The Sharp Saab in Thailand

On our Facebook fanpage we`ve nearly 1200 fans now. One of them is Krit Jongudomsombut from Bangkok (Thailand). As we maybe all know, in Thailand a Saab is very rare (for sure not so common like here in Europe).

Krit told me people in Thailand really don`t know Saab. If he parks at the public car park people often call his car a Sharp (brand of electric appliances) instead of Saab. Krit is a Saab fan for many years. And he`s not the only one in his family. Also his brother in law drives a Saab.

The Saab 96 shown above is the wedding car of Krit and Puntita (they`ve planned their marriage januari the 23rd). Krit drives his Saab 96 for 5 days a week and he gets a lot of attention on the road. Krit drives a very exclusive car because there are just 2 other Saab 96`s left in Thailand.

In the past Krit had also a 1993 Saab 9000CD. Below some pictures.

Finally a picture of the Black Saab 9000 CD Krit owns, this one is from 1997. Do you have a Saab too, feel free to post your picture with or without story on our Facebook page.

Mini Saab meet

Yesterday evening I had the event in my showroom with clients of my company combined with fellow Saabists. Alexander was present too, he came with his nice Saab 9-3 Convertible with V6 engine from Bratislava (Slovakia). I`ve got some bottles of Slovakian wine from him, thank you very much Alex! Unfortunately I forgot to make a picture of his nice Saab between my Saabs during daylight, so I have to organise an other meet :).

Some Saab drivers had never driven in a V4, so Robbert (my neighbor) offered them a ride through our village in my 95 veteran Saab.

The Belgian Saabists where present too and they`ve tested my mussels (I passed the test). More pictures are shared on this link (dutch).

Saabs, Prosciutto and Mussels

Yesterday evening I had an event with San Daniele Prosciutto in my Snaidero kitchen showroom (today as well). One of my guests (Ben) also owns a Saab (a 9-3 convertible more or less the same as I have) and we where talking about nice Saabs. I told him I like the Saab 2-strokes, but he had never seen one (me neither until IntSaab). Actually I wanted to show him some youtube videos with Saab two-strokes but unfortunately it was too late to start up my computer again (after midnight). That`s why I`ve embedded some video`s for him, I hope he understands me better now. Today more Saab drivers are expected to visit my showroom. One of them is Alexander (he also has a 9-3 convertible). Alexander lives in Bratislava, so he has a nice trip to do today with his Saab. Alexander has a blog about Saabs like me. Besides Alexander also some Dutch and Belgian Saab drivers are expected. At one of our Saabmeets at the airport we where talking about mussels and I told one of the Belgian Saab drivers I can make the best mussels of the world. Tonight I have to prove I did not exaggerate.

Clean oil pan for the 9-5

Yesterday evening we`ve proceeded with my Midnight Blue Saab 9-5. Last week we`ve cleaned the oil pan and strainer. This page of Frank Wulfers was very usefull for us (never done this before to be honest).

Yesterday we`ve installed the clean oil pan back in the car. After that we`ve filled the engine with fresh oil.

Starting the car was not easy with a dead battery, so the 9-3 convertible supplied the electricity. We`ve let the engine warm up but (fortunately) did not see leaks around the oil sump.

For the moment I`m finished with my own 9-5. We want to do the same maintenance now first for the Saab 9-5 of John (an other local Saabist). John helped me with my 9-5 too the last weeks, on the picture below he is cleaning my engine.

Article about Kazimir van Hooijdonk

In the dutch newspaper "het Financieele dagblad" of this morning an article was written about Kazimir van Hooijdonk (KCPerformance). He not only has a Phaeton but also a nice Saab 9-5 from `98 with 450hp (yes, 450hp is correct). If you double click on the image you can read the article (if you can read dutch).

Electric Saab 9-3 convertible

According to AutoWeek New Saab wants to make an electric 9-3 convertible as well. Good news because the convertible is (in my opinion) the "überSaab". Saab needs a car like this to position itself as a premium brand. I can imagine that driving with an open Saab and no engine noise feels like flying in a glider. You only have the sound of the wind, that`s it.

