Some people can do great things when given little, and Saab’s ace rally driver Eric Carlsson certainly did just that. Carlsson took underpowered Saab sedans, like this 1968 Saab 96 for sale on craigslist in Fort Mill, South Carolina, and made giant killers out of them. While this Saab may not yet be ready for rallying, its condition and low $700 asking price can give you a golden opportunity to craft your own hot rod version of a rally car. Perhaps even an homage to Carlsson and one of his many rides. Thanks go to Chick F. for this frosty find!
Eric Carlsson was affectionately nicknamed “Eric on the Roof” for his highly unconventional driving style. His weapon of choice were Saab’s diminutive 96 model, which were powered by two stroke engines with less than 1,000 ccs of displacement. Shoving his massive frame into the doorway of a Saab, Carlsson was like Superman emerging from a phone booth. He was a man possessed when behind the wheel, pushing the little Saab for everything it had and more. It was not at all unusual to hear a swarm of angry hornets round a corner in the bug like shape of a 96, with Carlsson tearing past more powerful competitors. He was so dedicated that he became known for purposely rolling his rally car to take an alternative way around obstacles, hence the nickname.
Regardless of Carlsson’s legendary skills, rallying and Saab 96s never really became popular in the United States. Part of this is because Saab never really solidified its presence in the United States until the 900 and the later 9000 came along to be preferred rides for yuppies who thought Audi 5000s were for the common folk. Another reason is that during the time that the 96 was in production, America was in the middle of a horsepower war that would have made the average customer look at the two-stroke Saab with a look of extreme distain. “You mean you have to put oil in the gas?”
Yet, driving one in a snow filled world would quickly reveal just how genius the cars were. Light weight, front wheel drive, and good handling on frozen roads made the car a fabulous ride if you lived in cold climates. Somehow one of my extended family managed to have one of these as his daily driver in 1960s Florida. Uncle Luther was always an odd duck. Yet his two stroke Saab served him faithfully in a land where snow rarely falls. That is, it ran great until he forgot that two-stroke engines require an addition of oil to operate at their peak performance. The Saab was off to the junkyard and Uncle Luther was looking for a ride more befitting his absent-minded nature. A Slant Six powered Mopar would have probably been his best bet.
Looking at the pictures of this South Carolina located Saab, it is obvious that it hasn’t seen a snow drift in some time. It may have met its own Uncle Luther decades ago. Having the windshield missing for a long time did no wonders for the car’s overall condition. It appears that the upholstery is in an advanced form of decay, and I am sure the floor has long ago returned to the Earth. The instruments seem salvageable to some extent, but the innards have probably seen better days. You do have to admire the tenacity of the seat foam after such an onslaught of weather.
The picture above gives us a good glimpse of the drivers footwell area. While Fred Flintstone would feel at home behind the wheel of this Saab, anyone looking to put it back on the road has some fabrication ahead of them. I am also curious as to whether or not the door sill is factory or not. Were they that straight and square? This looks like 2″ steel square tubing. Can anyone comment on this?
As is the case for most photographs on craigslist, this one comes across as a bit fuzzy and overexposed. It is hard to see just what engine is present here. Saab was transitioning over to a V-4 engine that was a conventional 4-cycle mill that originated in a Ford Taunus. I can see two spark plugs on this side, so my guess is that this car came equipped with a V-4. There just doesn’t seem to be space for the other half of the V. I am assuming that the latticework to the left is the grill, so is the metal in the upper half the right front fender? What is going on here?
Above is a snapshot that brings the problem with this car into focus. There is just too much damage to restore this car to show winning condition. At least not in any financially sensible fashion. So, what should be done with it? If it were mine, I’d strip it down to the body shell, ruthlessly cut out any rust, and proceed to turning it into a resto mod of sorts. Maybe a tribute to Eric Carllson and his ride around that time. A good example of what could be done is shown here, but maybe on a smaller budget with a domestic engine and transmission conversion to rear wheel drive. Sacrilegious, I know. However, with a car with already this much damage already done, its either the torch and welder or the junkyard. There is not much in between at this point.
Would it be a sin to turn this early Saab into a rally themed resto mod? Have you ever owned or driven an early Saab? Tell us about your thoughts in the comments.
I’ve always considered turning rust into a restomod very difficult. This is a good example of why.
Poor Saab…beyond any hope of being made roadworthy
$700 is a lot of money when you consider that cars are only bringing $70 a ton at the recyclers.
I had the same color blue ‘68 Saab 96 Monte Carlo edition in 1974 but that had a 850cc 3 cylinder two stoke with 3 carbs and oil injection and 52 hp. Back then it was still in great shape and only cost me $275. I bought it on the recommendation of a Swedish family friend who ran Saabs since the late ‘50s… perfect for the New England winters…Now that one was the rally car that Eric Carlson most famously drove…Sorry to say but this doesn’t look worth the trouble to save. There are better survivors out there.
