My Saab powered MK3 Astra

[Astra Dan]

Can you not use the speed signal from the back of the clocks? Mk3 Astras etc generate a speed signal from a disc driven by the speedo.

[doge5644]

IIRC saabs also use a differnt amount of pulses

[jamiec812]

awryt mate how did the car go with the seh in it im puttin one in mine cant wait lol

[aussie astraGTE]

nice job mate , i know the rear beam and lower front struts fit mk2 & converts car to 5 stud but gives you 288 mm discs same parts as vectra as you would prob know as far as i know it should all fit mk3 ,i also heard the 900s is based on the mk2 floor pan by gm who ownes saab "this is info from 3rd party not confermed "

[Astra Dan]

GM900 (94-03) = Mk3 Astra underneath.

NOT Cavalier, Calibra or Vectra.

[nige-p]

yes dan is spot on GM purchased saab in 89 and gave the designers a mk3 astra chassis or if you want to be technical a GM2900 and went make yourself a new car so saab used the front subframe and rear beam and their own engine and a vauxhall gearbox and their you have a saab GM NG 900 which came on the market in 1994 they then used this same floorplan on a few other cars such as but with some changes
* 1993-1996 Chevrolet Vectra A
* 1997-2005 Chevrolet Vectra B
* 1990-1997 Holden Calibra
* 1996-2002 Holden Vectra
* 1990-1997 Opel Calibra
* 1988-1995 Opel Vectra A
* 1995-2002 Opel Vectra B
* 1994-1998 Saab 900
* 1999-2002 Saab 9-3
* 1997-2009 Saab 9-5
* 2000-2005 Saturn L-Series
* 1990-1997 Vauxhall Calibra
* 1988-1995 Vauxhall Cavalier Mk.3
* 1995-2002 Vauxhall Vectra

[nige-p]

ok here are a few more pics of odd bits on the car but first some pics of what is required to flash the maps on the ecu

take one ecu and unscrew and pull the board out


find the 8 pin debugging connections

you then need to connecter a header to these

i decided to drill the board out and then solder them in (this was the scariest bit as if i slip im broken my ecu

some nice small holes

now powered up of a 15 volt powersupply and them my nokia debugging lead connected to it and the PC





read the old code of using the program in dos and them prep the ecu for flash and start copying the new maps to the ecu took about 15 mins


ok some more pics of odd bits on the engine

the wiring loom i made up for the relays and a more compact fuse box



also fitted the gearshift from the saab as the throw was wrong on the vaux one and luckily enough its the same stud pattern to bolt to the floor just had to remove the key lock as on the saab you have to put the car in reverse to remove the keys





saab gearbox


some pics of the engine from different sides










ok so hope some of these pics help anyone who is intersted in the conversion

[Ed]

Well done that man. Always wondered when someone would do this. It had to happen given the similarities; always wondered why it never had been though.

[CallyBaz]

Whow what an intresting project, I certainly enjoyed reading that.

Very well done

PM Sent

[Steve!]

and me

[Kev_G]

i mentioned it when my mate had a 900 and we tuned it then speaking to nige one day we both had the idea but he has the balls to do it. I love it

[nige-p]

thanks guys for the comments ive got the brakes sorted as well now and will be making my way down to billing saturday mrning and it will be on the mk3oc stand with the bonnet wide open if anyone wants to come and nose and pick my brain feel free to

ok some pics of my new brake setup which came from a 9-5 aero these are 308mm disks

old setup(cavalier SRi)


old disk versus new disk


and all done

[MarkW]

Nice.

[stu_c]

i was thinking about doing this in a corsa b

would it be the same as mounting a 2ltr vaux engine?
what gearbox have you used as i have heard that you could use a f20 or f28 box?

[Kev_G]

few pictures from the weekend cracking drive home and it does bloody shift

[spanishfly]

Great talking to ya and Kev

[sumner2k3]

awesome mate.. you taking this to trax tomorrow? would really like to have a look at this and have a chat with you about it

[timc20xe]

is it alrite to cut the front out like you have done to fit the fmic . ? great work as well mate

[stt]

Auxilary belt = the car had all the mod cons so air con and power steering where as the astra doesnt nor do i want them, removing the air con pump and rerouting the belt for that i can order from saab but i dont need the power steering pump this i solved by dismantaling the power steering pump and removing the blades from the pump it was then moun ted on the car filled with oil and then sealed at both ends

so have you binned the air con pulley completely?
How have you gone about making sure the water pump has enough contact with the belt?

do you have a pic of your belt setup?

[digidashcorsa]

nice to see a differant conversion good work

[gav_b]

ive seen one in a corsa! using the f20, well done m8

[nathski]

nice one mate, your rocker covers cheese shaped too lmao

[nige-p]

thanks for all the comments guys

the belt run for the pumps is just the standard saab route just without the aircon pump as some cars had no aircon so just ordered the shorter belt

the panel cut out at the front is not a major problem with the strength but i have modified and run a bolt in section of box alloy to keep some strength in it

sorry couldnt make it to trax

[jack_8vt]

love the saab power

[duneii]

does the saab engine not use a air flow meter?