74 GL - "not subtle" orange

[spgftw]

Hi all,
Here's some 'before' pics of my first 99. I couldn't resist the orange. My wife's first reaction: "not subtle." I think this car has been around the block a few times, and I hear it was upside down at least once. I'm leaning towards attempting to put (edit:) stock seats in it, and getting it road legal. It does start, barely, but needs some fine tuning to say the least. Lots of great parts and upgrades though, so I think it has potential. It's been sitting for years, so will need to be revived.

So, first projects- if I want stock seats, I need to repair the driver seat front mounting points which have been ground off. I've got a set of seats that will work, at least for the front. The rear looks more challenging, unless I can find a more correct seat. I've also considered trying seat from a newer 900 if needed. The gas tank has been removed and a fuel cell is in the trunk. I'd love to get a fuel tank back in the stock location to have the trunk space back.

I know it's a bit unusual to take a rally car back towards being a daily driver type car, but racing is way out of my budget. On the plus side, I won't have to worry too much about denting it, that's for sure. :)

Cheers,
Paul

Here it is:

[airsweden]

Cool, If you're not able to race it.... I'd think about passing it on to someone who can/will. You can probably find a another complete, running street car to meet your needs and that car is too bad ass to keep out of some kind of competition. I like it... a lot.

[Jordan]

Not to discourage you, but I kind of agree. Unless you have a parts car or something that you can get all of the bits off of, it's going to take you a while and a lot of work to get that back to stock condition. Even then I'm sure there were lots of modifications to the body that are going to have to be un-done. It can surely be done , but it seems like if you add up the cost of sourcing all of the parts, you'd be better off with something closer to stock. If you lived closer I'd be able to help you with most the parts.

Plus, all the work that went into making that could keep it in competition.

Another option might be doing a "streetable" rally replica... Just tidy up all the components, put in some carpeting, a quieter exhaust , some period stickers, maybe some quasi-race seats (more comfortable) and you have something you can drive around and have fun with, but has an homage to its rally history.

What does it have in terms of motor, suspension, transmission, spares etc?

[burnsside42]

I too agree with the leaving as much as it stands now - and making it a driver the way it is. Or as was also said - find a more stock one to daily drive. That car looks like it has too much history to silence. It will never be happy doing 25mph on residential streets either. Keep it the way it is as it is as much as you can.

[321go]

It doesn't appear to have a cage in it, so it wouldn't be competition ready. I think he posted in another thread saying that the cage was too outdated to compete, if this is the same person. So maybe just make it into a rallycross/TSD car? Stock would take some work, I'd think.
I like the color.

[spgftw]

Thanks for the feedback! I should have explained myself better there, so will try again. I'm definitely leaving it quite close to the way it is. The rally dash, stickers, dents, rally suspension, etc. all stay. I do need a full set of seats though, so passengers have somewhere to sit. Also need a fuel tank that's not taking most of the trunk (need more than 6 gallons too!). I'm picturing a car that I can take off the beaten path, up into the mountains. The roll cage/belts/seat were all old enough that they were going to probably fail rally inspections, so needed rework anyways. If I get really motivated I might even put in a carpet and door panels to quiet it down- creature comforts. :)

Ok, next chapter, what's under the hood: an 8 valve 900 engine, MSS headers, with SDS ignition/injection, and oil and transmission coolers. Plus a big aluminum skid plate to protect it all, and boxed a arms. That's the good news. The bad news is that it's sitting on top of a transmission that needs replacing (the reason it got parked years ago). Luckily I have a spare 4 speed to drop in, so no worries.

Spares- it came w/ 3 windshields and 5 ps racks. Unfortunately all the windshields have flaws like rock chips, or chipped edges. I think they would all be usable in a pinch though. So if anyone needs a dinged up windshield let me know, I would give a couple of them away. The racks look similar, a couple good ones and a couple that are busted.






Oh yeah- I don't know if the 99 would be happy doing 25 in the city, but I'm pretty sure I would be.

[spgftw]

Couple more thoughts - I've got an 89 SPG as my regular daily driver. Awesome car, as long as the pavement is smooth. I love that the 99 would be great wherever the SPG would get stuck. Plus, so much of the SPG's value is tied up in how shiny the paint is, and whether it has a dent. Not so on the 99! I can take it wherever I want, no fear. Plus I think it will actually be more fun to drive in the city- no turbo lag, quicker steering, smaller dimensions.

Oh yeah- I'm lucky to live near a mechanic with a field of dead 99s, so rounding up parts won't be so bad.

And finally, if anyone (likely not me) decides to go rallying with it, all it needs is a cage and a race seat. I could easily see it racing years from now, in a distant future...

The hood looks like it was attacked by a shark:

[airsweden]

Sounds good to me! Once you get it going you might find its pretty easy/cheap to get involved in some kind of competition if you want. As mentioned above, even without a cage there is rally-x, auto-x and maybe hillclimbs and trackdays in your area.

I wish I had a field of 99's in the neighborhood. It used to be that way in VT 20 years ago but those days are over. Now I'm in HI and have only seen about 3 saabs older than 1993. Can you tell us about the fuel injection on that thing?

Josh

[Luke]

awesome, no matter what the use, I am just happy that its seeing some attention and loving put into getting her running again.

[Scott]

Considering its orange and been a rally car, it looks pretty good.

[matt]

oil cooler mounted behind radiator?
looks like a standalone ecu much like the tec 2 in the rally car controlling spark and fuel.

[spgftw]

Yep, oil cooler behind radiator. Think it's an issue? This is a non-turbo so stock wouldn't even have had a cooler. And yeah it's standalone, an SDS system. That's new to me, but seems like a good system based on what little I know...

[Jordan]

Yep, oil cooler behind radiator. Think it's an issue? This is a non-turbo so stock wouldn't even have had a cooler. And yeah it's standalone, an SDS system. That's new to me, but seems like a good system based on what little I know...

I wouldn't worry about it. Probably not ideal, but its just up out of the way so it doesn't get destroyed by some passing rocks.. I have mine in front of the radiator, behind the grill.

Think you're going to keep the 8v in there or go to a 16v or better... 16v turbo It clutters up the engine bay a little (more)... but I'm sure it would be a whole lot of fun.

[spgftw]

ah, the 16v/turbo question... :)

I think it'll stay 8v for a while. My other saab is 16V turbo, I so may as well be different w/ this one. It's the anti-SPG...

[Luke]

ah, the 16v/turbo question... :)

I think it'll stay 8v for a while. My other saab is 16V turbo, I so may as well be different w/ this one. It's the anti-SPG...

Yeah keep it how it is!! I think the standalone on the D-jet manifold is pretty badass! A cam (if it dosent already have one) should really wake the motor up and make it a very snappy little car with a different sort of feel than an SPG.