Besides this it is again confirmed that New Saab wants to make 9-3`s with petrol engines too. Good news! See the original (Dutch) text below. Source Saab is dood, maar de nieuwe eigenaar National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) broedt druk op een plan om de Zweedse reus opnieuw tot leven te wekken. Uit een gesprek dat AutoWeek in Trollhattan voerde met woordvoerder blijkt dat 'Het Nieuwe Saab' mogelijk zelfs een elektrische cabriolet in de planning heeft. Eerder konden jullie op AutoWeek.nl al lezen dat de nieuwe eigenaar van Saab plannen heeft om binnen achttien maanden een elektrische variant van de laatste Saab 9-3 op de markt te brengen. National Electric Vehicle Sweden, onderdeel van een grote Chinese Holding, heeft namelijk de rechten op die auto verworven en is zelf (naar eigen zeggen) al vergevorderd met de techniek voor die elektrisch aangedreven auto, die in eerste instantie vooral voor de Chinese markt is bedoeld. NEVS heeft die rechten niet alleen voor de 9-3 sedan, maar ook voor de Sport Estate en - jawel - de cabriolet. Het merk verklaarde tegenover AutoWeek dat het van plan is om al die modelvarianten opnieuw een nieuw leven te gunnen. Een logische vervolgvraag is dan natuurlijk of alle drie die auto's ook als EV te koop zullen zijn. De PR-man van NEVS zei desgevraagd heel resoluut dat 'NEVS in principe geen deuren dicht houdt', en 'dat het dus zo maar zou kunnen'. De techniek is er immers, en het zou ons niet verbazen dat er heel wat geld te verdienen is met zo'n fluisterstille boulevardcruiser. Als dat daadwerkelijk door gaat, betekent dit dat het nieuwe Saab tegen die tijd als enige een elektro-cabriolet in het assortiment voert. Mogelijk ook 9-3 op benzine Elektrisch wordt niet het enige stokpaardje, want NEVS gaf bovendien toe dat er druk wordt gezocht naar manieren om de 9-3 zo snel mogelijk ('het liefst binnen een jaar') weer in productie te nemen. In dat geval zal de auto dus voorzien worden van verbrandingsmotoren, en dat vormt meteen het grootste struikelblok. De motoren die het 'oude' Saab monteerde, kwamen namelijk uit de rekken van ex-moeder General Motors, en die Amerikanen willen het liefst niets meer met Saab van doen hebben. "Er is nog steeds een kleine mogelijkheid dat GM wel motoren wil leveren, maar daar zijn we nog druk mee bezig", verklaart de woordvoerder. "En mocht dat niet lukken, dan hebben we nog opties bij andere merken. Zoals ik al zei, wij houden alle mogelijkheden open en sluiten geen deuren." De enige deuren die nog dicht zijn, behoren vooralsnog toe aan de fabriek in Zweden. De toekomst zal dus moeten uitwijzen in welke vorm Saab zal terugkomen, al hebben wij met eigen ogen kunnen zien dat de productiefaciliteit klaar is voor een tweede leven

Saab 9-5 oilpan check for sludge

Yesterday evening I`ve started (with help from other local Saabists) with the oil pan check of my Saab 9-5. Frank Wulfers has made a very usefull how-to-do page if you want to know how to do it yourself.

On the picture above the old oil is drained. In the mean time also my airfilter has been replaced with a new one.

My 9-5 oil pan was not very clean, but could be worse for a car of nearly 15 years of age (334.000km).

I`ve cleaned the oil pan and strainer with some Avgas but I`m not finished yet. It was midnight when we`ve stopped and my oil pan was rather clean. I hope to proceed soon.

Saab 93 in Black

In Sweden a real nice `59 Saab 93B is for sale now on Blocket.se. This Saab 93 has been renovated in the late 80's and has since then always been stored in a heated garage. According to the owner it was only driven short distances during the summer period. Below pictures prove it is snowing in the summer too in Sweden :).

