Parts Donor (and much more)! 1980 99 GL

It's with sad emotions that we have a look at this 1980 99 GL. This 99, finished in Chamotte Brown, met its end due to extensive rust and a seized motor. Currently, this 99 is a parts car, as it awaits its next stage in life. More on that later. This car donated its throttle body and steering rack to mine, where I hope to finally restore my inner tie rods - a repair I've been waiting to do for over a year now!

As I alluded to earlier, this 99's story is not over yet! The owner, Tim Boyle, is planning to drop the body onto a 2007 Subaru WRX chassis, complete with Subaru motor and all wheel drive system. 

It's always fascinating to see what other outside-the-box minds plan to do with these old Saabs. I know for certain that not many of the Saab purists would even think to drop a 99 shell onto a Subaru platform. The easiest solution would be to cannibalize the parts onto a nicer 99, and build one car out of another. What if we could save 

However, when we think of saving old rusty Saabs, not many folks would be ambitious enough as Tim is to take on such a project. To me, Tim's idea harkens back to the "Saabaru" 9-2X of 2005 and '06. However, this time, this "Saabaru" is going to be more Saab in appearance. While this 1980 99 has ended its chapter as a base model car, its next stage in life will be a far more exciting than its previous one. It's great that this 99 will be getting a second and exciting chance at driving on the road again.