Innumerable vintage Saabs have crossed our desks here at Barn Finds, but this example here on eBay collects high marks for its “cool” factor and survivor condition. It’s an early car – model year 1966 – so the engine is a three-cylinder two-stroke rather than the later, conventional Ford Taunus V4. It’s also a wagon, featuring funky design lines penned by Sixten Sason. Bid to just $3473 in a no-reserve auction and listed by a seller with excellent feedback, this Saab is further distinguished by single-family ownership, low miles, and factory original equipment and cosmetics. The only real shortcoming here is that the brakes don’t want to brake and the clutch doesn’t want to clutch, despite new fluid. Fortunately, fixing these ills isn’t rocket science; parts and expert help are available. The car can be trailered to its new home from Cincinnati, Ohio.
The interior is said to be stock, and truth be told, it’s a bit ratty. The seats could use new foam or whatever stands in for padding; I would install a rubber mat on the floor matched as closely as possible to the factory item. Speaking of the floors, we’re assured that the car has no appreciable rust. This wagon is the seven-passenger version, complete with a rear-facing jump seat in the cargo area. The spare remains installed under the back seat, where a circular stain also appears on the upholstery.
Saab was fond of two-stroke engines, lingering in that configuration long after other makers abandoned it. By 1967, environmental, performance, and efficiency pressures conspired to spur use of the Taunus V4. Today, many collectors prefer two-stroke examples and the chance to develop their own gas/oil pre-mix ritual. This three-cylinder, water-cooled 841 cc engine is backed by a four-speed column-shift manual transmission; output is about 40 hp. The seller reports that it runs well; the engine bay is certainly tidy!
The rear design is a tiny bit French with a dash of Italian – and yet neither. Swede Sixten Sason had a unique vision, using trim lines to delineate the fenders, allowing vestigial fins, emphasizing the greenhouse with multiple windows, appending a slight spoiler to the roof. The yellow paint is “95% original” and shows very well in troublesome areas like the door jambs, underhood, and around fixtures. Valuing this car is difficult and the numbers provided in the listing seem otherworldly. This sale of a two-stroke wagon seems to support the current bid; but this V4 example sold very well indeed. What price will it take to put this survivor Saab in a new garage?
I like Ms. Rand, I do, even though our opinions may differ from time to time. Point being, Saab 90 series were never cool, at least not in the parts I come from. Saabs were for that HS economics teacher, a college professor with the leather patches on a tweed jacket, or something someone got for nothing, but to most, the “funky” design was just that. Let’s face it, a ’66 Chevelle it wasn’t. Oh the 2 stroke, ring ding, fuel converter and unless you’ve actually driven one, in this car, they are incredibly underpowered. I believe with modern synthetic oils, the James Bond smoke screen is gone, but 2 strokes need to be wound out, “on the pipe”, as said, and you want to drive around at 7 grand all day, IDK, the V4 is just so much more civilized, and low end power too. Plenty of interest, as NOW, due to the lousy offerings today, they ARE considered cool, but cool doesn’t pull the motor or the brakes, and when done, you’ll have a car that will struggle in todays traffic. That professor is long gone and less and less are willing to that today, but some still can. It, to me, is a SMOKIN’ find, but the 2 stroke should be relegated to the fissin’ boat or a dirt bike, but make poor road motors, and is killing the sale here.
Howard, you forgot about the huge mosquito and deer fly problems in mid 1960’s Sweden hence the 2 stroke.
I doubt Ms.Rand will reply as she probably knows a battle of wits with an unarmed man is a waste of her time.
NAILED IT Frank.
Howard, take your meds guy. /s
Howard A has likely forgotten more life-applicable information than some commentators here have managed to acquire, though they may have been around awhile…don’t embarrass yourself.
“..SMOKIN’ find..”Good pun, Howard.
Too, your opinion is sometimes different from that of Ms.Rand because of where your interests lie just as all the readers here have different points of view. That is a commonality among us and a good source to start an intelligent discussion. That you acknowledge that of Michelle and others speaks highly of you, unlike some that would criticize others without a point of intelligence.
Some of us grew up influenced by our blue collar environment where folks like us-Michelle obviously included-had to fix our own; others had their most difficult times in trying to decide which in-vogue car they would tell mom and dad they wanted at the time then have the family mechanic fix it when broken.
The fact that we’re all different here and have different experiences with the machines we enjoy is something to be appreciated IMHO..
On another and lighter note-“two stokes make poor road motors”, Howard??? Are you trying to dissuade me from doing a rebuild on a Detroit DD16 to fit into a pickup? 😆👍🏻
Fat fingered that one-DD V12, not 16..
Ah, the “buzzin dozen”. Sure, why not?
