RallySport Magazine September 2016

FEATURE: SAAB 99EMS
Story :
TOM SMITH
A LITTLE BIT
OF SWEDEN
Queensland competitor, Ross
Perry, has been around for
quite a few years and might be
best remembered by some as co-driver
for Ian Reddiex back in the early
nineties when the crew ran the Maxim
Motors Peugeot 205 GTi in the Australian
Rally Championship.
Not only is Ross a long-time
enthusiast, competing and servicing for
a number of mates in local and national
events, he is a gun mechanic, preparing
rally machinery for a number of people
and recognised as an expert Saab
technician and former part-owner of
the SaabCare workshop in Brisbane.
It was therefore inevitable that Ross
would find the time and inclination to
build his own Saab competition car, and
chose a 1974 99EMS as the weapon of
choice.
The Saab was the first car of Ross’s
eldest daughter, Lindsay, who took
ownership when she was 16, and then
parked it when she moved on to better
things.
It sat for about 12 months until the
decision was finally made to build it into
a rally car.
With robust strength and being a
good size, the 99EMS was a good base
to start with, and having worked on
Saabs for most of his career, the project
was always going to happen one way or
the other.
Recalling the early days of the real
factory cars of Stig Blomqvist was
inspiration for both Ross and his good
mate and co-worker, Bill Spurway, who
commenced the build after hours one
night at the SaabCare workshop in
suburban Brisbane.
As a labour of love, the build took
seven years – mostly after hours.
The steel roll cage was built by friend
and fellow competitor, Paul Andrews,
and the interior remains standard,
apart from trim removal and the fitting
of a fire bomb and essential safety
equipment.
Mechanically the engine’s bottom
end is standard, apart from balancing,
thanks to a steel crank as standard. The
head is machined to improve flow rates,
but valve size remains standard, with
upgraded camshaft and springs.
The cam is too big for the original
manifold, and so quad throttle bodies
from a Suzuki GSXR have just been
fitted, instead of the original Bosch
D-Jetronic injection.
Saab gearboxes are a weak link, and
even with the best one available and
a Modena LSD, it proved unsuitable
for competition use and failed in
spectacular fashion. An FLD straight
cut gearbox has been sourced from
Sweden and just fitted.
Shock absorbers for the car are the
ever-reliable Bilsteins, re-valved by
MCA.
Brakes are upgraded Saab 9000
turbo rotors and callipers front and
rear, which bolt on with no additional
modifications, resulting in a nicely
balanced car all round.
The car is painted in factory colours
from the era, not the traditional black
with yellow and blue of other Saabs.
While Ross primarily uses the car for
khanacross’ and the odd sprint rally,
there is interest for a possible entry
in the Alpine Rally in 2017, subject to
the approval of the original owner –
daughter Lindsay!
Ross also suggests that coaxing Ian
Reddiex back into a car with him is
Ross Perry’s Saab 99EMS
is a perfect example of a
classic rally car.
possible, but Ian currently enjoys the
occasional event with Mike Mitchell,
owner of a classic Toyota Celica twin
cam.
SEPTEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 35