Saab 900 Turbo 16 S - My Introduction

This is my first video on KZbin, so please be kind.
Having just bought a classic Saab 900 Turbo 16 S a couple of weeks ago, I'm keen to learn and share my journey with you. This is a quick walk around of the car (Morty) and sharing some of the little problems which have cropped up so far.
I really would welcome tips and knowledge from the great Saab community as I go along, so please leave your comments.
In the video, I mention the wireless magnetic phone charger. You can see there here but at the time of uploading they are sold out. If you do manage to get one, I'd suggest making sure they send you the USB-C version as it charges much quicker than the micro-USB version. hotsnap.co.uk/collections/car...

[@joecutro7318]

Great to see another C900 Turbo rescued! I had an '83 4 door 5-sp with the same color combo back the 80's in the mountains of Colorado. Such a great mountain car, wish I still had it. I now have an '07 9-3 2.0t 6-sp manual convertible black on gray leather and love it, in spite of it's post GM roots. 😉 Thanks for sharing Morty and his matching feline friend with us. Wishing you all many years of driving enjoyment. 🚗

[@Meton12765]

Only imbeciles think GMs involvement was somehow bad for Saab. For one they bought 50% in 1986 and this lead to very significant improvement in QC especially after 1989 with much higher grade steel and rust proofing being incorporated because pre-GM era cars have nearly all rotted to hell pretty much. They're soft as mush and not worth saving most of the time. Also, Saab got a proper budget but their deranged obsession with putting it all on R&D made the business barely break even. As per TopGear explaining quite aptly how they turned a Vauxhall into an actual car. By re-engineering the whole thing. One thing Clarksons hyperbole doesn't even address though is the insanity of the GPS system in pre-2008 9-3s. It wasn't just a navigation system. The cars are the _only_ _known_ _automotive_ _application_ of a car with a internal data bus based on fucking _fiber_ _optics_ and there not being no budget imaginable which would make Saab capable of using military grade fiber or linking methods makes these a nightmare the fiber optics cant take automotive use stresses and break and eventually the whole thing stops working and also develops freaky gremlins and naturally this totals the car, because do you know how much a certified Fiber Optic welder costs per hour? A fuck ton. Sad really, as it was Saabs best selling car and this encompasses the majority of its production between 2003 - 2008. This bullshit was probably the reason why GM nuked the brand the way they did just before they were finishing the 9-5, which GM knew would have been a spectacular reinvigoration of the brand. What with the 9-4x made in Mexico selling very well in North America, there really was no other reason to fuck Saab over other than spite. And I can relate to that in GMs management, jayzuz whept... There really was no reason for this. NONE no engineering justification. NONE AT ALL. Just waste of money and crippling their first proper mass market model with a fucking time bomb. You could do the data busses with copper, for much much much _much_ cheaper and the GPS unit doesn't care two tits what medium the bits are delivered to it as its digital. *shrug* Does though, give legitimacy to the "Born from Jets" advertising as it was Saab's military arms and marine navigation former main branch, which had no business ownership or co-funding anymore between the two entities at the time, that did the leg work on that shit show. I'm suspicious as to perhaps the automotive guys got scammed into funding Swedish Gripen R&D by their former main office... Or they were so over excited by the idea that they couldn't see it was beyond imbecilic to even attempt and were the ones to initiate this. But safe to say that the navigation system living on in the marine and military side of things, that that's what ended up happening. GM did keep and incoporate nearly brand wide the Trionic 8 engine management system, and suddenly GM could ditch bullshit from Bosch and their own delapitated R&D dept that was making it difficult for them to make cars meet emissions or run anything with turbo charger on it. LOL. The rest went to china. :/

[@colinrobertson4065]

What e beatiful car. Perfect condition great interior absolutely love it! Saab is just unique!

[@IrenESorius]

I cant overstate how much I loved my late fathers 900 Turbo 16 S. 🥰

[@SaabAholic]

Absolutely gorgeous! I love my 1992 Convertible. Cheers!

[@16Tango]

My 15 year old son found an 86 900 Turbo that he wanted for his first car. It had been sitting for about 5 years so we are working through getting it going again.

[@kemosaabe]

Your son has great taste 👍 Good luck getting it all working again. Let me know how you get on.

