Mission Complete

September 11, 2020 Eleven

In many ways, the task of a Saab rescuer is a thankless one, we take all the risks associated with renovating a 20 year old car and reap none of the financial rewards associated with more valuable modern classics, and yet we still do it.*

For the past 4 months, we’ve all been working hard to rescue this stunning Hazelnut Metallic Saab 9-5 Aero estate, it has the perfect foundations; low owners, full service history, low miles, yet as with many other Saabs, it hasn’t been pampered like it truly deserves, that has now been rectified.

I call it the Café Racer Edition as not only has it got the exceptionally rare paint, but is complemented by a full Sand leather interior and a light Walnut dash, I’ve now enhanced that with a set of stunning 19” Japan Racing wheels in Matt Bronze.

It hasn’t been an easy task; endless parts replaced, more bodywork than thought, a small fire, but in the end, and with the help of a multitude of exceptional Saab folks, it’s risen from the flames once again and feels fantastic to drive. With only 81,000 Miles, it really is like a new Saab, no rattles, everything feels exceptionally tight and with the performance and handling mods, almost better than original.

It’s hard to describe the feeling I get to have another Saab with an exciting future ahead of it, I’m still not sure why I continue to do it either, it’s expensive, time consuming and without profit, but for me, I love the sense of another Saab saved, given the love it deserves whilst I get to design them how I think they should be.

It’s now ready for the next part of it’s journey, written about, photographed and driven, you’ll find this very special Aero wagon for sale here.

*Words adapted from one of my all time favourite films; Ratatouille, just seems so apt.

Superior Stance

January 8, 2020 Eleven

A while back I came across another site dedicated to Saabs over in Czech Republic, a few years on and I regularly talk to Lukáš who shares the same levels of passion for Saab as I do.

Great to see he’s just refreshed the site and it already features some seriously gorgeous photography, Saab Stance looks set to continue honouring our great cars and is also planning a gathering sometime in 2020. I’ll share the date, time and place as soon as I hear. Amazing work.

saabstance.cz

The Morning After

February 22, 2019 Eleven

The 9-5 has been under the knife for the past few days, the obligatory rust cut out on the rear wheel arch bases, welded and made beautiful again and some surface dents removed from the bonnet.

The front Aero bib had been broken and fixed poorly in the past, which has also been removed, plastic welded and resprayed again too.

And of course the icing on the cake - the rare Saab boot lip spoiler has now been renovated, resprayed and attached. Cosmetically it makes a world of difference to the look and style of the car, it adds a purposeful touch to the rear, discreet but a bit edgy, it really adds the finishing touch to the Saabs exterior.

The folks I use, Leicester Autobody, really are fantastic, they care about perfection and although the Saab was possibly the 'cheapest' car in the workshop, it felt every bit as pampered as the Porsches, Ferrari and wonderfully rare, early Subaru also their for a touch of cosmetic surgery.

The morning after collecting it, I returned to a car park and seeing the Saab felt proud to own such a stunning car, the details have made a huge difference to the overall style and in my eyes, is no a pretty much perfect 9-5.

Phase 1 _ Complete

December 17, 2018 Eleven

It’s been a real whirlwind first few days for the Aero, it’s been in for an intensive health check and emerged in fine fettle, it drives like an absolute dream, ridiculously smooth and the hugely irritating clutch pedal squeak just a distant memory.

I’ll drive it as ‘standard’ for a month or so now, but plans are well underway for Phase 2 early in 2019, the 3” de-cat downpipe is on order from Alan at APH Performance, Karl at Noob Tune is currently working on a Stage 3 ECU and a filter is on it’s way from BSR.

Whilst all of these things are great, it’s always nice to change something visual about the car, so it’s had a set of Bilstein B8 shocks and MapTun springs added together with these amazing 19” Carlsson alloys, to say I love the look and stance is an understatement, I can’t stop staring at it, such an incredible change and suits the 9-5 Aero perfectly. A new set of 225/35/19 tyres are on their way, just to negate the slight rubbing on the wheel arch liners with the existing 235/40/19 tyres, other than that, stance sorted.

