Autoshite I need your help! (saving a 2t saab)

[D113]

Hi everyone,

 

Short story:

May have the chance to rescue a 1960s Saab Stroker from the track and/or getting binned, and need help!

 

Long (very) story:

 

So. Ive always liked cars, especially shite, so ive been on this site for ages but never realistically thought I could afford to drive after looking for quotes on dolomites, maxis, Citroen BXs, GSs and so on which scared me to say the least (!!) So have kinda put it to the back of my mind and Ive got my MZ ETZ now which will be my main form of transport BUT I still want to learn to drive. Recently, i talked my Dad round to the idea of having a smaller car that he could use to nip into town etc. which is easier to park and stuff so he doesnt have to take his people carrier and obviously if we were to get another car itd have to be interesting, so weve looked at nivas and the like but just the other day I spotted a Saab for sale!

 

It was on one of the banger forums that I scan occassionally to see if theres anything interesting for sale, and this lept out at me! my Dad had a 1990s Saab 93 Aero a few years ago which was genuinely the most comfortable car i have ever sat in and we all loved it but we needed a larger car for the family + the dog so unfortunately that went but Saab has joined the list of my dream cars, and I love 2 strokes so the old smoker saabs have always been one of my dream cars. and on the insurance side, they're only 800 or 900 cc then if Dads using it as the main driver and I only use it to lug gear to gigs and stuff when I cant use the bike and were on a classics policiy it should make it practical and affordable, and FUN.

 

Sooo I asked about the saab and found its really close to me, about an hours drive or so? Unfortunately its been stripped, all interior and glass removed but it runs and drives so theres still life in it, pretty rotten by the looks of it but i really think it could go back on the road, the guy even thinks he has the documents for it! Basically I really want to save the car but being realistic, the welding work I am guessing it will need is beyond my abilities for a start, then theres transporting it, and finding the glass for it.

 

My plan would be to patch it up and do whatevers necessary to protect it, sort out an interior (im not going to bother with originality for now to keep costs down but also because i want to USE the car! I dont want a mint car which im frightened to use, i want something i can give friends lifts in, put equipment in you know? I dont want to warn people about the period interior. I dont mind the car being tatty, just as long as its physically and mechanically sound ill be happy, and in fairness anything is better than it being hooned half way round a track and then binned so long as its getting driven.

 

So id like to look into how much someone else would charge to do some welding for me? I cant really say how much will need doing, but if anyone would be willing to work on the shell for 2 days or something to get the majority of it sorted I would be hugely appreciative! so an Idea of how much any volunteers would charge would be great, and obviously ill help out.

 

then Id need to track down glass, itll be tricky but i think its doable, otherwise the cars all still there, electrics and all and i just desperately want to rescue it!

 

One other favour id really like to ask is if someone might be able to come and evaluate it with me? It will be a first time car purchase, plus i dont want to just fall in love with it and buy it. having someone there who can genuinely say its a wreck and that i should leave it would be real handy! and then transport, ill try shiply and other places for that for now!

 

The car is located near peterborough.

 

Are there any good 2stroke saab owners clubs or anything else I should know about?

Thanks for all the help!

Dan

 

ps. am i mad?

[Des]

Something to bear in mind starting from a stripped car is that you will be forced to do everything that needs doing at once, so all the expense will in one big hit, and this will invariably mean it's going to cost a lot more than buying a good car, this is normal procedure when fixing up an old snotter, but when starting with a complete car you can fix it up as you go and spread the expense over a long time, ie. MOT stuff to begin with, and the rest as you go.

I wouldn't buy so much as a wheel nut from a banger guy myself, it will be cross threaded. I'm not looking for a keyboard battle here, but I've learned the hard way, made many attempts in the past to save cars from them, and every time found it futile, the cars are always ruined.

Be patient and go hunting and you'll find the right car at the right price.

[Lankytim]

It would have been most likely stripped with a crowbar and lump hammer, its already well beyond saving! There will be others, don't worry.

[The Moog]

Good place to start for saabs is http://www.uksaabs.co.uk they are an excellent bunch and will help you if you can. This is the classic forum that will know the bits and bobs.

[Mr Lobster]

Sorry but I'd have to say that they ^ are correct. It won't have been stripped with any care which means that every last part you need will be damaged / missing and by the sounds of it an awful lot of the parts are made from unobtainium.

 

Sorry to dampen your enthusiasm but it sounds like its too far gone already.

[Claypole]

I'd spend the two hours there and back armed with just a camera before agreeing to anything, then you'll have a better idea what it's like.

