Perfect Imperfection

I’ve always been a great believer in imperfection, I love these Saabs to be able to share their journeys, both good and bad, with imperfection, there’s a beauty that helps tell a story. The Graphite Green Aero is a great example, I could chase the ‘factory fresh’ route, but here’s the thing, it would lose its soul.

How did this exceptionally beautiful Saab end up at a breakers yard, no history, no V5C? How was it so nicely maintained and yet had a reoccurring oil light issue? Who added carbon fibre to the B pillars and front lower spoiler? I might not be able to answer these questions, but through its imperfections, I’m able to create a story in my mind, and to me, that’s priceless.

I don't confess to know everything about these cars, or be a mechanical genius, but with the help of a few fantastic people, I take huge pleasure in rescuing and restoring these amazing Saabs back to usable, everyday cars. To be driven and adored, not locked away for show days and weekends, yes, they might have a few marks here and there, but that’s what makes each and every one special.

Life is about the journey and the experiences along the way, these Saabs make wonderful companions and form endless memories, it’s time to embrace these imperfections.

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Weekend Aero Workshop

A couple of jobs on the Graphite Green Aero had been outstanding for a while now, an irritating whine we’d narrowed down to either alternator, or power steering pump, as sod’s law always wins, we changed the alternator for a new one, and it wasn’t that, the whine continued. This weekend, it was finally fixed, a new pump fitted and we’re back to the quiet, smooth running I always associate with the Saab 9-5 Aero engine.

Annoyingly, the beautiful dark Walnut dashboard had started to delaminate and crack, so a perfect replacement was found and that has also been fitted. Over the years, I think I’ve possibly had virtually every facia option Saab offered, some more unusual, the light walnut with a gorgeous satin finish, the almost black Ash, and both the Saab and Hirsch Carbon options, but I still find the dark Walnut endearing. This Aero was also specified with the optional matching Dark Walnut Gloss gear selector, which really does finish the console off perfectly.

Another job for the weekend was to transplant the original Hirsch steering wheel from the Nocturne Blue Aero over to the Green Aero. As I’m not entirely sure what will happen to the Nocturne one, I wanted to keep the wheel as it’s a gorgeous shape, and feels so much more substantial than the standard wheel.

Last but not least, the Green Aero had a slight stutter under full acceleration, it hesitated and didn’t put its full power down, so we’ve changed over the brand new, genuine DI pack and also correct Aero spark plugs and it’s stopped the stutter completely, passing the issue to the donor Nocturne Aero, so yet another DI and plug set has arrived this morning from Neo Brothers.

After such a long time to get this car back on track, it’s such a joy to own and drive, although it’s featured for sale on Aeroriginal, I’m not entirely sure I can let this one go now.

Just a few more miles

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For the past month, I’ve been putting the Graphite Green Aero through its paces, over 1000 miles covered, and what an absolute pleasure it’s been. I’ve taken it up to the beautiful Northumberland coastline, through rush hour traffic in Nottingham, in and out of London, and many, many B road blasts around Leicestershire and Rutland. It’s given me time to not only work out a few of the niggles after the second engine rebuild, but to also get fully aquatinted with the car again.

As much as I love a manual 9-5 Aero, there’s something exceptionally rewarding about the auto in these Saabs, it compliments its luxurious, comforting cruiser mode so perfectly, and when called upon, the torque and acceleration are still smile inducing. Over the years, I’ve learnt to not give the car full throttle, but to tease the power out more steadily, it rewards you with a growing surge of Turbo boost and doesn’t down gear or scream at you. Its smooth changes enhanced by the NoobTune Stage 3 remap, and even on hot days, the power is constant thanks to the upgraded intercooler.

It needed a new alternator as there was a constant whine that got worse over a few hundred miles, so a new one has been fitted, and not directly associated to the car’s drivability, but a new set of boot struts have been added to stop it slamming shut, other than that, the 1000 mile road test hasn’t thrown up any other concerns and more importantly, the reoccurring oil light issue seems to be well and truly fixed.

