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GG, thought the previous comment fest about BH, would steer you back from the darkside. We need ads for getting insurance to cover mental health. Then maybe the Real Doctors will rejoin the networks and stop with the Alacarte stuff that is no better than Cheerful screen interactions shown in the Movie Demolition Man.
stop pilfering scams, it makes your entire business look like a scam. I wouldn't trust you to work on my car because you take sponsorships from such shady companies.
No thanks, I don't want my private information sold to advertisers, or unqualified "professional" help from people who have questionable credentials. Please vet your sponsors.
Wizard I'm here to complain like the rest lol naw just wanted to say I enjoy seeing the interior reviews because as she said not all cars r the same and I love the minor details that differ
A Saab 900 Turbo saved my life when I was hit broadside in the driver's door by a woman that ran a red light at 50mph. It took the fire department 45 minutes to cut me out of the car, but I was alive. Thank you to the Saab engineers!
@@rideguide9217 January, 1994, Marysville WA., 8th and State street. The injuries I received changed my, and my family's lives, forever. Everyone in my family now drives Lexus vehicles, all of which have excellent safety records. Best wishes and drive safe!
This is a car that was designed by engineers not a design committee that's soul purpose is to cut costs and maximize profits. Sadly we probably will never see this level of engineering ever again.
There's a story about the designing of the 'new' 900, when the GM managers kept presenting standard GM parts for the designers to use, like the audio system, but they couldn't stop the designers redesigning everything to suit the Saab philosophy. Of course that meant that nothing was as cheap as it could have been, and Saab continued to lose money.
I have a 2008 9-3 aero wagon with almost 200000 miles. The only major problems I have had were electrical but they are all sorted now. I guess I got the Saab bug when my dad had two back in the late 60s I'm on my second one now. I wish GM hadn't totally screwed them up.
I was working at the Wichita airport as a technician for Air Midwest in 1983. Air Midwest was the first American customer to buy Saab's SF340 Turboprop aircraft. I had purchased a VW Rabbit GTI from the VW/Volvo/Saab dealership in Wichita and stopped in for a warrantee service, when the salesman that sold me the car called me back to show me a surprise that our company didn't even know yet. I saw the 1994 900 Turbo sedan that Saab had sent over as a thank you gift to Air Midwest. I loved the ignition key in the console, the quality build and the hood design along with the very unique-at-the-time fuses that were under the hood and neatly labeled. I was used to looking for fuses under the dash with a flashlight Lol. The aircraft was well-designed from a maintenance standpoint as well. Great video and thanks for the memory flashback!
If i’m not mistaken, all cabriolets came from the assembly plant in Finland. The 900 was the only car I knew growing up in Finland, and also the 99. They were very common back then and later I realized how quirky they were. We called them ’saabisms’. It was very safe car compared to others at the time. Volvos were even more safety-oriented. That door closing sound brings me back to the 80s, it was very solid, even the door handles were real metal.
I drove Saab's for 35 years beginning in 1984 thru 2019. I owned a 1974 Saab Sonett III, a 1986 Saab C900, a 1999 Saab 9-5 Sport Combi, a 2009 Saab 9-3 Sport Combi and lastly a 2011 Saab 9-5 Turbo4 Premium Sedan. All of them were extremely reliable and never stranded me anywhere. The key was to do maintenance on time. I had a Saab specialty shop in my area do all the work. I retired from work in 2018, sold my last Saab to another enthusiast and moved on to a 2019 VW Arteon SEL Premium R-Line.
@@PSB-900 that’s so cool. Many who had Saabs, had several of them in a row like in my family, pre-GM 99s and 900s. You should get one just for retirement fun?
@@GeorgeStar - The Volkswagen Arteon in the States is pretty limited in in production numbers. It was imported to the USA in 2019 and will be out of production in 2024 world wide. An EV version is said to take its place.
