One month after announcing the project, Taiwan’s long-serving Saab representative has revealed the real scale of the work: the engine and automatic transmission are open, the cabin has been emptied, the chassis components removed, and the body prepared for a complete renewal.
When SAC Taiwan announced that a 2006 Saab 9-5 with 999,999 kilometers would be restored for continued use, the most important question was not whether the car could be made presentable again. It was how far SAC intended to go once a vehicle with this mileage entered the workshop.
The first photographs provide the answer. The 9-5 has not been given a conventional high-mileage overhaul built around fluids, seals, suspension parts, and cosmetic correction. The drivetrain has been lowered from the body, the engine dismantled, the automatic transmission opened, the interior removed, and the body stripped of major exterior components. SAC is treating the car as a complete system rather than a collection of isolated faults.
That distinction matters. A million-kilometer car can be made to run again without being comprehensively restored. SAC’s project is addressing the accumulated wear found throughout a twenty-year-old vehicle whose use cannot be represented by the odometer alone.
SaabPlanet first reported the project in June, when SAC described the car’s 999,999-kilometer reading and the owner’s decision to prepare it for another chapter rather than replace it. The latest update moves the story from promise to execution.
The engine is being judged from the inside
One of the most revealing photographs shows the engine block with the crankshaft and pistons removed. Another records the pistons, connecting rods, bearing caps, and bearing shells laid out for inspection.
This is the point at which the familiar claim that an engine “still runs well” becomes largely irrelevant. Once the rotating assembly has been removed, SAC can assess the condition that compression figures, oil consumption, and external appearance cannot fully describe: cylinder-wall wear, bearing surfaces, piston deposits, ring condition, journal clearances, and the state of the lubrication passages.
The photographs do not provide measurements, and SAC has not yet released a machining report or final parts list. It would therefore be premature to state whether the block will retain its original bore dimensions, whether the crankshaft requires machining, or which internal components will be replaced rather than reused.
However, one close-up of the exposed cylinder bores attracted immediate attention among Taiwanese Saab owners. A commenter observed that traces of the cylinder-wall honing pattern appear to remain visible after one million kilometers. That is an impressive visual detail, although it should not be confused with a dimensional inspection. A visible surface pattern cannot confirm bore roundness, taper, piston clearance, or oil-control performance.
It does, however, help explain why SAC has repeatedly emphasized maintenance rather than attributing the mileage solely to the strength of the B235 engine.
In its accompanying statement, the company argued that vehicle longevity depends heavily on the relationship between the owner and the workshop-particularly regular servicing and effective lubrication. That wording avoids the lazy conclusion that a Saab engine will automatically cover extraordinary distances simply because of the badge on its cam cover. Even a durable engine architecture requires clean oil, correct intervals, cooling-system control, sensible diagnosis, and faults repaired before they create secondary damage.
Consumer Reports similarly notes that engine oil loses its protective properties with use and time, making correct oil changes and regular level checks particularly important as mileage accumulates.
The automatic transmission is part of the rebuild, not an afterthought
Another photograph shows the automatic transmission casing open on the bench while a technician works on one of its clutch assemblies. This may be the most significant part of the update for anyone assessing the project as a serious attempt to prepare the car for further use.
High-mileage restoration stories often concentrate on the engine because it produces the strongest headline. In practice, an automatic transmission that has completed the same distance deserves equal scrutiny. Clutch packs, seals, bushings, bearings, valve-body components, solenoids, and torque-converter wear can determine whether a completed car feels mechanically coherent or merely survives its first post-restoration road test.
SAC has not yet specified which transmission components are being renewed. The images confirm, at minimum, that the gearbox is being opened and examined internally rather than cleaned externally and reinstalled beside a rebuilt engine.
That decision also indicates that this is not being treated as a museum exercise. A static display can tolerate marginal shift quality, minor hydraulic leakage, or worn driveline mounts. A car intended to return to traffic-and potentially begin accumulating substantial mileage again-cannot.
The complete front assembly came out of the car
The engine, transmission, front subframe, suspension attachment points, and related assemblies were removed as a unit before being separated. One photograph shows the powertrain and subframe on a workshop trolley beneath the empty engine bay. Another shows the front subframe cleaned and refinished in gloss black.
This provides access to areas that are difficult to inspect properly with the drivetrain installed. Mounting points, bushings, steering components, brackets, cooling lines, hoses, wiring sections, and corrosion-prone seams can all be assessed without working around the engine and gearbox.
Again, the photographs show the process but not the final specification. It is not yet clear whether SAC will replace every subframe bushing, which suspension components will be renewed, or whether the car will retain its original factory calibration throughout.
The important point is that SAC has created the conditions for those decisions to be based on inspection rather than convenience.
The interior has been dismantled to the body structure
The project extends well beyond the drivetrain. The doors have been removed, the seats taken out, sections of trim and carpeting lifted, and much of the cabin exposed for cleaning and inspection.
