Date: 9 Nov 1997 21:47:27 GMT From: "John LeBlanc" <johnatnet-connect.netnopsam.this.by.hand> Subject: HELP: Need advice re: my sick 1978 SAAB 99EMS
Howdy, folks. I am hoping someone in what's left of this newsgroup can help me by giving some advice on the best way(s) to proceed to get my 1978 99EMS back on the road. I am the second owner; the first purchased it new from Star in Houston, TX, and he kept a "medical folder" on any and all work ever performed on the thing. The car has 126K on it, soccer-ball wheels, incredible interior, good windshield, very good paint and original most everything. I have the shop manual for it, as well as EVERY SAAB "Nines" newsletter put out between December 1980 and February 1990 (including a nice "hello" introductory from Jeff D.) I love this car. My wife has put up with Thor sitting silently in the drive way for a long, long time. Therefore, I also love my wife. Did I mention the water pump went out three and a half years ago and probably overheated the engine? Water pours out of the slit in the pump/block, and there's water in the oil. The only shop I ever considered taking it to was Fitzgerald's in Baton Rouge, and from my detailed descrition, the man told me I probably ruined the jackshaft which added several hundred to the bill. (Old Man Fitzgerald died -- and that was a shame.) $1,700 was (is) an awful lot of money to rebuild the engine, so, I sat the car up. Now I'm interested in putting Thor back on the road. I've been told by several people that I could (and should) drop a 900 engine into the car. I am capable of doing any work not requiring special SAAB tools. Has anyone accomplished this? And from WHERE do I get a used 900 engine shipped to Lafayette, Louisiana? Local shops are not an option. Shortly after the car died, I spoke to a used auto parts outfit from California who said he could ship me a used 900 engine to my door for $550, and I could bolt on the extras from my 99EMS engine. That seems more reasonable now than it did then. Silly me. Any help/advice will be appreciated. I want to do this job myself. John john at net-connect.net