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Saab Model 99 Bulletin Board
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What's your definition of "Restore"?
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Posted by Gary Stottler [Email] (#1463) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Gary Stottler) on Sun, 12 Oct 2014 05:43:47 Share Post by Email
In Reply to: 99 Restore Shops, BTG88, Mon, 6 Oct 2014 18:49:19
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Chiming in a little late, I have high regard for the shops that have been mentioned so far and would also add ConnTech in Warwick, RI (Mike Connelly - not sure I spelled his name right) to that list of experts in working on 99s.

However, I'm always uncertain what is meant when one says the want to "restore" a car, it seems like there are various definitions. Here are the ones I use:

Repair - means sort out mechanically, fix any/all operational/safety/emission issues with the result that a car can be reliable and safe to drive. (in my view, on almost any 30+ year old car, this means $2500 worth of brakes, suspension, tires at a minimum followed by cooling, fuel system and exhaust which can easily add another $1500. This is if nothing is basically wrong with the car, costs can be higher if, for example, you need to rebuild the steering rack - common on 99s. So, if you buy a car for $4,000 you at looking at a total of $8,000 to get to this level)

Refurbish - means the same as above but throw in a good repaint and work on the interior, those items can easily exceed $10,000 if done well, now your project is starting to look like $15,000 plus the purchase price of the car ($19,000 for my example with the $4,000 car).

Restore - means full tilt, strip the body down to the shell and dip it/blast it, send the entire interior to a serious trim shop, have every mechanical component rebuilt as new, have trim re-plated, etc. You basically end up with a new, or better than new, car. Not for the faint of hear, however, costs can easily run between $75,000-$100,000 or more depending on how hard it is to get parts. A huge amount of skilled labor is involved which drives the cost.

Of course you save money on the latter two categories (the first category my $4,000 estimate is mostly just getting the parts) by doing things yourself if you have the skills and hours.

If your ambition and pocketbook run to "Restore", then I highly recommend PSI in Sterling Heights, MI. They did what are, in my opinion, the finest Saab restorations ever done; the ones for the Saab USA Heritage Collection. The costs were not explicitly ever stated, but I don't think my estimates above are far off. To see examples, take a look at the 1970 99 and 1980 900 now owned by Bill Jacobson or the 1970 Sonett III and 1985 900 SPG now owned by Tom Donney.

Best,

Gary
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Gary Stottler
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