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Bought on a whim. '97 Saab 96 Two Stroke Project Car


scannon

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Yesterday I was perusing the CL Miata offerings and the Saab ad popped up.

 

My curiosity got the best of me and I drove over to have a look at it.

 

The only rust I could find was some bubbles in the lower rear corner of one of the doors. No large dents and the magnet could not detect any bondo. The interior is in pretty good shape. As far as I could see with a flashlight and lying on the ground the bottom is in good condition with no rust holes showing.

 

It has 96k miles. The title says it is a '67 not a '66 as in the ad. It is a one family car since new. It was parked 9 years ago when the engine seized.

 

Asking price was $2,500. I looked at it, negotiated a deal for $1,800 and went home and got the truck and trailer and it is now mine, for better or worse. Talk about buying on a whim.

 

Engine is definitely locked up. Should be a fun project especially if I could find one of the 850 cc Monte Carlo engines with oil injection. I believe the engine in the car is rated at about 42HP, lots of room for improvement.

 

http://images.craigslist.org/00J0J_cxapjfxRi6Z_600x450.jpg

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Perhaps you can throw a Miata engine into it.

 

Someone is already doing that on the Miata.net forum but I plan to rebuild the two stoke engine and get the car on the road before thinking about horsepower transplants. I've heard of people putting Subaru flat fours and various 4 cylinder engines in them but that is far in the future for me.

 

A two stroke scooter owner showed up at the Cars & Coffee and the exhaust smelled like strawberries. He said there are a number of scented two stroke oils available including one that smells like marijuana. Something about a car that puts out marijuana smelling smoke appeals to me living here in Colorado.

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I had one of those when i was a kid.. Fun car....It came stock with a built in roll bar. I also had a set of full moons to go with the white walls. truly cool! :smilielol5:

 

Gale

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r280/HOTTTCAR/FAMILYPICS001_zps10024abd.jpg

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You can still get reasonable performance from the stock engine providing you can still find the components. It's surprising what a Weber carb will do sitting on the correct manifold, an exhaust system that gives good back pressure without being restrictive.

In 67 I owned a 1961 DKW Junior similar to this one. It had a 741 cc 3 cyl two stroke engine. Later I owned an Auto Union (Audi) 1000S. What the Junior lacked in HP it more than made up in handling. Friends in 850 Minis and 875 Hillman Imps disappeared in my rearview through the wiggly bits (that's most of the UK). I preferred to do my own oil/gas mix as they will run happily with a lot less oil than suggested. That's provided you don't do 70 mph down hill with your foot off the gas, unless it's fitted with a free wheel system but there's always the clutch or neutral:)

Have fun!

http://www.pbase.com/sarrana/image/149188682.jpg

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A two stroke scooter owner showed up at the Cars & Coffee and the exhaust smelled like strawberries. He said there are a number of scented two stroke oils available including one that smells like marijuana. Something about a car that puts out marijuana smelling smoke appeals to me living here in Colorado.

 

I had a 1959 Berkeley, 2 Cycle 3 cyl 500cc Excelsior air cooed engine. I always mixed Castrol in the gas, it made it smell like a race car.

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Ahh, your '97 2-stroke is a '66 2-stroke. That makes more sense.

 

Definitely keep the 2 stroke: it has way more character than anything else you cld swap in there. And you get that wonderful 2 stroke popping sound as you drive around and back off the gas. Plus the finished product will be worth a ton more $. Especially if rebuilt to your typical standard of par excellence. Maybe done in 2-4 years?

 

Hottcar:

 

Great photo! Is that a Valiant station wagon next to your Saab?

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Ahh, your '97 2-stroke is a '66 2-stroke. That makes more sense.

 

Definitely keep the 2 stroke: it has way more character than anything else you cld swap in there. And you get that wonderful 2 stroke popping sound as you drive around and back off the gas. Plus the finished product will be worth a ton more $. Especially if rebuilt to your typical standard of par excellence. Maybe done in 2-4 years?

 

Hottcar:

 

Great photo! Is that a Valiant station wagon next to your Saab?

That is the seller's picture from the CL ad. It is a 2 door sedan with a 383 CI engine. I think he called it a Super Bee or something like that. I wasn't really paying attention to it. He had just bought it, a car he had been looking for for a long time.

 

I doubt I will restore the Saab, the goal is to get it on the road and see where I go from there. I kinda like the patina it came with and I do want to keep the two stroke engine in spite of all the suggestions I get to put in a much more powerful engine from a bike or Subaru.

 

I see where the '97 was coming from. I fixed the title. I hadn't noticed that until your post. Thanks.

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Come on Skip, it really needs more power. Xcarguy's LS3 suggestion may be a little over the top, so you really ought to consider an LS1 instead.

 

. . . . . :smilielol5:

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