SAAB B204 Into Calibra SE5

[DanSE4]

Had James (Miscbrah) over at mine yesterday & I've agreed in principal to assist with this conversion at my Father-In-Laws (same place I did the 8v to V6 & the Z32SE conversion) late September/early October.

There's been a topic on .com about this for a while now which has put a lot of input into (cheers) but it's about time I got James here & use this forum as first port of call for the whole thing.

He certainly has done a lot of research into this & the info he gave me yesterday was very useful but there are still some grey areas which I need some help with before I start trying to put this thing together. James seems to have the electrics covered (I hope) so I'm looking at some of the basics of getting this thing in & mounted.

We'll have a complete SAAB donor car plus the SE5 obviously!

1: Engine mount(s)

He's going to be using the F18 box from the SE5 so I don't need to worry about the nearside mounts but will the offside engine mount from the SAAB mount directly to the chassis in the right place?

2: FMIC

Will need to cut the front bumper up a bit to accommodate this but that's not a problem, how will this mount to the Calibra front end & will the pipework from the SAAB be sufficient or will we have to look into having some custom pipes/bends made to make this work?

3: Downpipes/Exhaust

The standard 8v downpipe is one piece with the CAT at the end that then meets the centre section. I can't see for a second that this will be a straight fit to a SAAB manifold with a turbo attached to it so how can we make this work?

As above, my main priority here is knowing how the engine will mount, the intercooler will fit & at least getting the exhaust to also fit. Other things will come along with the moment it doesn't work LOL!

[DanSE4]

By the way, "Rangie1" is the aforementioned Father-In-Law!

[marianv]

f18 gearbox is ok but f20 is better i think , exhaust will need modifications, but if you stumble a pone c20let manifold its bolt on no mods needed .

[DanSE4]

f18 gearbox is ok but f20 is better i think , exhaust will need modifications, but if you stumble a pone c20let manifold its bolt on no mods needed .

James has 2 x F20 boxes but neither are from a reliable source so he wants to use the known working F18 for now (I personally think the F20 would be a better a plan but this ain't my car lol)!

Are you sure that a C20LET manifold will be a straight bolt on & meet the existing (C20NE) downpipe?

[v6 steve]

f18 gearbox is ok but f20 is better i think , exhaust will need modifications, but if you stumble a pone c20let manifold its bolt on no mods needed .

what do you do with the big hole on the side ? the one the turbo normally covers

[marianv]

saabs b204 engine is based on c20let they just up'd ccm and used forged pistons and cetr. and different ecu control , soo lot of things are same , but ill ask around one or two are in Belgrade with that engine so .....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpS3Izp7gRE
not from mine country but the same result .

[DanSE4]

what do you do with the big hole on the side ? the one the turbo normally covers

Got no idea what you're on about LOL!

I'm just fitting this thing while James does all the homework!

[Miscbrah]

Well yes cor blimey wow it seems to be happening! First things to say are indeed thanks to Dan and Gail and "Rangie1" for potentially ruining their lives for a bit! So so much help from Nige P of saabconversions.com and other great members, plus advice from cc.com as well as MIG.

Dan's got straight to it - not much of a mechanically experienced person myself but it's amazing what you can achieve with an 8v power deficiency, a bit of Google and an eBay acct! I'll try and deliver/regurgitate a bit more of the fundamentals on it.

First off, the B204E engine is what I'm going for and have a whole donor car. In overview, the project is described HERE and other links and descriptions HERE. To save re-writing it all the Scania-built B204E/L/R engines as fitted to the Saab 900 and 93s up to 2001 iirc will fit, will take stupid bhp on not forged but 'over-engineered' chain engines, and the whole project can be at least driving for half the price of a decent LET engine. Very tempting... It MUST however be the B204x engine, and ONLY from the 900 or early 93. A spotter's guide can be found HERE.

Long story short, the B204E is the baby low pressure turbo, producing 154bhp and 164ft/lbs of torque, so the F18 is staying for now with my stage 1 clutch. Any upgrades will eventually merit an F20, which I have in reserve JUST IN CASE the F18 does indeed pop. The only differences between the B204E and R (200bhp+) are the map and boost controller, so potential for expansion is there at least.

The T5 ECU can be re-mapped to run independently of the Saab (Nige P, the man the legend, does this as well as manufactures looms) although the major sticking point for some is the speedo signal which the ECU needs. I figure this out in my own goofy way HERE. The relay can be had off eBay for £5 odd. ECU and loom topics can be found HERE and HERE.

Choosing gearboxes is mad. Totally mad. Whatever you read, someone's F16 blew up when he breathed on it, someone's 300bhp LET Corsa did 100000000 miles on an F16. Or F18. Or F20. Diffs are stronger on F20s though, so long-term plan is that but for now and for me the F18 will do. If we take it to mean an F16 is so named for taking up to 160ft/lbs torque and the F18 180ft/lbs, then the B204E is still within spec. Your mileage or luck may vary. Topics HERE and specs HERE.

More to come after dinner!

[Miscbrah]

Leaving myself a note to mention sump strainer cleaning, doing/not doing chains and balancer shaft, studs and the bright ideas of changing cam position sensors and vacuum hoses while the engine's out.

[marianv]

or you can use for speed , signal sender or how it caled from vectra 2000 digital dashboard its bolts on gearbox
marked red on picture

[DanSE4]

Just someone tell me how to fit this thing LOL!

Any broken electrics are entirely Miscbrah's fault!

[Miscbrah]

Any broken electrics are entirely Miscbrah's fault!

Haha yes sure thing.

Dan cheers so much for all the help on this.

[bennymac]

I was going to fit the saab engine in my cavalier turbo but changed my mind because I wanted the F28 and 4wd, couldn't be arsed in the end with modifying the block to clear the txb.
Everything looked like a direct fit to the cavalier shell and subframe with the only major issues being the radiator flow, electrics and the exhaust.
The radiator flows the opposite way on the saab to the Vauxhall, for the electrics as mentioned nigel p is the man to remove the immobiliser function and upgrade the ecu for power too.
You need to use the saab radiator as mentioned because it flows different from the Vauxhall item.
Regarding the exhaust I cant see any way that the LET would fit because its a Garrett turbo on the saab, I do think the Vauxhall exhaust would fit from the cat back as the shell is the same but the front pipe ... no chance, remember the LET shells have a big dent in the passenger floorpan for the front pipe.

[DanSE4]

Regarding the exhaust I cant see any way that the LET would fit because its a Garrett turbo on the saab, I do think the Vauxhall exhaust would fit from the cat back as the shell is the same but the front pipe ... no chance, remember the LET shells have a big dent in the passenger floorpan for the front pipe.

This is something that definitely needs confirmation before I even think about putting this engine in James's SE5.

I had a feeling that downpipes/exhaust front section would be a grey area so over to you James on this one! Find a solution & I'll bolt it together when you have (or Andy will get the grinder/Mig/scaffold poles out)!

[bennymac]

in theory the saab exhaust should fit because it goes down the middle of the shell at the engine end, my point with the LET engine is that the exhaust has to go a different route because there is a propshaft down the middle.