Tommi’s Saab Site

Haha! I’m in Google Streetview… I noticed the Google car, but didn’t think it any further then. But as I just went through some other Streetviews I decided to check if I’m on it also…

I had a strange phone call in June. The caller identified himself as Kari Mäkelä from Mäkela Auto Tuning (www.mat.fi).

MAT is a well known specialist in restoring old works rally cars and classic Ferraris and Mr. Mäkelä is the owner. So, naturally, I was a little surprised about the call – what would anyone from such a high end shop want with me…

As it turned out MAT had restored a Saab 96 Sport engine for a customer from Monaco (just the engine, rest of the car was done in Monaco). They had sent the engine to Finland to be restored. MAT people had no prior experience with two stroke Saab engines but did the job anyways.

MAT did excellent work on the components and putting the engine back together and it was sent back to Monaco to be put in the car.

But as the French guys in Monaco put the engine back in the car and fired it up they ran into a few pretty strange problems. And that was what the phone call was about.

The mechanic in Monaco had reported that they have great difficulty starting the engine and when they finally get it started it will immediately jump into full revs – screaming it’s head off continuously and refusing to go to lower revs. Also there appeared to be some trouble with the lubrication pump since it apparently pumped too much oil into the engine (or at least the mechanic thought that the oil level was sinking too fast).

Mr. Mäkelä found my site when searching for clues online on how to solve the problems. We spent a good deal of time discussing the potential causes for the troubles. The oil consumption especially sounded alarming. I promised to sent in some documentation about the engine (relevant pages from the workshop manual) and Mr. Mäkelä sent me some photos of the engine in case I might spot some external clues on what was wrong.

The unrestored engine:

And after the rebuild by MAT:

From the photos I immediately spotted one obvious problem; the carburettors were in wrong order. The one that should be in the middle was at the back. I also called a few friends that had Sports or Monte Carlos on what could be wrong. As we went through the technical specs with Mr. Mäkelä we selected the most obvious things for the French mechanic to check (timing, fuel etc.).

But the mechanic in Monaco could not solve the problem despite some phone consultation and instructions, so a few weeks later Mr. Mäkelä decided to travel to Monaco to solve the issues himself.

The first thing after arriving he took the car for a test drive and called me about the problems. They seemed to be exactly what the French had told (continous high revs, difficulty in starting).

He started to check out everything methodically (carburettor fuel level, timing, fuel pump pressure), but the most obvious fault was clearly visible: The french mechanic had refused to change the carburettor order “because that was the order they were in before the restoration and the car worked perfectly”. Ofcourse, being in the wrong order the carburettors had a ton of air leaks causing the engine to rev without control.

So, Mr. Mäkelä took the carburettors off, switched the order, and found out that now the car was running ok, but still had trouble starting. After a bit of head scratching he took the middle carburettor off and realised that the gasket between the carburettor body and intake manifold had no holes for the choke fuel to pass. Effectively the choke did nothing.

That was easy to solve by perforating the gasket accordingly. Also an electric fuel pump and pressure regulator was installed to ensure proper fuel pressure.

And as it turned out, the oil consumption was perfectly fine now that the engine wasn’t on full revs all the time.

So, here’s a few photos from the Monaco trip:

SAAB 99 FINLANDIA

Saab 99 Finlandia prototype 1976

The prototypes for the Saab 99 Finlandia were made in 1976 at the Uusikaupunki Saab factory in Finland.
The car was lengthened some 25 cm by adding an extra piece to the middle of the body.
The “limo” went to actual production in 1977 when a total of 23 Finlandias were made.
The first prototype, a blue “Proto 1″ is currently owned by a member of the Finnish Saab-Club.

Saab 99 Finlandia 1978 model, note the missing middle window.

Next year, 1978, the car was developed further and the middle window was removed (20 cars were made). Both the front and rear doors were made 10 cm longer, so the car remained a total of 20 cm longer than a normal Saab 99 Combi-Coupe.

Saab Finlandia brochure cover page

This photo shows the extra legroom availlable to the passenger (front seats in pretty much rear position).

Later, the Saab 900 was adobted for the basis. In 1979 and 1980 a total of 99 Saab 900 Finlandias were made.
From 1981 the model designation changed to Saab 900 CD. A total of 480 CD’s were made from 1981 to 1986 and they were all sedans except for one car.

