[wasif]

4wdrifter.

Great job done on the Saab.

From almost completely gon to all there is a big achievment.

The paint finish, upholstry etc looks great.

How long did the whole project take ?

[Lalvaz]

4wdrifter - Congrats. She looks beautiful after you painted her red. Hope you have her running soon. Amazing work man. Keep it up!!!

[harit]

Originally Posted by Lalvaz

4wdrifter - Congrats. She looks beautiful after you painted her red. Hope you have her running soon. Amazing work man. Keep it up!!!

I have a question about the colour. The colour of a Saab in Gujrat when I saw pictures was red. Perhaps then it was changed to lilac/green, and is now back to red. The red car was somewhere near Baroda/Surat, before Ahmedabad. I feel that the red car I saw pics of became the lilac/green car. Can you confirm? Otherwise we could hunt for another red Saab in Gujrat.

[4wdrifter]

Originally Posted by harit

I have a question about the colour. The colour of a Saab in Gujrat when I saw pictures was red. Perhaps then it was changed to lilac/green, and is now back to red. The red car was somewhere near Baroda/Surat, before Ahmedabad. I feel that the red car I saw pics of became the lilac/green car. Can you confirm? Otherwise we could hunt for another red Saab in Gujrat.

You are pretty up to date with your car history and yes, it could be the same car. She was lilac when I bought her but there were 4 coats of paint underneath and if I remember correctly, red was one of them. I have painted her red now, the same colours inside & outside as one of the Saab sales brochures that I had.

[harit]

While going through my old mails I found pictures of a Saab. This seems to be another Saab. Enjoy Harit

[4wdrifter]

Yup! She is a Bullnose. Where was this picture taken, Harit? And when?

[predatorwheelz]

Originally Posted by harit

So far 3 Saabs, now lets hear about this one. I am sure that there must have been some in Delhi or so.

Originally Posted by 4wdrifter

I haven't heard of any other old Saabs yet - would love to know.

Originally Posted by wasif

There was a used motorbike parts dealer in Hyderabad clled Ghansham in the old city who had an identical car. Don't remember the colour but it was definitely a three cylinder two stroker.

I distinctly remember it had three individual ignition coils, one for each cylinder.

I wonder if this car has survived.

Originally Posted by 4wdrifter

Yes, Hillram, neither have I. Some members have posted about similar or same Saabs they have seen but whereabouts not known. I would love to know if any others exist.

There's a Saab 96 I found decaying away in Uday Bhan Singh's garage in Howrah. Sir UBS bought this from a scrap sale, with an idea to restore it sometime. He doesnt know much about his past.

Harit/Wasif, could this be one of the cars you mentioned?

[V-16]

Congrats 4WDrifter. Thats a beauty you have there and a rare one at it. All the best with the restoration. The two stroke engine should not be a bother to rebuild.

I know of two Saabs. One a 99, i think it was a 70's. The car was bought from the Customs auction by my friend's father and my friends would zip along in it when i was not even allowed to think of driving at my age. Apparently their parents did not think so
That car met with an accident and their dad sold the powder blue beauty away to someone, never to be seen. I remember it had a weird engine, at a 45 degrees slant. I wondered why and it was only later Mr. Sethna of the then famed Apex garage educated me on one of my various visits to him, that it was half a V-8.

The other one was a 1984-85 Saab 9000. It was bought to me by a dealer in around 1990 or so. It was Jet Black with Mags (a big thing in those days) and was a Bombay car owned by a famous Jewellery house. The car was clean on the exterior with beautiful tan leather interiors with power everything, even a sunroof and spoiler. The price was perfect but a test drive gave the game away. The auto box was slipping throughout in every gear after the first and the suspension sounded like a tin can. The front windscreen was also cracked and the a/c did not cool. Too many glitches for a rare car with no parts available. Internet was not around and i gladly declined form the purchase. I still remember the fantastic lines and superb interior. The car was in really good condition from the face. If it were available in the same condition today, i would not hesitate to get it.

A similar Saab



Any others??

[wasif]

Originally Posted by predatorwheelz

There's a Saab 96 I found decaying away in Uday Bhan Singh's garage in Howrah. Sir UBS bought this from a scrap sale, with an idea to restore it sometime. He doesnt know much about his past.

Harit/Wasif, could this be one of the cars you mentioned?

Dont know. The car I spoke of was also red but it was in Hyderabad with an AP reg.

Where did Sir UBS buy it from.

And regarding the willys look alike its hard to believe someone would go to such an extent to duplicate a cheep car likr that. The body work is on par with the original from Willys, note the line of ridges on the side, very hard to create manually.

Can you get some more pictures of it from various angles including the engine bay.

[predatorwheelz]

Originally Posted by wasif

Dont know. The car I spoke of was also red but it was in Hyderabad with an AP reg.

Where did Sir UBS buy it from.

And regarding the willys look alike its hard to believe someone would go to such an extent to duplicate a cheep car likr that. The body work is on par with the original from Willys, note the line of ridges on the side, very hard to create manually.

Can you get some more pictures of it from various angles including the engine bay.

About the Saab, UBS just told me it was a scrap sale acquisition. Didnt tell me where from. I do plan to pester him about it in my next visit.

About the Willys wagon, even I was convinced that its an original Willys Overland wagon. I still am! But as we already discussed, UBS told me it was a Mahindra customized to look that way.

I have an idea now. Next time I go, I'll request UBS to open up the bonnet, and generally look for the reg badge and original chassis numbers. That should solve both our doubts once and for all!

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by V-16

That car met with an accident and their dad sold the powder blue beauty away to someone, never to be seen. I remember it had a weird engine, at a 45 degrees slant. I wondered why and it was only later Mr. Sethna of the then famed Apex garage educated me on one of my various visits to him, that it was half a V-8.

The other one was a 1984-85 Saab 9000.
Any others??

The engine was actually a Triumph engine which Saab adapted. Later in the 900, they innovated it beyond recognition

There was another 9000 in Bangalore. This was a saloon and the later version which did not have the crispness of the original design. It was a LHD one. It was up for sale around 5L in 2000. I never saw the car. Owner was someone from the US who had not used it much and mentioned that he had not serviced it for a while (as he never used it!). I later saw some small time car dealer using it a lot

[4wdrifter]

Hey Guys
A piece of good news - I finally completed the engine rebuild! Fitted the engine on and she sounds awesome. As it turns out now, I need to rebuild the gearbox. Any ideas on spares?
@predatorwheelz - did you manage to have a look at the Saab with UBS?

[ceciro]

Would love to come visit you to take a look at the magnificient SAAB 96.
What is the status of the car now? Hope it is in great condition just like you restored it!

[4wdrifter]

Originally Posted by ceciro

Would love to come visit you to take a look at the magnificient SAAB 96.
What is the status of the car now? Hope it is in great condition just like you restored it!

The Saab is restored and working fine. As with all older cars, needs some work now and then. Welcome to see it any time you are in Mumbai

[ceciro]

Glad to hear that she's still in good hands.
For sure next time I am in Mumbai, but could you please PM me your contact(WA/FB) so that it's easier to let you know? I'm new here so I don't have the direct message option yet.