for alone in my book, they’re possibly the best looking, most comfortable car seats I’ve ever sat in.

I have lots of questions for myself at the moment, modify or leave well alone, larger wheels or just stick with the iconic, sixteen inch Super Aeros? I’m sure it’ll continue to get lavished with care and new parts, but for now, I’m just enjoying automotive perfection.

Possibly the best ‘spares or repair’ Saab 9-5 Aero ever

May 17, 2021 Eleven

I’m really not sure where to begin with this beautiful first generation Saab 9-5 Aero, it’s in an amazing colour combo of course; Scarab Green with Sand leather, it’s low miles at just 83,000 and low owners too, that’s almost unheard of, oh and it drives perfectly. What’s more, there’s virtually no rust, so why advertise as ‘spares or repair’?

This has been an odd one for me, and I’m still not sure what the best route is, but what I do know, is that it’s a wonderful car. I’ve spent over £6000 on it so far, and virtually every single issue it had on arrival has now been fixed and it also has a brand new MOT.

The list of parts is almost endless, but a small overview:

DO88 performance intercooler and pipe kit £650
APH sport car 3” downpipe £500
Full stainless Jetex dual performance exhaust £500
Noob Tune stage 3+ remap £200
Bilstein B8 suspension with Eibach lowering springs £670
Fully refurbished 18” Hirsch six spoke alloys £1200
Brand new Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres £500
Full 2005 Aero electric heated leather interior £500
New Saab Carbon dashboard £300
New SID and heating unit with no missing pixels £200
Nappa leather sport steering wheel by TunStyle £400
New genuine Saab carpet mats £100

Let’s just add the parts list up, that’s over £5700 not including any labour or mechanics costs, servicing, new filters, sump drop, new fog lights, upgraded later Aero wiper arms, blades etc., one word springs to mind; idiot.

The next step for me would always be the bodywork, but this is where I’m slightly confused, because although it might just be the perfect sleeper, it’s by no means perfect, it has many tiny dents, it’s had an overpainted red door at some point and it just looks a little tatty. After a good inspection, even the usual areas of weakness for rust just aren’t bad at all, it’s utterly solid.

The only other faults left on the entire car are that the interior heater offers ice cold or boiling hot and has to be adjusted by the fan only, works for me but the idea of ripping out pretty much the entire dashboard and engine to fix it offers little excitement and the front interior door handles need replacing as the rubber coating has gone brittle and is falling off.

This is the first Saab I’ve ever been stuck on, my head tells me to do the bodywork, but my heart (and wallet) says leave it alone now, it’s such a great sleeper and cruiser like it is and it’d honestly be a shame to take away from that. So back to the post title ‘spares or repair’ there’s actually only one or two things left to repair, it can be utterly enjoyed and used for years to come exactly as it is, but if someone wanted a ridiculously amazing spares car, or to spend the time of the bodywork, they’d have a pretty rare gen 1 Saab on their hands.

I’m open to sensible offers, but even reading the list above, it seems to dictate a price of around £4,000; think of it as a wish list of parts for your first generation 9-5 Aero but with a perfect 9-5 Aero thrown in, make sense? Nope, it doesn’t to me either, ‘idiot’ once again springs to mind, but someone’s in for a huge treat.

Full details here.

Patience

May 11, 2021 Eleven

Way back in the early 90’s I bought my very first Saab, an early, non turbo 2.0 9000 and to say I was disappointed is an understatement, although it was a lovely car it was slow, lacking any interior refinement and just wasn’t how I’d wanted Saabs to be, what I eventually came to realise is that my dream Saab was a 9000 Aero.

Some 25+ years on, and although I’ve owned over 30 Saabs, I’ve never owned another 9000, until midnight last night that is, when a rather lovely Scarab Green Aero arrived all the way from Scotland. I’d recently put the feelers out for a nice, manual Aero, preferably with little rust and a sunroof and a great guy answered and said he might just have the Aero I’d been searching for.

