1967 Saab 96 Sees Daylight After 36 Years, Took Barn Life Like a Champ

While not as popular as German and Italian classics among collectors, the 96 remains a desirable oldtimer in Northern Europe. And many of them are currently being discovered and dragged out of barns after decades of neglect. This 1967 version is one of those cars.

Found in Gnarp, Sweden, this tiny two-door sedan was parked in a barn sometime in 1986. That's when the guy who bought the car when it was new passed away. Then, it took a whopping 36 years for the Saab to come out of storage and find a new home. Better late than never, right?

Dragging a barn-kept classic out of storage is always good news, but things become even better when the car in question is still in one piece. This Saab 96 is in surprisingly good condition for a car that sat for almost four decades, showing only a bit of surface rust on the outside.

The footage also provides a look inside the cabin, which appears to be in great condition. We don't get to see what's under the hood, but based on the story, this 96 should still have its numbers-matching engine.

Speaking of which, this 96 is probably one of the last produced with the 841cc two-stroke three-cylinder engine. Introduced when the 96 debuted in 1960, the mill was discontinued in 1968, when Saab began using four-stroke V4 engines sourced from Ford. Originally rated at 37 horsepower, the two-stroke was retired with 41 horses on tap. The Saab 96 soldiered on until 1980.

While it was far from powerful and fast, the Saab 96 had a few notable appearances on the rally scene. It won the RAC Rally three years in a row (1960-1962) and scored two wins at Monte Carlo in 1962 and 1963. Stig Blomqvist and Per Eklund won the Swedish Rally in the Saab 96 in 1973 and 1976, respectively.

So is this barn-found 96 going to be restored? I certainly hope so because it sure looks like it won't be an expensive process. Until that happens, watch it being dragged out into the light in the video below.