Team Sanddodgers

Hmm…lovely spot the fasten seat belt sign…must be a throwover from SAAB’s aircraft building division…the exits are here here and here, but unfortunatly the exits (the doors) don’t lock….but heh, what do you expect for £160!

Well after four years without any loving (drivin) action a set of jump leads was a bit ambitious.

So we hooked up Gareth’s Chav Rover for some excentric towing action! Gareth has never towed anything larger than his lunch before…wonder what happened next! It was a 30 mile sweat through the back roads of the home counties from Reading to Uxbridge via lovely Slough and nasty Windsor (is that not the wrong way round..ed) We only nearly died twice…although a few extra people nearly died instead! Mental note to Pete…never drive a LHD car with no electrics, no lights and brakes that have not been used since 2002….esp when the engine does not work and the only tow is Gareth! We only had two major toot’s at juntions when Farley in the SAAB decided Gareth was going to slow and tried to overtake… But we forgive the motorists involved, its not every day you get cut up by a chav rover hotly pursued by a slack tow rope which is meanwhile being fast overtaken by 130 non working horsepower SAAB 99 turbo (with no working indicators!) (or anything else…) The most exciting moment was an idiot in a Vectra with L (for loser) plates overtaking us both into an oncoming vechicle….could have been nasty… The most entertaining moment was when Thames Valley Police decided to turn a blind eye to a SAAB older than any of us that looks like a shed being towed by a rude boy Rover thru Maidenhead, No tax, no MOT, no brakes, no insurance, and windows so dirty it looked like there was no driver! God bless the police’s powers of discretion! The only reason we don’t have a photo to prove it is cause that would be really illegal!

We arrived! Two hours longer than the outbound trip! Farley kisses the SAAB! This could be a caption competion..a fresh pair of undies to the winner! We are really fortunate to have such a cool car, a real classic saab.

The 99 Turbo was officlally premiered at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1977. Equipped with Inca wheels that signify turbine blades, special front & rear spoilers and a luxurious interior, the Saab 99 Turbo was the worlds first mass produced turbo-charged car. The early 3 door (two doors with hatch boot) models were produced in fairly high numbers though, due to poor rustproofing by Saab very few still survive. In the UK only a very small number (estimtes put it somewhere between 5-10 cars) of five door model came in black or if you are really lucky, you may find one of the 100 produced in Cardinal Red metallic. The two door models are also rare. Only 900 were produced worldwide with the UK receiving a total of 400 in red and 200 in black. The background to the development of the turbo charged engine was the demand for more power from a two litre four cylinder engine, without increasing its fuel consumption. Saab solved the problem by fitting the engine with a light weight turbocharger that did not run under normal driving conditions. Only on flooring the accelerator does the turbocharger cut in, delivering a hefty power boost. Saab first generation turbocharged engines produced 145 bhp and gave the car a top speed of nearly 200kmh, with acceleration from 0-100kmh taking 8.9sec.

Nice.