The Snow Hunter

November 18, 2024 Eleven

Our global Saab community has endless factions, we’re blessed to have so many of us who adore these cars and take the time to not only rescue, repair, modify, drive and enjoy them, but also talk about them together too.

I recently joined yet another Facebook group; Saabs Modified Worldwide, and instantly found a current project that just made me smile. John Michael over in Minnesota is creating a Saab that is built for one purpose and one purpose only, fun.

In his words, this is the Snow Camouflage Deer Hunter Edition, he’s set about massaging the bodywork to accommodate massive 20 x 11.5” wheels together with 31” RBP tyres, it’s had a 3.5” lift, and all 4 corners will have bespoke fabricated arches to complete the conversion. In readiness for the Minnesota Winter season with ample snow, John has also wrapped the entire car in Snow camouflage, removed all standard front lights and added powerful light bars across the entire front of the car.

Originally a standard 2001 9-5 with 140,000 miles and manual gearbox, this car has been given a new lease of life, one that perfectly captures the spirit and fun of Saab. I can’t wait to feature this one finished and see it’s first outing in the snow.

Saabs Modified Worldwide | Members Only Group

Nocturnal Instincts

May 15, 2024 Eleven

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

March 19, 2024 Eleven

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

March 5, 2024 Eleven

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

February 19, 2024 Eleven

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.

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?

Saab Life

January 22, 2024 Eleven

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.

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.

Saabs from the edge

May 4, 2023 Eleven

From Baja 1000 and Gambler 500 to the Monte Carlo Rally where Eric Carlsson famously won the Championship in his Saab 96 back in 1962, we’ve all seen Saab’s prowess off-road. These are Saabs that have been thoughtfully modified to adapt to a new purpose; to take their owners and drivers off the beaten track.

Over the years, I’ve amassed quite a collection of photos of weird and wonderful Saabs that have been highly modified; lifted suspension, upgraded chassis, oversized, off-road tyres, massaged and sliced bodywork, huge spotlights and many, many decals. I thought it was about time a share a few of them here.

From the original, modified 96 to new 9-3 and 9-5 and everything in-between, some mild and some extreme, but all wonderfully unique. I’m afraid I don’t have stories or even credits for most of them, but as ever, if you know of them or can even share a story, I’d love to hear about it.

Swiss Precision

January 18, 2023 Eleven

I’ve always had a huge love of the Saab 9-5 SportCombi, and my fascination for ones modified by Hirsch is well documented, but to me, there is one fabled edition that far surpasses any other; the 9-5 TQT.

From my many research missions, I’ve only ever really found a handful of information about this special edition Saab, and it seems to precede Hirsch altogether, almost the forefather of our esteemed Hirsch Saabs shall we say.

TQT stands for Titanium Quality & Technology and was crafted by a Swiss tuning company; Titan AG in Zurich. There appear to be only 7 of these spectacular Saabs ever created, but the specification is a thing of beauty, with upgraded Turbo, intercooler and induction pipes, modified exhaust, Brembo brakes, sport suspension and, according to legend ‘a very aggressive’ Sportec remap offering 340ps and 560Nm.

Visually, the TQT came with 18” cross spoke ACE wheels in a satin titanium finish a blacked out front grille and modified front and rear bumper, whilst the inside remained relatively untouched, the headliner and seats did receive a generous helping of dark grey Alcantara.

I took the TQT as a basis for the inspiration behind the Café Racer SportCombi I saved back in 2020, it remains one of my favourite builds, despite causing endless hurdles along the way.

Stormy Swede

February 18, 2021 Eleven

I seem to be getting some amazing Saab stories to share lately which makes me really happy, it can be a lonely place maintaining a blog, so hearing about other folks Saab stories is truly inspiring. Like this gorgeous 2005 Aero in Cappuccino Black for instance, because as much as I love a 9-3, when a properly sorted 9-5 Aero comes along, I get a bit excited and want to share the love.

Featuring a truly stunning and rather unique interior of Sand leather with heated and vented seats, dark walnut dash, wood and leather steering wheel and sat nav, it's a factory spec that I love to see, especially in this condition.

What's more, its owner Steve, who also has a 2001 Griffin 3.0 V6, set about making it closer to his dream Troll R with plenty of mods. These include a new OE Turbo to accept a King Cobra pipe, DO88 intercooler, hoses and delivery pipes, Ferrita 3" downpipe, 200CEL race cat. Maptun cat back exhaust system, custom airbox, Bilstein B12 pro kit and to top it all off, a Stage 3+ remap by BSR SE.

There's still work to do, the Aero is currently running EBC Red Stuff pads and standard discs, but Steve wants to take that up to the D2 330mm kit to give it a bit of extra stopping power, he's also looking to modify the front lower grille with a mesh insert to match his rare Hirsch 3 piece grille, but overall, this is one very sorted Saab and a real credit to it's owner, thanks for sharing Steve, always appreciated.