So, I have an '06 Saab 9-3 that I love to death but my black limousine is in need of major repairs--bad radiator hose blow on the highway caused major heat issues, and that lead to failed valve cover gasket or head gasket, and now antifreeze is slowly starting to get cloudy which means it needs a complete radiator flush, and possibly water pump, new exhaust, upper r.side control arm and r.side tie rod (thanks, Austin roads...). If I had the money, I'd just stage V a new engine from esaabparts and have it shipped from Brew City Boost in Milwaukee, but I digress...anyhoo, that's her below.



Yes, I own the vanity plate of the same name, so it's legit both front and back. My project vehicle that I was going to turn into a Swedish version of KITT. So I needed something at least as equally stylish, and quick. Looked at Jags, looked at Audis, Mazdas...nothing really checked out. Come across Acura TLs. Not one for Hondas, as I regularly blew past them thanks to my turbo. Turbo is life, after all...nothing like putting down the pedal and hearing the BSR intake sucking air as the turbo whines up into instant acceleration with a kick, and yes, it's the large version of the turbo on this 2.0, not the smaller version, so it definitely kicks hard.

Finally decided I'd give Honda's premiere-class luxury brand a look, and found an '06 Acura TL with only 109,5xx miles. There's a bit of hail damage, but all relatively minor. Alabaster silver, with only a slight actual scratch on the front left lower bumper. I can touch up with a paint pen. While the avionics package was a bit of a yawn compared to Saab's information-dense environment, I did find it's color scheme nevertheless easy on the eyes at night, and the night-panel function (which the Saab also has) was nice. I'm still not quite comfortable in the car in how I sit, and I have to have the seat all the way down to not hit my head if I raise it, but the lumbar adjustment was cool, but having to press the memory setting button every time I turn on the car is kind of annoying. The Bluetooth connectivity was a bit of a sad-face since I would like to run my own music streaming through the radio, but I hear there is a kit. One question came to mind as well...is there anything akin to a Tech 2 like we have for Saabs to reprogram the computer?

I do think it will grow on me, though, cracked dash and all, because it seems like it will be fun to tweak a bit when I turn it into the R0GUE II. I'm probably going to start with a dash cover, as well as some trim pieces. Someone blanked the trunk badges except for the Acura logo, and I think I'll probably restore those, but add side badges. Do these come with turbo options? Or can a turbo be installed, and for how much? Love me some turbo. I also definitely want a full-size bra, not some flimsy flap crap like what is out there for Saabs. I do think I'll add super-dark tint to the list, as well as ice block tail lights. Probably other subtle lighted accents as well. Definitely new rims, maybe something from American Racing or RTX like their Poisons. Very pleased overall at her performance and stiff suspension that definitely handles the terrible roads of Austin better than the Saab. Are there ground-effect kits for it? I'd prefer to keep the suspension as is because it's pretty good.

Tomorrow, she gets insured and temp plated, so until I get the other vanity plates, I'll be legal. Hopefully, I'll get her washed a bit early and take more photos to add.

Here she is with me at a restaurant, celebrating her joining Rogue Squadron. I'll post more photos once i have a chance to get her cleaned up. Her engine compartment is absolutely immaculate, and while there's a bit of sag in the headliner, the guy who sold it to me said a guy is supposed to come and fix it. It's so minor, though, that it doesn't bother me, and if gets bad, there's other easy fixes, and if the guy is full of it, it's still not a big deal to me. I do plan on adding a CB same as in my Saab (a President McKinley or a Cobra LX29 paired with a SR-A10MM antenna), but I may have to do a hard mount. Why? Because listening to other CBers call out speed traps in addition to using a radar detector means less "official entanglements." Same goes for a police scanner like the Uniden SDS200.

So thanks for having this Saab transplant. I'm sure it's going to be fun tweaking this car as well. Any quirks? Things to watch for? I use only Premium in my cars. Full synthetic? Or no? Looking forward to hearing from the people here and learning more.

tw

 

Since these forums are dead, I’m sure no one is around to mind me double posting...🙄

Photo of the engine bay.

Clean af for 109,599 miles.