«The long way» to the old Saab 9000

Actually, my heart beats for BMW. Preferably large-volume straight-six. I grew up in various models of Ford and BMW, whereby in our car enthusiastic family the models of Mercedes Benz were always the measure of things. Something as exotic as a Saab could not be found anywhere and a Saab representative in our area was out of the question. And yet I have always liked the rare cars from the far north very much.

Saab 9000 CC 2.3i
Saab 9000 CC 2.3i

In my youth, I can only remember a point of contact with the brand Saab. A friendly landlord of a holiday home brought us the keys of his house and drove on with a golden Saab 900.

Probably a vehicle for the older gentlemen of the equipment ago, but the shape of the rear inspired me and stood so well with the flowing course in contrast to the very steeply standing windshield. I found the 900er beautiful and always happy when I met such a vehicle on the street. This basic sympathy has then seamlessly transferred to the 9000er of the first series with the steep front. From the second series of the 9000ers left my attention again something. Although I had my driving license by now, a Saab was far from becoming "my" car.

And yet I always had a sympathy bonus in mind for the vehicles from Trollhättan. On holiday in Sweden, the visit of the Saab Museum was a must and a significant part of the holiday pictures was created in these walls.

With the release of the 9-5, I think the design at Saab went up again steeply. A great car, unfortunately I did not consider the engines to be optimal for the vehicle class. Four-cylinder in the upper middle class? Where at BMW from the 320i already a silky straight-six is ​​at work? Well, today that's not so ... Finally, but I came back through the approved here in town 9-5 NG to Googling for Saab. The nordic design, the light bar ... everything was great.

However, it quickly became clear that the vehicle fleet would not be able to cope with an additional two-door 900er in the Aero-Trim or even an 9-5 NG budget-wise. I narrowed down the search then: a 9000er CC the first series with a steep front, like with turbo and classic color (!!) It should be. Here in Switzerland it is difficult, extremely difficult to find!

In Germany, I actually found my dream vehicle. But the bureaucratic hurdles for an older vehicle of a now-defunct brand made the purchase and import impossible. Actually, I have found many very helpful people, but no one could or wanted to issue me the appropriate document and take over the responsibility to the registration authority.

Saab 9000 CC 1989
Saab 9000 CC 1989

I then gave it beaten first and sporadically searched in Switzerland. Until that fateful day a good year ago, when I found an 9000er, first series, without turbo but with complete service history, a few kilometers and fresh from vehicle inspection (TÜV).

I liked the first pictures, even though the magenta brown color scheme was not quite commonplace. I actually wanted it classic, preferably in silver ... but the CC is no longer the big choice. My first question to the seller, however, concerned the interior: "This can come about in terms of color so about or was there something wrong during the exposure?". The seller's answer: "All the colors of the images are true and bokhararot was considered a tone-on-tone magenta finish in the late 80 and early 90 years".

Schockschwerenot! But I had to see him, drive and finally buy as my "Erstsaab". He is just as consistent, could only be topped by a pearly-colored with bokhararotem interior.

Interior Saab 9000 CC
Interior Saab 9000 CC

After the thorough optical treatment of the interior and exterior, the replacement of all fluids and the assembly of the spoons in turbo version organized in Sweden (yes, it had to be because without spoiler, the tail does not seem complete) makes the 2.3 i great joy. He convinces with smooth running like a six-cylinder, his temperament is not as moderate as feared and I like the numerous quirks of his construction. And the big sunroof.

A few minor things are still to do, but I hope despite the balancing shafts in the 2.3i engine still many trouble-free kilometers to cover with the 9000er - my Saab workshop is quite confident ...

Thanks to Patrick for his Saab 9000 story! Do you also have something to tell about Saab?

 The story of an unforgettable holiday, a restoration, the first contact with the brand from Trollhättan or simply why Saab belongs to the automotive life ...

Whatever it is, write us. We look forward to many Saab stories!

13 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline feedback
View all comments
Thorsten
Thorsten
7 years earlier

Beautiful, especially because it is a cliff schnauzer (so the 9000 with the steep muzzle of one, SAAB veterans in the SAAB Museum was called) I also thought about a decommissioning, but my 9000 should remain original. And that's your 9000 without question. His brother Nr.1 and Nr. 2, who made the world record in Talladega, also have a bokhararote velor outfit with door boards and dashboard. Really cool.

Patrick
Patrick
7 years earlier
Reply to  Thorsten

Of course I was very happy when I came across the interior of the Talladega 9000er after buying the car while googling

However, patience is required when looking for a suitable material for the door panels. I do not have a solution yet. But I am very happy that the seats and the carpets have been very well preserved.

Great Otto
Great Otto
7 years earlier

“... and I like the numerous quirks of its construction” - finally someone who admits that from the perspective of the scrap iron faction, the oh-so boring 9000er ... It always depends on the point of view - and still have fun on the way to the piece of jewelry!

Herbert Hürsch
Herbert Hürsch
7 years earlier

I think the colors are cool.

You could hang two small disco balls on the inside mirror ...

At a vintage car meeting, it's best to stand next to a turquoise-white lacquered 55er Bel Air with fabric cubes on the mirror.

Then the last person will understand what color and disco balls are all about: zeitgeist, authenticity plus a bit of mischief!

PS
The smooth running of the 2,3 with its two balance shafts is legendary. At that time, many journalists also appreciated that.

Stephan Schneider
Stephan Schneider
7 years earlier

the color is great, I would ALWAYS prefer black, silver or gray. Well, it was also the color of my first Saab (9000 Turbo from 88) - but it had a “normal” color for the interior. Congratulations from me too on this exceptional and beautiful car and hopefully many more happy kilometers.

Christoph germ
Christoph germ
7 years earlier

Hallo,
everything done right. The color of the interior decor simply belongs to the time. Congratulations to such a nice and well-preserved vehicle.
gruß

Patrick
Patrick
7 years earlier

I emailed an interior picture to Tom earlier. Maybe he'll switch it on. The spontaneously created image still has a few "blemishes" that have already been partially resolved. Only the door trim in the beautiful red makes currently really worried ...

Tom
admin
7 years earlier
Reply to  Patrick

Just finished. Greetings from Trollhattan

Olaf
Olaf
7 years earlier
Reply to  Tom

Thank you Tom!
: Well I think the interior is really cool!

EF-moose
EF-moose
7 years earlier

Forget the balance shafts, you should only have the oil pump checked whether the old one with one “nose” or the newer one with 3 “noses” was installed, the former could tear off

Olaf
Olaf
7 years earlier

Congratulations on this beautiful 9000. So I think the color fits well into the 80s. This only makes the quirky Swede stand out even more. A photo of the interior would be great. It is precisely these characteristics that make SAAB interesting. Anyone can do silver…;-)

cosche
cosche
7 years earlier
Reply to  Olaf

Congratulations from me too. But I'm also looking forward to the interior photo. ; P

Lukas
Lukas
7 years earlier

Very nice CC and great story!
Greetings from the ZH-Oberland.