So the bottom end is out of a 9000 Aero? If so then yep, that is "one" to have.
So the bottom end is out of a 9000 Aero? If so then yep, that is "one" to have.
In reply to Aaron_King :
That is more or less what I was led to believe, hoping to confirm that this evening.
Well, this escalated quickly...
The 234 block is a cool find!
I tore the engine down to a bare shortblock last night and learned some things.
Broken thread that was harboring a very loose bolt.
Cracked scraper ring and broken ringland. This was piston #1 I haven't pulled the rest of the pistons yet. This is a big bummer, I was hoping for B234 pistons that weren't broken. I'm not too sure what to do at this point. I'm thinking about slapping the good crank in the engine in the car and hoping those pistons and rings are okay (Cylinder #1 had low compression). The other option is to drop $500 on forged pistons, have the 234 block bored out and have an engine that's capable of handling twice the power my clutch will. Oh scope creep you're a cruel and tempting mistress.
These engines are built incredible well aside for the pistons. 24mm wrist pin, oil squiters to cool the underside of the pistons, factory forged rods and a very tuneable factory ECU. The more I get into these cars the more I draw to this comparison; Saabs are the European DSMs. Why do I love blown up garbage so much? Oh turbo noises that's why.
Very cool...I'm so glad you own this car and are sharing the journey. You're the right type of owner for it.
I gotta ask...how much is a decent clutch for this thing?
In reply to Run_Away :
Thanks man, appreciate it. The two upgrades I know of are Spec Stage 2 and a high performance Sachs clutch which are both 6-7 Benjamins. I'm not a bit fan of Spec clutches, I think the throw is too short and stiff for what it needs to be on their higher stage 2 and up pressure plates. The stock Aero clutch is supposed to be good to about 300whp which is no slouch in a 20 year old 3400lb car.
Love these Saabs and the abundance of cool tricks and free mods. You know I want a newer 9-3. Following this.
Oh scope creep you're a cruel and tempting mistress.
that belongs in Say What?!
The other option is to drop $500 on forged pistons, have the 234 block bored out and have an engine that's capable of handling twice the power my clutch will. Oh scope creep you're a cruel and tempting mistress.
The two upgrades I know of are Spec Stage 2 and a high performance Sachs clutch which are both 6-7 Benjamins.
So what you're saying is, for ~$1500 you could have a ~500whp daily? 
Or whatever the turbo can manage
In reply to Run_Away :
That's some good thinking. I have a free intercooler off a turbo Camaro that needs a new end tank welded up anyways so yeah it would take much to push it if I had a solid engine.
So I discovered that there's a few companies on Alibaba that sell forged connecting rods and forged pistons that have a reasonable reputation. Through some deeper searching the one company I was talking to last night is likely a supplier for MaxSpeedingRods. I was about to pull the trigger on a set of chinese pistons when I figured I'd cross shop Europe. Turns out the Euro is pretty weak, last night I ordered a set of Wossner pistons from MapTun in Sweden for $20 more than the chinese company wanted. Still not sure what to do about a clutch. I might just order a stock Aero clutch, that's supposed to hold up pretty well until the 450-480Nm range of torque. That's more than I think I can make on this turbo so probably a good spot to stop for now.
I ordered a set of forged pistons from MapTun Performance, in Sweden, Sunday night. Those pistons showed up on my doorstep at 2:30pm today in the middle of Wisconsin. I love modern shipping logistics.
In reply to RacetruckRon :
Love the thread, makes me happy i like and despise saabs.
Modern shipping logistics is crazy. I got Honda parts from Thailand in 4 days recently.
Giggity!
In for 350whp saab antics
Right now I'm shooting for running. I need to get better with the Trionic Tuning software before I start pushing big boost. The T7 cars are MAF based calculations which I'm not too familiar with, speed density tuning is much simpler. I have a fuel system that's flex fuel capable, upgraded intercooler and a full 3" exhaust on the list to do before a big turbo.
Some parts have arrived, more are on the way from as far away as Lithuania. I've become quite fond of FCP Euro since I bought the Saab, they are a lot more trustworthy than rockauto who somehow messes up even GM truck parts sometimes.
Some people call it scope creep, I prefer the term "planning". Planning is better when done with whiskey. Saab exhaust flange has been measured and cataloged into the CAD archives for a later date.
Fresh looking ebay crankshaft showed up since the one in the spare motor is less than ideal as well.
I moved to tapered ring compressors a couple years ago after slicing my hand open on a universal one. They work so much better but you have to buy one for each bore size. I have a 3.780" and 4.065" for LS stuff but those won't work with a 90mm Saab piston so 10minutes in CAD plus a couple hours on the printer. It did take a couple tries to get the bore perfect with a new brand of ABS filament I'm using but still quite a bit cheaper than ordering an aluminum one from Summit or Jegs.
A very large box showed up today from Lithuania. Another piece of the puzzle for the half-assed Aero conversion I'm doing to this base Linear model.
I found these Aero projector headlights on ebay for $19 each plus shipping ($65 each). You can't touch a hazed over set with broken tabs for less than $300 in the states so this was well worth the gamble on getting a brick in a box or shards of plastic. These are pretty much flawless, no broken tabs, I'm not going to even polish the lenses. The only thing is the torx bits that hold the ballast in are a bit rusty but that's no problem.
In reply to RacetruckRon :
Did they have any more? I need a set.
In reply to Aaron_King :
They only had one set so I didn't wait around just smashed buy now after I saw it was a legit eBay store.
In reply to RacetruckRon :
Holy crap, that's a steal.
Do you know about adding a relay to run the the halogens when the high beams are on? In the U.S., the projectors were both low and high; adding a relay fires up the halogens. It's very nice.
https://eeuroparts.com/blog/saab-9-5-headlight-666-relay-mod-now-plug-play/
procainestart said:In reply to RacetruckRon :
Holy crap, that's a steal.
Do you know about adding a relay to run the the halogens when the high beams are on? In the U.S., the projectors were both low and high; adding a relay fires up the halogens. It's very nice.
https://eeuroparts.com/blog/saab-9-5-headlight-666-relay-mod-now-plug-play/
Is there a similar trick for 9-3?
In reply to procainestart :
So the 666 mod holds the shutter open in low beam and keeps the HID on when high beams are activated?
Sounds kinda like the 4 high mod on 03-07 GM trucks that is done with blocking diodes to keep the low beam on when you hit the high beam.
What I've read is, the US gov't felt that the xenons couldn't t turn on fast enough to do a "flash to pass" on/off, so the relay for the halogens powers them only when the stalk is pulled. With the 666 relay, the halogens come on and stay on, AND the xenons shutters are in high-beam mode. This is apparently how they worked everywhere else in the world.
The relay isn't special. It's just a single-pole, double-throw, normally open, 15A. I have a bunch of them from other cars and popped one in, a Bosch 0332015006.
@AC - I don't know. If your 9-3 has projectors on the outside with halogens on the inside, it's conceivable they work similarly.
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
I believe that with a Tech II you can change the way the headlights from US to ROW which does almost the same thing. I may not be remembering that correctly though.
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