An obvious fascination with this car for me was the beautiful Graphite Green Metallic paint and Sand leather interior, it’s a combination that is so endearing and really suits the 9-5’s elegant form. The satin anthracite 18” wheels and Michelin tyres have enhanced the overall aesthetic, and the usual Bilstien / Eibach suspension combo has transformed the handling of this car. The wonderfully low 75,000 miles it’s covered over its 21 year life means it also feel really tight still; it gives you a small glimpse in to how it might have felt to pick up a brand new 9-5 Aero back in 2003.

Top Gear recently classed the 9-5 Aero as one of their top Saabs of all time "The first generation 9-5 Aero may have had the greatest driver focused, button filled interior of all time. It also looked fantastic, was hugely reliable and could do 0-62mph in under 7.0 seconds. All the car you would ever need".

I'm not really sure I could put it better myself, these are truly fantastic cars, and have been underrated for far too long, saying that, I'd prefer them to stay under the radar. Is the road testing finished yet? Hmmm, just a few more miles please...

NOS

Three letters that bring a smile to the face of any hardcore Saab fan; NOS or New Old Stock. An absolute joy to discover, especially when it describes an original Saab 9-5 SID unit. Brand new, never fitted with unmarked buttons and perfect pixels.

I know it might not seem much to most people, but small pleasures are sometimes the best ones. As it becomes harder to find certain parts for cars that are 20+ years old, and from a lost manufacturer, it brings me a lot of pleasure to find them. It can be anything from a badge to an owner's manual, a door handle to a head unit, it really doesn't matter, the joy is still the same.

My NOS SID arrived today, and from the beaten up box to the unmarked, original label, it brought a smile to both me and my Saab.

Small pleasures...

More Fettling

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One of the greatest pleasures of saving these amazing Saab Aeros, is the shear joy of getting to drive and enjoy them all. The Graphite Green 9-5 hasn’t been an easy one, and the concerns over the oil light returning after this last bottom end replacement, has been in the back of my mind. So best thing to do was put some miles in and reassure myself if wasn’t going to happen again. After some 500 miles and a lot of joy, I’m feeling exceptionally happy I stuck with this one and we’ve finally got there; no oil light.

As ever though, it’s an iterative process, and there’s always something to take care of, so on Saturday, we had another round of fettling, we fixed a slight hesitation in acceleration, which turned out the be a boost pipe that had come loose and the dump value not fitted quite correctly. We also changed over the worn, sliding arm rest for an almost immaculate one, and secured some loose wiring for the front fog lamps.

There’s also been a slight whine since the rebuild, and we’ve narrowed it down to a noisy alternator. Hopefully this can be exchanged soon and the Saab returned to peek driving condition. Once again, I can’t help but respect the 9-5 Aero, it’s super smooth, powerful and calming on longer journeys, but press on, and it turns in to a smile inducing sport saloon that handles beautifully with it’s modified suspension, upgraded brakes and new Michelin Pilot Sport 4 rubber. It’s hard to believe it’s over 20 years old really, the quality shines through and feels every bit as special as modern executive cars; just better looking of course.

Against all Odds

Back in January last year, I spotted this spectacular Saab 9-5 Aero at a dismantlers, it was being sold as a spares car, after a few conversations, it seemed like this had been a much loved Saab, but for some reason, had ended up here; no log book, no manuals etc, just a rather down on it’s luck Saab, low milage at 72,000 and only 3 previous owners.

Not one to be put off by lost bits of paperwork, and being in my favourite colour combination of green over tan, I couldn’t let this one go. I bought it, had it transported directly to my Saab specialist, and let the process begin.

Early positive news, the car was in remarkably good condition, yes, it was filthy inside, yes, it had vegetation growing out of its joints, and yes, a forklift had crushed the side skirts enough to need replacing, but overall, remarkably rust free. The bad news, it seemed to have the oil light on at low tickover after warming up, we changed the oil pump, cleaned the oil pickup and sump etc, gave it a thorough recommission and service, and the oil light vanished, for about 200 miles.

