When reader Jm S. found this 1967 SAAB 95, he thought it would make a nice companion to the ’66 96 we featured the other day. We have to agree. This one needs some help, but most of the mechanicals have already been gone through. The seller has included a list of all the work that has been done here on the eBay listing. Bidding is currently at just over $1k and we are hopeful that the reserve is not too high for this rare Swedish wagon. Thanks Jim!
The main difference between this car and the one we featured the other day is the engine. The two-stroke had been discontinued so SAAB went with this Ford sourced V4. It offered more power and no longer needed oil added to the fuel. It also had more moving parts that could break than the old 3-cylinder. Luckily, the stick was still mounted on the column and the transmission had a freewheel to keep some of that Scandinavian spirit alive.
The seats have been reupholstered, but there is still some sorting to do in here. The dash needs some work as do the door panels. Let’s not get too picky though. These were meant to drive kids around, haul groceries, and compete in the occasional road rally. In fact, Erik Carlsson drove a 95 wagon in the 1961 Monte-Carlo rally because it was the only model equipped with a four-speed at that time. He went on to win fourth!
Wagons are ugly and this 95 is not exception, yet there are few haulers with this unique of a side profile. As it get harder to tell the difference between a wagon, a minivan, and an SUV, we are starting to appreciate quirky little classics like this even more. You can have fun pretending you are a rally champ while picking up supplies at the hardware store. How many new cars can you do that in today?
I remember these from my childhood days. Ugly but also tough as nails. Also, with the V4 you trade off the fun popcorn popper exhaust but you gain lots of dependability and service. (You can STILL get parts for it, I’ve been told)
My first brand new car was a cream colored SAAB 96 2 stroke – under $2,000 with a radio! There was a SAAB dealer in the little town outside Boston where I worked. I loved it. They would install a new engine for free in the event of any major problems. I later traded up to a V-4.
This is OK but doesn’t quite do it for me like the one from the other day & the repaint color is a few shades off.
It’s fascinating to see what SAAB used to be versus what it became under General Motors. You look at early SAABs like this one, and the fact that SAAB ended its existence as a premium luxury brand (that was nothing more than a badge-engineered Vauxhall/Holden/Chevy with its ignition switch relocated to the console) doesn’t even cross your mind. Not much of a stretch to think of SAAB as a Swedish Volkswagen.
I almost bought a Saab 95 wagon way back when. It is the only car I ever drove where I could move the seat back so far that I couldn’t touch the pedals with my 34 inch legs.
Along with some of my likes (super thin girls with small speed bumps) is old Saab’s. And ifin’ it is a wagon………more better. This looks to be popcorn fart dry (no rust). Don’t think the semi flat paint was the best idea but for the price that can over looked.
I like my speed bumps a little bigger. & what is the draw to flat paint, I was parked next to an AMG SL600 in what looked like primer hot rod gray/ black, horrible horrible horrible & did I mention terrible I thought this looked!
I love these things.
A brother and sister had one of the 2 stroke wagons as their college car back in the day. Winters were brutal, but that Saab always started. Lose the roof rack and clean and wax below the gas cap area where the fuel has spilled down the body. In my opinion, the Saabs from the 50’s and 60’s were better cars than the VW bugs. Where I lived, you had to have a winter heater, Saab’s was a good one. Good swedish built to last engineering. Their aircraft were pretty good too.