@GeorgeStar the VW Arteon was the (slight "up market") replacement for the VW (Passat) *_CC_* . The larger and slightly luxury / sportier family sedan in Volkswagen's line up. The Arteon not only replaced the CC, it took some slack from VW canceling the (slightly larger, more luxurious) Phaeton. But it has not been popular here - selling even few cars then the CC did in its time, I have only seen two in the last 5 years. (wish I had been able to get the W 12 version of the Phaeton, or the Touareg W12). The Arteon will be replaced by the ID. 7 electric car starting next year (sedan, the Arteon wagon continues till 2026).
Mrs. Wizard - The passenger seat is heated. It is controlled automatically by a thermostat, instead of the rheostat that the driver has. Also, the interior door handles are high quality plastic, not leather.
Yep! Of course, one could add. Seats have been heated in Swedish cars for many years before 1988. The thing with the driver's seat is, that it has Adjustable heat! (Later models like the 9-5 had to make do with just High/Low heat. On the other hand, the back seat was heated too).
Many cabriolets and special models were made in Finland. Also Saab used some Talmu lights and blinkers (Talmu is originally a Finnish company which is part of Hella GmbH).
Actually ALL 900 cabriolets were made in Finland. The design was also made by Finns. Also 9-3 cabriolets. Also the V8 SAAB 9000, which was a totally Finnish project and sadly just a proto.
@@Hamokk Right, thanks. Just asking because I heard that Valmet Automotive specially developed the folding roof technology for Saabs. That technology then would become an actual separate business division for Valmet. I believe Valmet has a factory in Germany specializing in cabriolet roof designs for various automotive makers.
All 900 Cabriolets were built at Saab-Valmet plant in Uusikaupunki Finland. Their electrically operated roof mechanism was designed in the same factory but built by ASC or the American Sunroof Company. Late model 93 NG Cabrios were built in Austria as GM was leaving the Uusikaupunki plant.
I did my apprenticeship on Classic 900's are they are now called, and eventually went on to be a Saab Master Tech. They are super simple to work on, even if your a non-saab basic mechanic. Clutch can be changed in 40mins as its right there at the front. And the fuel system on the one you have there is just "Bosch LH", which about every car in the world had in the late 80's. In europe its getting hard to find good ones now as rust really takes hold if in wet countries. That one looks really nice. Paul @ The SAAB Clinic.
I worked on these for many many years. I also collected them before I had kids. This is a really awesome car. If you do all the preventative maintenance work and do upgraded suspension. Just a great car all around.
My uncle and his sons worked at a Saab auto Plant in Sweden, he also owned a Saab a sports version, you could hear him coming miles away, back then and maybe now they still use miles, Swedish Miles. His engin roared like a F1 Car, when he pulled up, popped hood showed us his torbo, it was glowing RED, he said it's an airplane engine.
Great handling car. My friend bought a one year old 1986 900s and it was a great car to drive. The styling was unique in a good way. Loved the button start and interesting way the hood opened. You hardly ever see one these days.
Passenger did get heated seats - although, they were automatic/non-adjustable. The heat came on, I believe, at 40 degs or something like that. Had girlfriends who got a kick of their rear-ends heating up. Quite sure it "helped" me out a few times with them. :)
@podtri419 My 1987 turbo convertible has a rheostat type of switch for adjustable heat intensity, It's placed where the later cars h/lamp height adjustment switch is situated.
I have a really soft spot for these Saabs. This one looked aamaaziing! You should have let us enjoy the magnificent sound of it as well! But I am lucky. I live in the city where the oldest Saab dealer in Norway is located and I get to hear them every once in a while passing by 😍
My brother-in-law's father worked for Saab in North Texas. I remember when Bro-in-law was dating my sister, and he drove up in these strange Swedish cars. I loved riding in those cars, because they were so cool, and comfortable. One day, he drove up in a white 900S, tossed me the keys, and said he wanted to know what I think about it. I was thrilled! All the other times he let me drive the Saabs, he acted nervous in the passenger seat the whole time. I went out to the driveway and eagerly got into the Saab, started it up, and I was startled by the prototype automatic shoulder belt that started slicing towards my tender, teenage neck. Anyways, the car drove very well, and they decided to use airbags. I don't know how many prototype Saab guillotines they made, but I drove one of them.
