FixMySaab FAQ's

Jeff & I receive emails all the time about various Saab topics. Many general questions and a lot of specific ones about our cars. This FAQ is here to answer the common ones.

Q1. Hey Royce, I love the dark tail-lights on your SPG! Did you buy special covers for them, or did you do something to the lenses?

A1. It's an ancient Chinese secret. Actually, the lenses were coated with a lacquer by the guys who painted my car. The brand name of the lacquer is Folia-Tec. It is German and very hard to come by. I found a can on eBay once, but haven't seen it anywhere else. Other Saabers have told me that NightShades will do the same thing and you can buy this from www.summitracing.com.

Q2. Where the heck do you guys get the money to do all this stuff to your cars?

A2. Vegas Baby! In truth, Jeff and I are geeks. We have been working in the IT field for about 11 years. We both work for an enterprise storage company based in Massachusetts called EMC². Back when the stock market was up and business was booming, we had no problems dropping $10,000 on a paintjob. However, our DIY section is getting larger because we can't afford to send the cars in for repairs anymore...it's cheaper to do it ourselves.
(It is also much easier to drop that kind of cash on a car when you're single...life is good!)

Q3. I want to put Aero seats in my C900. What do I need?

A3. Good idea! Now...did your car come with a passive restraint system? (Electric seatbelts) If so, then you have a plug-and-play chassis when it comes to the Aero seats. The Saab 9000 has a 4-bolt configuration for the front seats. 900s with the passive seatbelt system used this same bolt configuration, so if you have electric seatbelts, then Aero seats will bolt right into place. If you don't have a passive seatbelt system, then you're going to need to adapt your car's floor to make a mount for the 4-bolt pattern.
Also necessary for this job: The center console must be made narrower for the seats to fit properly as the frames are a bit wider. You will also want to run power and ground for the electric motors in the Aero seats. You can also kiss your back seat goodbye because it is nearly impossible for anyone larger than a supermodel to get into the backseat with Aeros installed.

Q4. Do 16" Aero wheels rub the wheel wells? / What size tire should I put on 16" rims to prevent rubbing?

A4. It's a catch-22 with Aero rims. Wide tires looks great and aid in cornering and grip. They also look great on the 16" wheel since stock was a 15". They're awesome, but the potential to eat through your wheel wells is always looming. There are several options to go with for this scenario:

1. Run with 205s anyway and let the tires rub. This is great if you're willing to let the car rust at the seams of the fenders.
2. Run a narrow tire that fits inside the well. This is what we do right now...195/50 R16 tires.
3. Move the rear axel forward. Jeff did it. He can run 205s with minimal scrapping.
4. Have some bodywork done to widen the wells.

Q5. I want to install a Momo steering wheel in my 900, but Momo doesn't make hubs for them anymore! How can I do this?

A5. MAGIC! Actually, you can still find the Momo steering wheel hub here and there. I see them on eBay all the time, so check there first. If your search turns up nothing, then you have to improvise. Grant driving accessories still manufactures hubs for the 900 for their line of steering wheels. They also make a Grant/Momo adapter ring to allow a Grant hub to accept a Momo steering wheel. This is what Royce did in his SPG and it works great!

Q6. Where can I buy headliner material?

A6. There are a couple of places online. www.saabstuff.com will sell it to you in any color on their website, but their delivery was slow.
Eastwood also carries the glue and material, but I didn't like their color selection. www.eastwood.com.
I bought my material from www.interior-supply.com, very fast and a good selection.