I'm going later in the week to look at this 900s. I bought one new in 1986 and loved it for 180,000 miles, now I'm in a position to just buy a car. I spoke to the seller, he's a Saab only repair shop that gets a lot of referrals from local shops, he bought this sight unseen. I thought the price was high but my friend who owns a Euro shop says they're now desirable and the price isn't that far off. It comes with another set of wheels and snow tires (selling them as it will never see snow)
So, aside from rust under the fender lip, what do I look for?
Oh, one more: Mini-Lites or SPG wheels?
Duke
MegaDork
8/16/22 8:53 a.m.
Wow, that looks clean.
If it's not a Turbo, I'd recommend Minilites.
02Pilot
UberDork
8/16/22 10:01 a.m.
I know of that shop - it's not far from me, and they've been there forever. I never really had any dealings with them (my 900S would bring down property values if I drove it over there), but they have a good reputation.
Rust is the big thing, obviously, especially around the front suspension mounting points - see if they'll put it up on a lift for you. Mine was also blown through at the rear shock mounts when I got it. If it shakes at speed, the halfshaft inner bearings (tripods) may be gone, or the drivers may be damaged. Check that the headlight adjusters are present and functional - the plastic gets brittle with age, and they fail a lot; there are 3D printed replacements if needed. Mine had oil leaks from pretty much everywhere on the engine, but I don't know how typical that is. If it has the original brass radiator, the fins may be disintegrating. Make sure both radiator fans work (there's a relay that can go bad - mine was).
That is the cleanest C900 I have seen in a while.
That is super clean. The dash cracks would drive me crazy, though. How hard is a dash pad replacement on these? Are their replicas or good used ones available?
Powar
UltraDork
8/16/22 11:08 a.m.
dculberson said:
That is super clean. The dash cracks would drive me crazy, though. How hard is a dash pad replacement on these? Are their replicas or good used ones available?
Not really. There are covers. I've resorted to DashMats in my two that I drive regularly. The hard caps that I've seen end up cracking as well, and they're a pain to install (and remove when they fail).
That car is gorgeous. I agree with your sentiment that the price is high, but I'm used to buying them broken and making them nice. You'd end up with thousands in body, paint, leather repair, and headliner recovering to get the typical example to that level. I have my '85 900S insured for $9500 with Hagerty, so maybe this isn't too far off.
As has been mentioned, rust would be my biggest concern. Check the front lower control arm mounts (and the axle tunnels). The rear shock towers go as well. Door bottoms. Hood, just inboard of the sliders near the windshield. Battery tray area. Jack points. If you want some rust photos, I can get photos of the concern areas on the parts cars that I have out back. The internet probably has many examples as well.
Given your previous experience with these cars, you probably already know this, but they're still remarkably usable in modern traffic. We recently drove our 900S sedan to South Dakota and back, putting 3k miles on it 8 days. They're excellent.
Minilite-style wheels are my choice for the sedan, but SPG wheels will be MUCH easier to source in the later 4x108 bolt pattern unless you're willing to go aftermarket with the Rota RBs or the like. I have some later SPG wheels here that I'd let go if you don't have luck closer to home.
Definitely keep us updated!
Wow that's nice.
The first car I remember my dad having was a green, non-S with tan cloth interior. I love the SPG wheels but I'd personally rock those.
Saabs should run 3 spokes.
Thanks Powar, glad you checked in. I chipped a 3 series BMW with excellent results, worth it on a 900?
The 1988 and later saabs( classic 900's) use the same bolt pattern as the 9000 if the parking brake is on the rear wheels you can run the 16" 9000 aeros which are my wheel of choice for a classic SAAB. Like an SPG tri-spoke with a polished lip.
That's a tidy car and priced where it should be. I'd go for a drive and pay special attention to the transmission. The S model is naturally aspirated so it has led an easier life than the transmission in turbo cars. Listen to the sound of the gears: they should all sound about the same. Shifting feel is difficult to gauge because the shifters aren't the most precise things out there and the trans fluid choice will greatly change how easily it goes through gears.