Saab engines made great hot rod snowmobile engines
A Sob story!
We see what you did there.
Nicely played.
The old saying with the newer Saabs “ First you cry, then you sob”(Saab).
My wife had three convertibles 93 models with turbo 4 and the last GM model with a 6 and had pretty good luck with them. Unfortunately two got totaled and none were her fault, but she survived both crashes, something that Saab was known for.
Built-in curb feelers!
Title status says parts only I don’t see any usable parts just scrap metal my guess is there’s no title so the only way you can scrap it is to cut it up
There’s a V4 badge on the bootlid.
In 1963 SAAB north America, in an effort to take advantage of Carlson’s wins, shipped one of his back-up cars to America, and starting in Boston, it toured various SAAB dealerships across the country, ending up in a San Francisco SAAB dealership, where a man named Bob C. bought it, complete with all the rallying equipment like the light across the front, the Halda Speed Pilot, and navigator’s lamp. The car was a SAAB 850GT Monte Carlo, with the race-prepared triple carbs, freewheeling gearbox, oil injection [no pre-mixing], and the very rare 4 wheel disc brakes!
Bob was a fraternity brother and good friend with my dad, and when Bob, who had been in Grad School in California, returned to Maryland, he drove the car across the country. Once home, he needed to have the brakes rebuilt and had a hard time finding the parts. So into the garage it went, and with a couple of kids arriving soon after, the car remained untouched in the dry garage until one day in 1992 he called me and asked me if I wanted the car!
You betcha I wanted it! We brought it over to my shop and with little effort we had it running and stopping, and that little insect would fly down the road, it hugged corners in ways I never expected.
My next door neighbor’s son had a big block ’69 Chevelle, and he challenged me to a race after hearing me talk of how fast it was. So I said OK, provided I could pick the route! The chosen route was a winding country road, about 15 miles long. The SAAB and I lost him before the first 2 miles!
Sadly, this rare car was in my storage building, when during a big storm on May 6th 1995, the building was struck by a powerful bolt of lightning, destroying the building and 16 rare vehicles. I was able to save the 4-wheel disc brakes as they were low enough to the ground so they didn’t get too hot. The rest of the car was destroyed, but I did take the melted/warped Halda Speed Pilot off the dash and keep it as a memento.
I bought a 96 when stationed in North Dakota. It had a German Ford V-4. Same pale blue. Drove it to New Jersey and shipped it to Germany, where some local mechanic screwed up the transaxel.
No, Erik Carlsson wasn’t called “på taket” (on the roof) because of deliberately rolling his Saabs.
In Sweden there was a very well known Children’s book “Karlsson på taket” written by Astrid Lindgren in 1955. And in 1956 Erik did roll his Saab during a rally and a witty competitor CG Hammarlund allegedly assigned the nickname to him.
Personally I don’t find it quite so strange that the Saabs were successful in rallying back in the 1950’s when competition included Beetles, Austin A35, Fiat 1100, Renault Dauphines and others cars with very limited performance. (My dad had a cousin who did International Rallying in the 1950’s including the Monte Carlo Rally and the Dutch Tulip Rally but he took a very different route – he drove US Fords including Thunderbirds and Fairlanes!)
But I grew up reading about how Stig Blomqvist and Per Eklund still had success with the Saab 96 in the mid-70’s when competitors drove cars like Alpine A110, Ford Escort BDA, and even Sandro Munari in the Lancia Stratos. Now to me that was the more impressive feats how they could still be competitive long after the Beetles and Mini Coopers had been rendered uncompetitive.
(As a complete side note, the least competitive car fielded in a WRC Rally must have been the Peugeot 504 Diesel run by Tom Trana in the Swedish Rally in 1978 and 1979. Absolutely weird!)
Tom Trana went from Volvo Amazon success to Peugeot diesel…
Was that before turbos?
Sometimes we do what we have to do to be in motorsports.
I love steering with my right foot but proved I could left foot brake in a Saab 99, when the right deal appeared.
The year in that car that I was some $s ahead at the end of the year, the trans crapped out again in the Press On Regardless. 55mph on those fantastic wide smooth logging roads in 2nd gear on the rev limiter because 3rd or 4th couldn’t be had anymore wasn’t much fun. Back to rally HQ and told why we were done, they asked if we’d take a journalist spectating. He had been given a turbo diesel Peugeot to see the rally that had Factory Peugeots in 2 classes. Another of you wouldn’t believe how many times people want me to drive their cars, I spent the rest of the night driving the UP back roads fast. It had a factory license plate and I’m certain more boost than stock.
Just to promote a chance of this car’s finality. I would donate it to a Saab restorer. The donated parts would serve others to be on the road.