I worked part time in a European repair shop in Tallahassee in the early 90s, while in college. I looked at a Saab 900 convertible, and asked the guys at the shop for opinions. They said that no one would work on it. I ended up buying a 72 Karmann Ghia, which I loved. That said, I’ve always liked these weird cars.
I had a 9-3 turbo and it was INSANELY FUN, basically infinite passing power. 40-70 faster than a 911 Turbo. And it fit two kids two dog comfortably with four bikes on the rack. I loved it till about 200k when the turbo bearing spun and it was too pricey to repair. Quirky quirky quirky and FUN AS ALL GET OUT
Apologies If repeating prior comment. Ignition key in the console was to remove the possibility of having a key ring jam into your knee during an accident… also, exterior door handles were engineered to be like tow hocks. Just in case you end up in a ditch during the winter, you can pull the car out using the door handles.
There's that, and I've heard it was also b/c heavy key rings hanging there wear out the ignition? I think it also made them hard to steal, along w/5spd manual which you need to pull up and out of reverse. Wow, I didn't know that about the door handles, those Swedes thought of every little thing.
Ive always wanted one and especially in the bright yellow paint work, and the lower cladding is to aid its aerodynamic efficiency when being driven. And came from the Carlsson edition roadcars, which are greatly appreciated and now becoming very rare in good condition and on the road.
In middle school, a friend's dad drove a 900 and I thought it was the coolest car ever! 15 years later, I bought a 9-3 manual. I loved it, it rode like a Merc, and it could smoke 3 Series at least up to 90mph. I got rid of it pretty early though because it had constant electrical gremlins - like the headlights would burn out every couple months, alarm would go off all the time, wipers would just decide to turn themselves on - and nobody could ever fix it. Despite that, still probably my favorite driving car. Ridiculously safe, comfortable, pretty fun, unique - it's a shame nobody makes anything like it anymore.
I have two Saab, my first cars, Saab 99 and Saab 900C. They been excelent to drive, easy to fix and it didn't cost your too much like todays cars. If headlamb broke it cost only, something 20 to 50 dollars, todays cars headlamb you cannot fix by yourself and it cost something like over 2000 euros.
Saab cars were indeed built to military aircraft standards (at least before GM butted in) because the company ALSO manufactured military aircraft, such as the Draken and the Viggen - both of which are, in various ways, just as quirky as the car you've presented here. While Saab's automotive division may have died, the aircraft division is still going strong, and is building these: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_JAS_39_Gripen That aircraft has pretty impressive performance stats, by the way. :)
Ok!! A SAAB! I owned 8 of them, and 2 of them made 250,000 miles. Both 1991 models, a 900s and a 9000t stage 3. I also wore a tweed jacket, and smoked a pipe. 😊 They are odd, but quite dependable. My 1992 turbo convertible is still alive in the Midwest…. After GM dissolved the dealership network, I went to Audi. I am averaging 49 mpg from my hybrid.
I wish all of the 1960s Lincolns with reverse opening hoods had come up with this design! They left waaaay too much space covered on the sides, with all that engine and other machinery squeezed in...
I had this problem on my RHD 1984 Turbo 16. The switch wasn't bad, but since there wasn't room to fit the clutch master cylinder and brake booster on the right, they used some shafts that ran across the firewall under the dash to operate the cylinders in their usual position, and the links and clevis pins had worn so that there was too much play to activate the switches with the pedals not depressed.
I'm born 1967 (in Sweden). As far as I remember from what I was a kid, the things in glow compartment aren't cup holders. They are as I remember holders for license and insurance of the car in Sweden at the time. For some reason they were round. Later the registration was put as a sticker on the rear registration plate. Now everything is computerized. But for sure this is not cupholders.
No, those tax stamps were gone since at least fifteen years in 1988, that is a rudimentary cup holder. Volvo har the same thing. I strongly doubt that they were intended to be used while the car was moving.