Registered in 1996, it’s had 6 previous owners and covered some 210,000 miles, has been cared for and lavished with love throughout the years, it needs some tic now, but popping it up on the ramps this morning reveals a very solid chassis and plenty of updates during it’s life. It comes with a full set of Koni’s and Eibach springs, a JT downpipe and full stainless 3” exhaust together with a hybrid Turbo Technics turbo, a decent Red ECU remap, MapTun value and a few other nice performance enhancements.

The interior isn’t perfect and I’ll be replacing numerous parts as and when I find them, but the Aero seats by Recaro have already lived up to my high expectations, not only are they absolutely beautiful in form, but they just wrap around you like incredibly well designed pieces of Scandinavian furniture; truly exceptional.

The work has already started with solving a horrible stutter on acceleration together with fresh oil and filter to begin with, missing interior bulbs located and replaced to bring it all back to life again and my recent cup holder and coin draw installed.

They say patience is a virtue, and in this case, I have to wholeheartedly agree.

Crème de la Crème

April 22, 2021 Eleven

There are always cars that you look back on with fond memories and kind of wish you hadn't sold, and for me this especially applies to Saab. I did a rather special early 9-3 HOT Aero build with a 9000 engine block, upgraded Turbo and numerous other mods running close to 300hp, it was an absolute joy to drive and I miss that for sure.

Then there's the first 9-5 Aero wagon I did last year, and that was on another level, it was one hell of a big project but when finished, I honestly felt it was the best one I'd rescued. The colour combo on Hazelnut metallic paint, Sand leather and light walnut dash together with the stunning Matt Bronze wheels really stick in my mind, it was an absolute beauty, and I still can't get enough of it and would do the same again in a moment.

50 shades of Grey

April 21, 2021 Eleven

Over the years, I've fallen for many Saab 9-3 Aero convertibles, mostly Carbon Grey and mostly first generation, but I'd never moved to the last generation. When I first spotted this one for sale, it was the Carbon Grey I fell for again, not only that, although not mentioned, I noticed the 19" Hirsch wheels, what looked like Hirsch 345mm brake upgrades and a Hirsch single exhaust system, it didn't look at it's best but had huge potential.

Alongside all of the mechanical work previously carried out, I’ve had the very neglected Hirsch wheels refurbished by Perfection Group, powder coated in a metallic grey, rebalanced and treated to new Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres and now it has just returned from it's cosmetic surgery.

There were numerous small and annoying dents on a number of panels which have now been removed, both bumpers have been repainted along with the front wings which had some slight rust appearing, and both side skirts removed and repainted.

I'd also found a rare Turbo X diffuser which has given the rear an amazing and purposeful look and I've got some Turbo X trapezoid tailpipes to add to the Jetex stainless system. The front has been given a complete refresh with new Saab Aero grille and foglight surrounds and a full 4 piece Hirsch mesh grille set added which just enhance the timeless beauty for this Aero. To finish off, the entire car has been given a good machine polish to make it feel like new again.

It's always a real pleasure to see the difference a great bodyshop can make to any car, but I've always adored Saab Aero convertibles on any generation and this latest Aero is no exception, it seems the defy time with it's design, it has a purity that I still believe Saab did so well, a Nordic beauty that's hard the beat.

It's easy for forget this is a 14 year old car with 150,000 miles; it now looks and drives as well as I'd hoped, Karl at Noob Tune has remapped it again to accommodate the APH Performance downpipe and exhaust system which has an amazing growl to it and the new clutch has given it a silky smooth gear change to make it a shear delight to drive, especially with the roof down and just as Spring has properly blessed us with perfect weather.

Swedish Interior Design

April 14, 2021 Eleven

On each Saab Aero project I've done, there's one part that I always find most rewarding; the interior refresh. The early 9-3 and 9-5 both have beautifully designed, intuitive aesthetics, but they've also proved to be superior quality too, they've faired well over the past 20 years and with patience and hard work can be brought back to a seriously nice place to be.

