It’s been a busy fews weeks down at Malcolm Miles, the 9-5 Sportcombi has been dropped off and some serious work has started on the Viggen.

Firstly, some housekeeping, although the sump had been dropped only a few hundred miles ago, it was actually back in 2015, so that’s been dropped again, oil completely drained and refilled with new oil, filters and spark plugs. The power steering pipe has been replaced as have a number of other pipes and perished hoses, the brake lines all cleared out and new high performance Tarox brake fluid added together with Tarox Japan Street drilled, grooved and vented discs, pads and braided hoses. We’ve also added a new oil cooler together with a new DO88 intercooler, Nordic Performance induction kit and a Stage 3+ ECU upgrade by Karl at Noob Tune.

The Bilstien B8 shocks and Eibach springs are now fitted together with the Momo Stealth alloys wheels, chosen for an updated play on the original Viggen 5 spokes, 215/35/19 tyres from Hankook have been used, but from early thoughts, we could upgrade these to 225/35/19 tyres and still fit without issues. The gorgeous craftsmanship from APH Performance has been fitted in the form of a 3” stainless steel downpipe, this links up to the original Viggen middle and rear exhaust section to keep the style right.

Inside, the original tape only head unit has been replaced with a CD unit and an AUX input, the new Hirsch style Nappa leather steering wheel has been fitted and a new OE leather gear knob tops off the superbly tight short shifter from Jam Saab, all in all, the Viggen is beginning to look like my vision, progress continues and this iconic convertible should be ready to take its first road trip in 5 years.

For years I've been designing Saab builds, essentially to save some stunning cars from being broken up as parts but mostly to make the best possible version of each and every one.

With each build it's hard not to notice the exceptional folks who continue to invest their engineering skills into handcrafting special parts for our Saabs, in my eyes, these folks are Artists. The Viggen project parts store grows daily with many, many more to source but some recent deliveries really are just pieces of art, and all bespoke.

The 3" downpipe from APH Performance Almost too beautiful to hide, these all Stainless construction pipes have either a free flowing 200 cell cat or no cat at all if specified, tig welded and purged with V band joints for a perfect fit. I've commissioned five of these now and I'm sure the get better each time.

The Black Edition Grille Again, i've had a number of these commissioned and Fraser has done an exquisite job on each, he takes the best OE grilles he can find, cuts away the plastic louvers and replaces them with a perfectly fitted black metal mesh. I have mine finished in a smooth satin black finish which so far has suited each build, can't wait to see what this latest one looks like on the Lightning Blue Viggen.

The Viggen Short Shifter After a long and enjoyable conversation with Peter Raw about the Viggen Project, he suggested a part that he swears by, a bespoke short shift gear mechanism from Jam Saab. It's the first time I'll have fitted on to a build so will report on the difference it makes in a few months. Needless to say, the standard gearing is just a bit long for such quick cars, it generally feels slightly spongy and I have a feeling this will give it a more engineered, accurate feel.

Viggen Project parts list (to date) :

Tarox Sport Japan fully drilled and grooved vented discs
Tarox Sport Japan brake pads
Tarox high performance braided brake lines
Abbott Racing stainless steel subframe brace
Abbott Racing rack brace kit
Abbott Racing rear body strut brace
Bilstein B8 shocks
Eibach springs
DO88 Performance Intercooler
Nordic Performance induction kit
Momo Stealth 19" 5 spoke rims
Hankook Ventus S1 Evo tyres
TunStyle Nappa Leather steering wheel
Skyddet Aux kit
Viggen side badges by Raw Saab

The Viggen should be returning from the bodyshop soon after some required welding and paint, it’ll then land at Malcolm Miles once again for Jason and Andy to work their magic. Our aim is to build a super stylish Viggen convertible with a very capable 300+hp. The story continues…