Some early chevs and Ford trucks had those same cup holders in the glove box....my 88 Chevy truck had them and the dealer told me they were in fact cupholders but not meant to be used while driving
If you meant "cupholder" in that you are supposed to use it whilst you are driving, then you are correct it isnt one. However, it is a cup "holder"/resting place meant for stationary use, taking a break from driving somewhere. Tons of cars of all brands used to have them, looking exactly like this.
My mom had an '85 900 sedan with a five speed. It was slow but fun to push its limits. Ilkka and Don, the local Saab mechanics, managed 150K miles from the original clutch. Mom got another 20K miles or so until the already big rust problem got impossible to manage. Apparently, 1985 saw problems sourcing good quality steel and so many of them rusted away.
I'm a Saab addict, that is one beautiful car. I loved my 92 convertible, so much fun on a summer evening. Definitely needs a wind blocker, I used to drive mine into the winter with the top down once I got that. When running put it in 4th then reverse as I don't think there are syncros on reverse. That transmission is a weakness on these, they don't like being treated roughly or any higher horsepower than stock. Treated like this one looks to have been it should go for a long time.
I always liked those. I've actually been looking for one of the 80's or early 90's non convertible ones for a few years but finding one that isn't worn out and doesn't have several broken items that are hard to source is nearly impossible in my area. I never see them on the road any more. Too bad, one of the higher quality cars ever made.
Had a 1980. What a super fun, interesting car. Everything about it was so WEIRD, but it worked very well. It was 16 years old when I had it though so was starting to have problems. AC issues, electrical gremlins, collapsing seats, and an oil leak in the turbo.
SAAAAB! Thanks to EuroAsian Bob and the Wizards for featuring this c900, an immaculate 73k mi 5spd. Nevermind "Better Help", just get a Saab convertible. Mine's an OG 9-3 (1/2 GM) I bought back when I lived in SoCal. The first time I sat in the driver's seat for a test drive, I was sold. No matter the LA traffic or my work stress, I called it "my prozac" (back when that was the thing), just put the top down and enjoy. Anyway, they may seem quirky and strange at first, but after decades of driving mine, these things make perfect sense. Here's to the lucky BaT bidder, and I'd be curious to see what this "Springtime in Sweden" model gets.
The problem with Saab turbos of that era is they only lasted 100,000 miles. A friend bought one with 90,000 miles on it and I told him he had 10,000 miles to sell it. He kept it and the engine blew. Same as any Landrover. They last 100,000 miles and then have to be junked.
And it's the same with a lot of Hyundais/Kias from the 2010s. If they have the infamous Theta II engine, they'll only last about 90,000 miles on average before they die a catastrophic death. You're likely aware of the ongoing class-action lawsuits against Hyundai these days.
I drive a '96 9000 Aero, just before the GM introduction, Factory high output Mitsubishi TD04 turbo, No TCS, 5 speed of course. I will NEVER sell it, they are bloody fantastic
Hey a 9000 owner !, i also have a 9000 Aero, and a 9000 Track car as well for fun days. I also Remap them for much improved power and economy. Your 9000 Aero can go to 275 bhp with just a simple remap, no mods needed. Paul @ The SAAB Clinic UK.
Well it was actually a mix. Clarion was the default. Alpine were then the default in 1992, at which point you could also pick a Sony branded stereo from the options catalogue.
Not a Saab fan but the failure makes sense. You want your cruise control to disconnect when you apply the brakes which is communicated via the brake switch.Also on a manual vehicle, the clutch switch has the same effect to stop the engine racing if you depress the clutch. I use the clutch all the time to disconnect the cruise in my heavy duty truck while applying some accelerator to avoid a harsh snatch from drive to overdrive if I need to slow down or stop it accelerating past legal speed on a slight downhill.
I saawb this car in the background of another video, wondering when you would talk about it. I own one, did a complete stage 1 rebuild. I love this car its sooo much fun! I'm in NC
Excellent video and look around. Videos from the wizard are always top notch. Only one thing, the fuel hoses look to be original as best as i can tell. Those fuel lines are nylon and as such are very brittle after 40 years. All fuel supply and return hoses should be replaced to prevent possible car fire.
