Wow; this 99 that Roshake found in Budapest looks almost as fresh as the day it rolled off the lines in Trollhattan. It’s nice to see someone preserving a regular 99, and not just a Turbo. This one looks just like the very first ones that were first built in 1968; a genuine Ür-99.
Roger Carr gave us the full story on the 99 here, so I won’t go into detail. It was of course the first all-new Saab after the 92-93-95-96; a major undertaking for such a relatively small company at the time. In order to reduce costs on developing a new engine, Saab used the new Triumph 1.7 L SOHC four as also used in the Triumph Dolomite and later in the TR7. In 1971, displacement was increased to 1854 cc. Due to durability issues with the Triumph engine, Saab eventually took up building its own version starting in 1972.
The power train arrangement was rather different, with the longitudinal engine mounted “backwards”, with the clutch in front, which ten fed the transaxle mounted under engine via a chain. It made for the easiest clutch jobs ever, but generally speaking, all the early 99s weren’t exactly paragons of durability and reliability.
All the more reason to appreciate this Saab survivor.
CC 1972 Saab 99: Do You Remember Something Called Variety? R.Carr
I occasionally rode to elementary school (circa 1972) in a Saab 99. Something about it stood out since I still remember it, maybe the orange paint, or the incredibly uncomfortable front seat headrests (though they were good for not blocking your view rearwards). I still wonder why LHD-market 99s have “backwards” wipers that don’t clear the driver’s side that well. That was fixed on the 900, which seemed like a 99 with a longer front end and new dashboard. The seats started to improve around then too – someone a block away I knew had a light green ’79 900 5 door with green velour inside, very comfy.
We bought a new ’73 SAAB 99L in Feb of 1974. Loved the car though the Lockheed clutch cyls gave problems if their proprietary special fluid wasn’t used, however the SAAB built 2.0L engine was excellent and durable. We later traded it for a BMW 2800 money pit, big mistake! Went back to SAAB and owned a ’77 99GL, ’82 900T, ’85 and ’87 900s, ’89 9000,
and several SAAB/GM 900s, 9-3s and 9-5s. We still have several in the family including the ’87 900, a true SAAB, basically a modernized 99, and still running well with 240k on the clock (pic)
As a New Englander, I see way more cars like your 1987 900 on the road than non-New Englanders do. Like, pretty much every day. Still, they’re starting to get thin enough on the ground that I’m beginning to contemplate what roads without Saabs will look like. And that’s not a happy thought.
Wow, I can’t remember the last time I saw a 99. 20 years? If a 99 can be called beautiful, this one is it.
It’s remarkable to see a well-preserved non-turbo Saab like this.
Saab seemed to have an affinity for colors that were various shades of putty. A few years ago, I saw this base-model 1982 900 at a car show, and took pictures with the hopes of writing it up (which I hopefully will still get around to) – the color is remarkably similar to the featured 99. I don’t recall these being popular colors, but they always seemed to offered to whatever Saab clientele wanted them.
Here’s the only pic I could find of our ’77 99GL, I think I took when I was looking for a front turn signal. All the pics of our Verona Green ’73 99L are in photo albums. Yes we’re New Englanders too, the blue car is still at our VT camp, and the white ’77 was bought from NH while we lived in VT, then sold to an enthusiast in Syracuse when we moved to NY . Sadly even 9-3s and 9-5s, especially the last version of 9-5s, are getting to be a rare sight, even in the Northeast.
You weren’t wrong in stating that 99’s weren’t paragons of reliability and durability. They combined a somewhat troublesome nature with an uncanny solidity due to a very stiff bodyshell and good clearances. The doors closed with a very solid ‘thunk’ and all switchgear felt very well made. And yet, these cars were in the same league as Lancias and Citroens when it came to ease of repair.
However, the tradeoff for the very easy clutch replacement was doing anything to the front (or now back) of the engine. On earlier models, the engine had to come out for the water pump to be replaced. There was a cut out with less than an inch between the pump and firewall.