They do of course have their Achilles heal, and these from experience are the seat bolsters, the dash buttons and screen pixels. The soft touch rubberised coating on the buttons wears off easily and can also become sticky to the touch, I always look out for units that have minimal wear, but these are getting harder to find now, there are fixes around, but originality to me is always key. For the 9-5 Aero, I've managed to source a set of new dash units that have excellent buttons and also no missing pixels, they slot in beautifully and always help to remind me just how exemplary Saab interior design was.

The seats are always another area of wear, mostly on the driver's bolsters, but if not looked after, the entire seat surface can become cracked and tired. I've found a set of sand coloured leather Aero seats from a 2005 model, these offer more side support and comfort and work beautifully in the gen 1, I've also added leather trimmed door cards from the later model, some minor adjustments to the boot and full buttons are required, but again, the results really add to the overall interior feeling. I'll be having some new leather handle covers made as the rubber coating on these too, tend to perish and flake off.

Ive removed the seats and given the carpet a good clean, the seats have been cleaned and moisturised, and all surfaces treated. Ive added a brand new Saab Carbon Fibre dash and also another beautiful Nappa leather steering wheel by TunStyle to finish it all of nicely. Ive even found a set of new, genuine Saab sand coloured carpet mats which really do work wonders.

Respect your Elders

April 8, 2021 Eleven

It’s no secret that I have a real addiction to the first generation 9-5 and 9-3 Aeros, there’s something very pure about them. In essence, it’s how Saab envisioned them, yes the cliché about being on GM platforms is obviously correct, but the truth is, they were designed by Saab, built in Trollhättan by the Swedes and any inherited parts that didn’t live up to Saab’s vision, were remanufactured to their own strict specifications.

It’s also becoming hugely difficult to find any half decent early Aeros to save, especially the 9-5. For whatever reason, their values in the past haven’t been considered good enough to warrant them being saved from rust, neglect or even breakers, but that seems to be changing rapidly, even poor ones are fetching higher prices recently, and hopefully, that in turn will manage to keep the remaining ones on the roads for us all to enjoy.

I’ve had this latest rare Scarab Green with Sand leather interior for over 6 months now, progress was ridiculously slow due to parts availability, mainly the Bilstein B8 suspension, but this finally arrived towards the end of February and the build progressed. Although it’s only had a few owners and has only covered 83,000 miles with full service history, it had a lot of niggling issues that required attention, it felt like a daunting list to begin with, but we’ve got through most of them now.

It has had the usual sump drop, clean, new gaskets, oil and filters, its had new braided brake hoses, arms, bushes and mounts sorted, and a rather large list of performance parts fitted:

DO88 Intercooler and pipes
APH Performance downpipe
Jetex stainless dual exhaust
Noobtune Stage 3+ remap
3.5 bar fuel pump
Bilstein B8 suspension
MapTun top brace
18” 6 spoke classic Hirsch alloys
Michelin Pilot Sport 4
Genuine Saab Carbon Fibre dash
Tunstyle Nappa leather steering wheel

The interior was an absolute mess, so I’ve also worked hard to bring that up to scratch again, new leather lined door panels, new 2005 Aero front seats for more support, a genuine Saab Carbon dash, Nappa leather wheel from Tunstyle, new genuine Saab sand carpet mats and all central units replaced with perfect buttons and no missing pixels. It’s getting there, next stop will be the bodyshop for some dent removal, bumpers removed and repainted and the minor rust points at the base of the rear arches again. After that, a huge clean inside, leather feed and pamper to see how it all comes up.

Refining

March 31, 2021 Eleven

Feels like pass the parcel with my 2 Saabs at the moment as they go back and forth to Malcolm Miles to iron out any remaining issues. I swapped them over again this morning and now have the 9-3 back for a few days, it's had it's Stage 3 remap done by Karl at Noob Tune, a bottom ball joint replaced, Hirsch pedal set fitted and throttle body removed and cleaned to stop to over revving issue.

