This pristine example of a car born from the jet industry has been owned by the same person for the last 35 years. Up for sale is this classic 1967 Saab 96 with a current bid price of $7,200 and a reserve not yet met. The current location of the car is in Fenton, Missouri, but the car was originally from Nebraska. There are 39,358 miles on the odometer, a VIN is listed, and the tile is claimed to be clear. You can find this clean Saab here on eBay.
The engine that moves this little car around is a 841cc, 2-stroke, 3-cylinder that has triple carburetors, which uses pre-mixed oil. That is connected to a four-speed manual transmission shifted on the tree. Power goes to the front wheels. It also has rack and pinion steering. The listing says that a full set of disc wheel covers are also part of the sale. The seller also notes that the car will smoke on start because of being a 2 stroke.
As for the interior, it is a complementing shade of gray and brown to the exteriors Light Beige. Since the car is heavily designed around the look and feel of a jet, the gauges are made by VDO and the climate controls and other knobs, dials, levers, and buttons, all give it that retro aero-space feel. The car does have two radios, one with a cassette deck, one without. A minor sad note is that the horn does not work.
The listing states that this car has numerous documents of sale and service, as well as marketing material, and a feature cover story from a magazine. Considering the current price, even without the reserve being met, to have an old Swedish car, in this condition, with the incredible appreciation of the past owner behind it, really is a treat. If anything, at least it is enjoyable to see a baby jet come up for sale.
Wrecked, a show on Motor Trend TV, stuffed a 400 horsepower EcoBoost into one of these. I believe it’s season 1 episode 5.
Those corn popper three cylinders certainly were noisy as I recall. I have driven one with the Taunus v4.
One of my favorite ferrin cars, although, the ring-ding is a deal breaker for me. It’s odd, I read, in ’67 the V4 was offered. I don’t understand why someone would choose the 2 stroke, the V4 was so much more civilized, and the 2 stroke was gutless. Couple people, stiff head wind, you might not get 4th gear.One of the 1st cars I ever drove, friends of my parents had one they didn’t drive, me and my brother got it running, and drove it around their yard. It smoked like a locomotive. That “free wheeling” device takes some getting used to, as well. Sure is a clean one, totally worth it if it had the V4.
I bought the 2 stroke new in 1968. SAAB offered free lifetime engine replacement with these cars at the time. The 3 cyl. Was much more fuel efficient than the V4. I later traded my 2 stroke for a new V4. Much more power.
I forgot about the lifetime engine replacement , my 2008 Dodge nitro has a lifetime drive train replacement , But only to the original owner , I am gonna drive it until it cant be driven only 88k on it except for tires and brake pads , one battery nothing has gone wrong yet !! I also understand Saab came up with some kind of a buy out / pay off on the lifetime on engines towards the end !!
Really? Lifetime free engine replacement? My first car was a gray 1966 Saab 96 with the 3 cylinder (single carb) 2-stroke. The engine seized at 65mph around Patterson, N.J. on I-80 and I expect that the free-wheel saved my ankles. Pop and I towed it home and it sat in the backyard for a while until I towed it to a junkyard and left it. Had I known about the replacement, I never would have dumped it. Very well engineered car. I don’t know how they won all those rallys with the 750. I couldn’t get much more than 70mph with it, but the 4 on the tree was cool. It did have a putt-putt sound. Also the drum brakes, non-power-assisted were terrible. I drove my cousin’s 68 96 with the v4 and it had much more oomph, and in the Sonnett worked really well.
Maybe it was sold with a decent discount, as last years model. That could be a motive for buying a oil burner. I think its charming with that engine. Would love to fix an drive such on on sunny sundays.
I knew a workshop there had such one in wagon. Its was brown, and they had it for over 20 years. Saw it almost in town everyday.
My godparents drove a 67 in this excact color when I was a kid, so I have many recollections as a passenger in a 96! Red interior and V4 though. When I come to think of it they may still have it stashed away somewhere…?
Growing up in a SAAB family I have trouble memorizing who did NOT own a SAAB at one or more occations.Amongst them my grandfather, though he had several newer SAABs succeeding it, I know he regretted to his dying day selling his 68 V4.
