Saab Story: GTMail's '67 Saab; Decisions, Decisions

[GTMail]

I've always wanted a cool, unique project car. So after years of searching Craigslist, Ebay, Tailpipe and Bring a Trailer this funky green car pops up on BaT's new auction site. What is it? I've never seen one before. A '67 Saab 95 V4 wagon. I knew I had to have it by then. So on the 3rd of September 2014, I was the new owner of a vintage Saab! The car came two weeks later from Colorado late at night. Been driving it since then and it's just a riot.

An old project doesn't come without issues though. The suspension bushing are old, could use new ones. The e-brake doesn't work, not a big issue for me. Fuel gage stays at 0(came as a surprise when it only took 2.5 gallons before overflowing). Hood opening cord doesn't work. Again, not an issue, I can open the hood with a screwdriver. "Teachers make the difference" sticker on the back is basically part of the paint. Have to figure a way to get it off without damaging the original paint underneath. It idles pretty high as it was tuned for high altitude Colorado and is a simple fix. Just have to get the air cleaner off and adjust the carb accordingly.

Other wants/ needs for the car:
- Saab Sonnet "Soccerball" wheels
-Vintage Saab mudflaps
-Full, firmer suspension upgrade(springs, shocks, struts, bushings, etc.)
-Auxiliary driving lights(the high beams don't work either)
-Obligatory vintage Saab "Made in Trollhattan by Trolls" sticker

Engine wise, it's got a later 1.5 Ford-based V4 from the previous owner's Sonnet race car. Features upgraded intake, carb, and some other internal stuff. It also has a brand new full MSS exhaust which sounds the business. Seriously, this car sounds great. Video on that soon.

 

[eiriksmil]

Seriously in love with this!!
I'm based in Scandinavia so if you need any parts holla!

PS sounds like the sticker should live on

 

[GTMail]

Seriously in love with this!!
I'm based in Scandinavia so if you need any parts holla!

PS sounds like the sticker should live on

It might as well stay then! And thanks for the offer! I might take you up on that.


Also...exhaust video!!

 

[Ibonibo]

AWESOME!!!!

Old cars are always cool. Congrats on your very cool purchase

Keep us updated 👍

 

[Leggy1]

Absolutely love this car, old Saabs are weird and wonderful.

Congrats 👍

 

[Fastcarguy]

Nice. Love old Saabs, too bad they wouldn't last long in New England. One of those up here would rust if you so much as looked at it wrong, most cars do.

 

[Fastcarguy]

Any updates?

 

[Cano]

omFg how come I hadn't seen this thread? This car is awesome.

 

[GTMail]

Any updates?

Not really as of yet. Gathering parts is proving to be challenging (as expected, really). All of my leads on wheels have fallen short, mud flaps are on order though!

Got some decision making to do what auxiliary fog/driving lights to get and where to put them. I've made some templates on where they could possibly be mounted:

1.

2.

3.

4.

Please ignore the 22's and the ghetto drip pan. I honestly like 2 and 3 the most but I'd like to know what you guys think. As for the lights I'm not sure if I want something like this (larger, clear lights):

or this smaller, amber/ yellow:

As for wheels I have four options:
1. Put hubcaps on like http://www.ebay.com/itm/Saab-95-96-...Parts_Accessories&hash=item3ced5ced9c&vxp=mtr
2. Soccerball wheels from Sonett-

3. Ronal Minilites-

Or these (not sure what they're called) http://www.ebay.com/itm/Saab-Sonett...prg=20131017132637&rk=2&rkt=4&sd=261680328092

The latter are my favorite looking of the bunch and also most accessible. $600 though? Then I would have to get them refinished, painted, tires, ext. That's some serious coin. I would rather go with one of the last 3 because they're wider (185's compared to 155's) and I plan road-rallying the car (California Melee, Snowball). The wider tire will definitely help with more traction and make tires easier to get. That's pretty much it as of now. I'd love to hear on some opinions regarding modifications though.

omFg how come I hadn't seen this thread? This car is awesome.

Means a lot coming from one with such good taste in the automobile

 

[Cano]

Minilites, dude. As for placement, #2, as the lamps will still let you see the two air vents under the grille 👍

 

[Dennisch]

Well, that's a model you don't see every day. Seems to be in decent shape too. 👍

Minilites, dude. As for placement, #2, as the lamps will still let you see the two air vents under the grille 👍

And this. 👍

But this thread needs more pictures. From every angle. Of the inside and the outside.

 

[GTMail]

I'd be game with the Minilites too but honestly getting a set is near impossible. They were a special option for Sonetts and also Saab's racing wheels. Unfortunately, the bolt pattern for my car is very uncommon as it only went with the 95, 96, and Sonett from '67-'73. Performance wheels were only offered on the Sonett. I would have to find the rarest option of wheel for a rare car made for not too long.

Also ,yes, a pic dump is in order, once it stops raining I'll get her out on some dirt where it belongs. I'll snap what I can for now though.

 

[Cano]

Oh yeah, I wanna see pics of the interior of this thing

 

[Spacegoat]

Have no idea why I didn't notice this thread before. Such a cool and unique car, great find. 👍 And yeah, interior shots when you have the time, please. 👍

 

[Korza]

There's a really cool one in bright orange around the city I live in, looks epic in bright colours.

 

[GTMail]

There's a really cool one in bright orange around the city I live in, looks epic in bright colours.

Pics if you got 'em! I've deduced that they're not many of these still running in the US. Would love to see another one!

Also pics:

 

[GTMail]

Seats aren't original. I have the originals and they're patched with a denim material(so cool!). The car fits 7, apparently. The middle seats also fold complete down for a two-seat "shooting break" look. Gas tank is directly under rear facing seats. Car spent some time in Mexico too, although it's been in Colorado all it's life. Black labels on the dash are original starting procedures. Seatbelt are actually from an airplane. The big Swedish word is apparently sun visor. And the last pic is the car scaled to a Yaris that a friend took on the way to the DMV.

 

[Legro]

Nice car. 95 is very rare car nowadays.

 

[Cano]

Car spent some time in Mexico too, although it's been in Colorado all it's life.

I actually did a double take when I saw the mexican shield in that picture. Very cool. Interior is ace, also 👍

 

[homeforsummer]

So much awesome. Wanted a 96 (the regular sedan version of the 95) for years, but I may have missed the boat pricing-wise as they've shot up even to get hold of slightly ratty ones.

Looking forward to seeing this one progress.

 

[GTMail]

So much awesome. Wanted a 96 (the regular sedan version of the 95) for years, but I may have missed the boat pricing-wise as they've shot up even to get hold of slightly ratty ones.

Looking forward to seeing this one progress.

Appreciate it the love. But missed the boat? What's your budget?

http://bringatrailer.com/2014/11/09/bargain-driver-modified-1967-saab-96-v4/ This seems like a reasonably priced driver.

If you're looking for a 2 stroke beehive that's more of a project http://bringatrailer.com/2014/11/09/2k-runner-1967-saab-96-2-stroke-project/

I know the posts have expired but just a little taste on the going rates on some pretty good 96's IMO.

 

[homeforsummer]

I'm in the UK. Three or four years back you could get a pretty good 96 for £1k. Now it's hard to find good ones for less than £5k, and to me they aren't really worth that just yet, when I can buy a great example of a 900 Turbo for that kind of money.

 

[Leonidae@MFT]

That two-stroke sound.. Brings back memories. Saab 96 was my first car memory as my parents had one for a while when I was a kid.

 

[Ibonibo]

Love the interior details. Old cars are so awesome