Saab Link Forums banner

1978 99-Turbo

7K views 43 replies 23 participants last post by  mvadenais 
#1 ·
Yep, some of you may know the one I have that has 550K miles on it. It's beat, too rusty to be worth fixing and basically needs a re-shelling. It does still run great though, oddly enough. I have been casually looking for a better one for a while now.

Last week, I spotted a very poorly listed one that was going up an estate auction on auction zip. The car was about 400 miles from me, but I had to check it out. Paul H and I headed out to Ohio to hit the auction today with the Penndot truck & the tow dolly "just in case"...

Well I got it at the auction today! It's an extremely low rust, original 78 99-turbo. I got for very cheap! Pictures tomorrow. I think people will be amazed. There was not a single "saab person" at this auction, and the only interest in it was from the scrappers, whom I saved it from! It has the sweet 80's "saab turbo" graphics, it's the rarer color, it has good paint, excellent body... good airdam, good grill! - It may or may not run - this I will figure out tomorrow as well.

I know, this thread is worthless without pictures, but I will show the only photo in the auctionzip listing. I will have better pics tomorrow so I can get the antique tags.



I was not really seriously looking for this, but I'm sure I will enjoy it now that I have it.
 
See less See more
1
#2 ·
wow good for you! I am extremely jealous. Nice detective work and awesome find. Still dreaming of someday owning a 78 turbo.

Had one for a short time, but it was too far gone and I had no garage to do any work on it.

Again... well done!
 
#4 ·
Jealous ? Me too.Thats a great find in that condition.Didnt know the graphics continued on the front fender like that and a good airdam and grill,impossible to find.
And speaking of grills,I learned a cool trick years ago from this fellow who had an indie saab repair shop.Any time he came across a pozi drive screw that had its head stripped he would put a bit of valve grinding compound on the tip of the screw driver and they would pop right out.A standard Philips will strip a pozi drive every time.Anyway what a neat car and no doubt you will have good luck with it.
 
#6 ·
As I said to you on the phone - awesome. Can't wait to see it/drive it. I didn't think your 500+K one you bought years ago was that bad - but if it truely is I can understand making that the parts car. I'd try and repair both if feasable and then contact Saab and see if they want to buy the 500K+ one for a museum peice ;) as they now have some funding.

Should be a nice photo shoot one day when I have my 1971/80 99 T16 on the road and put it next to your 78' Turbo. lol I think mine will be faster (a first).
 
#15 ·
Wow that is truly an awesome score! Can't wait to see it. Neuswede had purchased a similar car and was going to fix it. IIRC he ended up selling it to someone on the other side of the world.
 
#17 ·
Thanks for the compliments, the competition was the 3 Scrap guys, and 1 person who wanted to pay about $150 more than scrap value (not sure what he wanted it for, maybe the turbo + scrap... But anyway, $500 dead even was the eventual price. Cheapest non parts car 99-turbo of the year? We'll see if it runs today. I am expecting it to need at least a head gasket and a waste gate diaphragm. and probably brakes and a clutch (clutch feels shot)
 
#24 ·
Well, it runs good! Fixed a fuel leak at the tank, the distributor and some vac leaks, and it started right up! no odd noises, seems to rev up just fine. Also changed the clean oil.

Still need to fix the clutch and the fan. the clutch may just need to be bled. :lol:
 
#27 · (Edited)
Ouch! Based on the first picture of the car, I'm guessing that's pine tar all over the side of the car. Yes? if so, brush some GoJo cream hand cleaner on it and let it sit for awhile in the sun. It should come right off. You may get a little residual bump on the paint from the sap effecting it depending on how long it was on there, but it should hardly be noticeable unless you're looking for it.

I had to do my dad's old Opel GT when I first picked it up, and my buddy stopped by with his Comm Ed last week with a couple spots. Worked like a charm in both cases.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top