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Hi,
I am developing my '85 900T 'Saabine' much along the same lines - with the added ideosyncracy that it's a 5-door :-).
Can't speak of the bare shell, but as for kerb weight there's only about 20 kgs between a 99T and a 900T of the same bodystyle (2 door notchback or 3 door hatch). Keep in mind that for 1981 not only the engine was replaced by the lighter 'H' type, buit there were also some detailed changes to make the car lighter (for the sake of fuel efficiency): the front suspension kingpin housings were 6 lb. lighter, thinner gauge panels were used in some places, and the full-size spare wheel made way for the donut.
One significant advantage for the 99 is reputedly a stiffer front structure due to the (non-visible part of the) a-pillars extending further down; depending on what you intend to do the 2" shorter wheelbase can be a boon, too. On the other hand the suspension geometry on the 900 is much refined, which significantly cut back understeer, power steering is definitely nice to have (because with the non-assisted steering, as soon as you got the car cornering flatly and have good levels of grip, you can't steer fast enough anymore to exploit the car's performance on tight corners and roundabouts), and given the inherent cooling issues with high performance turbo engines, the extra underbonnet space of the 900 comes in handy.
I think there's a significant advantage to the notchback shell with regards to torsion stiffness, and that there's less between 2/4 and 3/5 door shells due to the smaller 'hole' between A- and B- pillars on the latter. Try to get a non-sunroof car if you can, though. The sunroof adds significant weight quite far removed from the car''s center of gravity.
To help tractability and avoid going through gearboxes, at your (and my) desired hp level it's best to make an effort to extend the torque curve towards the higher end of the rpm range rather tan piling on the Newtonmeters down low. To get at 250-300 without trannywrecking peak torque (which would make for uncontrollable wheelspin under most circumstances anyway) I think a 7,000 rpm redline is needed, with power peaking somewhere in the mid 6K's. Keeping the torque level at around 330-340 Nm and given reasonable driver sanity, you stand a good chance of preserving the trans long enough to make your work and expenditure worthwhile.
Then, concentrate on suspension and keeping the weight down... :-)
Damien S. has been campaigning a car like you describe (his last engine had 225 hp at the wheel IIRC) on track day events, etcetera for several years now. I bet he could give valuable and reality-proven insight/data to help with your project.
Happy Saabing,
Eric
Turbo! Team Europe
posted by 62.58.17...
, Fri, 15 Nov 2002 15:03:35
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