[@noahman27]

OMG Absolutely goergous 900 Turbo. I'm drooling :)

[@dj_paultuk7052]

Very nice. As a 1985/86 the cars true designation is actually a 900 T16 Aero. In theory it should have the stepped inlet cams which everyone hated and these then changed in mid 86. Im a ex master tech and did my apprenticeship on these and 9000's. If you need any help just look me up, i have my own website. Paul @ The SAAB Clinic UK.

[@edgarfrank5712]

I had a 900 Turbo, 1984 . Most fun car I have owned, and it was a real head turner.

[@thomasperry4185]

Lovely car. Make sure the sunroof drains aren't blocked. That could be causing the roof issue. Will also prevent corrosion going forward.

[@rezaq1]

I saw this car at Daves, and then most recently he said he had sold it! Looked a nice one

[@kemosaabe]

Dave was a legend and he's certainly done a stellar job with this. I'm over the moon with it.

[@maartenrijs3]

Always a pleasure to see a great classic saab 900. You will really enjoy this classic car.

[@ianbrade7754]

I knew from all the photos David shared in the Facebook 900 group, when he did the restoration, that this is a very nice car. Hadn't realized just how good. Congrats!

[@AlexandrValakh]

Such a beauty! Saw it at the ‘Wings and Wheels’

[@kemosaabe]

Thanks Alexandr. It was great to see so many great Saabs at Wings n' Wheels. I wish there were more classic 900s there though.

[@grahamlewis3387]

Great start to filming and documenting the Saab's future!

[@KaneGregory]

I like the Blaupunkt it matches the car!🧠🤯🔫

[@kemosaabe]

It's a great stereo. I mainly use it for Bluetooth which it works perfectly for. It looks very cool too.

[@evgenykovalev1466]

Saab 900 turbo - 🚀

[@Meton12765]

Umm, there seems to be some serious confusion as to what is a "900 S" in this generation of the Saab 900. It is a LPT version of the 16 valve engine. And in some markets a trim level for the 2.1 liter. These two engines, the _low_ _pressure_ turbo 16V and the stroked and higher compression ratio 2.1l 16v are very similar in nominal power and torque output (145 v 140HP / 180Nm v 205Nm, LPT being the slightly more powerful one but both deliver their performance just as linearly). And the Saab 900 Turbo (16 and 8v) are a full pressure turbos. With the Aero/SPG and Aero/SPG Carlsson models being the "hottest" versions. T16 making 165 - 175hp depending on model year, but most importantly at least 280Nm of torque. Going up to and over 300Nm in the Carlsson. That's 80 - 100Nm more. And delivered in an entirely different manner. They're completely different in terms of performance characteristics than a 900 S. This car lacking the "S" in its badging isn't a trim level package for some esoteric market either. But, that's no shame. Its looks as if its a legit Saab 900 Aero/SPG as its made pre-1986 or at least sports the coveted straighter faced grille of one in addition to the Aero body kit. Not the muddled down version with out a intercooler, APC or a turbo kick of the 900 S. :) And to make things more complicated, do note the Aero/SPG body kits were offered by dealers as an option even though Saab didn't necessarily sanction this at first. But later on they would include it in their enhancement parts catalogues. So, it's at very least a 900 Turbo 16v with the Aero body kit (a working turbo gauge means FPT and intercooler, easiest way to confirm is to check whether the intercooler and knock sensors are there, you don't show if the gauge works or whats under the hood, but I'm gonna give the seller benefit of the doubt here). Meaning only difference is slightly lower tune in the engine management system. The Aero body kit and trim was also part of the "Super 8" a Turbo 8 valve last hurrah in 1989, which was the last of the original heavily kicking T8s, nominal power output being 155HP but yet again delivering ~270Nm of torque and were easy to tweak with a bleeder to give more than 300Nm, which were sold in the nordic domestic markets of Sweden _and_ _Finland_ (See, Saab-Valmet and also look up Saab 900 "Finlandia" 5D elongated version preceding the 900 CD, Saab was also very much a Finnish car). Saab was funny this way. :) Also, your car has an AC delete from factory or somewhere along the line of its life span, as it was standard feature on Aero/SPG and Turbo 16 and 8v and the Super 8 models. Many elected to lower their cars price by not having it installed for some reason, but I digress. I've only owned finnish made 900 turbo's (900 CD 1982 T8 and a 1989 Super 8) which came with it from factory. And it is in fact listed as a part of the trim level in the sales brochures. So, there are quite a few 900 S' biffing around with out a proper turbo sporting the skirting and wheels which aren't Turbos or Aeros at all. They're just sheep in wolves clothing. But, these _did_ _not_ come with turbo badges. They were badged 900 S or 900i (according to which engine they got, as per my description earlier). Of course nothing prevented someone from buying the turbo badging and grille as they were of course, available as spare parts to anyone who wanted one... This is significant because your car would have a going rate of around 30k€ these days and a LPT 900 S around 5k€...