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Now the fun started, it not only come back on, but very quickly turned in to the unnerving clattering and tapping soundtrack we all dread, I limped it back in to the garage and left it for a full diagnosis; new engine needed. With a stroke of luck, a donor Aero was offered to me with a decent engine and plenty of nice upgrades, I took the opportunity to buy a load of the elements I like to add to each project, and also had a replacement bottom end.

The work was carried out and it drove absolutely beautifully for a few weeks, so the bodywork repairs were commissioned; new side skirts replaced, rear lower arches cut out, welded and leaded, front bumper, passenger wing and Abbott Racing boot lip all sanded down and repainted, the Saab was starting to resemble the car I imagined it could be, the gorgeous ALU 56 alloys had been refurbished in satin anthracite with new Michelin PS4 rubber and now adorned the car, then, after just a few weeks, the dreaded oil light began to reappear.

The core issue hadn’t been fully identified, and to be honest, we still don’t know exactly what caused it, but we had to repeat the process again; a full Aero engine was sourced, and rebuilt, a another new MOT gained, and it’s back on the road once again. After the first few days, early signs are positive, but to be 100% I want to do a few serous road trips and really enjoy the car for a moment. It’s been a hard rescue, but from dismantlers to today, this Saab Aero deserved to be saved. Cleaned up and with its numerous enhancements, this is a Saab that had obviously been adored in the past and deserved to be again. Finger’s crossed we’ve beat the odds on this one, and a beautiful, rare specified Aero will enjoy many more years of life now.

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What it cost

Graphite green Aero £1300
18” ALU56 alloys £340
4 x Michelin Pilot Sport 4 £411
Full wheel refurbishment / satin anthracite £450
Donor car £1250:
Engine
Bilstien shocks
Eibach springs
Polybushed subframe
Upgraded Intercooler
Upgraded brakes
JT 3” exhaust £500
Welding, bodywork and paint £1500
2nd Aero engine £750
Mechanical inc. ancillary parts, oil, filters etc £2000
NoobTune Stage 3 £90
Genuine Saab badges £100

Approximately £8691

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A Different Kind of Luxury

The Graphite Green Aero has been somewhat of a nemesis over the past year for me, all originating from an oil light that kept haunting me on tickover; two bottom end engine changes, and finger’s crossed, I think we might have finally sorted it.

Malcolm Miles, have somehow kept their cool, sourced another Aero block and brought it all together again, there are a few small snagging issues to sort; a whinny belt and a slight hesitation on full acceleration, but it’s back to being as nice to drive as I remember.

Having just had surgery, I have to suffer two whole weeks without driving, but today, I felt well enough to do some much needed work on the interior, lots of dirt and a general build up of grime left it feeling a little sorry for itself, sticky console buttons, film over all of the windows, disintegrating mats and the odd missing fitting here and there. Taking my time, I cleaned the dashboard, seats and door cards with soapy water to get the worst off, then moved on to Autoglym interior foam and a brush to give them all a thorough clean.

It’s not perfect, but after putting in a high quality set of new carpet mats and a final hoover, it’s starting to look how it deserves to look. Not to everyone’s taste, but the cream leather, carpet and headlining give the interior a beautifully calming and airy feel, whilst the dark wood dashboard and extended wood gear knob just add to the overall sense of luxury. The clear orange and green lights are a welcome relief from the harsh, bright instrumentation of many newer cars and overall, the Saab offers a rare, relaxed space in which to enjoy endless journeys; the Graphite Green Aero is finally coming together.

Nocturnal Instincts

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It’s be a bit of a slog getting the Nocturne Blue Aero back up to scratch, but with the help of a few, very clever Saab friends, the 9-5 passed it’s MOT last weekend and feels like it’s well on the way to a full recovery. When I bought it from Peter Raw, it was purchased as a spares car, great engine, rebuilt Turbo, and fast, bloody fast, but it wasn’t a car I planned to rescue.

