Ah, the quirky Saab hatchback: one of the enthusiasts’ communities more lovable oddballs. Saabs have famously marched to the beat of their own drum ever since its inception, and admirably fought like hell to keep its identity in the dark GM years. Sadly, like so many other acquisitions gone bad, the smaller acquired company shut its doors and all that remains are the vehicles that diehard drivers keep on the road. This 1983 Saab 900 Turbo listed here on eBay seems to be one such vehicle, with the listing noting that it was acquired from the long-time second owner who purchased it in 1989.
Some of my favorite details can be found on the nose of the car, where you’ll see that the black plastic trim has incredibly not succumbed to years’ worth of sun damage, suggesting that it has been stored indoors more often than not. The other detail are those original accessory Saab fog lamps, complete with intact stone shields. For Saab guys, accessories like those are pure catnip, and very hard to find in any sort of condition these days.
The interior of the Saab is in good shape for the year and for being an unrestored car. The dashboards are particularly vulnerable to cracking, and in another indication it has not been stored outside, I do not see any obvious splits in the pad. Now, the big bummer here is the automatic transmission. This was a pretty miserable transmission by any standard, a 3-speed box sourced from GM with a high failure rate. I bought a convertible a few years ago that I converted to a manual and was always glad I did. Perhaps the same future awaits this bone-stock hatch?
The 1990 Saab 900 Turbo SE convertible I owned was a perky driver, with plenty of grunt for an otherwise humble powerplant. It wasn’t a love connection for me, but I’ve also never particularly liked the power delivery of turbocharged cars. The fact that this one hasn’t been modified and has lots of good details like the dash and the bumper trim make it a solid candidate for a manual swap, which is one of the easier ones to do in the world of three-pedal conversions. Bidding sits at a measly $1,225 with no reserve.
I do note that you didn’t pick up from the eBay listing that the Turbo has apparently failed with the previous owner and has not been repaired or been back on the road since.
Why does everyone on here loathe automatic transmissions? If I was in a car with an auto trans and you were in the identical car with a manual trans, I bet I could get from point A to point B at the same time as you.
The “Classic” Saab 900 did not have a very good automatic transmission.
It was a front-drive variant of the Borg-Warner Type 35 or 37 3-speed slushbox that was woefully outdated by the 1990s – inefficient, very high engine revs at highway speed, short-lived, and expensive to repair. (In fact I believe these cars may have been the last automotive use for that transmission.) Therefore 5-speed manual transmission swaps are pretty popular. The manual transmissions are also somewhat fragile but with care they can last a long time.
This series of videos gives an idea of what the swap involves:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiNkU67wq0o
I don’t loathe automatic transmissions but there are cars where the automatic is better suited. Like I would rather own an automatic in a Mercedes product of the 80’s and 90’s than the clunky manual transmission offering. The same can be said of the 900. The 900 turbo with the automatic is a dog and with additional tenancies for reliability and oil leaks best to be avoided. Transaxle forms the oil pan for the engine and transmission removal calls for removing the entire assembly which is time consuming. I did find a way to remove just the transaxle from the car when I worked on them as a factory technician but still a job. I have also rebuilt a few of the automatics when I would buy the cars with bad ones.
Also some correction is needed on the article. These are 3 speed Borg Warner units bespoke to the Saab 900. Torque converter sits on top and the automatic and split valve body reside below with about 20 steel pipes that have to be removed and installed in a specific sequence. I had a laminated schematic to help when working on them. Most transmission shops could not work on them.
Is this transmission similar/same as the Citroen sm?
To answer your question, because when a automatic transmission gives up your calling a tow truck to get you to the nearest shop or home, when a manual goes out anyone who knows how to rig things can at least make it back home.
Back in the day, both my wife and I were running classic 900s… I had a 3 door with the 5 speed… she had a 4 door with the automatic. The slush drive completely changed the character of the car… and not in good way. The auto was slower, no where near as responsive, and it robbed the car of of about 6 mpg. On top of that, it was not known for its reliability… and ours being true to form needed a rebuild at around 90k mi… The 5 speed was sold at 175K mi with the original trans and clutch still working fine.
These cars comfortable and look cool but everything mechanical and electrical is strange and funky from the ignition to the handbrake,seat adjustment, electric switches And dash knobs, gear shifter and the way the hood opens is all just weird and backasswords compared to American cars.Reminded me of the Yugo,LeCar and Renaults–goofy engineered cars.
Why do you not like turbo cars? My 850 T-5 Volvo estate made me giggle like a total eejit, it was so quick.
Saabs are nest, best suited to a manual trans across the board. Why didn’t Saab use the gm th350 trans, or even the Hydramatic 200 o/d from the Grand Nationals and Monte Carlos ?
Probably a matter of packaging. These OG 900s have a longitudinal FWD powertrain layout with the engine mounted “backwards”, its nose end at the firewall driving the accessories, and the power output in front driving a chain to the transmission mounted below the engine, where its housing also serves as the engine oil pan.
Author would be wise to check all the pictures – there are photos that clearly indicate sun damage to the exterior paint, a cracked dash pad, cargo cover, and no mention at all of the temporary doughnut spare on the car. While the bidding is low, I personally believe it’s largely justified due to the mechanical and cosmetic needs of the car. It’s a lovely little Saab and deserves TLC.
Add an extra pedal and I’d be all over this like a fat kid on custard.
As Alphasud mentions, the autobox is the Achilles heel of most Classic 900s. The torque converters would give it up after about 100,000 miles, and they weren’t easy or cheap to repair. I rescued my ’90 Turbo ‘vert from a shop in North Carolina…her automatic gearbox had grenaded at 105,000 miles and she was turning into a parts car. Fortunately, I was able to talk the owner of the shop into doing an auto-to-five speed conversion, and Fiona now sits proudly in the barn, waiting for spring.
The Borg-Warner was not noted for particularly smooth shifts…..my ’77 99 GL still has her BW three speed….Cocoa is strictly an around town car. Driving her on the highway induces ringing in the ears from a engine totally handcuffed by the gearbox at highway speeds. My brother’s ’75 Volvo 164 also has the same gearbox…it’s as smooth as a pig on stilts when going into reverse or trying to find passing gear out on the highway.
There’s a reason that most 99s and C900s were born as four and five speeds…….
IIRC there was a pinion in the final drive that commonly failed on the Borg-Warner Type 35 automatic. I had an ’80 900 that suffered this failure, and that resulted in me scrapping the car. Later cars used a Type 37 that wasn’t vulnerable to this failure.
I don’t understand none of this but then I’m not a Saab fan either and after reading all this mombo jombo I’ll probably never will be.
Bill–
It wasn’t just the pinion, it was the torque converters that generally gave it up, usually around the 100K mark. You could always tell when the converter was failing, because there would be an ungodly whine from the gearbox that got louder and louder until the converter finally died. It was particularly prevalent in turbocharged cars….the box just couldn’t handle all of the torque put out by the engine. I’ve harvested lots of parts for my fleet of C900s from less fortunate cars that were saddled with the slush-o-matic.
loved this model (wife’s car) to drive, wrench.
With my 83 wolwo 240 wagon I easily drove her krazy sayin
“My ford” or “Your cheby.”
I wish the co still produced…