But the most rewarding change of all comes in the form of the new flat bottomed Nappa leather steering wheel crafted by TunStyle, having had a number of genuine Hirsch wheels in the past, this is as close as you can get to a new one in 2021. Beautifully sculptured with amazing materials and craftsmanship, it truly makes the car feel like new. Out of interest, I dug around in my Saab vs. archives for an image of my original Hirsch 9-3 to compare the two wheels, even after studying them both, I honestly can’t see any discernible difference; great work TunStyle.

Next week the 9-3 will be heading in for its body refresh, which will be the final stage of bringing this beautifully iconic convertible back to fine fettle again.

9-3 Hirsch Edition. Phase I

March 8, 2021 Eleven

It’s always a combination of excitement and Intrepidation when a new Saab Aero project arrives, especially as I often go with my gut instinct now rather than being able to see the cars in the flesh. This latest 9-3 Aero convertible comes with an amazing service history and is also a local car to me, looked after by Bond Street Saab for most of it’s life, and from the moment I noticed it had a set of rare 19” Hirsch alloys, I knew it would make another exciting Aeroriginal Saab, and my instinct wasn’t wrong luckily.

Not only did it have the Hirsch wheels, but came with Hirsch springs, Hirsch single exhaust system and diffuser, 345mm brake upgrade and Hirsch 240 remap, however, it’s covered just over 150,000 miles, not too much for a Saab, but after driving it for a few weeks, the list of ‘to do’s’ began to grow if I wanted this to be as special as it can be. The clutch was slipping and has now been replaced with a new one together with flywheel and slave cylinder, the leaking radiator has been replaced with a brand new one, air con all fixed and working again and although the Hirsch exhaust was great, it’s condition wasn’t amazing, so we’ve taken the opportunity to replace the entire system with an APH handmade downpipe and a full stainless dual system from Jetex to give the rear a more purposeful look.

The suspension was also in a bit of a mess, rattling, lumpy and awkward, so that’s also received a full refresh, upgraded Sachs Sport Shock together with a new set of lowered Hirsch springs, new arms, top mounts and bushes make it feel totally sorted again and most importantly, no rattles. The Hirsch rims have had a full refurb in a slightly darker metallic grey and treated to a new set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres, it’s had a full service; oil, filters, brakes removed and cleaned, and it’ll be having a new remap by Noob shortly.

Whilst it’s always great to feel the difference of on the mechanical work, the visual enhancements always excite more, and I’ve been going about collecting parts that will really make this look exceptional, the entire front end has had a refresh with the 4 piece Hirsch grille set complete with new genuine Saab satin chrome surrounds, the rear diffuser will now be from the rare Turbo X and it’ll be off for some bodywork shortly, bumpers repainted, dents removed and a tiny area of rust cleaned up and repainted, it’ll get a full machine polish and them the roof treated to a deep clean and reseal.

The interior is also being treated to a host of goodies; a genuine Hirsch Carbon dash has been fitted, another Nappa leather flat bottomed steering wheel is on it’s way from TunStyle, new Hirsch leather door and centre handles, and a set of Hirsch aluminium pedals to finish it all off beautifully.

As the sun begins to warm and the days of roof down road trips are in the air, I can’t help but admire the shear timeless beauty of the Saab convertibles, throughout each generation they have perfected their design language, and this model features some truly genius touches, the beautifully curved covers for the roll bars for instance, the lines flow into the cover like the old speedsters, the gloss body coloured mappings that flow along the entire edge of the car, and the seamless flow of form into the large bumpers and wonderfully proportioned front and rear lights,

Nip & Tuck

February 9, 2021 Eleven

As with every Saab Aero I try and refresh, I tend to have to look at the bodywork carefully and see what needs doing without taking away from its journey, its life story, what marks and small chips to leave, and what to remove, it’s a fine balance.

The 9-5 Aero Hirsch, had small amounts of rust appearing at the top of each rear wheel arch, and this is a must for me, it always needs addressing before it takes hold, and the bumpers, usually marked at this age, so both have been removed, sanded down, and given a full respray together with the removal of various dents on the bodywork.