[@doraemeah3424]

Looking forward to seeing more buddy. Cheers from Melbourne Australia.

[@kalcine]

Love these cars. So bad there is hard to find a decent turbo here in Hungary where I live.... Keep on loving your car ! Regards.

[@stevebryan8]

Lovely example. That interior is great. I believe the 85's had biodegradable wiring throughout. Hopefully the P.O has gotten this sorted, but it can be the cause of lots of electrical gremlins.

[@kemosaabe]

Thanks Steven. I have a sneaky feeling the wiring could be Morty's Achilles heel. I guess time will tell. 👍

[@stevebryan8]

It’s all repairable. That’s what’s so great about these cars. So easy to work on. The engineering is fantastic. The Bentley manual is a great aid in any maintenance you might need to do. Enjoy! Following along to see what you get into.

[@peterbonnici1723]

Good vid and ripper car, great choice of radio as well really suits the era . Chances are the sun roof drain holes are blocked or too much water going in and not getting out quick enough. Good work, on working out your electric issues. Will stay tuned, Pete

[@youngsd01]

Got 2 900 turbos. Make sure you blow through the sunroof drains a couple of times a year with an air line down your local tyre shop. Good luck with your new ownership. They are rather addictively charming and handle superbly. Recommend polybushes all round when you get to it.

[@user-eq1hc7ny5c]

Until these days I still regret selling mine which was my first brand new car I bought in 1992...Please cherish this wonderful machine...much better than EVs lol...

[@kemosaabe]

I certainly will cherish and enjoy it along the way.

[@ML-vl7rf]

what a lovely saab! do you know where was the car re upholstered? thanks

[@kemosaabe]

The chap who did the whole rebuild did it himself. Dave Palmer over in Benfleet in the UK.

[@ML-vl7rf]

@@kemosaabe thanks for this

[@BWTECH0521]

I thought that cat was a rusty muffler too! Looks like I wasn't the only one hahahaha. New saab youtube channel! Welcome. Subbed :)

[@MJPyt111]

nice video and welcome

[@kemosaabe]

Thanks Matthew. Making videos is new and a little uncomfortable for me but I hope to get better at it.

[@m.akbart3840]

Sweet

[@kemosaabe]

Thanks. It's my pride and joy at the moment.

[@peterbonnici1723]

Oh and old enough to under stand Kemosaabe with your little twist

[@3waystopcock]

I know cost of ownership in UK is crazy but its amazing, this vehicle in US, seller would be asking anywhere from 12-30grand

[@lewis72]

I had a C plate 900 T16S in silver from 1997 to 2000. It went like stink. Problems I had were: - Elec windows. - Clonking driveshafts. - Misfires on full boost (needed new spark plugs). It's sensitive to tyres, so don't put cheap crap on it.

[@dejantrbojevic6051]

Sta bih dao za jedan takav...uh

[@ursusskandia]

Beautiful car! Thought there was a rusty exaust muffler lying under the car at the start ;-). I chose the same radio for the exact same reason. Interesting idea of utilizing the blank switches for a charger! These cars are phantastic good luck in the future! Bjorn from www.youtube.com/@ursusskandia

[@kemosaabe]

Thank Bjorn. I'm now following your journey with your beautiful convertible. Keep uploading more videos!

[@myyracommunity4932]

os umm. when are u gonna floor it.

[@bvb09rf]

колхозник!

[@racing3060]

👍👍💪💪💚🤍❤