CarThrottle Asks: What Would You Modify?

When it comes to being a gearhead, these days it's a case of "us vs. them." Us being people who view cars as more than automotive appliances, who won't settle for rolling crapheaps like a Caliber or buy another Camry even though we know it might just kill us.  That's what separates us from them: good enough isn't good enough, and we don't ever leave well enough alone.  Chances are, if you're reading this site there is SOMETHING about your car that's different from the way it left the factory, because you saw room for improvement.  They would say "it's fine the way it is, why mess with it?"  We say, I can make this better.

With this in mind, it's still important to start with something worth fussing with if you're going to fuss with it in the first place.  Sure, you can probably buy coilovers for your Saturn SC1, but you still have a Saturn SC1.  It also helps to start with something with at least somewhat of an aftermarket base - I mean, a Millenia S is cool, but where are you going to find parts for it?

So this is the question I pose to you: all practical considerations aside, what sort of car would you start with if you intended to modify it from the beginning, and what would you do to it?  Would you dump a 509ci Cadillac V8 into an S10?  Would you throw a bodykit on a Prius? (hint: no.)  Would you find the biggest Whipple supercharger you could for an overhead-cam Mustang GT?  What would be the intended purpose?

As for myself, you may have gathered by now that I'm something of a Swedish car junky.  (Total cars owned: 3.  Total number of Swedish cars: 2.)  So of course, my choices both hail from the land of snow and Koenigsegg.

My first choice would be a Saab (OG)9-3 Viggen, preferably in light and stiff (relatively speaking) 3-door form.  My love affair with the Viggen is pretty well-known and deep rooted, if somewhat hard to understand.  The basic recipe is a first-generation 9-3 (which is really an Opel Vectra) stuffed full of 9-5 Aero engine.  That 2.3L B235R (as opposed to the 2.0L in the normal 9-3) pumped out 225-230bhp and 258lb-ft of torque depending on model year from the factory, which frankly is a lot for a Vectra chassis to deal with in the first place.  But if you're going to have excess, it might as well be glorious excess.  You see, the stock turbo on the Viggen is a Mitsubishi TD04HL-15G, as opposed to the tiny Garrett GT17 on the 2.0L 9-3 models.  In addition to flowing considerably more air than the (admittedly quicker-spooling) GT17, the availability of "hybrid" TD04's means that much more powerful turbos can be bolted to the stock Viggen's exhaust manifold.  A hybrid 20G (meaning a larger hot-side) would provide more flow at high rpm, meaning the ability to safely make more boost without running past the turbo's efficiency range.  Larger injectors and a heavy-duty fuel pump would handle fueling deliveries, while a tweaked ECU (Trionic 7 in the Viggen) would keep everything together.  A larger front-mounted intercooler would keep the charged air temperatures down for better knock resistance and more power, and I'd spring for a Spec Stage 3 clutch to keep the drivetrain happy.

As per the Viggen's main failing (that being the sloppy drivetrain which leads to torque steer and axle hop), the aftermarket has long ago stepped up to the plate with a solution.  Abbott Racing, a highly-regarded Saab tuning shop in the UK, sells what they call the Viggen Rescue Kit, which is designed to eliminate flex in the front suspension to minimize torque steer.  It includes a huge steering rack clamp and bulkhead brace which kill rack movement under load, poly bushes for the control arms and rear support arms, and a lower subframe brace to tie up the front end, and it's considered by Saab nuts to be a "do this first" type of affair.  I'd also go for some adjustable Koni dampers and better brakepads, as well as a larger rear anti-sway bar to tighten up the handling responses - but other than that I'd leave well enough alone.

As for my other choice, it'd be the 900's archenemy - the Volvo 700/900 series.  Personally, it doesn't matter to me whether it's a 740/760/940, as long as it's got the Volvo red-block 8-valve turbo motor and it's a wagon.  These were reasonably quick cars from the factory back in the day (Volvo used to brag about how the 740 Turbo Intercooler had no problem smoking a Porsche 944 from a stoplight) but can really wake up with a few choice modifications.  The 700 series (and the 940, which was a revised 740) have two good things going for them, and sadly one bad thing.  The good news is this: that 2.3L iron-block straight four loves boost, is built like a tank and will run forever, and can make a ton of power.  Also, these cars are rear-wheel-drive, which means huge burnouts and oversteer in a Volvo wagon.  The bad news is that they were never sold in the US with the turbo motor and a clutch pedal, but a Getrag M90 5-speed swap from a euro-market car isn't hard, and these days there are bell-housing adapters to stick a Tremec T-5 on the back of a red-block.

With the Volvo, it's the same story as the Viggen - 940's after 1990 switched from a Garrett T3 to a Mitsubishi TD04, in this case a small 13g model.  Even if it's an '89 or older 940 (or a 740, for that matter) the 90+ exhaust manifold will bolt right up, allowing the use of the later quicker-spooling Mitsubishi turbos.  Again, Hybrid inlet/exducer combos are the way to go here, and it's worth noting that the big injectors from the Ford 460ci V8 (out of the big trucks) will bolt up to the tiny Volvo I4 to provide proper fueling for all that delicious boost.  Beyond that, iPd racing motor mounts, suspension bushings, and swaybars along with some lower springs and stiffer shocks should keep things in check.

How about you?  Leave your wild, tire-smoking modified ideas in the comments below!