I’d also studied the front bumpers on this generation 9-5, and there is no recognisable difference between the Aeros and other models, whereas older models always had a slight variation. The lower grille looks odd to me, the 3 grooves that really didn’t give it the purposeful look it deserves, so we’ve removed the bars and created a single larger central grille with closely matching mesh which has given it a totally different look, a slightly more aggressive feel.

I’ve had a genuine set of Saab satin finish headlight surrounds fitted to replace the slightly overwhelming bright chrome ones and this has made a huge difference also, it’s a small touch but one that really does add a more refined touch to the 9-5’s front elevation.

And to finish, it’s had a full clay bar and machine polish to make to entire car look exceptional again. It’s amazing what difference these small details make and I really appreciate to work involved to turn a good car in to a really special one, if any Saab deserved it, it’s this beautifully Hirsch specified Aero.

Simple Pleasures Part II

February 1, 2021 Eleven

After the amazing quality and craftsmanship shown on the last Hirsch wheel refurbishment by Perfection Alloys, the rarer 19" alloys were removed from the convertible and given the same treatment.

I'd been debating whether tho have the same bright silver as original, or whether to go slightly darker again as the last set. We've gone darker, closer to a metallic grey than silver and it was a great decision, they look fantastic.

They're off to have new Michelin Pilot Sport 4 235/35/19 tyres all round and new Saab Griffin centre caps to make them pretty much like new again.

Simple Pleasures

January 20, 2021 Eleven

As I work through the many and varied jobs on the 3 Aero rescues, there are rewards and simple pleasures to be enjoyed throughout the journey. The iconic six spoke Hirsch alloys needed some attention, and although not terrible, looked tired and pitted, so having stripped off all 4 worn tyres, they've now had a bare metal refurbishment and refinished in a slightly darker metallic grey than the original bright silver.

A few years ago, I also found someone who had cleverly remade the tiny Hirsch Performance rim stickers and i've also purchased a set of genuine Saab hub centres, i've chosen the rebrand black centres as they'll suit the black Aero perfectly. Finally the rims have been fitted with a new set of 235/40/18 Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres finishing off the refurbishment perfectly.

Simple pleasures that make such a big difference.

Hej Snygging

January 6, 2021 Eleven

'Hello Beautiful' just about sums up my feeling for the new Swedish addition, given that in 2008 the 9-3 platform was a number of years old, Saab did an absolutely exquisite design job of crafting one of the most beautiful and recognisable modern convertibles out there.

The front exudes Scandinavian simplicity and elegance whilst the rear and side profiles couldn't be anything but Saab. The headlight design is one of the finest I've seen with the simple eyebrow strip making it just so recognisable.

This one scapes itself in to the High Mile Club with 150,000 miles, although sitting in the sublime comfort of the premium leather seats, you wouldn't know it. It has some war wounds from its 13 year journey, but all easily repairable; the search has already begun for a whole host of interior upgrades to really finish it off like it deserves and a few more Hirsch parts found for the exterior too.

What really caught my eye was the super rare 19" Hirsch alloys, they're in poor condition, but again, they'll be fully refurbished and treated to a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4's very soon. It also has the full Hirsch suspension, 345mm brake upgrade, full performance exhaust and remap, making it another very desirable Saab to add to the collection.

Having been delivered late last night, I've only managed 50 miles in it, but absolutely taken by how little scuttle shake and wind noise this has compared to my previous Gen I convertibles, it genuinely feels far more planted but also a little less raw. The clutch feels very high, but again can easily be replaced with an uprated one before any further tuning begins if required.

All in all, a seriously great find, and one I'm very excited about working on alongside the current 9-5 Aero projects.

Variety

January 4, 2021 Eleven

…is the spice of life. Last week I borrowed the gorgeous Japan Racing JR18 rims from the Green Over Tan project, the Hirsch rims have been taken off for a full refurb and a new set of tyres fitted, so these were just meant to be temporary, problem is, I love the look of this Saab with these on.