Being a '91, I seem to recall that would make this the 2.1L with EZK ignition...it's a good motor and able to keep up with traffic just fine as long as you're willing to downshift to pass. This shouldn't be a hardship for anyone on this forum, but it's worth the reminder in case you've been living in modern vehicles. The 2.1 had a little larger bore and a different intake manifold. I always loved the naturally aspirated C900s even though they weren't the headline act. The engines respond well to being run through the full rev range and being underpowered means you can really push the car harder in corners and work inside of its dynamic range without feeling like you're over the edge as much as you might in a turbo.
The rust to watch out for is around the axle tunnels and lower control arm mounting points. Judging by the appearance of the trunk (which is not a lot to go off of), this one should be relatively solid. Powar gives a good list of things to look at. The rust on the wheel arch is unpleasant to deal with because it's a seam between the outer fender and the fender liner.
It's kind of a shame you don't want to drive it in the snow. It's the most competent snow car I've ever driven, but I understand if you wouldn't for the sake of preservation.
Must be a good car since both the front and rear breaks have been done! 
Oh yeah, my 1986 with Haks on board was quite the performer commuting 25 miles in winter.
Thanks folks, keep ya posted!
I'll echo Mezzanine's good advice about paying particular attention to the transmission.
If you buy the car, note that, if memory serves, Saab removed the gear oil drain plug in '91, supposedly because oil-change monkeys would drain it, and, well, you know. I change the gear oil in my 900s every 20k miles or so, on the advice of a 900 gearbox whisperer from whom I've bought or been associated with the purchase of seven or eight rebuilds. You'd do so by removing the differential cover.
The 2.1 NA in that car is prone to corrosion on the block deck. The headgasket goes when this happens, but a new gasket won't seal and goes soon after. It's fixable, apparently (with brazing), but I've only read about it on the web. There is also an old TSB for other models with similar issues that had dealers using JB Weld. Not sure I'd trust that. If there are receipts coming with the car, and it recently had a headgasket done, I'd be leery unless there's explicit comments about the deck being in great shape. The link earlier should have good info on the cause, too: coolant chemistry.
The 2.1 also has a crank sensor that is apparently getting hard to find a replacement for. The distributor is empty inside. A work-around is to install an earlier NA distributor with an integrated Hall sensor.
In addition to nearly every remaining 900 dash on the planet being completely cracked, the headliners also all go. It looks like this car's is in good shape, was possibly redone. It's not a hard DIY, but is kind of a PITA, requires two people, and I've heard getting it out of a sedan is "fun," possibly requiring removing the rear window?? (I've only done hatchbacks.)
My son did it on the same car, one gifted from my wife's friend. It's just gluing new material to the cardboard headliner. He used a cloth called Swedish Tartan. Looks like a thin Scottish plaid but using the blue and yellow of the Swedish flag. Will try to find a picture.
Dan
Wow, that is quite glorious... perfect for a good weather DD.
+1 for minilites
Meeting up with the seller tomorrow. He owns a shop specializing in Saabs, claims his shop developed the repair for those that kick out of gear. s I understand it, there's a pawl that moves the gears in and out of reverse, if the gears aren't too buggered up just remove the pawl and reverse it adding additional movement over stock.
Film at 11:00 .....
In reply to 914Driver :
Huh, that's a different location than they were in for years. On the plus side, it's just a couple doors down from the Grand Prix NY indoor karting track, so you might want to plan an hour or two for that.
FYI, this is the reverse pawl mod he's describing: http://www.twinsaabs.com/900_repair/transmission/tranny_reverse.asp
Hopefully it won't be a consideration. Thanks.
Saw the Saab today.
After driving two hours I get a text that he would be an hour or an hour and a half late he has to go to the farmers market. I continue 40 minutes east to my sons house and tell him what's going on.
I asked The seller to call me 30 or so minutes before he arrived at the shop which he did. Ian & I hightailed it over old narrow carriage roads and I called. No answer. Walk around, lights on, call again, Nadda. Third time he answered as we looked at the door ramp that was wet.
Car was on a lift running like crap. Seems he went for a Final Voyage and thought pressure washing the engine would be a good idea.
