SAAB 99 EMS WANTED

[madwelshman]

Hi folks, I'm looking for a Saab 99 Ems. Yes, I'm a Saab fan The Ems was available in the Uk between 1972-1978, had a 2.0 litre injection engine and what they call soccerball alloys(not to everyones taste!). If anyone has seen one on their travels laying unloved on someones drive or in a garden I'd be very greatful if they could let me know about the car and where it is.

I would post a pic of what I'm after, but I'm not sure how to

 

Many thanks.

 

[email protected]

[Hertz]

One of these?

 

[r.welfare]

One of these?

 

 

Was the EMS package only available on the 3 door here?

[wuvvum]

I've never seen a saloon EMS over here, I have to say. Having said that, I haven't seen a Combi EMS on the road for several years now either. The last one I saw for sale on the Bay was a couple of years or so back, but that was being sold by Two Stroke to Turbo so the reserve would have been around £1,999,999,995. I'll keep me eyes peeled...

[madwelshman]

Yep, thems the ones guys!

The 2dr Ems came out 1st in 72 with bosch electronic inj, hense the 'E' in Ems. But the system proved not to be 100% reliable so was changed in 74(I think ) fo boschr K jet, which gave it another 8Hp with slight head/cam alterations and MUCH more reliable. As I said, not everyone's cup of T, but I love Saabs. I've got 3 99's at the mo, a 2dr and 3dr Turbo, both in black and a base single carb which is going to have a 16v Turbo engine out of a 900 transplanted into it - 175Bhp standard!

 

Thanks folks

 

Will, The Madwelshman

[email protected]

[madwelshman]

P.s, Sorry, didn't mean to bore you all!! Will

[r.welfare]

Not boring at all - interesting you are putting a 900T lump into the 99. Is it an "H" engine (post-1980, maybe even the APC type)? I was under the impression (I read it somewhere years ago) that it wouldn't fit beneath the shorter nose of the 99 which is why Saab discontinued it? I think the "soccerball" alloys look ace, by the way. I can't remember the last time I saw a pre-1980 99, probably 1989 when my woodwork teacher had a 1972 model

[Richard]

The 99 was sold with the H engine, though not in Turbo form. You could never get a right hand drive 99 with PAS because of the short nose.Personally I'd take a B engine over an H engine any day of the week, the only real advantage I could see with the H engine was the conventional water pump.

[wuvvum]

I had a 99 GL about three years ago which had a 900 T16S engine and PAS system fitted, so it's obviously possible. I used to surprise some people with that car, I can tell ye.

[j-j]

One of these?

 

 

Was the EMS package only available on the 3 door here?

I really like that^.

 

But what was unconventional about the water pump?

[Ratdat]

I just posted a load of pics I took at the Saab Museum in Sweden on my website...

 

http://www.ratdat.com/?p=245

[madwelshman]

r.welfare - The 99 I'm using is a later car, 1983, so ha the H type engine in at present and therefore more room between the engine and the firewall. The room between the engine and firewall is the problem on this conversion, luckily theres more room on cars with the H type engine than the B type engined ones. The B type engine is known as being a stronger unit but is also heavier.j-j - The waterpump was mounted into the block, like a Triumph Tr7 and Dolomite. You really need a special tool to remove them, it allows the pump shaft to run as it's being extracted.P.A.S can be fitted, but was never fitted to R.H.D cars as standard as there is a distinct lack of room in the engine bay. L.H.D 99's and especiallythose destined for the american market were mostly fitted with power steering because one of the problems with the 99 is it's heavy steering, especially on the EMS and turbo's as they had higher geared steeringf racks.Will

[Vin]

My Dad had a 1978 EMS - BRH 597T when I was a kid. It was maroon with the soccer ball wheels. He had a Britax sun roof fitted, which as a kid I thought was It was 4 years old when he bought it from Thompson Saab in Hull. He sold it in 1985 as it needed a respray. It's the only car he has ever really regretted selling. He loved it so much that, on Mother's day 1985 when the police rung to inform him that my Mum had been involved in a car crash, his first thought that crossed his mind was - Is she in the SAAB!!!! No, lucky for him she was in her Chrysler Alpine And she was OK, just shocked.

[madwelshman]

Vin - 1978, am I right in saying that it was possibly have been a 3dr, or what Saab called a 'combi coupe'? Saab had released the 99 Turbo in 77 and the sales of the Ems had slowed a little as the Turbo had taken over as Saabs Fastest model. My Parents had a Silver 2dr Ems when I was about 6-7yrs old and I loved it, they always said what a good car it was. They replaced it with a Maroon 3dr Ems and always said that the 3dr didn't handle as well as the 2dr, t much weight/overhang at the back in comparison. Still a very good car though.Will

[Vin]

I am assuming that by 3dr you mean a hatchback and 2dr an enclosed boot (bit like the first Fiat 127). If so then it was a 2dr.Just asked my Dad about his EMS and he said when he bought it it had low miles for it's age (27k) and had been used for pottering about. At the time he was trekking over to Preston quite a bit with work. He tells me that after a few weeks of ownership, it was on one of these Hull to Preston trips that approaching Saddleworth Moor on the M62 a valve stem snapped lunching the engine. He was AA'd back to Thompson in Hull and they rebuilt it with a new cylinder head. He ended up paying about 200 quid towards it and he was a bit miffed.....Thing is, a month later, on the 62 again heading back to Hull, near Goole the same thing happened again, valve stem snapped. Not Happy.He dumped it at Thompson's and apparently the Service Manager then took on the responsibility of repairing it himself. He stripped the whole engine down and found lots of shards of metal in the sump, from the previous valve stem incident, which had been working their way round the engine to cause the second incident. So it was then rebuilt, at no cost to my Dad, as you would expect.So within 2 months of ownership it basically had a brand new engine, which he had to run in.He still loved the car though.

[madwelshman]

Wow, very unlucky that he had all those problems. But, how lucky to have what was effectively a new engine, even if he did have to run it in!Will

[alfetta]

The 'classic' EMS for me will always be a 75 or 76 2-door in silver...

 

 

 

A friend had one around 1983 - last I heard a year or so later it caught fire requiring a bail out (badly serviced injection system I think..), no injuries but car didn't survive....

 

also a silver R reg very local to me - hasn't been on the road for a couple of years but seemed in pretty reasonable condition....what's

happened to it who knows but I really wanted that car! (wouldn't sell...)

 

anyway I wish you luck! Very few survive today - Only one I've seen for sale was on ebay 3-4 years ago. The 3-door is possibly rarer still as it came along just before the 900 and '78-80 was a 'rusty' period for saab...

 

BTW They did a 900 EMS too!

[madwelshman]

Yeh, the 900 Ems was never a very poular car as it was underpowered due to being a longer and therefore heavier car and people who wanted a more powerfull Saab, mostly went for the 900 Turbo. The 900 Ems is quite a rare motor now, probably more so than the 99 Ems.Will