I recently used the very same alloys on the ‘Café Racer Saab Aero, Matt Bronze and just the right size, they feel very much OE but manage to update the overall look and stance, I liked them so much I purchased another set, but now I have a genuine deliberation, keep these on the Hirsch 9-5 or keep the original Hirsch ones?

Both have merits, although I have a feeling this particular Saab should be kept original, the car features many other Hirsch performance parts so is a rare beast, so by removing the alloys, I think it would be changing the overall appeal of the car. I really am loving the look though, they’ll be exceptional on the green 9-5 Aero.

Hirsch Interior Design

December 23, 2020 Eleven

Well, this has been a rather slower process than I’d thought, but yesterday, I finally had all the individual parts fitted to the 9-5 Hirsch interior. I’d sourced a new Saab leather gear knob and gaiter, the dashboard has been wrapped in a 3D carbon and taking pride of place; the Hirsch style Nappa leather steering wheel beautifully handcrafted by the folks at Tunstyle again.

I’d not loved the fake metal dash and steering wheel insets on this generation 9-5 Aero and always felt they lacked the quality and level of detail older 9-5’s had, but with these changes, the interior now starts feeling a little more special, I’ve also found some black steering wheel controls which work a treat, overall, the whole look just feels more premium. There’s more work required on the interior yet, but this is a great start and I’m hugely happy with how it’s turned out.

The 900 Classic Icon

December 23, 2020 Eleven

The Hirsch 9-5 Aero went in the Malcolm Miles yesterday to be put back together, and I’d had my eye on a beautifully straight classic 900i convertible the had been at the garage for the past few months and they very kindly gave it to me as the loan car for the day.

Purchased from ACE Saab in Kensington back in 1990 and registered by its first owner in Piccadilly, Mayfair and its only had 3 further owners during its 30 year life.

Having owned a number of these in the past, it was easy to see how straight this one is, the underneath is totally rust free, an absolutely solid floor pan and sills, this is extremely rare, but apparently this convertible was taken to live in Portugal around 1997 and stayed there in the sun for nearly 20 years which could explain its solidness.

Although it’s far from perfect and has its usual foibles, its easy to see that it could be a gorgeous classic, having covered only 104,000 miles it drives smoothly; smoke free and pulls beautifully for a non Turbo model. It’ll be having plenty of tic shortly, full service, an new exhaust, new discs and pads, fresh cluster bulbs and a damn good clean.

With rare Winter blue skies above, I popped the roof down for an hour and enjoyed a truly fantastic country drive, the tan leather has aged beautifully, the mohair hood has been replaced and it has an exceptionally rare Tonneau cover to keep the hood safely tucked away, it was a real pleasure.

It has some surface body rust that’ll easily fixed, and the interior needs some love to get back to immaculate, but all I could think it that this will make someone a very useable and unusually solid classic Saab 900 convertible. It’ll be far sale in the new year, and can’t help thinking it’ll make excellent value at circa £5000, maybe the perfect project for someone looking for a bit of classic driving in the Summer.

If anyone’s interested, mail me and I’ll pass on the details of the seller.

Details Matter

December 18, 2020 Eleven

It's been a few weeks since i've done an update on the current Aero builds, sadly, due to a lack of B12 Pro-Kits coming out of Bilstein currently, we've had to put the Green Aero on hold until we have all the parts ready to progress, we've been told January, so fingers crossed for that one.

I've been slowly making progress on the Hirsch 9-5; after all of the mechanicals were sorted back in October, the car has been driving absolutely beautifully, we've got to make a few adjustments on the new gear linkage, as 5th is hard to select and the Hirsch alloys will be coming off and going for a full refurbish together with a new set of rubber and balancing.

The main focus has been sorting the worn interior out, an exceptional flat base Nappa leather steering wheel has arrived from the folks at TunStyle, and as always, I truly feel to quality and craftsmanship is better than the genuine Hirsch ones I used to have, it really is a thing of beauty. I've got a new genuine Saab leather gear knob, gear gaiter and handbrake gaiter to fit, a new dashboard has been carefully wrapped in 3D carbon and the ugly Parrot system and wires will all be removed. The door card decorative strips have also had the carbon wrap and will be reinstalled next week together with a set of gorgeous MapTun carpets.

