Got the Aero back.

Headgasket, rear washer hose, engine top mount, rear discs and pads, 12k service materials, some replacement studs and all the labour £600 inc VAT. Not bad. Still makes the car affordable at £1500.

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thats not bad really thought it was gonna be a lot more!

Headgasket, rear washer hose, engine top mount, rear discs and pads, 12k service materials, some replacement studs and all the labour £600 inc VAT. Not bad. Still makes the car affordable at £1500.

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Good order...

This reminds me that the TiD's MOT is coming up.

Pick the right man for the job. He is the Saab club tech officer, he is the northwest club chairman I=20 think, and he works with 3 blokes, in what looks like a converted=20 cowshed, with two 4 post lifts, power, a broadband connection and a=20 computer and a phone. No shiney reception area with a filter coffee=20 machine and xbox, just a pitted muddy gravel carpark at the back of the=20 mill where his shed is. He doesn't need to meet franchise targets, and=20 he doesn't need to pay big money for a fancy lease.

He's a former Saab Mastertech with 40 years mechanicing 30 of them=20 exclusively Saab.

--=20 Carl Robson Audio stream:

Got the tax due this month, but I've got a grand coming back from the gas and electric as I was overpaying on the budget plan, they wouldn't adjust or refund without a proper read and they kept estimating, and they now only bill every 6 months so I've been overpaying for a year between proper reads.

I think now I know all is good, I can plan and decide whether I want to keep nice, or tweak and tune as needed. At least I know I have a solid grunty base whatever, even if I just swap out as it wears out.

Carl, do you prefer the 9000 to the 900? I'm thinking of buying another Saab, just wondered which you liked most?

Mike P

You didn't ask me, but I'll offer my opinion anyway: I prefer the bigger machines. I don't dislike my 9-3 - actually in a strange this-isn't-quite-a-proper-Saab-but-it-has-the-proper-Saab-traits, I'm quite fond of it. But I would prefer the 9-5 equivalent.

I was thinking of old C900 vs old 9000 turbos, that's why I didn't ask you as you have a more modern one diesel one;-) I really miss my old FPT 900 but the ones I've seen have either been overpriced or quite shitty. 9000s don't seem as expensive and I think they might not have been caned as much.

Mike

Difficult decision. I've only driven three classic 900s but plenty of

9000s, as the managing director of one of my previous employers was a 9000 fan and we had half a dozen in the company.

I'd probably buy on condition...

Now might be a better time to buy the 9000 because as a large, big car is clearly far more expensive to run than a smaller car. Meh. :-)

Sounds a bit like the man I take my Golf to. Industrial unit in the back of beyond, but he knows his s**te and has a twin engined Corrado...

I've not had either but I've been in both, and TBH the C900 is fecking cramped for the size of it. I always wanted one (and test drove a few) but when I went in a bloke from works C900 for a few hours on the motorway I realised I could never stick having one...

When I had the 900 T16s, I had a 9000 CDE as a courtesy car and it felt worlds different. More modern, softer, smoother.

Now though, having owned the Aero for a month, having driven the 9-5 auto, the aero feels very "old saab" right down to the short arms driving position because the 93 9000 didn't get the steering wheel adjustment of any kind. Earlier ones got it, later ones got it. But those in the first couple of airbag years didn't.

The 9000 aero doesn't have the kick on the kidneys that the 900 with a T3 and bosch injection had. It is even smoother than the later 900s with the mitsu turbo and lucas injection. Boost comes in earlier, revs higher and doesn't hit hard anywhere.

I think I need a remap ;)

I'd like to drive a decent fpt 900 again back to back and see how I like it.

They're a bit long, which isn't a problem. They are narrow, but that's an advantage, IMHO.

Adrian was saying the the MkIV Golf courtesy car he had was something crazy like 6in. wider.

Yebbut inside you've got f*ck all room because there's a wheel well where you feet should be... It's like the feeling you get in a Jag XJ40 or XJ8, but as opposed to being quite snug and comfy despite being in a BFO car, you're cramped.

Does Hadfield Mill Padfield, or Padfield Mill Hadfield sound familiar?

You should never of got shot of the one you had ;-)

it's a 60's design tweaked, very narrow. but actually about as long as an old jag and LONGER than a 9000. What I do miss about my current car is not being to fit a fridge freezer or wardrobe in the boot....immensely practical for a hatch.

If that's the case, remember and make the Dollar exchange rate work for you. Buy a bog stock ECU from ebay or somewhere, Jak Stoll chip is $200 for the

265 wheel horsepower one. Means you get to keep you Aero ECU unmolested and they are an easy swap out - well inside 5 minutes.

Or

Do something else :-)

Glad the car is going well anyway.

Interestingly enough, the 99 doesn't feel as cramped as the 900.

The Saab specialist in Pontefract has a 1972 99GL for sale and annoyingly I am tempted...

That's the different market for you and the reason why Cocknose* liked the bigger Saabs more. The 900 (99 Turbo onwards really) were, deliberate or not, great for that big push in the back feeling. The 9000 was deliberately made to be softer. This could be because in order to make it feel as stark they'd have to overcome the slightly greater weight, or because the 9000 was always designed with families in mind, or for whatever reason.

I think this is why I like the 9-5 2.0t so much. More so than the 9-3 2.0t, "turbo, what turbo?"