SKcats fleet. Mazda 323f collection.

[Jim Bell]

1 hour ago, Skcat said:

Been busy with the merc driving it around, not had any issues other then the central locking being slow. I fancy a change soon so I will try to move it on. I've got it booked in for a mot on Monday to see how it fairs! I think @Jim Bell might have been intrested In it. 

Will be up for swaps for anything old or weird! 

It looks like a hell of a bus. 

I think the days of me being able to afford daft old Mercedes diesels has been and gone. The market seems to get stronger every time I open eBay, and my wages always stay the same. 

[Skcat]

I will stick it up for sale or swap I'm really hoping for something old and weird to be honest, got to get a mot on it first! Not sure how much this one is worth but probably nothing crazy 

[Skcat]

So the 250D Has been sold on to a forum member! Going to be missed but I've collected its replacment for it! Time to introduce... The worst saab 9000!

A 1997 or thereabouts. It has 220'000 miles and seems to be fairly rusty. Underneath seems alright but the archies are pretty bad! Interior is bad but it got some good pep. It's a b204h I think 5 speed. 

Has lots of broken bits and no radio when I got it! Will upload some photos! 

[hairnet]

@brownnova

px for your even worse one?

 

[Skcat]

6 minutes ago, hairnet said:

@brownnova

px for your even worse one?

 

Can't be worse then this one, will get some photos! 

[brownnova]

40 minutes ago, Skcat said:

So the 250D Has been sold on to a forum member! Going to be missed but I've collected its replacment for it! Time to introduce... The worst saab 9000!

A 1997 or thereabouts. It has 220'000 miles and seems to be fairly rusty. Underneath seems alright but the archies are pretty bad! Interior is bad but it got some good pep. It's a b204h I think 5 speed. 

Has lots of broken bits and no radio when I got it! Will upload some photos! 

Oooh snap!! 

Saw this one for sale, and did comment to the good lady we should get his and hers ones, especially as that one hails from Warwickshire originally going by the reg no, as do I.

Cayenne red is a lovely colour. Mine also has 220k, but only had 160k when I bought it!  Looks like your front drivers wing has gone in the same place as my front passengers one is going badly, and both of us have drivers side headlight wipers refusing to sit down! 

All round this is the best car I’ve ever owned, and I can’t see me parting with it ever.

So this purchase is 100% Brownnova approved! 

[hairnet]

there is no help for alex

 

[Schaefft]

3 hours ago, Skcat said:

So the 250D Has been sold on to a forum member! Going to be missed but I've collected its replacment for it! Time to introduce... The worst saab 9000!

A 1997 or thereabouts. It has 220'000 miles and seems to be fairly rusty. Underneath seems alright but the archies are pretty bad! Interior is bad but it got some good pep. It's a b204h I think 5 speed. 

Has lots of broken bits and no radio when I got it! Will upload some photos! 

That's awesome, with the one for sale on here recently these returned on my radar, I probably have seen the ad for this one. Looking forward to seeing more!

[Skcat]

2 hours ago, brownnova said:

Oooh snap!! 

Saw this one for sale, and did comment to the good lady we should get his and hers ones, especially as that one hails from Warwickshire originally going by the reg no, as do I.

Cayenne red is a lovely colour. Mine also has 220k, but only had 160k when I bought it!  Looks like your front drivers wing has gone in the same place as my front passengers one is going badly, and both of us have drivers side headlight wipers refusing to sit down! 

All round this is the best car I’ve ever owned, and I can’t see me parting with it ever.

So this purchase is 100% Brownnova approved! 

Hah nice, I will get some more photos but it turned out to have more rust then I expected! 

Today has been a exercise in removing the old hand free Nokia system and all sorts of other bits someone probably paid too much for in 2003!

I only went in to fit a radio! Then I lost some exhaust filling on the drive around 

The the Indicators packed up, the hazards have never worked for me... I suspect the relay responsable for the two funtions Is at fault. 

@brownnova is yours a 2.0t? It seems to go pretty well. 