Nevertheless, a really really nice car. The 93 is a 2-stroke Saab by the way with a 748cc three cylinder engine producing 33hp (25kW).

The gearbox in the 93 had only three gears. The 93 was also the 1st Saab to be exported from Sweden.

Changing ATF for the Saab 9-5

Yesterday evening I`ve changed the oil for my automatic transmission (ATF) of the Saab 9-5. I`ve got some help from other local Saabists because I`m not so experienced yet with these kind of things. If you want to do it yourself too, please read this how-to-do page from Frank Wulfers.

My interior filter was rather "original" so I`ve ordered a new one. If time permits I`ll do the oil change very soon. First we`ll do the ATF change of John`s 9-5 (an other local Saabist) and then we proceed with my 9-5.

Restart 9-3 production

According to Saabsunited NEVS is evaluating to restart the current 9-3 product line. The restart mainly depends on some certain key aspects: - Supplier readiness to restart supply of parts. - Customer demand. - Dealer capabilities. One of the major reasons to restart production said was that NEVS could hire back production staff and utilize the production plant even before the launch of the EV1. When NEVS bought the rights of the 9-3 it did not include the drive-train from GM. However NEVS confirms that they are exploring a number of different engines.

Mogens Saab96 Hagen

One of my Saab friends (Melle) is living in Danmark and brought me into contact with Mogens Bennedsgaard Hagen. Mogens is a Saab 96 driving vicar in Danmark and helps me if I need parts for my 95 veteran. Melle e-mailed me a link about Mogens, unfortunately I cannot understand the language but you can see Mogens driving in his 96.

According to Melle a vicar driving in an old Saab is very rare in Danmark. In the area where I live (Zeeland / the Netherlands) I know more Saab driving vicars. One of them has a black 9-3 hatchback, an other one has a "noisy" red Arrow and participates with our local Saab meets.

Saab Car Museum support association

The text below is copy-pasted from Saabsunited: Yesterday a new association deeply linked with Saab’s heritage was officially launched, The Saab Car Museum – Support Association. For a few months now I, as a representative from SaabsUnited has been part of a start-up board for this new “club” which aim is to help preserve the collection of cars, keep the museum alive with new cars to show and also help organizing serious events such as the Saab Festival. I have attended a number of meetings and together with a great team from various parts of what used to be the previous company Saab Automobile. We have worked out the guidelines of the association and also found ways for what the association can do for its members. The chairman of the association was elected yesterday, his name is Gunnar Larsson, who previously worked as Technical Director at SAAB Automobile AB. Several other great people from Saab is involved in the board for the association and I’m sure they will do a superb job!. As a first step, thanx to the sponsors of SaabsUnited, we were able to fund the costs of establishing the web-domain for the website of the association, and the Swedish Saab Club did a good job with providing the server space required. Membership for the association will come at a cost of 200 SEK per year per member and a number of benefits which are very exclusive have been proposed to be made available for the members. We’ll get back with more details once it has been decided upon! The video above is made with my phone driving the 95 veteran.

Gummi holder found / black sludge check Saab 9-5

For my veteran Saab 95 I needed just 1 small part before the car was really finished. A small gummi holder wich holds the "family-seat" to the bank in the middle. I was looking for it for a long time. Thanks to some Danish Saabists I finally have got my holders today. Thanks!

Since the 95 really is finished, I recently bought a Saab 9-5 as a new project. Fortunately the engine has MOD6 and runs well. I do not have sludge on the dipstick or an oil-pressure warning. But I want to do some preventive maintenance first because the 2.0 liter engine I have (used in the early versions of the 9-3 and 9-5) may develop sludge what clogs the oil pickup screen, starving the engine of oil (this is also a problem for the 2.3 liter engines in early 9-3 and 9-5 Saabs). Regular oil changes can help avoid sludge damage (I for myself think a service interval every 10.000km is fine). My neighbor (Robbert) offered me help with the black-sludge check (we`ll do an other 9-5 of a local Saabist at the same time).