I'm still a little undecided about the seats, as usual, the dark fabric inserts are crumbling whilst the leather parts have worn beautifully, the cutting corners with materials really does show in these later 9-5s and just don't hold up as well as the earlier 'Saab' models, I might go with my heart and recover the entire seat set in a better quality Bridge of Weir leather, but always concerned that the value of these Saabs just don’t warrant that level of spend sadly.

As always, I'm truly inspired by the people out there that continue to work hard to craft parts to keep our Saabs looking sharp, in reality, it is getting harder to rescue them, the lack of Bilstein suspension kits has really hit me this time - will this continue to be the case, will Brexit make is far harder for the UK to get parts from the global community? will we slowly run out of Saabs worth rescuing? For now though, I have 2 beautiful Aeros that deserve to be pampered.

Hirsch Edition 9-5

December 3, 2020 Eleven

It’s been a few months since I collected the Hirsch 9-5 and I have to say, I love this thing, yes, even the ‘Dame Edna’ front lights. I reserve judgement on whether I’ll be keeping the full chrome look, but going from not liking it at all to really liking it has surprised even me.

We’ve concentrated on the mechanical side first and foremost, the sump has been dropped and cleaned, with fresh oil, filters and plugs, it’s had a new Saab DI pack and we’ve also replaced the gear linkage as it had become a little sloppy, the DI pack has cleared up the slight hiccup it had on full throttle and it runs ridiculously well again.

I’m always surprised at just how exceptional these hugely rare Hirsch editions are, they made such a difference to both performance and handling and really did create a wonderfully rounded executive saloon. The power is smoothly delivered throughout the gear changes and being a manual allows you to use ever drop of of the 300+ hp on tap, what’s more, because it has the upgraded Hirsch intercooler, the power remain consistent no matter what the weather’s like outside.

The Hirsch 18” wheels will be going in for a full refurbish and new Michelin tyres all round and then it’s on to the interior. all door cars have been removed and are currently having a refresh of the poor quality decretive strips, together with a new genuine Saab leather gearknob, new handbrake, gear gaiter and Nappa leather Hirsch steering wheel.

Finally it’ll go in for some minor bodywork including the rear arches, rear bumper and possible de chroming but that’s still to be decided. In the meantime, I’m thoroughly loving this Saab, it’l be a difficult choice whether to sell the Gen 1 Green over Tan 9-5 or this one.

Holy Grail

October 26, 2020 Eleven

Over the past 20+ years, there's only been a couple of Saabs I've genuinely regretted selling, I love them all of course, but some are just slightly more special than the rest. My old Gen II Hirsch Aero for instance.

As i'm already neck deep in the rescue of the green Gen I Aero, I wasn't specifically looking for another just yet, but once you begin, even for a moment, it's bloody hard to stop. I'd spotted a rather nice black Aero saloon on Ebay and not only was it a rarer manual, but it had a very generous list of Hirsch performance parts from new, and as any true Saabist will know, that's kind of the Holy Grail.

It comes with the iconic 18" 6 spoke alloys, the downpipe and stainless steel duel exhaust, intercooler, induction kit, fuel regulator, 345mm brakes and lowered suspension. But, it did have a personal downside; it was a Gen III, the rather less popular final update of the original 9-5 Aero, the one with the odd light surrounds and less stylish bumpers.

Having said that, I've already begun to like it's irregular beauty, yes I'll be doing some visual modifications, but I do like the twin round headlights and the large single centre grille, I also like the rear lights and bumper with the Hirsch diffuser and twin exhaust, and the Aero boot spoiler just finishes it all off nicely.

It needs some tlc; the usual sump drop, oil change, DI pack, plugs etc will be done, together with a bespoke remap to make the most of the Hirsch goodies. It needs some bodywork doing and some interior changes, but it really is a very special Saab, this might just be the keeper.