1950-1966 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
I figured there had to be something wrong here (see Martin's follow-up post) as 1971 would have been much too new for a "93" (2-stroke) and much too old for a"9-3"!
Okay, so it's a 96 -- what would you be getting into? Well, the 96 is lots of fun, full of character, and very much a 'practical classic.' But it's still somewhat quirky, so you'd want to make sure it's what you wanted before you take the plunge.
It's the most common vintage SAAB and consequently the easiest to get parts for -- although still not all THAT easy! Good news: it was sold in Europe up until 1980, so routine maintenance items are fairly easy to find there although not so easy in the USA. More good news: the V4 engine was a German-made Ford unit that has parts in common with some other small Fords (e.g. Pinto, Capri) so you can get some items such as oil filters and spark plugs at mainstream auto parts stores, and as the V4 was used in the US for industrial applications (forklifts, arc welders, irrigation pumps) service items such as gaskets sometimes are obtainable through Ford Industrial Power dealers. It's far easier, though, to deal with a marque specialist such as West of Sweden Saab (see classifieds on this site) which does the detective work for you.
Parts such as your trunk lock probably will have to be obtained from a scrap car -- again, you can find specialists on the classifieds that can help.
About the car itself: the major danger points are: rust; the transaxle, which can be wear-prone if the oil wasn't changed often enough or too thick an oil was used; rust; the fiber balance shaft gear in the engine, which can wear out and break after long mileage; rust; deterioration of clutch and brake hydraulics if the car has sat a long time; rust; rust; and rust. And oh, yes, don't forget rust. The reasons I am mentioning rust are that (1) in the '60s and '70s, a SAAB 96 was one of the best cars you could buy for driving in snow country, and some people bought them strictly as 'winter cars,' so many of them got eaten up by road salt; (2) the undercoating got brittle over time and would crack, allowing rust to form underneath; (3) the car has a unibody, so rust in structural areas (sills, floor seams, firewall, suspension mounts) weakens the whole car.
But if it's not rusty (did I mention you should check for rust?), the transaxle shifts smoothly and isn't too noisy, running and driving are good and you're willing to budget a little time and money for ironing out various old-car kinks, it's distinctive, enjoyable, and lots of fun to have. The main risk is that they grow on you, and if you're not careful you'll wind up with a half-dozen of them in your yard.
PS -- last month's issue of the British magazine 'Thoroughbred and Classic Cars' had a 'buying guide' feature on the 96 that gave a good basic outline of what to look for and look out for; worth digging out if you can find a bookstore that still has it around.
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