Rusty But Trusty

The more I write here, the more I realize I like cars that came up with unusual (okay, call them crazy) solutions to the motoring problems of the time. I’m not sure what problems Saab was trying to address, but the Saab 95 and 96 rank on the Rusty-but-Trusty cool list for the following: column manual shifter, reverse-lock for the ignition key, unique design, and 3-row seating in a car slightly larger than a Beetle.

With that, here’s the subject of this post, a 1972 Saab 95 in Northeast Portland, OR for $1250:

As you can see, the car’s been bumped a little bit, but it’s nothing significant. There may also be a little rust at the bottom of the doors and fenders, but I would hope it’s not too bad since the car’s on the West coast. When you’re spending $1250 on an eight-seater, there’s room for a little expenditure on the body. The good thing is, the car looks complete, intact for its age, and the seller has even installed an electronic ignition and fixed a few other minor issues in the time he’s owned it, which should help reliability. Furthermore, this car should have the V4, which helps with the power over the older two-strokes.

Here you can see the interior. Saabs of this style often have some cool interior features, and a dash that in some ways resembles some of the British cars of the period. However, this particular car has a relatively modern dash, since it was sold in one of the model’s final years in the US market. Seats have some splits, but overall the car is pretty clean and the dash is crack-free.

Last, a shot of the trunk. It’s pretty well used, but also serves to illustrate what a good parts/lumber/etc. runner this car would make, and it’s more unique than any old pickup. That panel you see reveals two rear seats to make it a 3-row wagon. “But,” you might say, “if I’m going to put up with all this Swedish weirdness, I want to at least be able to pretend I’m Erik Carlsson when I hit a dirt road in the forest.” Well, just think of it this way – not only can you pretend you’re Carlsson, you can also take five or six terrified passengers along for the ride, as long as they don’t weigh too much for the 55hp engine.

Tags: 95, saab, station wagon, swedish, under $2000

This entry was posted on June 16, 2009 at 5:53 pm and is filed under Feature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.