We got it up on the ramp, and besides visible neglect for many years, it was a solid car, no gaping holes or disintegrating sub frames, just serviceable parts that hadn’t been serviced; brakes with so much wear they’d stopped stopping, lowering springs that had literally fallen apart, cracked DI pack, incorrect plugs, split gaiters and hoses, and numerous parts that hadn’t seen a spanner or fresh oil for way too long.

We set about working nights and weekends to fix a long list of issues, many that are usually overlooked on regular servicing, but now all done. We’d spent a few weekends on it, when a curveball hit us, it lost 5th gear, again, possibly due to many years of driving at sub optimal conditions, boosting hard in 5th gear, too much torque, and it just disintegrated. Luckily, another absolute Saab genius offered to fix the broken gear and all is well again.

The list is long, and never cheap, but decided the Saab was way too good to use as a donor car:

Neo Front 314mm Big Brake Upgrade kit
Genuine Saab Rear Vented Brake Discs and pads
New Eibach lowering springs
Steering Rack gaiters
Fuel filter
Rear rose bush
Genuine DI pack
Correct Aero spark plugs
Front low and main beam bulb upgrades
Auxiliary belt and idler pulley
Full service, oil, filters, brake fluid

It’s one of these cars that looks great from a distance, but get close and you’ll see it’s had a hard life, the interior has cleaned up amazingly well, but the bodywork isn’t fantastic, some areas of surface corrosion, including a few holes in the usual places, faded panels, and a few dents here and there, but here’s the thing, now it’s mechanically sorted, I kind of love the idea of it not being perfect, it’s a sleeper, an utterly sorted and genuinely exciting Saab to drive around in. With 340+ hp on tap, a manual gearbox and super limited slip diff, it’s an absolute smile inducing machine, and because it’s not perfect, I’m not precious about it, it wants and needs to be driven.

236,000 Mile Interior

Despite not being the most urgent job on the long to-do list for the Nocturne Blue Aero, I couldn’t resist spending a few hours giving the interior a bit of a clean and a few treats.

First off, replace the terrible blue / white LED interior bulbs for the factory standard, warm white ones, then replace the broken gear gaiter for a genuine leather Saab one, finally replace the missing lighters for completeness and then on to the cleaning.

The Hirsch steering wheel had such a build up of dirt, that parts of the perforated leather sections were actually hidden, I wrapped it in damp clothes for a few hours, and then used a leather cleaner and a soft brush to scrub off the grime, finally, I gave it two applications of leather feed. 

Because it had been smoked in, it had a stale smell and a build up of surface dirt, I’ve used an Autoglym interior foam cleaner, an old nail brush and a bunch of micro cloths to get the worst off, and then applied the different surfaces with suitable Autoglym treatments, including moisturising the leather. The roof lining needs a good clean still, and I need to source a new set of A pillar covers, as they have cigarette burns in them.

I removed the worn out rubber mats and have ordered new dark grey carpet replacements, sadly not genuine Saab ones as I can’t find them any more, but decent quality ones that should fit nicely and are made to order.

My overriding thought, is just how well these Saab interiors clean up, I’ve owned and cleaned many marques, and Saabs are genuinely some of ones that stand the test of time. This Aero has covered 236,000 miles, has visibly been roughly treated, not cleaned often enough and yet, with some hard work, comes up beautifully.

I have a spare driver’s seat I’ll use to replace the current one, as it has a serious squeak, but decides that, the interior still feels solid, rattle free and beautifully put together, it has once again been returned to the state it deserves.

More than the sum of its parts

The decision has been made (for now) to work on the Nocturne Blue Aero and see if we can get it fighting fit again. As many of you will know, this was bought as a donor car to save the beautiful Graphite Green Aero, but needless to say, it has won me over and I can’t bring myself to break it for parts. After an initial inspection, it needs plenty of maintenance items; genuine DI pack, starter motor, spark plugs, oil trap hose assembly, discs and pads, tyres, handbrake return springs, a good service and stopping the power steering fluid leak.