Aero Rising

December 14, 2018 Eleven

Just a couple of weeks ago, I became the proud owner of a 2001 Gen1 9-5 Aero, more to the point, it’s the first Gen1 i’ve owned, the other 6+ have been later models. Always loved the Saabness of these, the iconic front grille, the large, clean rear lights, and an interior that always looks and smells just so Saab. After over a year of Saablessness it’s a huge welcome return.

This one’s got some great heritage, originally the demo Aero for Adrian Smith Saab, then under the careful ownership of the Chief Constable of Cumbria until being purchased again by the old Director of Adrian Smith Saab again. Carbon Grey with Rocky Black interior, it’s a timeless combo i’ve always loved, the all important manual gearbox tops the spec to perfection for me.

After driving it for 2-3 days, it went in to the amazing folks at Malcolm Miles for its inaugural thorough health check - sump drop, new oil, filters, new brake pipes, vac pipes, handbrake springs and various other refreshers, but as ever, not content with leaving things standard, we started to undertake my fast growing list of individualism:

Bilstien B8 suspension
MapTun Springs
Poly bushes
Noob Tune Stage 3

What next? An APH Performance downpipe coupled to a full BSR stainless steel system, BSR Filter, carbon fibre dash, bespoke mesh grille and set of uber rare 19” Carlsson Turbo X alloys for starters, the bodywork isn’t perfect either, so will be given a bit of tlc to get back on top of things. It’s a baby with only 93,000 miles on the clock, so worth a bit of indulgence, above all, it’s another amazing Saab Aero kept on the road for years to come, giving me new lease of Saab life and the ability to get this blog going again.

THOUGHT

Why the hell don’t more people buy older Saabs, they’re stupid value, hugely reliable, more luxury than most modern exec barges and have an unnerving ability to be tuned to embarrass most so-called sports saloons, all for sub £5k. I don’t get people, 100,000 miles is literally nothing on these things, parts are still readily available, and find a great Saab specialist like Malcolm Miles and your sorted, there’s nothing they can’t fix, do it…

Wonder Wheels

November 23, 2018 Eleven

If shoes maketh the man, alloys maketh the car.

I’ve somehow gone through 65 + cars in the past 30 years, at least 15 of those have been Saabs, I’m truly a self confessed petrolhead much to the continued despair of my wife, family and friends.

It hasn’t mattered what marque or value, from a very cool Lancia Delta Integrale to an iconic, air cooled Porsche 911 and everything in-between, there are 2 items that have to be right on each and every car - exhausts and wheels.

I’ve long admired Saab for their iconic wheel designs, from the early Super Inca and Super Aeros to the 3 Spoke Double Y and wonderful Turbines, all are absolutely timeless and perfectly harmonious. Wheels can truly make or break the entire look of the car, choose the wrong style or size and it can be a complete mess. Before I choose alloys for a car, I will have a play in Photoshop, trying different wheels and sizes to make sure the idea I had in my head works. I love keeping Saab cars and wheels together, but have often thought they look just too small, 16” or 17” when they should be 18” or 19”, and wheels from different models switched up and put on a different model, classic 900 Super Aeros and a 9-3, Aero X alloys on a 9000 maybe.

One company in Shanghai STR Forged had the same idea, they custom forge Saab designed alloys to new and exciting sizes, they look at offset and stud patterns to ensure fit and they craft some exceptional pieces of art for classic and modern Saabs alike, a real petrolhead dream come true, no limit to you imagination. Have a set of the most beautiful Viggen alloys upscaled to 19” maybe. As far as I can tell, sizes range from 17” - 22” and bespoke widths from 7” - 12”, how about a set of staggered classic Viking Double Y’s.

I don’t know if they export to the UK or not yet, but when I find out, I’ll be sure to share the Saab love, in the meantime, go drool over some of the sexist Saabs I’ve seen.

STR Forged Instagram | STR Forged Website

Respect

November 15, 2018 Eleven

A couple of years ago I came across a site in the Czech Republic dedicated to Saabs called Saab Stance, if features some exceptional cars, but what makes it all the more special is the quality of photography - truly inspiring.

I recently checked up on the latest posts and happily found it’s still alive and well. The owner, Lukáš has an immaculate 9-3 Aero convertible, same colour as my old one, but is finished to perfection with a set of the iconic six spoke Hirsch alloys, all I can say is ‘respect’, for the car, the photography and the dedication to honouring Saabs.