One nice feature of the gearbox under the engine is that you can change the clutch without separating the engine from the gearbox. Simply remove the plastic cover, push the clutch pedal, place a v belt in the pressure plate, unscrew pressure plate and slave cylinder and your clutch is removed.
Great video, I've had several 900's the last one was an '88 turbo. USA got the very muted version with around 30hp less than Europe. Amazing cars to drive, very confusing heater control if you have to take it apart. All vacuum switches. The most important tool to change the clutch is an old spark plug lead! They were highly tunable with an anolog engine management system. The easiest way to get more power was to break off the plastic clip on the wastegate actuator, slacken the lock nut, turn the shaft 6 times & do the lock nut back up. Brought boost on sooner & was the unofficial method of getting higher output on the works rally cars. I remember buying one with 186k on the clock, it had only lost 3hp when it was put on the dyno.
The ignition key on the floor has several benefits. It started when most cars had their key on the steering column or the dash = high risk of a broken/injured knee cap in case of an accident. Also, always having the car in reverse when parked, doubled as an extra parking brake.
I had 5 or 6 of Saab 900 turbo ( used to manage a dealership ), and they were amazing! All had 150k+ miles, none of the engines had been apart, one had a weak turbo and over 250k miles, but I bought it cheap knowing that. Changing it was an easy job. And if you must, you can change the clutch without removing the engine or trans. Then, GM ruined the brand in about 6 years, and now its gone.
Many years ago I owner an 85 Saab 900 turbo and it truly was a sob story between Interior cracking, the brakes smoking , lifter noise and transmission going out, I had to kick it to the auction block! You couldn't give me on for free!
At least in Sweden they are called Aero wheels since they first appeared on the Aero model. The extra plastic panels on the bottom of the body are also originally from the same model.
Here in the Northeast Saabs were nearly as popular as the Ford Taurus back in the day. I think the final bid price will make this vintage car a bargain.
lol Springtime In Sweeden... first thing that popped into my mind was the Mel Brooks film. Already sold before this video posted, I was shocked how little it sold for.
I'm glad wizard included the part about having the transmission in reverse or it won't let you take out the key. As a veteran valet several years ago, I already knew this; but a coworker didn't. He parked a 9-3 convertible and disappeared for like 15 minutes. Finally, he quietly appears and signals for me. I cross the street to the parking garage and he's freaking out. "I had to leave the key inside! I can't get it out! I've tried everything!" Chuckling, I walked over to the car, sat inside, shifted to reverse and boom. Out came the key. Dude's mind spontaneously self destructed. Then we had a talk about Saabs and how he's unlikely to ever drive one again, and how society will likely never see such engineering and quality go into a production vehicle in our lifetimes. I want one, but I know parts are gonna be a problem. So I'll probably just have to stick to 200 and 700 series Volvos for my future classic Swedish car collection.
This brings back memories, I had a 1979 saab 900 turbo,that had an 82 saab engine in it,the only car that had gas lines inside the cabin,and of course i had a gas line break.
Immigrant in Sweden here. Our first car in Sweden was a brown 1979 99 CC in 1987. It broke all the time but I loved it. Handbrake on front axel, driver could regulate the hot air for rear passengers' feet (!) haha
I've had both a 9-3 turbo and a 9-5 Aero. Great cars, though not without some quirky problems, such as throttle body and coil pack problems. Both were 4-cylinder cars and the coil assembly would replace all four coils in a single cassette or assembly.
I’m from Massachusetts and I had two Volvo 240’s . They were the most dependable cars I ever owned. Not very powerful but built like a tank and easy to maintain.
I had a 1985 Saab 900 Turbo 3 door. Incredible car, engineering like no other. The turbo seized and I swapped in a rebuilt one with a few spanners. THe wastegate was adjustable with a spanner. After that it was really fast.Cars were simpler.