The back seat of some Finlandias were actually two front seats.

Both the Uusikaupunki factory and the Swedish headquarters had interest in developing a lengthened Saab 9000. A prototype long 9000 was produced and it was 15 cm longer than the normal car.
The plans were buried when GM acquired Saab.

The prototype 9000 can be seen at the Uusikaupunki Saab Museum. Only the rear doors are longer than normal, so it takes a trained eye to spot the difference. The car looks quite balanced, it’s a shame it never went to production.

Several 99 and 900 Finlandias and CD’s are in the possession of Finnish Saabclub members, restored or awaiting restoration.

More info on Finlandias:
http://finlandia.saab99.net
And here are some nice photos of a 99 Turbo Finlandia: http://oh3tr.ele.tut.fi/~benjamin/saab/99finlandia1978-3/

SAAB 900 LIMOUSINE

A prototype for an actual Saab 900 Limousine was also constructed, but apparently it was never considered for production. The car was lengthened a total of 70 cm and it could carry 7 people.

Saab 900 limousine prototype

Later, plans were also drafted for a “People Carrier” version of the “NG” 900. This was never developed to prototype state.

SAAB 9000 V8

Saab 4 litre V8 prototype 1989

Engines were made Valmet Linnavuori factory.

Sadly, this never came to be but some test engines and a fully functioning prototype was build.

The Saab engineers in Sweden had said that making a V8 fit the engine bay of the 9000 was impossible. The people at Uusikaupunki didn’t buy it and in 1988 produced a prototype of a V8 engine by combining two 4 cylinder Saab engines. The 4 litre Valmet TF (Twin Four) V8 engine put out almost 300 horsepower and it was mounted sideways under the bonnet of a Saab 9000. No body modification was necessary, the engine fit right in.

The engineers at the factory said that the V8 9000 was “a hoot to drive”. This is evidently backed up by the several speeding tickets that were gathered during the road tests.

Unfortunately GM didn’t find it necessary to further develope the V8 as they already had a lineup of V6 engines that Saab could use. The prototype 9000 is currently on display at the Uusikaupunki Saab Museum.

Juha Lehtonen, president of the Saab-Club of Finland explaining the origins of the V8.

SAAB 90 LUMIKKO (”Snow Weasel”)

Weasel is a small and fast moving predator animal that is usually brown coloured. However, in the winter time it can go completely white to fit the snowy surroundings.

In 1985 the Finnish Saab dealership Scan-Auto produced the first Lumikko for a magazine competition. The idea of the competition was to upgrade a basic model with quite a little money. The Lumikko won.

The car is a Saab 90 (another Finnish special, designed to prolong the life of the 99 by updating it a bit) fitted with the Airflow styling kit, Aero rims and all white paint. Also the interior was upgraded with some extra instrumentation and audio system.

A total of 10 Lumikko were made! (+ the one competition car). There are known to be some “fakes” and it is somewhat uncertain if a couple more “pre-series” cars were made.

The competition car and around 2-3 actual Lumikko are in the possession of the Finnish Saab-Club members.

Update, more info:
Here’s some photos of the above car today. It’s awaiting full restoration. Most of the original extras still remain: The white airflow set with a one-off spoiler (a “cut to length” aftermarket product), Aero rims (painted white!), Saab audio system, heated seats, white mirrors and door handles, and the Finlandia roof hatch. The original airflow front spoiler has been lost, as is the original grille (in the photos you can see an older grille in place).

THE GOOD WILL POLICE CARS

As far as I know the two stroke Saabs were not very common as Police cars. The reason was propably the somewhat high price, but also the “unreliability” of the two stroke engine (which was usually due to user errors).

In Finland the Saab dealership Scan-Auto donated four Saab 96’s to the Police between 1965 and 1968. They were called “Good Will” cars, as they were mainly used for assisting motorists in trouble (flat tires and such). But other than that the police didn’t really have 96’s as patrol cars.

The first cars donated were a 1966 Saab Sport and a Saab Special. Later a 1967 V4 and a 1968 V4 were donated. They were painted all white and had a POLIISI sign and one blue light on the roof. Later the 1966 Sport was converted from two stroke to V4.