However, amongst its long list of modifications and equipment, it came with a number of Hirsch parts, one being a Hirsch front grille, sadly though, the two side kidney grilles were missing. After a catch up with a Saab friend in the US, he happened to have a pair of them spare, a few weeks later, the entire 3 piece grille has now been reunited. It’s a small detail, but one that fills me with joy, apart from the kindness of the person who helped me out, it provides a positive step forward to bringing this Saab 9-5 back up to the level it deserves. In the next few weeks, I’m hoping to get the headlights de-misted, the maintenance work done, and maybe even repair the heater and uneven dual exhaust pipes.

Although I’ve been used to modified 9-5 Aeros in the past, most have been running around 300hp, this one however, is 350+hp. It really is a weapon to drive, especially on quiet country roads where it’s refined handling really proves its worth, the limited slip differential also transforms the traction and gets the power down rapidly and confidently.

I wasn’t entirely sure about the 18” Team Dynamics wheels, but again, they’ve grown on me and suit the car’s aesthetics perfectly, in fact, once some of the more urgent work is done, I’ll be refinishing them and treating them to some decent new types; I’m not convinced the Landsail rubber is up to coping with the amount of power, although so far, I’ve been surprisingly impressed with their performance. Now all I have to do, is find yet another engine and gearbox for the Green Aero.

Saab dilemmas

I currently have yet another Saab dilemma playing off in my subconscious mind; to break or not to break?

I purchased this 9-5 Aero from Peter Raw a few months back with the intention to use its considerable list of parts to finally rescue my Graphite Green Aero, which is basically a gorgeous body with a knackered engine.

Such is the draw of the 9-5 Aero to me, that I’m now struggling to let this one go. The bodywork is tatty, it needs some rust taken care of, holes in the bonnet, dents on the front wing and boot, and numerous other areas of aesthetic attention. However, despite it’s 200,000 plus miles, mechanically, it’s been lavished with attention, the engine completely rebuilt a few years back; forged, Wossner pistons, massive turbo, intercooler, Noobtune 260 map etc, together with a manual gearbox fitted with a limited slip diff, upgraded clutch and endless modifications, all making it a pretty riotous Saab.

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The interior is also tatty, it smells of stale smoke and has plenty of burn holes in the A pillar covers, the Hirsch steering wheel and pedals will need some love, but it feels as though it could be turned around still. The huge, 4 pot Maptun brakes desperately need new discs and pads, and there’s no heating either.

And yet with all that in mind, I can still see this as a usable and exciting Aero, the Nocturne Blue Metallic is a colour I’ve rarely seen before, and the overall look and stance of the car is pleasing. The dual stainless exhaust system, Racing Dynamics 18” wheels, rear bridge spoiler and Hirsch front grille all give the car a rather strong allure. Does the search continue for an engine and gearbox for the Graphite Green Aero, or do I push on with my original plans to use this one?

9000 Carlsson

From the moment you sit inside the Saab 9000 Carlsson
with its unique upholstery of suede and leather,
it is immediately apparent that this Saab is truly something special.

Excerpt from the 1991 Carlsson range brochure.

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A Saab acquaintance urgently needed another car, and ideally he wanted a Saab 9000, so the decision was made to let my Aero go, as part of the exchange, I've now become the custodian of a non-running 9000 Carlsson.

Whereas the Aero needed a minor amount of work, I have a feeling this needs more major work; it has corrosion that needs urgently addressing, the ABS system has failed and is currently un-drivable and there's no key, so the lock mechanism needs changing before I can even move it. My immediate thought was to break it for parts, but my ardent nature has got the better of me, and wants to attempt to save it.

Let's see where this one guides us...

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Saab Life

It’s been a busy few weeks as far as Saabs are concerned, coming and goings, parts arriving and respected folks finally met.

As anyone having kept up with my various Saabs will now, I have a gorgeous, Graphite Green 9-5 Aero rescued from the breakers about a year ago, It needed a lot of work to get it back on track, which we did, but then the replacement engine let me down. Last week, I was offered a hugely interesting donor Saab with a highly modified engine and gearbox; maybe the perfect answer to get the Graphite Green Aero finally running. I made a deal to px a lovely, low milage Vector 2.3t for it and also had the pleasure of meeting Peter Raw, who’d offered me the car and kindly drove it down for me.

