The 1966 Saab 96 in Yosepha’s garage
My mother’s first cousin Nathan R. died in Alon Shvut, near Efrat, Israel, a few days before Purim last March. He was the last member of my family to have been born before the Second World War. Nathan was born in Yokohama, Japan, in 1937 where his father Alfred was a profession of engineering. His mother, my great-aunt Amalie, was the only sibling and younger sister of my grandfather Arthur, and their parents spent an enormous sum of money through the Ha’avera scheme to obtain entry visas to Palestine in ’37, as Alfred’s position at Yokohama University was in question because the Nazis were contesting his professorial habilitation. So Amalie, Alfred, and Nathan (Norbert) took ship to the Middle East and landed in Palestine in late 1937 after the Peel Commission shut the gates to most German Jewish emigration to Palestine.
My cousin Gad and Nathan in the early 1980s.
Nathan was a combat veteran of the IDF in ’56 and ’67. He married Oshra (Friedel) in 1969. He attended the Technion, worked for Israel Defense Industries and eventually became a professor of aerospace engineering at the Technion and at the University of Haifa. A few years ago as I was driving him from my apartment to his son Gad’s apartment overlooking the East River, Nathan told me a story about the time in 1986 when I.D.I sent him with two hundred rolls of film and a brand new Contax camera to Washington, D.C. to take pictures of the vernier and guidance thruster rocket clusters on the Voyager, LEM, Apollo, and Skylab samples at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, for application to the Shavit launch rocket and the Ofeq surveillance satellite the Shavit launcher would carry into orbit against the momentum of the rotation of the earth. I remember Nathan and Oshra appearing at the hospital a day after my youngest sister was born in 1986 – having driven straight from D.C. to the Catskills upon hearing the news from my grandmother.
Nathan bought a 1966 Saab 96 in 1982 – in the words of my cousin Gad:
As a young kid I was ashamed of our Saab, all the neighbors were driving newer and better. Now, this is the car I would keep forever, would drive that over any luxury/sports car I own. Growing up through the years I appreciated the quality time I had with my late father fixing our Saab and the time my brothers, my father and I were working together and the great memories we now cherish.
On the way to the restorer.
Gad lives in Queens most of the time, but we have differences that have meant we haven’t gotten together often – he fulsomely praised the former president at my fortieth birthday and waxed eloquent about his lunch with the man and his own boss (another New York real estate billionaire) – but Gad is going to import the Saab to the US and drive it in New York City.
Oshra and Gad with the ’66 Saab 96
I am curious how Gad will garage it in Long Island City, but I expect I will see it soon enough.
1966 Saab 96 At the automotive restorer
Fun history. I had a friend who bought one of these new in 1966. Filling the fuel tank required adding oil at the same time because it was a two-stroke engine. There are vents in the upper dash panel that bring in fresh air. No heat can be introduced. They are designed to keep the driver alert and can be opened and closed at will.
I never met my father-in-law (who became estranged from his entire family before I got to know them) but it one of the great mysteries of my wife’s youth how the guy ended up as a part owner of the Saab franchise in Indianapolis around that time. Why did he get into it, why did he get out of it, and why Saab, of all cars are just a few of the questions I have always wanted to ask.
It is cool that your cousin’s family has kept the car for all these decades and that he is going to bring it back to life, a process sure to be far more expensive of a proposition than for the original owner who bought it new.
His side got the financial good sense – he can afford it. I am imagining the pleasure of freewheeling in New York City traffic.
I am imagining the looks he’ll get from the little cloud of blue smoke emitting from its exhaust in NYC traffic.
There are plenty of four strokes that smoke blue here too.
What might raise eyebrows is the noise, but there are an awful lot of Beemers with poor tuning and chopped exhausts rolling around, so *shrugs*.
With their front wheel drive and two-stroke engines, Saabs had a strong appeal to those whose engineering sense saw them as intrinsically advanced or compelling.
But then Kurt Vonnegut tried (unsuccessfully) being a Saab dealer for a few years back in this era. He ended up selling very few cars, but the office gave him a place to get away from his big family and write in peace.
The very first used car I test drove when I wanted to buy a car right after graduating from high school. In hindsight the seller was quite trusting to let a 16 year old kid with an 8 month old driver’s license drive his car. But I decided to get a motorcycle instead … also a 2 stroke.
Several of our customers had these back in the sixties. Some would come in with a case of Saab oil in their trunk and we would put it in the tank for them. The oil we sold made considerably more smoke. 50 cents a quart for Esso non-detergent 30W is what I recall. One customer in particular wanted to be sure he was using enough oil. Always could tell if he was coming or going. Not just because of the smoke. Those old school non-detergent oils had a strong smell too. Another Saab customer had one with the Saxomat clutch. Rare. Always wanted a two stroke Saab. The dealer was in Briarcliff, sold Jeeps too.
When you consider that “fulsome” actually means offensive, “he fulsomely praised the former president” is quite appropriate. Not quite sure I understand your title, though – are you suggesting that the Saab is a living part of your family?