The cars were on active duty untill about 1970 but it is unknown if any have survived. Apparently they were used for high speed driving practise at the Police School after the actual patrol service…

Saab 96 Sport 1966

Saab Sport 1966 Police car

Saab 96 Special 1966

SAAB 900 RACING CLASS (Saab 900 Turbo M)

The Saab 900 Racing Class was a popular “inexpensive” class in the 1980’s. The cars were 2 door Sedans delivered without upholstery straight from the Saab Factory. The rules restricted changes but adjustable chassis was allowed as were slick tyres. The Saab Turbo engine put out around 200 hp as radical changes to the motor were not allowed.

A 900 Turbo race car in track configuration.

The car was not really designed for rallying, but here’s a 900 with higher suspension on less than smooth surface..

Update, more info:
The cars were 900 Turbos (with model designation Saab 900 Turbo M), minimum weight 1050 kg, top speed about 200 km/h. They were pretty much based on stock parts, but suspension was adjustable with a pretty free selection of springs, shocks etc as long as the mounting points were original. Aircooled brakes in front, stock in rear. Engines were 8 valve turbos with intercooler putting out about 200 hp. Gearboxes were strengthened 5-speed boxes and the gear ratios could be selected from what Saab offered. Racing clutch but no differential lock or ABS.

These limitations kept the costs down, so it was a pretty popular series.
The information on this page is based on articles in
- the “Saabisti” magazine of Saab-Club Finland
- the “Katto pois!” book (history of the Uusikaupunki car factory)
- “Aja” Saab dealership customer magazine

Please note, that a lot of the info is not “official” or from official Saab/GM sources, but based on accounts of individuals as they remember them.

Our Saabs (Well, some of them).

Here’s some of the Saabs my family has owned. All in all, my father had three 96’s, at least two 99 Combi Coupes and one or two Sedans, and two 900 Multi Coupes.

In so far I have had three V4 96’s, one ‘64 Stroker, one 1970 95, a 1988 900i and a 1989 T8 Special.

The ‘71 96 dad used to have. His first Saab. We made several holiday trips in this. The car was allways jampacked with stuff. Me and my sister used to sleep on the back seat (we were so small back then we slept sideways on the seat).

99 Combi Coupe. The 99 was a nice car. I remember it seemed huge compared to the 96. Unfortunately the model was very prone to rusting, so all of them needed welding at some point.

Another 99, Sedan this time.

I think we had about three or four RED saabs in a row for some reason. Mother was the one who demanded that the next car had to be some other color.

So, the next car was a green 1979 Saab 900 Multi Coupe.

I really liked the Emerald Green back then. And I still do think it’s one of the nicest colors you could get on the 900.

Later we had a dark blue 900, it also was a 5 door Multi Coupe.

MY SAABS:

This green ‘75 96 I bought and fixed, and drove it around for few years. One time it left me on the side of the road some 200 kilometers from home (the intake manifold had become a bit loose and coolant leaked to the cylinders causing the engine to stall).

A few months before that I had lost the bearings of the balance axle in the engine. The axle was shot but thankfully the block wasn’t damaged. So we bought a new axle and bearings and that was that.

Later I sold the car for twice the money I paid for it.

900i Combi Sedan

Saab 900 T8 Special 1989

Not a Saab, but me and the go-kart dad built in the 80’s. It had a chainsaw engine with a no clutch, so it had to be pushed to start. Unfotunately it got too small for me way too soon… Great fun while it lasted!

CLASSIC MOTOR SHOW 2008 (Lahti, Finland)

A few weeks back I was at the Classic Motor Show promoting the Saab Club Of Finland. I had only a little bit of time to wander around, so this is not a comprehensive report on the happening. But all in all, great event, lots and lots of cars and people.

First some Saabs and on the the other post  some of the other cars.

Saab 96 Sport 1963

This was built from a standard Sport for racing in the Historic Class of rallying.

Saab 96 V4 1970 - Works rally car

A Finnish Works rally car 1970 (with competition history). This is the first car of the Finnish Saab Works team to race under the trademark blue and white colours – the colours of the finnish flag.

The rules that allowed substantial lightening of the cars were approved only later in the seventies, so this car still has steel fenders etc. Later the Works cars could have fiberglass fenders and aluminium skinned doors etc. for less weight.

Saab 99 Police Car 1970(?), 1.85 Litres