Vital Fluids & Oxygen 2.

The beast ready to take it's first breath,

anyone want to smack it's butt ?

To avoid the intake pipe and turbo bypass valve hitting the chassis 10mm has been cut off the tube length. Then a further 10mm was gained by allowing the intake tube to slide right inside rubber joiner almost touching the carburettor intake housing. This housing was also quite compliant with slotted screws that allowed the intake pipe entry to be changed to suit the shortened length. Good news so far. Bypass valve and hose, plus main air box intake hose all slotted into place well. Problems still to be solved are all around the inter-cooler. Without bodywork this is going to have to wait for final positioning and hose work. The good news is that coiled type flexible hoses are available to allow quick and easy plumbing here. The more ridged water hoses will have to be build from 90 degree bends and long supported sections. From the original water in / out points on the SAAB block are, obviously, designed for the front wheel drive transversely mounted engine. This would put the radiators on the left of the engine as mounted now. So all air, oil and water coolers and therefore pipe work are going to have to take quite a long run to get to the front of this car. Oh well stock up on pipe clips and a plumbing we will go.


With the power train now fully installed again the clutch hydraulics has been completed and tested, thankfully all is well. Now the brake lines will be installed from the twin master cylinders. The 0.7” bore cylinder will run the rear brakes while the 0.625” bore master will run the front brakes. The power train install took a little over 2.5 hours including help from the kid and his friends. So 2 hours would probably have been more normal. So all fast service design features are working extremely well.


With the small temporary wheels being used at present the front and rear callipers can not be installed, so the brake pipes will all be run to the point at which the flexible brake hoses join the solid pipes. The wheels now start to become a desperately wanted item. Next along on the most wanted list are the body work followed by the aero package. The placement of ducts, pipes and hoses is getting to be too much guess work right now.


Exhaust pipe routing issues will only be resolved once the floor panels are in place, so yet again the aero / body work requirement is going to stall this work shortly. Ho hum suppliers are a pain!

Mounting sensors for air to to suck and blow and also mounting the engines brain has proved a little tricky. With the engine mounted for rear wheel drive the engine loom starts near the bulk head and heads forward. Completely backward but, as it turns out, very helpful. The run this way around allows the mounting of the ECU, BPC and MAP sensors in very convenient gaps in the in the engine bay.

Boost Pressure Control Valve.


The ECU is going to need some water proofing and the fire proof tape has yet to be wound around the loom but all is looking well. The fuel tank vent valve has also neatly found a home near the fuel rails so it should make the plumbing to the tank very tidy.


Main Sensors & ECU positions.

The ECU has had a rubber boot manufactured so that water, dirt and oil are kept out and fits neatly below the steering column. There is enough flex in the cable loom to allow for engine movement and the rest of the loom runs down the prop shaft tunnel so that it can enter the cockpit behind the bell housing. The CAN BUS interface also follows this route and will, hopefully, find a place some place near the dash for easy access. Programming for track days and road days should then be possible from a laptop from within the cockpit area. In this position diagnostics can also be accomplished by a passenger while on the move.


ECU Mounted with rubber boot.

It has been a slow week, mainly researching oil coolers and fittings. The SAAB 900 oil pipes leave the back of the oil filter mount using 20mm x 1.5mm male olive unions. The original flex and solid pipes will now be discarded and fully flexible hoses will run to the new oil cooler. This oil cooler will be a Mocal 235mm x 13 row with 1/2BSP male union. So two off one meter long hoses will be required with Female 1/2BSP union to 1/2BSP female. This final 1/2BSP will have an adapter 20mmx1.5mm to 1/2BSP (male to male) so that all oil cooling parts marry up again.


Meanwhile progress has been made on the fuel hose circuit and vent hose.


Fuel feed & Return and Fuel Tank Vent.

Also the rear brake pipe has been run to the back of the chassis through the prop shaft tunnel. This has been clipped all the way along and run to the centre of the rear chassis.


Click here to breath more

Top Of Page