See below – “the family lives”
Reasonably popular in Israel back in the day and they have a supportive club nowadays. SAAB decided to follow the Arab Boycott dictates and left Israel in the early 70s which was a mistake, when it came back it was no longer remembered or competitive in comparison with the German usual suspects.
The first, third, and fourth cars I ever owned, over a period of 19 years, were Saab 95 or 96 V4’s, no two-strokes. I see a 95 in the second photo, MY 1969 or newer by the taillights.
By MY 1966 Saab would have offered an autolube engine, as it was called. You put oil in an underhood tank, and a metering pump fed it to the engine. I’m guessing your uncle’s car didn’t have that. The dedicated Saab two-stroke oil was called Hi-M. The M stood for “miscibility.”
For the benefit of us goyim, can someone translate “am mishpochah chai”?
I’ll say that I share my politics with you, not with Gad.
Am mishpochah chai – “with a living family”
alternately – since I roll that way – “the nation of the family lives”
Also, that 95 belonged to the neighbor, Herr Preil, not Nathan.
That little Saab looks like it deserves restoration. Thanks for sharing its story and photos!
With respect to the original post, Merriam-Webster’s “fulsome” #2 and #3 are spot-on (IMHO)
To quote the sage Forrest Gump “That’s all I have to say about that.”
“In der Kürze liegt die Würze,” as my father said as he taught me to edit my high school research papers, quoting his father.
(and the German expression – “the spice is in the brevity” I like that better than “brevity is the soul of wit” all due respect to the Bard of Avon.)
Very interesting (and unexpected on several levels), so thank you for that.
Israel is very high on the list of remaining countries on the globe that I would like to travel to and explore. Pictures remind me of parts of SoCal and somehow also parts of southern France, mixed in with a little bit of Morocco and Spain.
I’d imagine (perhaps wrongly, I dunno) 1960s cars stashed in garages, barns, and outbuildings are quite a bit rarer in Israel than stateside, and even more so the further back one goes in regard to model years.
And a couple of pictures from the restoration shop in the Port of Ashdod, which Gad has forwarded.
And another.
I’m guessing it’s at Ralex which is a Toyota dealer but started as restoration and race prep workshop. If so, the knowledge is there to do the job.
Just like all kind of families in the world, Jewish ones will have their fights or non-understanding over politics. What I loved in your writing is the way you sprinkle Old World (literally speaking, that Old World is preWWII Eastern Europe) words and meanings. There are a few Jews around this site, as there are from probably all communities and groups. That’s something I truly appreciate about CC. Every now and then, I find an article that reminds me on my zeide (grandpa) and not necessarily related to a car, as none of my grandparents ever drove.
David, great post! Please look up John Phillips’s very entertaining “Around New Zealand In A Can-Opener” from the September 2000 issue of Car and Driver.
Of course it’s about a 2-stroke Saab.
Apropos of Daniel Stern’s article about amber turn signals, I’ve seen 96’s in the US with amber rear turn signals and with red ones. I see that Nathan’s car had amber ones. The entire rear lens, whether all red or red and amber, is one piece, so swapping out lenses would be simple. But I don’t imagine the lenses are thick on the ground any more.
I think my ’68 and ’69 96’s had amber rear turn signals, but it’s been decades, so I could be wrong.
Volvo went to amber rear turn signals for ’68 when FMVSS 108 took effect and overrode whatever individual-state laws might have required red for all rear lights. Mercedes and BMW around the same time, and I would not be surprised if Saab did the same.
Wow, this car is in amazing shape for a barn find, Pops bought a brandy new SAAB two-smoke station wagon in 1966, it has endless running problems that the Boston SAAB dealer (? Gaston Andre ?) were unable to diagnose, their Mechanic wrecked it completely speeding in it one day .
Various teachers etc. had these cars in New England in the 1960’s they were amazing in the snow sans tire chains .
I never saw one then nor now that had ny sort of oil injection device, as a youth I was more than happy to stand on the rear bumper in the gas station and bounce it as hard as I could to mix the added oil .
I don’t remember these being loud at all .
In 1972 I was given one, a two door with the all too common seized engine, I wish I’da fixed it but pops made sure that never happened .
Please keep us updated on the progress ! .
-Nate
According to the article it lived for many years in the hilly area of central Israel which is a bit like AZ for dryness, things don’t rust there as much as they do on the coast.
Wow, this car is in amazing shape for a barn find, Pops bought a brandy new SAAB two-smoke station wagon in 1966, it has endless running problems that the Boston SAAB dealer (? Gaston Andre ?) were unable to diagnose, their Mechanic wrecked it completely speeding in it one day .
Various teachers etc. had these cars in New England in the 1960’s they were amazing in the snow sans tire chains .
I never saw one then nor now that had any sort of oil injection device, as a youth I was more than happy to stand on the rear bumper in the gas station and bounce it as hard as I could to mix the added oil .
I don’t remember these being loud at all .
In 1972 I was given one, a two door with the all too common seized engine, I wish I’da fixed it but pops made sure that never happened .
Please keep us updated on the progress ! .
-Nate