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Although not running great yet, the engine is indeed a bit special; running around 350hp and with a superb, lsd, manual gearbox, the car also comes with huge MapTun brakes, Bilstien suspension and a hoist of other goodies I can rescue. It would mean converting an Auto to a Manual though, and we’re just weighing up the costs of doing such a conversion. It would, however, give me, my perfect Saab 9-5 Aero.

I’ve also bought a few old Audio units from Peter, old school, high end audio for a Saab 9000, we’re not entirely sure what each one does, but I’ll have a lot of pleasure working with you guys them all out and hopefully, fitting them to the 9000 Aero. I’ve also managed to get hold of a great condition high level brake light and rear light bar for the 9000 too, all details to help give a bit of life to the black Aero.

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Lastly, the beautiful Saab 9-5 Hirsch Sportwagon was collected on Sunday, designed for its new home in Ireland. It’s one of my nicest cars to date, and hopefully, will be enjoyed for many more years now. I have to admit, I was a little sad at letting it go, the rare Hirsch Performance package, classic wheels, heated and vented interior and HK audio upgrade made it a very special Saab, they’re getting difficult to find in normal specification now, let alone a Hirsch wagon.

I’m sure there’s more to share, but felt I needed to scribble down a few whilst I remembered, finger’s crossed for the Graphite Green resurrection, I can’t let it go just yet.

Transparency

Sometimes, leaving that stone unturned, is by far the best option; what you don’t know, can’t hurt as the saying goes, but sometimes, a little transparency allows you to take stock of a situation and ‘sensibly’ decide which road to take next. Over the years, I’ve bought, modified, rescued and enjoyed quite a few Saabs, I roughly keep track of what I spend on each, and when I come to sell them, I try and be as fair as I can with the asking price.

I suppose I’ve always known I overspend on each Saab, and often lose money, but until my recent projects, I’d never been totally honest and added up the spend. I’m annoyed with myself for not doing this exercise before now, but I enjoy the process, the sourcing of parts that make each and every Aeroriginal Saab a bit special.

Six months ago, I purchased the silver 9-5 Aero sport wagon, the idea was to hold on to this one and use it as my everyday Saab, but not one to leave things alone, I set about creating a car as close to a factory modified Hirsch Performance 9-5 as I could, obviously certain parts just aren’t available any longer, but thanks to a number of other Saabists, fantastic alternatives can be easily found.

For complete transparency, I thought I’d reveal the costs involved in getting a Saab to this level. Just to note, this is absolutely not a Concours car, it still has things to do and you’ll find daily wear and signs of its 20 year journey, but it’s a genuinely fantastic Saab and another I’m proud to have helped build.

Is it worth anywhere near the cost of doing it? Financially, the market for these amazing cars would never achieve enough to cover the costs. However, the satisfaction of seeing them honoured like they deserve to be is, in itself, hugely valuable. 

Car £4995
Hirsch Performance Pack £1200
Hirsch Wheels £1200
Refurbishment £480
Tyres £440
Bodywork £2050
Mechanics £1250
Steering wheel £350
Badges, wheel centres, stickers £120
3” downpipe £345
Abbott Springs £312

Total Costs £12,742

Made in Sweden. Powered in Switzerland.

I promised myself, that when I bought this 9-5 Aero Sportwagon back in June, I wouldn't modify it, I'd keep it completely standard and use it as a Saab daily driver. Needless to say, my will power is terrible when it comes to Saabs and almost 6 months later, I've just added the final touch to the transformation; the fully refurbished, Hirsch 18" six spokes alloys.

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The trigger was access to a full Hirsch performance upgrade which included intercooler, exhaust, cobra and ECU, the original mods that took the standard 250hp to a conservative 280hp. However, we all know how addictive Noobtunes maps are, so the ECU was overwritten with one of Karl's 295hp maps together with an upgraded fuel pump and a sport cat downpipe.