The light beige with brown interior colors look great on this example. The 96 is indeed a charming little car similar to the VW Beetle experience. Though the V4 is way more civilized for street use, I learnt at a very young age the 2-popper is the way to go in motorsports, as they respond very well to mods…!
This was the model that Kurt Vonnegut tried to sell back in the day. Sorta fitting in a way. Would like to own one just to bop around town in.
Looks like my old HS science teachers car, though hers was a few years older. Small farming town and here was this thing that went ring-ding-ding, really a strange bird. Shop teacher had a 40 Ford Pickup, kids had Impala SS, Galaxies, Camaros, Chevelles and then there was this thing.
I saw it as a novelty item then and still do today.
I owned one of these. It was wonderful to drive and incredibly reliable. It had a ton of usable space, never got stuck in the snow, had a huge heater, and was a lot of fun.
Sweet looking Saab. I had a neighbour when I was a boy who had one. I cannot recall what year it was, but it shared the same body shape. I was too young to drive at the time, but I remember finding the car not very attractive to look at. How times have changed! Today, I find most Saab cars of this vintage, up to the 900 to be quite attractive. I hope whoever buys this car enjoys it.
I had several of these , even bought the last one the Local Saab dealer had which was much like this one with the 3 cyl oil injected 4 speed on the tree ,not sure as this was a few years ago mine was called a Saab Special and I believe it had disc brakes on all 4 s . I was away in the Military when my brother also in the military came home on leave and rolled my New Saab and it caught on fire , the last time I saw it was in a junk yard as a crispy critter . Since there were no more New Saabs I took the insurance check and some $ and bought a Ford Cortina Lotus edition , different car different story !
….great car that stands out of the crowd, especially concerning the 2 stroke 3 cyl. engine…..especially in the US. 3 years in a row, 2008, 09 and 2010 I participated in European rallies with my Citroën 2CV and on many occasions I had to follow a similar Saab: it became totally intoxicating in the mountains what with that burnt oil exhaust, to the point that my wife refused to ride with me unless I promised to not be behind this Saab for any extended time.
Actually, the 2-stroke was not really gutless at all. Rated at something under 40 hp, my friend David’s Saab could keep pace up to 60+ with me in my 80+ hp Volvo 544, and that was actually a much quieter and smoother engine than mine. I do think the oil-injected engines were much less smoky and more durable. My main objection was having to use only foot-braking on our Santa Cruz Mountains downhills, which I would have a hard time getting used to.
I surprised a lot of bigger cars with my Saabs , ice racing , snowy roads , curvy back roads , keep the revs up and drive like you stole it , the Saab would surprise lots of people with bigger cars and more horses !1
I managed a junkyard in Connecticut in the early 1980s . One day a couple of people from Conn College came in with an artist named Dustin Schuler and said that he was looking for an inspiration for a “animal pelt” sculpture he was planning for the school . He asked if we had any Porsches or Ferraris in the yard ( we laughed at that though he was serious ) , but I walked him through the yard . When he said he was looking for something different I showed him a white ’65 Saab 96 that had just come in. He said it was perfect it and we loaded it onto a trailer they had . Years later when I heard that he had passed away , I typed “Dustin Schuler Saab pelt ” on my computer and found that the car still exists (as an art form) ; its now mounted on a building in California . I think its kind of funny that of the thousands of cars that went through that yard that the little Saab is the only one that still remains .
Yet another Saab story…
My dad bought a brand new 1963 version of this car as an economical work car/commuter. His was powder blue in color. I vividly remember the large 1930s/1940s style fuel filler cap that had a tongue depressor size metal plate that stuck down into the filler tube. It had a message reading something like “ADD 1QUART SAE 30 OIL FOR EVERY 5 GALLONS OF GASOLINE.” I also remember the pull chain to the left side of the steering column — it controlled the roll up blind behind the grill which blocked airflow through the radiator for quicker warmup during the winter. We lived in a rural area with a long straight stretch before the turn onto our street. I can still hear that SAAB coming down that straight stretch decellerating for the turn. It sound like 3 Lawn Boy mowers running at the same time. I don’t remember any oil smell at all from the running engine. Dad retired the SAAB in 1971 when he bought a new Plymouth Duster. I still have the SAAB owners manual around here somewhere. It’s a real hoot to read.