[brownnova]

24 minutes ago, Skcat said:

@brownnova is yours a 2.0t? It seems to go pretty well

Yeah, 2.0LPT. Always been plenty enough! Indicators and hazards likely to be relays. I’ve ended up replacing most of the lighting relays down the years. Although my Nokia phone holder and system is still firmly in place. Who knows when I’ll need to make a hands free call to the 90s! 

[Skcat]

3 minutes ago, brownnova said:

Yeah, 2.0LPT. Always been plenty enough! Indicators and hazards likely to be relays. I’ve ended up replacing most of the lighting relays down the years. Although my Nokia phone holder and system is still firmly in place. Who knows when I’ll need to make a hands free call to the 90s! 

I've removed the panel below the airbag, how on earth are you meant to reach the relays on the lower row! Am I missing something? 

Did every 9000 have a Nokia phone holder! Hah. 

Maybe if someone on the forum has some 9000 parts around i might give it a go saving this one. I'm not sure yet! 

[brownnova]

4 minutes ago, Skcat said:

9000 parts

What sort of things do you need? Is it mainly body panels? Mine is a bit rusty here and there. Ideally I need a new nearside wing, it’s got a few bubbles starting here and there’s, but it’s also rusted below the boot catch, which is the one I worry about more longer term as I know that part wouldn’t be available. I’m lucky though, all the structural parts underneath are solid! If I won the lottery it would go off for full rebuild!

As for the relays I would have to go out and look, I think all the relays I’ve done have been under the bonnet ones. Headlamps and full beam issues mainly for me. 

[Zelandeth]

Advice I remember seeing time and time again back when I was more active on UK Saabs was to get hold of and always keep a spare of the red headlight double relay in the car.  They like to fail for fun and usually at the most inconvenient time.

Seems to recall it was usually the braided connection to the moving contact that failed at the solder joint.  I repaired and sold a fair few of them on eBay back around 2003-5 as they usually sold for £30+ and we're generally free from my local scrappy at the time so it was worth spending 15 mins fixing them.

[Skcat]

I might put the car up on the for sale section for a swap. If I keep it I will probably fit a boost gauge and see how much fun I can have with it! Will get some photos of the interior shortly. 

[Skcat]

The interior! 

[Zelandeth]

Think I might still have one of those wood dash trim panels in the loft if you want one without the water damage around the headlight switch.

[Peter C]

47 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Think I might still have one of those wood dash trim panels in the loft if you want one without the water damage around the headlight switch.

[Zelandeth]

1 hour ago, Peter C said:

I think you're missing the thinly veiled "please for the love of god get this crap out of my loft" behind that post!

Plus it's the bit of car right in front of you, I can put up with a tatty exterior far more than tatty interior!  Especially the dash.

[Skcat]

After messing around with a soldering iron and this little relay:

The hazards now work! Pretty good win. 

I also found the central locking and interior lights would work once I replaced a blown fuse, but every time I use it, the fuse pops. I think it's the rear door solenoids as they are extremely hard to operate even by hand. I will need to pull the door cards off and lube them up to sort that out. 

The saab use 10cm speakers in the front and they were sounding pretty rough so I investigated the issue:

Looking on Facebook marketplace someone was selling a set from a lotus exige for £10. They had apprently upgraded. Seemed odd but when I turned up he did have one in the drive. 

Not only did the line up perfectly but they both used the standard speaker connectors so no crimping or soldering was needed. Now the fronts sound bearable. The rears overpower them unfortunately though! Will carry on seeing what I can fix on a shoestring buget as I'm not certain of the future of this car! 

[Saabnut]

I have several large boxes of trim bits and electrical bits for 9000s along with an immaculate pair of wingback aero front seats and a genuine aero 5 speed gearbox. The seats and gearbox are worth serious money but the trim bits etc could be available very reasonably but only if the car is going to be saved. No point in adding to the pile of bits heading to the bridge if someone can make good use of them.

[Schaefft]

Cheap easy wins are the best. Its hard to tell how bad the car really is looking at photos but it does seem worth getting a bit of tlc, especially when its mostly just costing your time. Also I cannot imagine backseat backrest costing much, most of these should still look like new so demand and prices should be low (you'd think).

