Today is the worst day of my life. Yesterday was the first day of summer for me and everything was great. I got in my first bike ride and talked to my dad like I usually do. We talked about the normal stuff that a 20 year old college student and his father talk about. The first thing out of his mouth was how is your car running, talking about my coupe and I replied great. My dad and I had just spent my spring break putting a 9-3 5spd in my 95 ng900SET coupe as well as a few more upgrades to replace the tired parts a 160k mile car has. We go on to talking about my 91 900T Special Edition Airflow vert and how we are going to have it ready for SOC. We said goodbye and I love you and planned to meet up this week. For those of you who don't know my parents were in the middle of a divorce so they were not living with each other. Furthermore my dad had chronic back pain problems resulting in two titanium rods in his back and him in constant excruciating pain if he was not on medicine. At this time in his life he was not on any medication as he was pursuing an alternative treatment which included hypnotism. Today I was awoken by my mother who told me she had some bad news to tell me, in no way was I prepared to hear what came out of her mouth. She told me my dad had been taken to the emergency room and passed away. At that moment I lost it, how could he be gone? I just talked to him the day before and he was fine. I feel robbed of my father. Why did he have to be taken away from me? My mom has always said that my dad and I were the same person. My dad and I had plans not just to finish my car but for him to start biking with me and to buy a Sonett like he had when he was in college. My dad was the one who got me into Saabs, he used to have a Saab parts yard that I used to go play in as a kid. He taught me a lot about these cars and started my obsession with them. The day I got my convertible was a total accident; my dad brought what he called a SPG convertible home that he was going to resell. When I laid my eye's on that car I knew that it was the only car that I wanted, so he paid for half and I paid for half. I went to work on that car right from the start even though it was perfect, but now is in poor shape due to being my daily driver for many years. I put a new alarm in it, and then my dad and I installed the Airflow bumpers and from that point we just loved the car. I am going to miss those long nights in the garage with my dad, not being able to call him up to ask him a question about some weird Saab thing and most of all not getting to roll with my dad in matching 91 SE verts, his yellow and mine grey that he planned on buying. It's just not fair but I know that he is looking down on me right now and always will be. My father was only 50 years old and was taken from us way too young. I had lots more to learn about cars and business from him that I never will. He left this world leaving a family and many friends who loved him dearly and I am better because he was my father. I have to honor him in some way and I have been thinking over and over about this and I told him when I went to see his body in the hospital "Dad don't worry I will have my car done for SOC and it will be a memorial to you." The thing is I have no way to do this as we have to sell our home and money is very tight as many of you know because of my dads business going under. There is no way I am going to break this promise to my dad, I look at this project as a way to heal after this great loss. What I am proposing is getting my friends and my father's friends that are into cars to work on my convertible as a memorial to him and have it done for SOC. I want to put a plaque on the glove box that says in memory of Robert Golub the best father a son could have. There is one thing standing in my way; money and parts to complete this memorial and that's where Saab community comes in. If you can send me anything to help me out please do, I would greatly appreciate it. I am going to put a framed sign in the back with all the people who helped me out with this. I just can't think of a better way to show my dad I loved him then dedicate my finished car as a memorial to him.
Any questions you can email me.
Here is a list of parts I am working on
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pz_A3MBHL5UXxjp6ACJNFJg