 

It's easy to miss alsorts when you have your heart set on a particular car.

 

Far better to have a bunch of pictures to look at in the cold light of day as it were.

[wuvvum]

There will be others, don't worry.

What, other two-stroke Saabs? I doubt it. I haven't seen one of these for sale at sensible money in a good many years. I think it's at least worth a look - not all banger racers use the crowbar & lump hammer method of stripping. Glass might be a problem if it's an older car as the screens were smaller than later 96s, but everything else should be obtainable, if not necessarily cheap. I had a mate who used to have a shedload (literally) of 96 bits, including several interiors - not sure how much he's still got but I'm sure he's got some bits still.

[Cavcraft]

I saw that on OvalChat and it seems a bloody bargain to me. I can't see (unless it's been bodged to bollocks) how you could lose out for 200 quid to be honest.

[wuvvum]

200 quid!?! Fuck me... Get on it man!!!

[D113]

Yeah you're all right of course, im just a bit easily exciteable like that i guess, i hate to see anything as pretty as one of those saabs getting killed though always makes me sad. feels like my responsibility to rescue it. I might take a look but i will bear everything you said in mind, take pics and leave it week, maybe put them up on here, before making a choice.

 

and wuvvum -- its a later 96 I think, looks like 65 or later to me, although the pics werent too clear. Im still going to take a look. Glass is the biggest issue for me, but luckily its one of the only bits which are unlikely to degrade, so i could find something in a scappers that truly is beyond saving and have some parts out of that? Interior wise im not as fussed, im guessing seat mounts were shared between a few models? I could fabricate something to make a later set of seats go in perhaps, or find some similar age and style seats and fabricate mounts (but obviously, causing no irreversible damage to the shell) originality wont bother me, its functionality really.

if your friend had some interiors that would be amazing, so if i do get the car in the end itd be great to know how much we wants!

 

With older cars like this most banger racers sell the parts off so theres hope that they were removed carefully to preserve moneys?

 

Also, if anyone else is interested, drop me a PM and if I decide I cant afford to do what needs doing then Ill put you in touch with the guy selling it, and happily lend a hand with any work.

 

 

thanks everyone

[barrett]

For £200 it has to be worth a look, i'd agree you should head down with a camera and have a really good nose around it. non V4 Saabs are not exactly common so i'd not sleep on this one, you may be looking for a long time to find another (as wuvvum says).

Plus points of it being stripped are that you can see how much welding actually needs doing....

 

(also - if you do get some pix be sure to stick them up here so we can all see it!)

[D113]

For £200 it has to be worth a look, i'd agree you should head down with a camera and have a really good nose around it. non V4 Saabs are not exactly common so i'd not sleep on this one, you may be looking for a long time to find another (as wuvvum says).

Plus points of it being stripped are that you can see how much welding actually needs doing....

 

(also - if you do get some pix be sure to stick them up here so we can all see it!)

 

 

As ever, my trying to make it look as optimistic as possible, my first reaction to being told it was stripped was 'oh good, ill be able to see how rotten it is!' haha, yeah they're not common so ill get up there to look pretty soon, and of course, youll all get to see the pics!

 

Cheers everyone

Dan

[wuvvum]

Could someone who has access to Ovalchat copy'n'paste the pictures onto here? My curiosity is seriously aroused by this one.

[Richard]

No pictures on Ovalchat yet.

[Cavcraft]

Pictures on Ovalchat?

Most of them can only manage three or four indecipherable words at best ('Frd Mundayo 4 sail') asking them for pictures would be like asking Steven Hawkings to run the London marathon.

[Lankytim]

Well, I still think you'll be on a highway to nowhere with this one but its not like you'll die or your house will explode if it doesn't all go to plan. Make sure its not a total rotter first though and just make sure you know what your letting yourself in for! I once bought a later Saab (95?) with a v4 engine and freewheeling gearbox for £19 on e.bay. It ran, was complete and could drive around the yard. It was so rotten I filled it full of scrap and weighed it in. When it was lifted off my trailer the floors fell out and revealed my stash of weighty soaking wet car seat foam and tyres I'd hidden inside. doh!

 

Seeing as it has no interior why not construct an historic rally car replica? No need for originality then.

[AnthonyG]

Its worth going and having a look, but bear in mind banger racers usually sell cars to other racers so don't care about things like picking it up with a Hiab/crane etc (look for damage to the top of the door frames). They also have a much looser interpretation of terms like 'mint', 'solid' and 'good condition' .

 

To be honest I would go expecting the worst, you may just be pleasantly surprised.