Below the how-to that I found on the web: First drain the oil to check its condition, and replace the oil filter which allows you to see if it has any sludge inside of it. Then drop and clean the oil pan. Remove the oil pan using a 13mm socket which allows you to inspect it for sludge buildup. Use a mild detergent like transmission fluid to scrub and clean the oil pan. While the oil pan is off your Saab, inspect the oil pickup screen, located in the oil pan. If the pickup screen is clogged, your engine has been starved of oil because of sludge. Clean the oil pickup screen if it is dirty. Replace the oil pan gasket and reinstall. After cleaning the oil pan, remove the remaining gasket from the edges of the pan. Fit a new oil pan gasket or RTV gasket sealant and bolt the oil pan back to the underside of the engine. After tightening the pan, complete an oil and filter change.

Pictures Saab airportmeet

This week we had our 2nd Saabmeet at Zeeland Airport here in the Netherlands. A nice spot to organise something with other Saabists. Below (and on this page) some pictures.

Article about the Saab 9-5 in Autovisie

That the Saab 9-5 is a very interesting used car we all know, but now the Dutch Autovisie has written a nice article about it. The value of the 9-5 is much lower than comparable other cars of its age. Click here to read the article.

Today I went to the airport to prepare the 95 for the Saabmeet this wednesday (10th of october at 18.00).

Save your own Saab!

A couple of day`s ago I`ve posted something about saving your own Saab. Fortunately some Saabists really do or want to. A good Saab-friend I have is looking now for an additional 9-5 to his Saab collection. He likes the 9-5 Estate, here in Holland a lot of them are for sale for very reasonable prices.

As prices are very low here for the 9-5, the 900NG prices really are dropped to a low level. A fellow saabforum.nl member (Menno) has saved a 900NG from the scrapheap (it`s the 3rd Saab in his collection). He`s made some nice pictures of his "new" Saab, I just wanted to share his nice pictures (got his permission).

Save Saab Museum page on Facebook

Our Facebook page has more than 800 followers, (THANK YOU ALL) but still has the name "Save Saab Museum". As the Museum is saved, the name should be changed. Unfortunately this is not allowed by Facebook because the page has too many likes. I hope to write a letter or e-mail to Facebook somehow soon to ask them to make an exception. Unfortunately I did not find a way to contact Facebook. Does anyone know how to? In the mean time, please do not stop sending in pictures of Saabs.

And in case you want to Save your own Saab, above Saab (with Saab roofbox included) is for sale in the Netherlands for less than € 4000. Below a picture I`ve found on the web of an other Saab (not for sale as far as I know). I like the picture and wanted to share with the other Saabists.

Save your own Saab!

Yesterday evening I had a conversation with an other Saabist here in Holland. We both see that prices of certain types of Saabs are dropping very fast. For the 900NG and the early 9-5`s this is really extreme. Here in Holland they are available from about 450 Euro (incl. VAT and MOT). And the strange thing is, that they are still not selling well. Good Saabs end their life at the scrapheap now. Very early or special Saabs (e.g. the 92, 93 and sonnett`s) still are rather expensive, and also the 9-3 Convertible holds its value well. But look at this 9-5 Aero estate from June 2002 with 250 hp. The asking price is just € 3.950.

Do you think this is the bottom? For just 450 (asking price!) you`re the proud owner of the 900NG on the picture below. Here the link of the seller.

What am I trying to say? Save a Saab for yourself, at least one. It can happen you regret it in the near future when a good 9-5 is very hard to find (and not cheap to obtain). The Saab friend I spoke yesterday evening understands this very well, he now owns 10 Saabs and is looking for more!

Small Saab meeting

Yesterday evening I had a small Saab meeting here at the Airport with local Saabists. I`ve shown them the restaurant (where we have the Saabmeet in a couple of weeks), the Aeroclub and of course the Airport itself. John (one of the Saabists) has a good camera, so he made some Saab pictures for me (of course of his own Saab too). In a couple of weeks we have the real Airport Meet, we hope a lot of other Saab enthousiasts join us then. Below some pictures.