Thread: My Old Car is Going to be a Start

In 1974, some four years before I was born my mom and dad bought a brand new car, a dark brown (the seventies, you know) Saab 99.

Then in 1979 or so they sold it to my grandfather who had the car until he passed away in 1996. I then got the car as it was time for me to get my driver's licence. I had it and drove it for a year or so but then when I went to uni I didn't really need it so it was standing in mom and dad's garage and was only driven by me during the summer when I went to visit and my dad used to drive it to work now and then. My mom hated the car, she thought it was old and ugly and a real embarrassment. And she didn't see the humour that me and dad saw when he used to park the car at work at the executive parking lot at Volvo next to all the shiny S80's.

Anyway. Some three years ago we, rahter reluctantly, decided to sell it. Pretty soon we had a buyer who bought it right away. We have since then been a little worried about our dear old Saab.

My dad just phoned me today saying he had got a letter (one of those old analog ones) from the new owner where he had sent pictures of the car, which now had been fitted with "new" rims and "new" extra lights and the few damages on the body work was now fixed and it looked just like it came out of the factory again. It also said that the car was used in the recording of a TV movie and was probably going to be seen in a couple of shots.

The new owner is apparantly a real historic car enthusiast and he had been taking it to a couple of car events during the summers. It's nice to know it went to a good home.

It really was a fun car to drive. Felt like a go-kart and when you got it up to 100 kph it felt like you were doing 250.

The attached pic is what it looked like the summer we sold it.

Originally Posted by JoStream

Do you have any pictures of the new revised version?

I haven't seen them. My dad got them in paper form but he will hopefully send them over.

Originally Posted by JoStream

I know how you feel when you say that it fell in good hands, especially when it's a car that you've developed somewhat of an intimate relationship with over the years

well, here in Sweden we have a race category called Folkrace where poor old Saab 99's used to end their days. It's a bit like Rallycross with cheap cars and full contact (mostly because of poorer driving skills than the rallycross guys, I guess). I was a bit afraid it might have come to that, actually.

Originally Posted by saltysurprise

That sounds like a race I could participate in. I always thought I'd make a decent rally driver.

Well, I doubt you'd be bored in a folkrace race. Take a look at the pics on this page to see it in all its glory.

http://www.algonet.se/~resskarl/bildmo21.htm

Yesterday episode four of the mini-series Upp till kamp aired on swedish tv and my old car is now famous!

It's up there on the hill looking its best.