Ryan's 1997 Turbo SAAB. PICS and VIDS

[b0rN Fr0m JeTs]

So I think it was sometime in February 2006 I got my 1997 SAAB 900SE. The SE model comes stock with the garrett t25 baby turbo. It's got a 9.2 compression ratio, cast iron block (never heard of a saab engine cracking or anything), light alloy head, double overhead cam and 185 HP @ 5,500 rpm; 194 ft lb @ 2,100 rpm. Not too shabby i guess. Also weighs 2940lbs.

The car was bought at an action specifically for me by my dad who works at a dealership. It was cheap, in good condition, not too grandpa-ish, and reliable so he bought it for 1700 dollars. After some repairs i bought the car from the dealership for 2800. Great deal.

Here is what it looked like.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/MySaab.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/MySaab2.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/SaabEngine.jpg
And a Pic of me and my brother yellowmsp's old car
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/Mycar.jpg
First photoshoot of the Beast a few days after i got her.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/100_2091.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/PICT2103.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/PICT2102.jpg


Shortly after that I debadged it.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/SSPX0224.jpg

First thing i did to the engine when i got it home was a bypass valve to blow off valve conversion which is simply plugging up the hole on the intake and running open bypass valve. Got bored of that pretty quick...

Which led me to buy a greddy type S BOV which i'm still in love with
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/SSPX0226.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/SSPX0225.jpg
and here's a sound clip of that
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/th_100_2484MOV.jpg (http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/?action=view&current=100_2484MOV.flv)

Sometime after that i had a little issue with the frond lip and air dam flipping up underneath the car on the highway. scared the crap out of me... took a good half hour for my dad to get them off after he drove over with metal cutters to cut the plastic.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/117293975301_3300_1.jpg

That lead to doing the custom home depot front lip mod. In my opinion it looks pretty good

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/101_0274.jpg

And here is another photoshoot right after the lip and a wash...probably in july.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/101_0319-1.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/101_0307.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/101_0302.jpg

[b0rN Fr0m JeTs]

So after that I got started on a few small performance mods. Many of you probably know or know of 04turbospec who's got that awesome race ready srt-4. Well a lot of his practice in welding that he did on that car came from welding my exhaust as you'll see from the pictures. now i've already heard all the comments about rust, it looking like crap, and all that other stuff. it was a cheap way for me to have an exhaust and great practice for him. He also custom built me a cold air intake as well. I do plan on getting the SAABsport exhuast in the near future.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/101_0335.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/101_0336.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/101_0338.jpg
and the way it sounds
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/th_101_0340.jpg (http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/?action=view&current=101_0340.flv)

It's all held up for at least 3 months now.

After that, about a month or so ago, i got a hallman MBC and autometer phantom boost gauge, also installed by 04turbospec. I'm currently running 15psi which is just below the fuel cut. I don't have an pics of the MBC but tonight i was bored and had my camera in my car and took some vids of the guage.

Vids were taking while driving and watching the road more than the camera so they're not the best quality. you can really hear the exhaust too. I'm currently running the stock bypass valve until i get a new cone filter for the CAI, otherwise you could definitely hear the whine and blow off valve.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/th_101_0617.jpg (http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/?action=view&current=101_0617.flv)
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/th_101_0616.jpg (http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/?action=view&current=101_0616.flv)

and then here are a couple shots from two nights ago.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/101_0593.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/101_0588.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/101_0580.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/blackv6stang/101_0583.jpg

I know two of the pics look blue. Messing with tungsten filter on Kodak V610

That's it for now.

Future plans if I commit to keeping the car include...
Saabsport Cat-back exhaust
Viggen FMIC
Td04 Turbo

[b0rN Fr0m JeTs]

And after all that hopefully I get some comments...Bump

[Crzyguy972]

nice write up lam, never realized it was purple

[b0rN Fr0m JeTs]

Edit: wow i just came across a specs thing for my car and it's actually not purple. the amethyst violet mica metallic color was only available on the convertible version.

My car is Midnight Blue Metallic. looks purple most of the time though.

[Crzyguy972]

Edit: wow i just came across a specs thing for my car and it's actually not purple. the amethyst violet mica metallic color was only available on the convertible version.

My car is Midnight Blue Metallic. looks purple most of the time though.

i thought it wasnt

[ToyotaTat]

lam that car is almost as cute as you are

[Sentrase00]

woohoo.. more modded saabs. Looks pretty good.

[SupraJDS]

Nice Saab man it would look sexy if you had the rims gunmetal.

[teh DIRT]

hey i have a td04 wrx turbo forsale if you want it. 150$ no shaft play

[b0rN Fr0m JeTs]

i'll have to do some research on how easy it is to use the td04 from the wrx. Most people who do this upgrade on my car use and old saab 93 viggen td04 wich pretty much bolts in exactly and has all of the same lines. I'll look into it though definitely. Then i gotta see how much to install

[esunbaboon]

Love the saab. It's a sweet car and sounds nice.:thumbup:

[b0rN Fr0m JeTs]

Love the saab. It's a sweet car and sounds nice.:thumbup:


Thanks man, I heard it beats 92 volvos on 95 too :wink:

[b0rN Fr0m JeTs]

hey i have a td04 wrx turbo forsale if you want it. 150$ no shaft play

i've been thinking about it and i think i wanna buy it. do you have any pics? mileage?

[Jssaab]

Nice to see a modded Saab once an a while.. Nice car, I had a 97 then got my 2000 9-5. People are always suprised to see how strong they can be...

BTW, the WRX TDO4 will not easily fit, The exhaust bolt pattern is much more similar to the c900 style and the manifold hits the turbo with three bolt set up. It's not impossible but it would require a custom manifold and downpipe. Performance is similair to Aero tdo4 with an upper limit of 300+hp at the crank, so it would make more sense to find an aero turbo or even new, would be cheaper.

You can get your T25 built to T28 specs ( that's the turbo I have) but I think that would cost a bit more....

[esunbaboon]

Thanks man, I heard it beats 92 volvos on 95 too

Yeah, I've heard that to. :o We should try from a stop sometime...Once I get bigger injectors. :)

[boostedfury]

sweet car man def keep us all updated as you continue your progress.

[jdm free]

u need to learn how to drive in wet weather

[b0rN Fr0m JeTs]

u need to learn how to drive in wet weather


haha ok when i'm coasting in first driving like a normal person and you do one of your stupid honda kid ricer fly by's you i throw i get on it a little and second gear just spins completely so i decided it wasn't even worth it. i needed new front tires last winter...eat me AJ. just wait til we get to run one day when it's dry lol. nice car though man it sounds good

[b0rN Fr0m JeTs]

sweet car man def keep us all updated as you continue your progress.

wow thanks a lot man the only positive comments usually just come from the other 3 of 4 saab owners on the forum lol. nice to get support from a different crowd once in a while

[jdm free]

haha ok when i'm coasting in first driving like a normal person and you do one of your stupid honda kid ricer fly by's you i throw i get on it a little and second gear just spins completely so i decided it wasn't even worth it. i needed new front tires last winter...eat me AJ. just wait til we get to run one day when it's dry lol. nice car though man it sounds good

im not a ricer
urs is to, definatly a sleeper

[vr6exy]

i think my sisters ex had a blue 97? similiar to that. very nice.

[b0rN Fr0m JeTs]

thanks for the positive input. and AJ i know you're not a ricer thats one of the cleaner teg's i've ever seen