My second 480...... project 'sleeper'
Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2016 12:51 am
So, after almost 5 years of owning and loving my first and only, tatty and tired, but ever faithful 480 turbo, the chance has arisen to get my hands on a lovely looking #almost# rust free, largely resprayed and very tidy, lowered black turbo Awesome looking car.
There is one small catch however............ It will not have it's engine, gearbox, loom or ECU's. Unfortunately it is donating said items to a Renault 5 GT Turbo, which, in my opinion as a great 480 lover, is absolute bloody sacrilege, but each to his own, right? I'm glad the car was offered in one piece as a rolling shell rather than being dismantled and so I thought I'd rescue it and try and give it a new lease of life.
So once the engine has been removed and I go and collect it, I will have somewhat of a blank canvas to work with. My initial thought was a straight swap of running gear from my existing car, however, for one, I'm quite attached to 'old faithful' and don't really want to take her to bits and secondly, the idea of doing something a bit more interesting with the black one has been steadily growing in appeal.
My plan, therefore, is to attempt a conversion to a 2.0 turbo Saab engine. Early 9-3's are available for the right money as a donor car and the engine produces 185hp in stock form (never mind the masses of tuning potential that these bulletproof lumps have) which should make for quite an entertaining 480, given that the 480 weighs in at around 500kg less than the Saab, the latter not exactly being a slow car to begin with.
I'm not aware that anything quite like this has been done, at least not a Saab engine and I think the concept has real potential to make a seriously fast, yet reliable and civilised, ultimate 480 'sleeper'. I do not underestimate the enormity of the task that lies ahead, it will be a far cry from the 'bolt together' scenario with the Volvo engines going into Renaults and will require a lot of engineering- mounts, driveshafts, gear linkage and conversion to a hydraulic clutch system being the items that stand out initially as key aspects of the project to get right, but then of course, the Saab head is crossflow so exhaust will have to be sorted as well, not to mention the fact that the engine bay might need some 'adjustment' (cue the angle grinder ), maybe some stiffening, and the list could go on and on............ wiring, plumbing......... I can see plenty of moments ahead!
This said, I am determined to make this happen, I have always loved Saabs and currently own a 9000 Carlsson, the car that has led to my love of Saab engines. I've got a feeling that a 480 with a Saab turbo engine could be a really nice combination and now I have the perfect opportunity to make it happen and save a nice example of a 480 turbo and make it unique in the process.
This won't be happening over night, I haven't taken delivery of the rolling shell yet, nor bought a donor Saab. I will have the 480 shell by the end of the month and plan to buy a saab this side of xmas but I wont really get going on the project until the new year. Realistically I think my timeframe to get this car on the road will be around 12 months from now. In the meantime I'm going to do some cleaning up and sealing and a little welding on the underside of the shell and prepare it for its transplant up front which will probably amount to a more or less total stripout of everything except steering, suspension and brakes. Thinking of brakes, if the project succeeds, brakes may very well be the next thing on the list for an upgrade! Once the 480 has a clear and empty bay, the prospective Saab can come to bits and the swearing and cutting of things can begin as the engine inevitably struggles to fit in the hole provided by the volvo!
I've started this thread to keep a record of my thoughts throughout the course of this undertaking as I thought a few of you 480 nuts out there might find this an interesting project and if any of you are into saabs as well I'd welcome any thoughts you might have about it.
Wish me luck I do hope it fits......
There is one small catch however............ It will not have it's engine, gearbox, loom or ECU's. Unfortunately it is donating said items to a Renault 5 GT Turbo, which, in my opinion as a great 480 lover, is absolute bloody sacrilege, but each to his own, right? I'm glad the car was offered in one piece as a rolling shell rather than being dismantled and so I thought I'd rescue it and try and give it a new lease of life.
So once the engine has been removed and I go and collect it, I will have somewhat of a blank canvas to work with. My initial thought was a straight swap of running gear from my existing car, however, for one, I'm quite attached to 'old faithful' and don't really want to take her to bits and secondly, the idea of doing something a bit more interesting with the black one has been steadily growing in appeal.
My plan, therefore, is to attempt a conversion to a 2.0 turbo Saab engine. Early 9-3's are available for the right money as a donor car and the engine produces 185hp in stock form (never mind the masses of tuning potential that these bulletproof lumps have) which should make for quite an entertaining 480, given that the 480 weighs in at around 500kg less than the Saab, the latter not exactly being a slow car to begin with.
I'm not aware that anything quite like this has been done, at least not a Saab engine and I think the concept has real potential to make a seriously fast, yet reliable and civilised, ultimate 480 'sleeper'. I do not underestimate the enormity of the task that lies ahead, it will be a far cry from the 'bolt together' scenario with the Volvo engines going into Renaults and will require a lot of engineering- mounts, driveshafts, gear linkage and conversion to a hydraulic clutch system being the items that stand out initially as key aspects of the project to get right, but then of course, the Saab head is crossflow so exhaust will have to be sorted as well, not to mention the fact that the engine bay might need some 'adjustment' (cue the angle grinder ), maybe some stiffening, and the list could go on and on............ wiring, plumbing......... I can see plenty of moments ahead!
This said, I am determined to make this happen, I have always loved Saabs and currently own a 9000 Carlsson, the car that has led to my love of Saab engines. I've got a feeling that a 480 with a Saab turbo engine could be a really nice combination and now I have the perfect opportunity to make it happen and save a nice example of a 480 turbo and make it unique in the process.
This won't be happening over night, I haven't taken delivery of the rolling shell yet, nor bought a donor Saab. I will have the 480 shell by the end of the month and plan to buy a saab this side of xmas but I wont really get going on the project until the new year. Realistically I think my timeframe to get this car on the road will be around 12 months from now. In the meantime I'm going to do some cleaning up and sealing and a little welding on the underside of the shell and prepare it for its transplant up front which will probably amount to a more or less total stripout of everything except steering, suspension and brakes. Thinking of brakes, if the project succeeds, brakes may very well be the next thing on the list for an upgrade! Once the 480 has a clear and empty bay, the prospective Saab can come to bits and the swearing and cutting of things can begin as the engine inevitably struggles to fit in the hole provided by the volvo!
I've started this thread to keep a record of my thoughts throughout the course of this undertaking as I thought a few of you 480 nuts out there might find this an interesting project and if any of you are into saabs as well I'd welcome any thoughts you might have about it.
Wish me luck I do hope it fits......