Definitely black! I agree with duster about the red.
Definitely black! I agree with duster about the red.
My turbo gasket and other miscellaneous parts showed up yesterday so I decided to swap in the new turbo and intercooler at the same time.
Old (top) vs new:
I'm glad I got to do it on a 3 day weekend because despite being factory parts it was far from a bolt in affair. Issues encountered include:
-stock intercooler hose 1" too short with new intercooler
-turbo coolant supply line from new turbo is totally different, old one fit but the banjo bolt at the turbo is smaller on the new turbo necessitating a questionable arrangement of copper drain plug washers to seal the larger banjo fitting to the smaller bolt.
-water return line had an extra nipple that needed to be sealed. Should have been simple....But....
To solve the too short intercooler hose I made an extention out of a piece of the old piping. It needed a bead so I made one of those vicegrip beading tools. It worked great.
I made it so that I can bolt on different size exhaust clamps so I can bead multiple sizes of pipes.
Once the JB weld cures tomorrow I can re-attach the coolant tube and it should be ready to go.
On the test drive as soon as I built boost I heard a psshhhhhhhhhhhhh, and couldn't build boost any more. It helps to tighten all of the hoses 
After fixing that I gave it a coolant flush, scrubbed out the coolant tank and filled it up with G-05.
It feels faster. I will have to time it tomorrow.
They're multiplying. ...
This one was picked up with a miss and a shredded serpentine belt for $700 as a joint flip project with my neighbor. Its another manual transmission car, and already has the bigger turbo and intercooler from the factory. It's a 2001, so it has the T7 engine management, vs the T5 on my red car.
I hoped the miss would be as easy as new plugs and a good Direct Ignition Coil pack (notorious on these cars), but I swapped them in and no luck. Next up is a compression test to see what we have got ourselves in to....
Jack Johnson said: You gotta be careful when ya got good love 'cause those angels will just keep on multiplying
BGkast said: You gotta be careful when ya got cheap Saabs 'cause those piles will just keep on multiplying
I like Jack's version better, but hey, Saab's are cool too.
I think my shocks and struts are tired. I was browsing Craigslist a few nights ago (dangerous!) And found these for what I paid for the car:
New KYB strut inserts, bump stops and springs. I would rather bilsteins, but can't beat these for the price. Now I get to take the front suspension apart again. 
DAMN! Nice score!
Also, I have never seen that "vice grip" beading tool. I may have to duplicate that one for personal use 
The Saab is working great as a daily driver. Since I'm bored I thought I would update the budget. I'm still hoping to take this to the Challenge one day...
Old totals:
Real budget: $1029.77
Challenge budget: $807.38
Items since last update:
Carrier bearing: $17.50
Billet Diverter Valve $7.00
Valve O-rings: $5.00
Second key: $25 (real budget only)
Stage 1 Tune and key programming: $100.00
Viggen Spec Intercooler and turbo: $113.00
Air Box Mod: $3.00
Silicone Vacuum Lines: $10.00
New front suspension $50.00
Old key (subtracting from challenge budget) -$25.00
Axle FMV (subtracting from challenge budget, gave my neighbor my old axles for cores in exchange for his cores that I rebuilt) -$50.00
New Real Budget: $1360.27
New Challenge Budget: $1037.88
I need to sell some stuff to stay under $1008. The old turbo should be good for at least $100.
So.... how's the MidLana coming along? Hmm? 
err, it's getting dustier...
bgkast wrote: err, it's getting dustier...
No more beer for you until you get back to it!
Did this make it to the challenge? If so, how come there were no road reports?
In reply to NOHOME:
Nope. I couldn't spare the 2 weeks to drive to FL and back. Maybe next year...
bgkast wrote: In reply to NOHOME: Nope.
I know that feeling.....
If we both campaign Challenge cars, I will start my trip roughly one block north of your house, just to beat you out on the Longest Drive Award.
In reply to Burrito:
Dang it!
I would have flown down just to canon-ball this with two drivers (or more) Map says its only a day and a half each way non-stop.
In reply to Burrito:
I'd drive to Vancouver Island to visit family and then to Florida.
It isn't Alaska, but pretty close!
Seriously though, convoying with you two and anyone else from the area to go to the Challenge could happen and be damned cool. Let's put a pin in that idea and try to set aside vacation time for next year to make an attempt, yeah?
Im north of Seattle! I'd love to make it, but not sure its realistic....
Convoy!
Interesting, I just realized this car specs out very similar to a Focus ST
Saab: Weight: 2990 Lbs, Power (With tune): 215, Length: 15' 2", Width: 5' 7.5", Wheel Base: 8' 6.6"
FoST: Weight: 3223 Lbs, ..................Power: 252, Length: 14' 3", Width: 5' 11.8", Wheel Base: 8' 8.3"
this is alot cleaner then my 56 dollar blazer. I hate rust!
dropstep wrote:
HA! NW Ohio vs pacific NW.
$2016 would be tight for me time wise. Kinda spending a lot of next years PTO on 2.5 weeks in Thailand in Jan/Feb. Not sure how much I will have left when October rolls around.
bgkast wrote: Convoy! Interesting, I just realized this car specs out very similar to a Focus ST Saab: Weight: 2990 Lbs, Power (With tune): 215, Length: 15' 2", Width: 5' 7.5", Wheel Base: 8' 6.6" FoST: Weight: 3223 Lbs, ..................Power: 252, Length: 14' 3", Width: 5' 11.8", Wheel Base: 8' 8.3"
I have to go back and re read your whole thread in detail now, but I was thinking this exact same thing last night as I was driving home with the one I just bought. I was actually thinking FiST...
Saab: Weight: 2990 Lbs, Power (With tune): 215, Length: 15' 2", Width: 5' 7.5", Wheel Base: 8' 6.6"
FoST: Weight: 3223 Lbs, ..................Power: 252, Length: 14' 3", Width: 5' 11.8", Wheel Base: 8' 8.3"
FiST: Weight: 2742 Lbs, ..................Power: 197, Length: 13' 4", Width: 5' 11.6", Wheel Base: 8' 2"
Seems like the Saab is the Goldilocks. And the price is certainly right.
BTW - just finished re-reading the whole thread. Great work.
I may have to steal some of these ideas from you. (esp the sway bar). Love the airbox mod too.
Have you looked into T5Suite at all? Seems you can make your own tunes and upload them with little additional hardware. Like having megasquirt without buying and building a megasquirt...
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