Areas of the bodywork didn't come up to scratch, so it's had the front and rear bumpers, bonnet, rear lower arches and 2 doors repainted, the aluminium wing mirror casting refurbished and the wiper arms refreshed.

Aesthetically, the Hirsch boot spoiler and rear bumper diffuser have been added, the suspension upgraded with lowered springs and after a road trip up to Wales, a set of iconic Hirsch 18" six spoke alloys fitted. These have just been fully refurbished by Perfection Alloys and treated to new Saab centre caps, black Hirsch rim stickers and new Goodyear tyres.

Internally, it came with a superb factory specification, with full black heated and vented leather, the AS3 audio upgrade and beautiful dark wood dash, the only addition I’ve made here, is the perfectly crafted, Nappa leather steering wheel by Tunstyle. I’ve even kept the original Saab phone mount accessory, as it just felt period correct for the car.

It is indeed, Made in Sweden, but with the Hirsch Performance pack, it’s not only powered in Switzerland, but give it the style and precision it truly deserves.

Hirsch Perfection

Over the years of owning Saabs, I’ve always loved the opportunity to chose just the right wheels for each project, and without doubt, these are some of my all time favourites. The original Hirsch 18” six spokes are a perfect match for early 9-3 and 9-5 Saabs, they’re designed to enhance the car’s lines and aesthetically, feel as close to perfection as any wheel choice I’ve ever made.

These wheels, as with most Hirsch modifications, have become increasingly difficult to find, there seems to be a better supply in Europe, but here in the UK, very difficult. I asked around a few months ago, and luckily, another Saab owner had a set he’d been keeping for a future project, but with a little persuasion and an enjoyable road trip up to mid Wales, I had them safely stored in the back of the Sportwagon.

At some point in the past, they’d been refurbished, but having sat for a while, they’d picked up some marks and also began to corrode and peel on the inside, they’d also been finished in a darker metallic grey. As I wanted to create a Sportwagon as close to the original silver Hirsch one launched back in the early 2000’s, I decided to have them fully stripped again, realigned and powder coated in a bright metallic Silver.

To finish off, the’ve now got a new set of genuine, Swedish made, Saab wheel centres, a set of new black Hirsch performance rim stickers and freshly wrapped in new Goodyear tyres. They’ll be going back on to the Sportwagon in a the next few days, but I couldn’t resit taking a few photos of the precious cargo in the back of the 9-5.

The team at Perfection have done me proud once again, going above and beyond to help me give another Saab the wheels it truly deserves, their work is quite literally perfection.

Spotlight on RBM Performance

For years, when I’ve begun my search for parts for yet another Aeroriginal build, I often come across RBM Performance. I’ve gone on to order numerous parts, but until recently, knew little about them, the more I looked around their website, the more I found, and one thing’s for sure, they seem to care about supporting the Saab community for the long term.

Launched over 10 years ago by French entrepreneur; Romain Mariani, RBM has become one of Europe’s largest supplier of both new and used parts for not only Saab, but Volvo too. They claim to stock some 60,000 parts and also invest in manufacturing items you won’t find elsewhere. I’m sad to say, they produced some stunning 19” turbine alloy wheels for Saabs, but seem to have stopped selling them now. They’re also in partnership with MapTun Performance and Abbott Racing.

As if, just to prove a point, RBM have owned, built and run a number of exceptional Saabs themselves, one being this rather beautiful 9000 CDE. I know I’m partial to any 9000, but this one is rather special. Not only has it been fully renovated inside and out, but has also been kept close to factory specifications, in fact, it wouldn’t look out of place in the Saab Museum. A few discreet touches have been added to improve the overall exclusivity; a full wood interior, Alcantara roof lining and a rare 3 spoke steering wheel.

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The car seems to be for sale at a very reasonable €10,000 and considering the level of finish, I’d say this is an absolute dream for someone in Europe, sadly, the steering wheel happens to be on the wrong side for me, or I’d be very, very tempted myself. Further details.

