Vehicle Description
1968 Saab 96 Deluxe
The original Saab 96 had a longitudinally mounted engine layout. As
first designed, it had an 841 cc displacement, a 38ps
three-cylinder Saab two-stroke engine. By 1965 this was increased
to 40ps. In secrecy, shuttling Ford execs to northern Italy,
renting covert houses and telling employees they had to come in on
weekends to fix brake problems, when in reality they were working
on fitting that 4 stroke 1496cc Ford engine into the 96. Just 4
months prior to its debut, the cat was left out of the bag, when a
journalist spotted a Lorry loaded with 93's with a V4 badge
engraved into the front bumper, and as they say the rest is
history. Nowlet's return to the way back machine Peabody!
For consignment, one of the first Saab 96's to be imported into the
US with the new Ford V4 engine which is a 4 stroke engine. This red
painted bean was bought from an in process restorer with wide eyes
larger than his abilities, so our consignor took it and gave it
TLC. Today it runs great but sadly spends most of its time in a
garage in Maine, far away from our restorers residence here in Pa
where he spends most of his time. Our knowledgeable consignor has
lots of pertinent info, only some of which I will convey in this
description, but you are buying it from a very intelligent and
thoughtful restorer who did his utmost to retain much of its
originality right down to the freewheeling plastic and working
pedal. ( A first for this test driver/writer.) So join me on this
description journey.
Exterior
Starting with stripping and totally repainting it is now bathed in
"Arrest Me Red!", ( Thanks Hagerty!). A total stripping and any
body work was completed prior to the painting. All new rubber seals
were then installed. Some previous rusted rear shock mounts, ( a
common problem with these cars), was remediated with new metal
inserts and are stable and strong. The front of the car has
beautiful chrome with an Alfa Romeo styled vertical central grille,
flanked by a single headlight. Formed and rounded front fenders and
a curved to match the shape in the body front bumper gives it an
aero retro feel. Straight steel runs back to the rear and on the
way has nicely minded gaps in the doors as well as dual chromed
rocker trimmings A small plate in chrome protects the fore part of
the rear rounded protruding fender. It has VW-esque small elephant
footprint tail lights topping it and this corresponds with a gently
sloping Swiss Alp-like rear glass and trunk deck. Shiny large dog
dish wheels are in all 4 corners. This car has a wonderfully
unique, yet familiar with the 60's styling exterior. You'll love it
or hate and I'm in the former category. Proscht!
Interior
Wonderful neutral shades of gray to black cover the interior
surfaces. Doors have black sills with an ever widening gray upper
panel, and smooth vinyl lower panel in black. Chairs are low back
bomber style buckets with smooth black shiny vinyl bolsters and
tuck and roll broadcloth inserts. The rear bench follows suit and
is also like new and virtually are as our consignor has done the
interior with the exterior resto. The dash is simple and in black
with black faced gauges, white numbers and pointers and chromed
bezels. An original steering wheel fronts the dash and below all is
good with the black carpeting. Above is a white headliner which
presents as new. A shout out to the trunk where it has also been
totally restored. Hand over my wiener schnitzel sandwich
please!
Drivetrain
Under the hood is the 1.7L Ford Taunus V4 engine. This is a larger,
newer engine up from the original 1.5 liter that came with the car.
It has been bored .040 over there is a high performance camshaft,
and the valves have been hardened. Atop is a single 2bbl Weber carb
and a 4-speed manual transmission on back. As noted this car does
have the freewheeling pedal transmission which is a bit like
driving a model T where you feel like you are trying to tie your
shoe while on your cell phone after a long night out of imbibing
heavily. Although once you get used to it, you can literally forgo
the clutch!
Undercarriage
Plenty of patina, road dirt and light surface rust on the underside
panels but still very structurally sound. Rebuilt rack and pinion
steering, new bushings and other suspension parts for the front
coil spring suspension and rear I-beam and coil spring suspension.
Totally rebuilt and like new disc braking is in front and drums for
the rear and a clean stock exhaust runs the gamut of the
undercarriage.
Drive-Ability
A fun nice car to drive, which offered up snappy acceleration, good
solid braking, and all functioning controls. As noted it has the
freewheeling pedal and you need two try it to experience it as it
would take me a 1/4 page to describe it. Fun little classic Saab
driver. Les grosses bier bitte.
A fun little gem of Saab history gracing our midst, runs on regular
gas, and drives just great. Fully restored, mechanically sound and
steel sides and panels like a Panzer tank. Bring it on!
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 650 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia
on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is
www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914.
Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the
vehicle in person.