Howard, I always enjoy your comments and respect your perspective – you know more than I will ever know about so many vehicles. I count myself lucky when you will take the time to comment on an article I have written.
Different strokes (ha ha!) for different folks, it’s great when we can all bring varied opinions about the same car to BF. Also – my own disease – I find a reason to like almost everything, certainly to appreciate almost every vintage vehicle that comes across my desk, so even if I wouldn’t own it, I find a fondness for it.
You’re a class act, Michelle.
Howard, this is what I was trying to say wrapped up much more shortly than my rant-and you’ll notice the intelligent car people (and some not as smart like me) that appreciate your views and knowledge.
Thanks, dear, I really believe the writers here are professional in what they do. Pretty clear, Jesse and Josh don’t hire idiots. We, I feel as mere viewers, are responsible for adding what we can to add what they may have missed. For many, like me, it’s stories that no information source, where authors get their facts from, could ever cover. I personally want to thank all those that DO add their stories to the posts, and not “take my meds”, what a stupid thing to say, and berates the authors normally well written posts. I won’t lower myself, nor the audience to respond to those posts anymore, except, find another place to hang out, okay?
Different body styles and versions of the 2 stroke engine were racing at the time in Europe successfully, its unique engine noise adding to the image
As Sargeant Hulka said….lighten up Frances. I’m far from woke but enjoy Barn Finds and the “diversity” of comments/perspective.
I enjoy Howard ‘s comments and Michelle’s writing. I never heard of Saab until 1978 when a customer was driving a new one and in keeping with Howard’s post he was a doctor with leather patches on the elbows and Saab never became popular here in farm country.
Wrong Howard, these cars are cool, but in a different way than say a 66 Chevelle. The first one was saw was being driven by a badass senior back by the high school shop classrooms. He hit 2nd and chirped the front tires. It so impressed me, that when I found an almost perfect 67 96 in the back of the Ford dealership for $500, I offered $350 and drove it home. I quickly sold my Carman Ghia (also a cool car to some), and happily drove this 2 stroke for a year and loved its weirdness. It really was fun, and easy to chirp the front wheels in 2nd as long as you had the front wheels turned to the side a bit. It was great in the snow too. ‘66 Chevelle? I know about them too, as I owned one for 11 years.
Sorry about the typos: – the first one ‘I‘ saw, not ‘was’ saw, and chirped the front ‘tires’ not ‘wheels’. And realistically, it was probably a single front tire, not both.
Tell that to your K-a-r-m-a-n-n Ghia. ;)
Cool was a relative term then. Remember, you’re talking to someone whose 1st car was a 1958 Volvo 444, not much different than this and yes, I bought it because I thought it looked cool,,,and it fit my $50 budget. With imports back then, it was all about dealers and I don’t recall any Saab dealers in the MIlw. area. Chicago was about the closest, and many folks bought cars from their neighborhood dealers, several times, and the only times we saw these were as older beaters in the back row nobody wanted a dealer took in trade. And K-Gs are way cool cars.
Wow, a 95! So…., I moved to Marquette, MI in the winter of 1961, as a 7th grader. It was like arriving at the North Pole (aka Polar Express). Walked to school on snow packed roads, uphill in a 20 mph wind with blowing snow both ways. There were/are a lot of Scandinavians in the UP of Michigan with a large group in Marquette. 95’s all over the place. They sounded like popcorn machines all wound up-lots of popping. we would hook bumpers to get rides behind cars with our boots on the snow (watch out for RR tracks) as our primary mode.
So as a MG guy starting in ’67 (no heat-no defrost drove it all winter), I’m sure the ’95 was better since it had glass all around and doors that likely sealed. Anyway this is all fun and I hope it finds a nice home.
I owned a ’66 Monte Carlo 3 banger years ago. This car was super easy to work on. The throw-out bearing was going out so I called to local Saab dealer and he not only sold me the new parts but the sales guy came out and helped take the hood off, pull the grille, unbolt the engine and unhook the quick disconnects and pull the engine out on my kids red wagon. We put the new parts including a new clutch plate in and put everything back in less than an hour. I can see why these rigs were popular rally cars. If I kept the revs up I could corner like a bandit out on country roads.
A quick story: I was traveling in Eastern Oregon and pulled for gas in a small town. I raised the hood and asked the kid who was pumping my gas to please check the oil while in went in to use the restroom. Being a smart aleck I didn’t tell him the oil was checked in a glass tube along side of the oil reservoir. When I came out, I asked him how the oil leveled looked. He said I can’t find the dipstick on your car mister. Still being a smart aleck, I pointed to the inspection tube and said, it looks good – sorry I didn’t tell you. He stood back and looked the car all over and asked what kind of a car is this? I told it’s a Saab – he asked me, how do you spell that SOB? Touche, he got me good. I laughed all the way to Salt Lake City!!!
