Oregon 99 GL coupe

[SalemSaab]

Hey everyone

Just bought my first Saab, a 1979 GL coupe in pretty good shape. Runs & drives well so far!

According to working odometer, has <124,000 miles

Bought this 99 because it seemed too good to pass up. I have always been a fan of unpopular classic European vehicles

While my plan is merely to keep it running & hunt down parts on weekends, I have a feeling it won't be long before I seek to modify the suspension & motor for a bit more fun

Stiffer, lower springs, sway bars, upgraded bushings etc. will be on my list.
As I know virtually nothing about 99s / SAAB aftermarket, I have a lot of learning to do ...

I did autocross my last two Golfs (salem OR & packwood WA). Owned those 7 yrs but time for a new experience.

Economic demotion has kept me from racing for 2 years, thankfully Oregon has no shortage of curvy country/mountain roads to enjoy

If you are in the Willamette Valley let me know, I have lots of learning & junkyard-browsing to do

[sjones]

That is a really nice looking car... I like the paint job.

[Luke]

That 99 looks sharp, really nice find. With some slightly stiffer springs and some better shocks the 99 can really be a fun car to drive even with stock power.
The 99's are just so cool and unusual. I am glad that they are starting to get somewhat of a following! I may be partial but I think even though the emphasis of this site is on motorsports, we also have the highest concentration of general knowledge on the 99's of any forum on the web.

[DeLorean]

It is strange how many people have 99's here. My 99-T I bought only because I didn't want it to go to the junk yard - but I think it was a pretty good buy being that everything just happens to work.



I do need to do quite a few this & that's still, but the 99's are neat cars!

[SalemSaab]

That is a really nice looking car... I like the paint job.

thanks .. yah, newer paint.
The underside (black) seems to be a bed-liner type material, I'm assuming to rust-proof.
Hoping it isn't just covering up an underside full of rust

Hve since discovered it was blue at one point, too bad...

Only 2 issues affecting drivability : (Edit ++ fixed.. for now )0

Turn signal indicator light stays on
Had to pull fuse to avoid electrical drain .. hood latch cable is broken so have to pop the hood via the cracked grille
Since its only 4 screws to open the dash I decided I didn't need that bulb, blinkers still work & sound

Cold start issue I surmised was fuel injectors, vacuum lines .. fuel pump is pricey I see so gonna ignore that for now if I can!

[Luke]

[quote="SalemSaabFinally I got it started .. it will then idle in neutral, but if I pull forward a bit + put back in neutral, it wants to idle low and then die.

I'm guessing this is either the fuel pump/injectors, or vacuum line problem?
Probably should replace the former anyhow.

[/quote]

Had the car been sitting for a while before you got it? CIS dosent like to sit and generally will run crappy until its been run for a while. The warmup regulators (the aluminum block with 2 small fuel hoses near the outlet of the upper hose to the radiator) also go bad and can cause drivability issues.

[SwedeSport]

CIS cars usually run good when used everyday. I let mine sit alot as it's just a toy. Currently put about 2k miles a year on it. It starts hard every time I let it sit. Runs great once it warms up.

Moral of the story is to drive it as much as you can!

Nice Car BTW!

[Geoff]

That's a nice looking car! I was thinking the same thing about the paint along the bottom... You might be able to get a feel for how rusty/clean it is by looking under the car or pulling the trim away from the rear passenger area and looking at the inside of the rear quarter panels from there.

The starting problem sounds like a warm up regulator not letting the cold start injector fire on cold starts. The cold start injector is the fuel injector at the throttle body. You can check if this is the problem by putting unplugging the electrical connection and putting a jumper to ground on one terminal and one to 12v. Then try starting the car cold. If it starts easily then you're not getting power to the cold start injector during cold starts. Leaving it powered as it warms up will make the car run poorly once its begun warming.

I have family out near you. There was a SAAB repair shop run by a guy named John Collins in Corvallis. I think he moved his shop a few years back so I don't know what town he's in. But he's really into 99s so he could possibly be a good local resource. I met him a few years ago at the SAAB Owners Convention in Colorado, nice guy.

[SalemSaab]

That's a nice looking car! I was thinking the same thing about the paint along the bottom... You might be able to get a feel for how rusty/clean it is by looking under the car or pulling the trim away from the rear passenger area and looking at the inside of the rear quarter panels from there.