The photographs show technicians working through the floor area and structural openings while the car sits on a body jig. This permits access to wiring routes, sound insulation, seat mounting points, sill sections, door apertures, drainage areas, and surfaces normally hidden beneath trim.
For a vehicle that has covered one million kilometers in Taiwan’s humid climate, this stage is not decorative. Moisture, blocked drains, degraded foam, hardened seals, worn wiring protection, and contamination below the carpets can remain unnoticed while the visible cabin still appears respectable.
The leather front seats are being treated separately. Their condition is instructive: the upholstery shows the creasing and surface wear expected from extremely heavy use, but the seat structures and panels remain complete enough to justify restoration. SAC appears to be cleaning, conditioning, and repairing the original material rather than immediately replacing every visible surface.
Whether the final interior will retain all of its original leather, foam, and stitching has not yet been disclosed. Preserving usable factory material would give the completed car greater documentary value, while replacement may be unavoidable where support foam or leather has reached the end of its functional life.
Wheel-arch liners and underbody panels are being handled individually
The most carefully composed photograph from the update places the 9-5 on a central hydraulic lift while its wheels, wheel-arch liners, sill sections, and underbody covers are arranged beneath it.
It is an effective image because it shows how much of a modern car remains hidden during ordinary servicing. Plastic shields and liners collect dirt, road residue, moisture, and debris. Removing them exposes fasteners, brackets, seams, hoses, and metal surfaces that are otherwise inspected only partially.
SAC’s technicians are also shown cleaning the underside of the hood and the engine compartment. The work appears methodical rather than staged around the visible exterior. Components are being removed, processed separately, and returned only after the surrounding area has been addressed.
The body itself carries marked circles around defects, indicating that paint and panel imperfections are being cataloged before the exterior work proceeds. SAC has not confirmed whether the shell will be completely repainted, stripped to bare metal in selected areas, or refinished using a less invasive process. The removed doors and glass, however, suggest that access and finish consistency are being prioritized over a quick exterior respray.
The cost question remains unanswered
Several responses to SAC’s post focused on the likely cost. One commenter asked directly for a figure, while others joked that the project requires its own “million”-presumably a reference to New Taiwan dollars.
SAC has not published a budget, and estimating one from the photographs would be speculative. The labor alone is substantial: complete disassembly, cataloging, cleaning, engine and transmission inspection, body preparation, interior refurbishment, reassembly, calibration, and final testing.
The project is also unlikely to make sense when judged against the normal resale value of a 2006 Saab 9-5. That is not unusual for comprehensive restorations. The relevant calculation is whether the owner values this particular car, its documented history, and the continuity of ownership enough to justify work that cannot be recovered through an ordinary sale.
The more interesting commercial question was raised by another commenter, who suggested that SAC create a dedicated classic-car restoration division and accept Saabs shipped from overseas. SAC has already demonstrated the workshop capacity required for that kind of operation through several extensive 9-5, 9000, 900, and 9-3 projects. SaabPlanet has previously documented its bare-shell restorations, performance builds, body reconstruction, acoustic treatment, and long-distance sourcing of obsolete components.
International customer work would add logistical, regulatory, warranty, and transport complications, but the suggestion reflects how the Saab community now views SAC: not simply as a surviving service network, but as one of the few organizations capable of coordinating a restoration with former importer-level technical knowledge.
What makes this project unusual
SAC became Saab’s Taiwanese representative in the early 1980s and continued supporting owners after Saab Automobile’s production collapse. Its current website still maintains a national service section, certified used-car listings, and references to Saab-focused performance support.
SaabPlanet reported as early as 2017 that SAC was still operating direct and contracted workshops, maintaining a large parts inventory, and supporting thousands of Taiwanese Saab owners rather than abandoning the marque for a replacement new-car franchise.
That history changes the meaning of the million-kilometer 9-5. An independent specialist can restore an old Saab to a very high standard. SAC adds something different: continuity between the company that originally sold and serviced these cars and the workshop now dismantling one after a million kilometers of use.
One Taiwanese commenter summarized the situation more sharply than any corporate statement: Saab has had no new cars to sell for approximately fifteen years, yet the aftersales organization is still working.
The completed car will eventually provide the visual payoff, but the current stage is more informative. Its body is open, its mechanical assemblies are separated, and the wear accumulated over one million kilometers can no longer hide behind polished paint or a functioning engine.
SAC has ended the first part of the story with “to be continued.” Before the 9-5 returns to the road, the next update needs to answer the technical questions: what remained within tolerance, what required machining, which original components survived, and what SAC considers necessary before a Saab that has already traveled one million kilometers can be trusted to begin the next one.
I would love to have them restore my 2010 SAAB 9-5 NG AERO in the same manner, but it all comes down to the unanswered question which is how much. I have no problem with folks spending money in this manner, I only wish that I could do the same.