I have told this story before, but some may not have read it. My first car out of college in 1969 was 1966 Saab 96 that I bought for $600. It had over 60K on it and I put on another 20. It was of course the 3 cylinder 2 cycle engine (which I subsequently learned used ball bearings in its crank, not swept bearings…I learned that when the engine seized at 65mph). Mine was gray with a red and gray cloth interior. I had it in New York City for 3 years or so, using it to commute to my different jobs. It was under powered, yes, but it would cruise at 65 or 70 along flat straights. Going up hill was a different story, but the 4-speed on the column is your friend (I remember driving a VW bug home from college, and in Pennsylvania it would slow to 55 going up hills too). Say what you will about its looks (I like them), but it was very well made. The body, despite its northern life, didn’t have a spot of rust anywhere. The doors closed with a distinct click. The interior was neat as a pin. The front wheel drive was cool, but the drum brakes were truly inadequate. The freewheel feature probably saved my feet when the engine seized. I bought the Saab oil and added it to the gas (less than a US quart). In NJ, you couldn’t pump your own gas (true to this day still) and the attendant likely didn’t let all of the oil drain into the gas when I had it filled before heading home from Newton NJ to the Bronx. It made it to Patterson when it died. I got towed to a station and the following weekend, my father and youngest brother drove down to pick it up to take home. My crazy old man brought a tow strap…yes, a tow strap that hooked between the bumpers. This was to get us from Patterson to Ossining, NY. It was a death ride with my old man driving at 50 or so with me in the Saab steering less than 3 feet from the back of his 57 Ford sedan with the 260 V8. I was terrified the whole until we got to a toll gate on the Saw Mill Parkway (how we got that far without being stopped I cannot say) when the toll booth operator wouldn’t let us through and called a state trooper over. The trooper was incredulous as you might expect, and had us pull over to a gas station nearby. I thanked him profusely. Later we rented a towbar and pulled the car all the way home to Ossining. I took the engine out to see if it was repairable whereupon the ball bearings fell out. Wound up towing it to a junkyard that was closed and left it at the front gate.
This story reminds me of when I blew the engine in my ’65 VW Bug on I-8 heading to San Diego from TX back in the early 70s. I was in a bit of a hurry at past one in the morning because I was tired and wanted to get to Yuma and get some sleep, so I was shadowing an 18 wheeler that was doing close to 80. Problem was the poor VW couldn’t handle the rpm and the number 3 cylinder sucked a valve. Long story short, and the reason I’m writing this is because we (my girlfriend and I) hitched a ride into Yuma 90 miles away and the next morning we got a guy from a car repair place (it was a glorified gas station actually) to drive us out to the VW and tow us back, but he didn’t have a tow bar so he used a strap. I figured it would be fine at a reasonable speed, but he wasn’t a reasonable guy.. he was doing close to 90 the whole way. I thought I was going to have a heart attack at the tender age of 22 it scared me so bad, but no matter how much I honked the horn or tried to yell out the window he just kept going. Fortunately we got there fine and were able get a used engine in the VW and continue on to CA, but that’s not a situation I’d wish on anybody so I totally understand what you went through.
A beautiful story but a sad ending, a bit like the brands demise. I still drive my 03 ,93 ARC sedan here in Australia and love it the turbo is a blast to drive.
missed any stories but nuttin more reliable than these. Shoulda been air cooled too. Need it for the heat I’m guessin.
Wagon, again, here esp, da best ! Wish they showed the 2 back rows dropped as for a lill guy they had lots of rm to carry.
Love a monte carlo in rally livery (the almost 50’s era rack on top of wood slats, dull alu frame, not chrome) all the lights up front. Here’s one (but more famous coup: .. .. https://silodrome.com/saab-96-monte-carlo-850-car/
Dont forget its spelled all caps SAAB.
My friend Mike and I used to refer to these as “Salvation Army” Saabs because they looked like an orphan that someone would donate to rid themselves of it. This was over 40 years ago before car donation became a thing.
I had a SAAB 93B back when I was 16. It was told that it was the first one west of the Mississippi when I bought it from the first owner (retired military brass). The car was in mint original condition, but the 2 stroke smoke got me in trouble with the law. I had to go to court and explain to the judge what a 2 stroke was and why it smoked. He didn’t buy it, and I had to pay the fine and a fix-it-ticket. I sold the car to a SoCal Swedish club and later biught a 95 wagon with the V4. Sold it to pay for a summer in Europe when I was 21 (sold for $3500 in 1981 dollars). I would have bought this car simply for nostalgic reasons, but the seller ended the auction early – can you even realistically do that on a no-reserve auction? Whats up with that?