The starting problem sounds like a warm up regulator not letting the cold start injector fire on cold starts. The cold start injector is the fuel injector at the throttle body. You can check if this is the problem by putting unplugging the electrical connection and putting a jumper to ground on one terminal and one to 12v. Then try starting the car cold. If it starts easily then you're not getting power to the cold start injector during cold starts. Leaving it powered as it warms up will make the car run poorly once its begun warming.

I have family out near you. There was a SAAB repair shop run by a guy named John Collins in Corvallis. I think he moved his shop a few years back so I don't know what town he's in. But he's really into 99s so he could possibly be a good local resource. I met him a few years ago at the SAAB Owners Convention in Colorado, nice guy.

thanks!
The engine bay/trunk don't look terribly rusty. We get lots of rain here but no snow, and not too close to the coast, so things don't usually rust.

Will definately take a look at that cold-start injector, sounds a likely culprit.

Have already had many referrals to John Collins .. tried phoning yesterday, but it was busy, guess business is good
He is now located in Jefferson, Oregon .. about halfway between Corvallis and Salem, only 15 miles from me. I am sure he will be getting rich off me over the long-run

I was told his neighbor Rod (also listed on SaabNet) had tons of parts available, but when I called him yesterday he said he'd crushed all his 99s


thanks for the warm welcome everyone .. so nice to not be part of the juvenile e-thug Volkswagen crowd now ...

[Jordan]

thanks for the warm welcome everyone .. so nice to not be part of the juvenile e-thug Volkswagen crowd now ...

Funny , I've been hearing a lot of the same from other 'converts'. You definitely found the best forum too

[99Super]

Welcome!
I figured you show up eventually!

john

[SalemSaab]

Welcome!
I figured you show up eventually!

Yes indeed, starting fresh with a n00b alter-ego .. no classic saab support on Vortex / Car Lounge

CIS cars usually run good when used everyday....
Moral of the story is to drive it as much as you can!

I like this advice
Has worked well last 2 days, firing right up. Hearing lots of other noises I'm unaccustomed to, this is my first Swedish machine.
Will see how it feels with Winter kickin in .. sideways rain & primetime darkness are limiting my abilities at the moment.

[jason@nameless]

What an awesome 99! I'm just up I-5 here in La Center, WA. Drop me an email sometime...the SAAB 99 I'm currently working on is in Sweet Home, OR - only a little ways away from you.

jason.g@namelessperformance.com

Jason

[SalemSaab]

Still daily-driving this fine Swede machine.. finally got some rear-lighting issues sorted out today.

Rush hour can be tedious but the drive is great on outside inner-city roads
Now giving the car some more attention now that Winter is fading.
Trying to decide how far to take this Projekt; its beautiful & reliable but not always the most practical!
Maybe I can trade for one of these
http://www.oldparkedcars.com/2012/02/19 ... hback.html

Attached is the new stance, a day after install of Lesjofors springs & Bilstein HD shocks .. much stiffer now!

[TunnanXWD]

Of course you need to get the rust issues settled out and one easy way to do that is a series of magnets. The reason I say series of magnets is if you use one too powerful it will stick making you think you have metal under the paint but it's really attracted to the stuff around it.

I used to carry a few inches of those little "strip magnets" like a small ruler and flexible.

Quite some time back I had stopped to look at a 1964 GTO but the price was much too high. Seeing it for sale at the same gas station months later I figured the price had to have come down (I think he was asking $3,000 in 1973) and having just sold my Corvette for $1,500 that was not only beyond my range but a bit absurd.

I really liked the car and tried to reason with the fellow but he didn't say much and only in a deadpan fashion handed me a refrigerator magnet. I went out to the car and it didn't stick, anywhere on the body.

Yeah, it was the car that Pontiac denied existed. It was an aluminum body Royal Oak GTO. Some of the engineers "came out of the closet" a few years ago and confirmed the rumor, the car did indeed exist. I doubt you will get that lucky and find the all alu Saab however

Anyway, that is one damned handsome car you have, and though I am generally not fond of the Inca type wheels on that car they just fit to a tee. The color does it justice and I am partial to silver but it seems made for it. Looks like a winner from where I'm sitting!