Fettling

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Anyone who knows me, will agree that I have strong views on aesthetics, I'll get an idea in my mind and will do everything possible to get it to that stage; homes, graphics, photography and of course, cars. Often, I like to modify them just enough to know something's been changed, but could easily be OE+, on other occasions, I feel a certain look was perfect already.

Hirsch managed to modify the Saab 9-5 Sportwagon in to something close to perfection in my view; a more aggressive stance, but not too low, a unique dual exhaust, iconic wheel design and engine upgrades that somehow enhanced the already impressive 9-5 Aero.

Having been lucky enough to source a full Performance upgrade pack from a friend, I then had to find a set of original 18" wheels and modify the suspension to recreate their masterpiece.

It's been through a few rounds of work, and it has just come back after more fettling, it's had the front bumper fully refurbished and resprayed, it's had a noisy air conditioning condenser replaced and system regass, a handmade 3” downpipe with sport cat, and also the front suspension changed again; we still had some knocking from the driver's side. It’s now running Bilstein B8 shocks and Eibach springs up front.

Overall, it's pretty close to what I wanted to achieve with this one, of course, there's always more to do, details to change and refinements to be made, but I have to keep reminding myself, these are daily drivers, cars to use and enjoy, they're not show cars and probably never will be. They're relatively low value compared to a lot of cars and investment in further fettling becomes pointless.

These Saab Aeros are exceptional value for what you get, increasingly rare, they offer wonderful comfort, enjoyment and individuality, they still feel quick alongside more modern comparisons and give you a wonderful sense of contentment, add the superb Hirsch touches, and it becomes something rather special in an everyday way.

Revival

For as long as I can remember, I've loved the aesthetic stage of my Saab builds, not only the modifications made, but also reviving the exterior and interior. I'm no professional detailer, but like the process of detailing itself; returning things to as close to factory as I can manage. Time takes its toll on materials, and often, things can never be 'as new', but if that's what you aim for, it'll end up better than it was.

The plastic headlights always degrade and become cloudy, yellow and visually unappealing, it'd be easy to just replace them, but again, the revival process is very rewarding. Using a headlight restorer and a few hours, leaves you with lights that look better and also far more effective.

As they're not the upgraded Bi Xenon units, I'll replace the bulbs with brighter ones, but overall, really pleased with how these turned out again, and another step to this Saab looking great again.

New Direction

Last year, I wrote a small piece about the reassuring feeling of driving a ‘shed’; a car that has nothing to prove and the enjoyment gained from a ‘who cares’ mentality.

I’ve recently found another Saab that inspires the same feeling, this time, it’s a wonderful 9-5 Vector 2.3t, it’s got a superbly comfortable, half leather interior, only 75,000 miles, 3 owners and even has a full service history.

Apart from a selection of small marks and grazes, it’s very clean, corrosion is minimal, and with a bit of tinkering, will make a wonderful daily driver.

It belonged to a long standing customer of my Saab garage, it is completely stock and has just cruised through an MOT, I’ve noticed a few areas that need work, the front suspension has had it and needs replacing, the climate SID has missing pixels, and the auto gear blind, true to form, is broken. The gorgeous ALU48 wheels could do with a refurb and a decent set of tyres fitted, along with a new exhaust system, but overall, these are just maintenance items that any 20 year old car needs. 

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These 2.3 Vectors are essentially detuned Aeros, they have the same engine but will require an upgraded turbo to allow for a decent remap, saying that, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at just how well it drives stock, it has a lively surge of power when called upon and seamlessly boosts in to the red, gear change is smooth and progress lively, whilst still providing the legendary comfort and safety we all associate with Saabs.

I’ve quietly offered this Vector for sale ‘as is’ but if it doesn’t find a loving new home, it’ll be one of my next projects and benefit from a host of changes :

Upgraded turbo
Full Abbott exhaust and downpipe
Upgraded Intercooler
Aero suspension
Full Aero interior
Replacement climate and SID units
Front and back Aero bumpers
Aero front brakes and calipers