1999 Saab 9-5 wagon challenge car; Options?

I need a bigger schlepping around car. Don't want to spend a lot, want something that is nice (I like leather ) and can haul four adults on occasion and all their crap. My wife and I like to be able to throw the bikes in the back.

Searching Kijiji I found the above car at a near challenge price. If I can talk them down leaving about $500 to play with, what can be done to make it challenge fun but not ruin it as a daily? I'd be up for doing temp stuff for challenge.

My gut reaction is that it's not a great challenge car as the aftermarket is small and what's available isn't challenge friendly. Thoughts? What other wagons could fit the bill?

Thanks

Jeff

Watching

I bet you could crank the boost quite a bit for $500 if it's a turbo car.

Then throw on the widest "free" Kumhos you can.

Maybe cut a coil out of the springs.

There is one in a local yard with a bad head gasket could be had for 5-800. In central Indiana

We brought a mostly stock MKIII Supra Turbo last year with sticky Kumhos and had a blast.

I had a fairly unpleasant ownership experience with mine, but at a certain price point they still make a degree of sense. They're all turbos, so boost is priority #1. Avoid the V6 - lots of potential issues.

look up T7 suite and go from there.

I sent they guy my proposal. Even told him about the challenge so maybe he'll bite at the lowball offer. We'll see.

Rusted_Busted_Spit wrote: look up T7 suite and go from there.

This shoud be free or close to it. Also, if its not an aero, the stock turbo is a pos. A turbo from an aero is a cheap upgrade both for performance and reliability. There are other turbos that can be made to work too, but I don't know the details about them. There are alot of power gains to be found just from T7 suite tuning and not much else. Check out SAABcentral or the SAAB link for more information about 9-5 tuning then you ever knew existed.

I've gotten the Saab lady down to $2k, chasing an 850 turbo wagon, an e28, and a couple of other Saabs. Oh, and a 1 owner 1988 Xj6

The smart thing would be to buy a Mazda 2, and play with that. The dumb thing is to buy a Challenge car/DD and a race car project. I always choose the dumb thing.

Jeff wrote: I always choose the dumb thing.

Welcome to the club. I am thinking about selling my Mazda2 for a BMW 323it with an M3 drivetrain in it.

Ran the challenge in an e28 - right with (I think it was TJ's saab 9-5 turbo). he was a second and a half faster on the autocross with better tires.

oldtin wrote: Ran the challenge in an e28 - right with (I think it was TJ's saab 9-5 turbo). he was a second and a half faster on the autocross with better tires.

Actually, that was a SAAB 9000; totally different car vs. a 9-5. It did out-handle many cars that year though...