So I picked up a 2003 SAAB 9-3 ARC yesterday for $100 not running. Today with a borrowed battery and new copper spark plugs and it runs now. I started talking about it here, but this is the official build thread now that I am going to make it road worthy.
Here's the (only) picture from the craigslist ad. Apparently this is an old picture... The paint actually has some pretty bad clear coat damage on the hood, roof and spoiler. More pictures and info to come.
Got it on the lift tonight for a better look.
Main concern at this point is some oil leaking/oil buildup on the belt side of the engine and some on the tranny side. Anyone know common leak points? I am hesitant to spray the area down to clean it out for a better look because I know these SAABs have a lot of electronics that I don't want to mess up. Also, are the bushings for the engine mounts oil filled that they could leak? It does have 182k miles.
Other things to do for inspection / general safety:
Compression check showed right around 175 PSI on all 4 cylinders, pretty satisfied with that.
The shocks feel a bit worn, but still should have some life left in them. Definitely enough to pass inspection. After everything else is gone over I'll decide what I want to do here.
Plenty of other small stuff, but I think it'll turn out nicely.
My old boss is pretty good with painting cars, so I showed him the car. He said that due to the nature of how clear coat works it really isn't possible to do a quality clear coat job on top of old paint. He said you could make it look good for maybe 6 months, but then you're going to have issues again. He thinks he could just re-paint the hood, roof, and trunk and match it up pretty well so we'll see. I could always chip off what flaking clear coat I can and wrap it... Or plastidip...
The tail light and large dent above:
I have a new (used) tail light on the way, I haven't decided what to do with the dent yet. I need to take a look behind and see if there is room to pop it out, or if I should just leave it and just make sure to do something so it doesn't rust.
Slight front bumper damage from the tow dolly:
Most likely will "stitch" it up with a couple drill holes and zip ties. Because.
Roof antenna:
Looks nasty, still works. TBD what will be done about it. (Might just be for OnStar?)
Passenger side headlight washer:
Personally I don't really care about the functionality of it, but the open hole in the bumper is kind of annoying. May see if I can find a black plastic plug or something.
The driver's side mirror plastic is a plain plastic color instead of color matched and doesn't quite sit right. I'll have to look at it more to see if I can make it fit and maybe just make both mirrors black.
There are plenty of other chips and small dents around the car, but overall it's not bad. Not bad at all!
Please, keep it coming.
Last post for tonight...
Here are the spark plugs that I replaced on Sunday. A.K.A. the main reason it wasn't starting. (Besides a dead battery)
Junkyards are full of these cars. You should have access to most anything there
Motor and transmission mounts are rubber. No leaky fluid filled units.
I'd clean the engine to chase the oil leak, but I might not fix it depending on where it is. Only take a little care to not blast electrical things.
Direct link to the owners manual for your car btw.
foxtrapper wrote: Direct link to the owners manual for your car btw. '03 93 snaab owners manual
Handy, thanks! I'm pretty sure all the manuals and even the original sale paper work (~$33k new I think?) are in the glovebox, but I like having a PDF around. According to the dealership paper it came with 13 speakers. Wow.
foxtrapper wrote: Motor and transmission mounts are rubber. No leaky fluid filled units. I'd clean the engine to chase the oil leak, but I might not fix it depending on where it is. Only take a little care to not blast electrical things.
Gotcha. I knew some cars had fuild filled bushings, wasn't sure.
I'll have to try and clean it out somehow. But yeah, depending on what's leaking, and how bad, I may not fix it either. It depends.
that antenna is the antenna for the radio. It should have a short metal bit above it too
New key fob casing came in! So much nicer not to fell like I need to wash my hands after using the key to start the car... Now, does anyone know where I can get this blank key cut to match?
This one is a fun for looking up lots of info on your car via the VIN.
The Saab Site
This isn't the typical VIN decoder info, it's very in depth.
Plug in your VIN, then click "Additional Details". Oh lala!
In reply to foxtrapper:
I just tried that and didn't see an additional details button.... maybe my saab is too old? (1999)
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