Trollhattan Saab has changed!
The site you're viewing now is the original Trollhattan Saab weblog, though it's now an archive only and no new material is posted here. As of February 2009, all new material is posted at our new site - Saabs United.
Please join us at Saabs United and get your daily Saab fix from Saab sources all around the world.
I’m up in Launceston for the work trip and I was showing a friend through some of the photos from the Sweden trip when I realised that I don’t think these ones have been shown on site. I uploaded a bunch of shots to Flickr, but for the benefit of those that couldn’t be bothered clicking through, there’s a few cars from that set that deserve a special viewing.
Like this one.
Below is what looks like a regulation Saab 92. Seeing a Saab 92, especially for a guy from Australia, is a pretty special thing. When I walked up behind this one it was beautiful sight to see.
You’ll notice this one’s getting a bit of attention. Even for people who aren’t from Australia, I’d imagine seeing a 92 up close is a reasonably rare thing and something to be savoured and appreciated.
Especially this one.
What our friendly policeman is looking at right there is no ordinary little two stroke engine. It’s quite amazing, actually. From the outside, everything on this car is totally regulation. Stock green paint. They even look like stock wheels and tyres (though I didn’t look that closely).
Our curious policeman above is checking this out:
Now, if you’ve ever seen a 92 up close and personal, you’ll know how small they are. How in the heck someone managed to shoehorn a V6 into the thing is absolutely beyond me.
The jury was still out in my mind as to whether or not this was a good thing. Part of me wants to applaud the engineering that must have gone into such a feat. But then the other part kicks in and says THIS IS A SAAB 92!!!!! The original production Saab, the first one. The Alpha model. Numero Uno. It’s meant to have a little 2-stroke lawnmower engine AND NOTHING ELSE.
I think that side of me won the battle. Even moreso when I looked inside the car. I’ll make this one an enlargeable thumbnail so as to not hurt your eyes too much….
Part of me still applauds the hours of work that must have gone into this. But even with the V6 under the hood there’s no way that interior should be made to look that way.
A brilliant and disturbing job, all at the same time.
15 responses so far ↓
1 Drew B // Jul 16, 2007 at 10:44 pm
Looks like a nice car wrecked. Dashboard looks particularly shithouse. I could forgive the owner if it was a complete basket case before, though.
Drew B
2 Ted Y // Jul 16, 2007 at 11:46 pm
Agree with Drew, it depends on what the car was before. If it was a rust-bucket, it wouldn’t be very original anyway. Sure hope he didn’t destroy a pristine model.
3 Mats // Jul 17, 2007 at 4:14 am
I think i remember reading about that car in a magazine a couple of years back. If i remember correctly it wasn’t in good shape when they started.
4 1985 Gripen // Jul 17, 2007 at 4:38 am
And yet somehow they apparently shoehorned-in an automatic transmission too!?!?
While it looks horrible to me I’m sure Erik Carlsson would love it. He was complaining to me that every SAAB he was ever given to race was underpowered and at a disadvantage. He also loves automatic transmissions.
5 sam // Jul 17, 2007 at 7:48 am
This confirms to me that hot rodding is alive and well in Sweden as well as elsewhere. Like the Saab pickup truck you featured a while back, this is automotive creativity. Does the world really need another lovingly restored, slavishly original, museum piece? Will someone condemn you Swade for putting hot rod pieces on your Viggen? Horrors, it’s not original anymore!
6 saabologist // Jul 17, 2007 at 8:50 am
Why oh Why an old model V6.
Hope he has fun changing the timing belt every 1000km.
Old model V6 and a slosh box better start running
7 PT // Jul 17, 2007 at 10:25 am
Now while I’m not going to claim the 2.5V6 as a pinnacle of engineering or even an object of automotive lust, I have been driving one for the last 3 years and its not the pile of dung that its made out it be either. Serviced reguarly ( including 40,000km timing belts & tensionerblocks) it actually goes pretty sweetly. Similar numbers to a current 2.0 linear spec motor ( 125kw/240nm/9.0l – 100km). To be honest, i’t say the engine is too good for the chassis/steering in its stock set up and I’ve been considering several small mods in that dept to improve handling. Anyhoo……..I’m sure I’m going to cop a bunch of crap for not driving a turbo Saab so I’ll leave this for now.
As a footnote, that gearshifter (if not the whole transmission) would appear to come from a 93 and I thought the 2.5V6 stopped with the 900S in 1997. Unless its the 3.0 that was used in the 95 Griffins?? My 2.5 actually says 2.5 on the engine cover and this one doesn’t seem to.
Strange mod but it does seem to be beautifully done.
And Drew, you shouldn’t sound so outraged – your 95 wagon has a Ford Motor as I recall? or was that the 96? Anyway, thepoint is, this wasn’t the first American-sourced engine that Saab ever used.
But its still strange.
8 Swade // Jul 17, 2007 at 10:30 am
Oh no. Pete’s raising the ire of the Drew. *ducks*
9 Jeff // Jul 17, 2007 at 3:08 pm
…That is awesome. It’s THE ultimate sleeper car.
10 PerPedal // Jul 17, 2007 at 5:31 pm
I read an article about this car around 1998-99 in the swedisch car magazine “Bilsport”. I remember that it said that the car was beyond restoration back to original condition. So the owner of the car wanted to do something special with it. And took a top of the line 9-5 V6 Griffin and moved all the parts over to the 92.
The article told a little bit about the building of the car and that they had to build a complete new front suspension and drive shafts because of the wide V6 engine.
And that the owner of the car wanted to be anonymous, probably because of all the old SAAB purist who meant this was sacrilege.
11 PT // Jul 17, 2007 at 9:07 pm
I think Drew probably knows better than to cross swords with a peasant like me. Why stoop to conquer……..
12 Drew B // Jul 17, 2007 at 11:16 pm
Outraged? Not at all.
Merely pondering the thought that the owner butchered up some rare metal, which may have been worth more left in its original state. But considering that it was a basket case anyway, and parts sources would be minimal, I reckon it’s good to see it back on the road like it is. Appears to be a very neat build, but I’m still not a fan of that dash!
PT, you’re right. Sort of. The Ford engine used by Saab was actually made in Germany (it’s called a ‘Cologne’ engine for this reason). No US influence at all. Even so, the old 2-stroke engines were actually DKW units, and the early 99 I have has a 1.7 Triump engine. Later 99′s used a modified Triumph Dolomite unit, which became the 900……which ultimately became the 9000 as well. Later engines are very similar also. The V6 2.5 was a Holden vectra unit…………….. which leads me to conclude that the V4 isn’t any more un-Saab than any other engine that’s been fitted in a Saab.
Drew B
13 Drew B // Jul 17, 2007 at 11:18 pm
*triumph
14 PT // Jul 18, 2007 at 8:20 pm
Thanks for the history lesson mate. Seriously, I had no idea.
Reminds me of stories from my mother of her wild youth on the pacific island of Nauru – she had a DKW bike as I recall.
Which gets me thinking, was the Triumph car company the same as the bike one?
15 Staffan V // Nov 8, 2007 at 8:32 pm
Some more photos of it http://www.tugboatlars.se/Saab92.htm (scroll way down). I’ve read that it was done so that it would be quite easy to restore it to original condition.