My name is Jason and I love SAAB 99's
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 2:17 pm
Hi all,
My name is Jason Griffith, I am the Director of Engineering at Nameless Performance. We're a small, home-shop based, Handbuilt in the USA, production fabrication & motorsport engineering shop here in La Center, Washington.
Bill Caswell pointed me here after I read his story about Josh Jenny. While the M3 rally car story was certainly cool (aside from 2 SAABs, I have owned 8 vintage BMW's: From e3's to e28's, over the past 15 years), I couldn't help but skip cut to the chase on GearBoxMagazine.com and read more about Luke & Josh's 99EMS rally car. See, my first car was a '76 99EMS that my father owned. He bought it in '76, and it was the car that delivered me home from the hospital as a wee infant that same year. 16 years later it would become my first car, and 35 years later I am helping my father to finish the build he started a number of years ago when he tore the car down to bare metal and had the long block built for a rather fun turbocharging project.
We just got a little GT2876R turbo for it with a Tial stainless turbine housing, and we have begun the process of getting the components ready to finish up the car. I'll comment more about the engine prep and our plans for the induction and exhaust system in the build thread that I plan to start here, but I'd just like to introduce myself more than anything.
I'm a mechanical engineer by trade, but lately I have been more of a manager and have been learning a lot about running my own business with two fellow enthusiasts and friends as my business partners. Our main product lines are production stainless exhaust systems and induction components for late model sport compact cars, but we also have a variety of systems that we sell for vintage European cars. Working on the SAAB project we plan on providing a wide variety of turnkey B motor parts as well as components for later model SAABs as time permits. I've spent a number of years designing mechanical systems and components, from Aircraft to Robotics to Automotive and I really enjoy the camaraderie of other enthusiasts on the forums and in local clubs. I love to discuss a variety of mechanical and electromechanical systems and tend to pick my friends based on their similar interest.
I've been interested in Rally and RallyCross for some time now, but most of my driving skill and interest is tarmac related - from AutoCross to exploring the backroads around my home and our shop here in Southwest Washington state. My daily driver is a s**tbox MkIV Golf 2.slow with B&G Coilovers, rear torsion bar, Ate Premium1 rotors, Hawk HP+ Pads, our own mandrel bent stainless exhaust w/ helmholtz 130hz band pass resonator and short ram intake. Nothing special, but it does what I want it to, and I really enjoy the hell out of it. From the day I bought it, the rear seats have been folded down. It's our little shop truck, has a 2024 Aluminum roof rack we made from a double deck aeromedical stretcher frame that didn't pass QC at the first engineering job I had (which I squirreled away for future use). Makes a great tubing rack for those emergency same-day pick ups.
So, hello to everyone! I'm excited to chat more about our upcoming work on the 99 and look forward to picking your brains regarding suspension design and chassis improvement. I'm very excited to finally get this car out of storage. When I was a kid it was way too funky for me, but today it is one of my favorite cars of all time. With the recent events at SAAB AB, I felt compelled to light a fire under my dad's ass and get his project back on the front burner (he is also a compulsive builder, with 4 other projects including a twin turbo GT-40 kit car that he bought back in the 60's, a '62 Rover P4 Sedan, a '40 Chevy Business Coupe and a '34 White Fuel Truck).
Jason Griffith
jason.g@namelessperformance.com
My name is Jason Griffith, I am the Director of Engineering at Nameless Performance. We're a small, home-shop based, Handbuilt in the USA, production fabrication & motorsport engineering shop here in La Center, Washington.
Bill Caswell pointed me here after I read his story about Josh Jenny. While the M3 rally car story was certainly cool (aside from 2 SAABs, I have owned 8 vintage BMW's: From e3's to e28's, over the past 15 years), I couldn't help but skip cut to the chase on GearBoxMagazine.com and read more about Luke & Josh's 99EMS rally car. See, my first car was a '76 99EMS that my father owned. He bought it in '76, and it was the car that delivered me home from the hospital as a wee infant that same year. 16 years later it would become my first car, and 35 years later I am helping my father to finish the build he started a number of years ago when he tore the car down to bare metal and had the long block built for a rather fun turbocharging project.
We just got a little GT2876R turbo for it with a Tial stainless turbine housing, and we have begun the process of getting the components ready to finish up the car. I'll comment more about the engine prep and our plans for the induction and exhaust system in the build thread that I plan to start here, but I'd just like to introduce myself more than anything.
I'm a mechanical engineer by trade, but lately I have been more of a manager and have been learning a lot about running my own business with two fellow enthusiasts and friends as my business partners. Our main product lines are production stainless exhaust systems and induction components for late model sport compact cars, but we also have a variety of systems that we sell for vintage European cars. Working on the SAAB project we plan on providing a wide variety of turnkey B motor parts as well as components for later model SAABs as time permits. I've spent a number of years designing mechanical systems and components, from Aircraft to Robotics to Automotive and I really enjoy the camaraderie of other enthusiasts on the forums and in local clubs. I love to discuss a variety of mechanical and electromechanical systems and tend to pick my friends based on their similar interest.
I've been interested in Rally and RallyCross for some time now, but most of my driving skill and interest is tarmac related - from AutoCross to exploring the backroads around my home and our shop here in Southwest Washington state. My daily driver is a s**tbox MkIV Golf 2.slow with B&G Coilovers, rear torsion bar, Ate Premium1 rotors, Hawk HP+ Pads, our own mandrel bent stainless exhaust w/ helmholtz 130hz band pass resonator and short ram intake. Nothing special, but it does what I want it to, and I really enjoy the hell out of it. From the day I bought it, the rear seats have been folded down. It's our little shop truck, has a 2024 Aluminum roof rack we made from a double deck aeromedical stretcher frame that didn't pass QC at the first engineering job I had (which I squirreled away for future use). Makes a great tubing rack for those emergency same-day pick ups.
So, hello to everyone! I'm excited to chat more about our upcoming work on the 99 and look forward to picking your brains regarding suspension design and chassis improvement. I'm very excited to finally get this car out of storage. When I was a kid it was way too funky for me, but today it is one of my favorite cars of all time. With the recent events at SAAB AB, I felt compelled to light a fire under my dad's ass and get his project back on the front burner (he is also a compulsive builder, with 4 other projects including a twin turbo GT-40 kit car that he bought back in the 60's, a '62 Rover P4 Sedan, a '40 Chevy Business Coupe and a '34 White Fuel Truck).
Jason Griffith
jason.g@namelessperformance.com