 

Does the seller still have any of the interior or glass? Even if it's in a skip?

 

'Quick repair for the Mot' type welding is usually fairly cheap enough, however good welding is usually expensive.

[seth]

I think if I was coming fresh to car restoration, without already having significantly useful skills and/or lots of money, I would run away from a stripped, fairly rare car with difficult to find parts. I might go have a look but I'd run away.

[garethj]

No help at all, other than to post my old 95 (and Volkswagen 412)

 

If you can't weld, now's the ideal time to learn. Go shopping on ebay / gumtree / your local post office window for:

MIG welder that takes little gas bottles, 90 amp is more than adequate

Angle grinder, 4 1/2 inch is good, an Argos special for a tenner

Welding gauntlets

Goggles for when you're grinding

Wire brush attachment for the grinder

Grinding disc

Metal cutting disc

MIG welding mask

 

I reckon you can get the lot for £150, possibly much less. A world of freedom is then opened up to you

[Rocket88]

From memory, the side glass for those are flat, so that shouldn't be too much of an issue. You could probably get away with Lexan for the rear screen, which just leaves the front scree,.You don't need seatbelts [i think] so it's a pair of front seats out of anything that will fit

[wuvvum]

If it's a '65 you'll need seatbelts. IIRC '63 is the cut-off date for seatbelt exemption. Early 96 belts are fixed though so wouldn't be too hard to fit - any fixed belt should be able to be persuaded in (although you might lose the funky aircraft-type buckles that some 96s had).

 

Edited to add - there's a hell of a curve on the rear screen on 96s - Lexan might need some judicious application of heat to get it to fit. I'm sure it's doable though. If it's a '65 it'll have the smaller front screen, which might be awkward to get hold of, although I'm sure a later screen could be cut down by somebody who knows what they're doing.

[garethj]

Is it this one?

 

[AnthonyG]

^^^That looks seriously fubarred, although possibly worth £200 in the running gear and assorted bits and bobs.

 

Probably best Dan D113 left it alone, looks very rusty from the state of the outer panels.

[VWPowered]

ive seen alot worse restored

[Lankytim]

I've seen alot better crushed!

[autofive]

this one is still a 2-stroke

 

 

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Is it this one?

 

 

 

That gets on my tits. Saab 2 strokes (and general 92/95 Saab Slugs in general) are wicked, and for a sixties stroker to have lasted that long......just for some rigger booted mouth breather to destroy it outside his council house. Cunt.

That could have been a cracking historic rally car or a great tatty runabout. Now it's fucked.

[wuvvum]

On a more positive note, the driver's door window appears to still be in place, so that's one less bit of glass one would have to find if one were to take it on as a resto project.

[D113]

Is it this one?

 

 

 

That gets on my tits. Saab 2 strokes (and general 92/95 Saab Slugs in general) are wicked, and for a sixties stroker to have lasted that long......just for some rigger booted mouth breather to destroy it outside his council house. Cunt.

That could have been a cracking historic rally car or a great tatty runabout. Now it's fucked.

 

 

That is indeed the car, looks extremely rusty, especially on the bigger picture (hard to see on my phone)

 

and thats exactly how I feel its made it through so long and still runs and drives fine just to be killed. really sad, thats why i feel like its almost a responsibility to save it

 

If im being honest, it is going to be WAY more work than I have time or money for, but part of me is still determined to buy it.

If it didnt sell for £200, then Im tempted to offer him £100 or something, get it back to mine and just try and cut out the rot, and coat it with engine oil to stop it getting any worse while I find someone else to save it or something? Ill try and do what I can to stop it geting worse and maybe think about starting to get it back into workable condition? but if anyone could help me with that I would be hugely thankful, and we would have collectively saved the car, then if I ever manage to get it back on the road it would probably be available for other people to use for a while (hopefully going to music college soon so will have no need for a car let alone safe storage for a classic for a year or two, so if anyone can help with the resto, then the car will be theirs for 2 years or something if they want it!)

 

Am I crazy?!

 

anyway, if he accepted my offer, is there anyone on here that could come by my place, drive up there and bring the car back to mine? I have no means to collect the car myself. Im located near Newmarket, and the cars up near Peterborough.

 

Thanks everyone,

Dan

[D113]

ah shit its sold

probably be put out of its misery soon. damn what a waste.

edit: yep, poor things getting raced.

sorry about all this just for the car to get sold to someone else! Thanks for the input anyway anyone up for misteriously making the old car on this guys driveway near peterborough disappear overnight ?