[Skcat]

On 25/04/2025 at 16:56, Saabnut said:

I have several large boxes of trim bits and electrical bits for 9000s along with an immaculate pair of wingback aero front seats and a genuine aero 5 speed gearbox. The seats and gearbox are worth serious money but the trim bits etc could be available very reasonably but only if the car is going to be saved. No point in adding to the pile of bits heading to the bridge if someone can make good use of them.

I'm not sure what I will do with it! I would love some new seats but would much prefer some undesirable low spec ones! I will keep a lookout on ebay! Im having a issues with the central locking fuse blowing every time I press the lock button so will need to take all four door trims off and unplug each actuator till I figure out what one is at fault! 

Today I fitted some new rear speakers I got from Facebook! 

I did not get photos of the new ones but finally it sounds OK inside the car now! 

I lubed up the lock autator on the hatch and now the hatch locks 100% of the time. It still complains the hatch is always open on the dash, I suspect the loom to the hatch is damaged as the microswitch on the lock assembly does nothing anymore! 

On 25/04/2025 at 20:11, Schaefft said:

Cheap easy wins are the best. Its hard to tell how bad the car really is looking at photos but it does seem worth getting a bit of tlc, especially when its mostly just costing your time. Also I cannot imagine backseat backrest costing much, most of these should still look like new so demand and prices should be low (you'd think).

Its just trying to find "OK" parts at a good price, it seems everyone only keeps expensive nice saab 9000 parts when I'm after flawed but not rubbish parts! 

[Skcat]

On 25/04/2025 at 16:56, Saabnut said:

I have several large boxes of trim bits and electrical bits for 9000s along with an immaculate pair of wingback aero front seats and a genuine aero 5 speed gearbox. The seats and gearbox are worth serious money but the trim bits etc could be available very reasonably but only if the car is going to be saved. No point in adding to the pile of bits heading to the bridge if someone can make good use of them.

Do you know if a set of classic 900 front seats would bolt into a 9000?

[Saabnut]

1 hour ago, Skcat said:

Do you know if a set of classic 900 front seats would bolt into a 9000?

Anything is possble, quite common to put 9000 seats in a 900 but it is a lot of work so I guess the reverse would be the same.

[Skcat]

@Saabnut

 

Will put some more photos on the listing for sale! See if anyone wants it before I go any further! 

[Skcat]

And like that I've already sold it, I managed to pick up a bunch of spares from a breaker car including a cluster with a boost gauge, a new rear electric window motor, rear headrests, a central locking solenoid, floor matts, user manual and loads of other trim bits that were missing so the new owner had a chance of improving it as soon as possible. 

And like that I'm without a car again. Let's see how long that lasts. 

[Skcat]

I've been extremely busy but I've been driving a Toyota celica as of late. 

Its a pretty revvy thing being the VVTL-I version, revs like a bike and is pretty fun. Chill out and you still get 40mpg.

I've stuck a caliper on it, did the thermostat serviced it. But I got a couple front wheel bearings I'm not looking forward to changing! 

[Skcat]

So I guess I've got Toyota mad and imported a car for the first time. 

I've always had imports so it's always felt like a bucket list item to import one myself! Lots of fun stuff on the truck but mine is the economy white Toyota. 

I won it at auction in February so I've been excitedly waiting it for a while and ordering lots of bits for it. 

Got it unloaded and got the check it out. 

I will get somemore details, but there is not much to say, it's a 2013 comfort driving school car. I need to prep it for a mot to get it registered. Taking longer then I thought but I'm working on it now! 

[High Jetter]

That's unusual

[Schaefft]

3 hours ago, Skcat said:

So I guess I've got Toyota mad and imported a car for the first time. 

I've always had imports so it's always felt like a bucket list item to import one myself! Lots of fun stuff on the truck but mine is the economy white Toyota. 

I won it at auction in February so I've been excitedly waiting it for a while and ordering lots of bits for it. 

Got it unloaded and got the check it out. 

I will get somemore details, but there is not much to say, it's a 2013 comfort driving school car. I need to prep it for a mot to get it registered. Taking longer then I thought but I'm working on it now! 

That's awesome. How much was it to get it over here with all the fees,tax etc?