The second Elmia deadline car, and it is not playing it safe
A week ago we covered a special Saab 9000 Bahco build preparing for a public reset at Restoration Show 2026. Now there is another project on the same track: a 1966 Saab 96 two-stroke that spent 48 years parked in a barn in the woods, then got dragged into daylight with one goal in mind – to be present at Restoration Show, inside Hall C during Custom Motor Show at Elmia Exhibition and Convention Centre.
This is not a polished “barn find reveal.” The video is built around the awkward, honest middle ground: seized wheels that refuse to roll, missing ignition parts, questionable wiring, fuel hoses that instantly remind everyone why old rubber and fresh electricity should not share the same air. And then – inevitably – the two-stroke starts to cough and smoke, while the room fills with the kind of smell nobody confuses with a modern project car.
The story comes via Robin Westberg, who follows the car’s owner, Hampus, through the recovery and first start attempt, then into a workshop session that turns into a hands-on troubleshooting lesson.
What this Saab 96 actually is, mechanically
Before the start attempt, it helps to frame the car correctly. The Saab 96 began life with a longitudinal three-cylinder two-stroke engine, and by the mid-1960s output had climbed from the earliest figures to around 40 PS for the regular setup.
The details matter here because the video keeps circling back to why a two-stroke can be both surprisingly willing and brutally unforgiving after long storage:
- The classic 96 two-stroke architecture is compact and mechanically simple in some areas, but it is sensitive to ignition quality, fuel delivery, and lubrication assumptions.
- Period performance variants used multi-carb setups and, in certain specifications, oil-injection arrangements.
- The 1966-era two-stroke discussion often intersects with the three-throat Solex carb arrangement that splits duties by operating range.
In the video, the carburetors are identified as Solex and described as looking surprisingly decent once the airbox comes off, which becomes a key turning point once ignition is sorted.
Barn extraction: when “it rolls” becomes the first real victory
The car’s barn location is given as outside Åtvidaberg, near Linköping. The first phase is not glamorous. Hampus checks whether the engine turns by hand and is genuinely surprised that it does – because, in his experience, stored two-strokes frequently seize.
Then comes the part every experienced “rescuer” recognizes: the tires hold air, but the wheels are effectively locked. He spends hours getting the brakes to release enough to move the car, because the extraction route requires zig-zagging rather than simply pulling the Saab straight out with a tow vehicle.
When the car finally sees sunlight again, the moment lands because it is not staged. It is relief. It is also the start of a clock: the Saab is no longer a static barn artifact, it is now a public Restoration Show project.
Workshop setting: why this episode is as much about tools as cars
The “start it” session happens at Verktygsboden, based in Borgstena. The location is not a random garage. It is presented as a showroom-like tool environment, which explains why the episode leans into a demo style: solve problems in front of an audience, then talk through what just happened.
Two more people join the session, and their roles are clear:
- A veteran tools-and-workshop figure, Lars, who moves comfortably through the practical diagnostics.
- Karl Gedius, introduced as a classic-car podcaster and Saab writer, who naturally gravitates toward the historical paper trail inside the car.
This split is why the video works as “Saab content” rather than generic revival entertainment. It combines mechanical triage with provenance.
Ignition first: a missing rotor, points work, then fuse reality
The engine turning freely is a nice headline, but it does not create spark.
Early on, they find the distributor cap situation is not complete. There is talk of missing components and the need to repair or substitute parts. The group goes straight into basics: clean contact surfaces, file ignition points, and reassemble carefully.
Then comes the part that separates “we tried” from “we diagnosed”: They use a timing light (stroboscope) to confirm there is no spark upstream, not just at the plugs. That one choice prevents hours of guessing.
The group traces power supply and discovers the kind of issue that shows up on long-stored cars more often than anyone wants to admit: tired connections and fuse area problems. After moving and adjusting fuses and contacts, they restore power to the ignition side – and suddenly the troubleshooting steps begin to stack in the correct direction.
Even then, it is not a straight win. They clean and refit spark plugs, add a touch of oil to lubricate cylinders before repeated cranking, and keep checking whether the system is delivering consistent spark across cylinders.
Fuel system reality: old hoses do not negotiate
Once spark becomes credible, the next bottleneck is fuel delivery. The plan is practical: bypass the original fuel pump with an external electric pump and run from a separate container, because the goal is not “drive it,” it is “hear it run.”
And, right on cue, the fuel hose situation turns into a safety warning.
Fuel sprays from a leaking line during the first attempt. Nobody jokes it away. They stop and replace hoses before continuing, explicitly calling out the fire risk.
That moment matters for readers because it is the line between romanticizing barn finds and treating them like the mechanical hazards they are. A two-stroke can tolerate a surprising amount of neglect. Old rubber fuel lines cannot.
The start: smoke, rough running, and the part that surprises even experienced two-stroke hunters
With spark verified and fuel delivery stabilized, they attempt a start without leaning heavily on starting fluid. The engine fires and runs, but not cleanly. The team hears something that sounds off and agrees the car is nowhere near road-ready, which is obvious from everything else they have touched.
The sensory side is exactly what you would expect from this configuration and this situation:
- smoke and a heavy smell that reads more like stale fuel than the “cleaner” nostalgia people imagine when they talk about two-strokes
- rough running that hints at deeper work needed in carburation, ignition refinement, sealing, and general mechanical condition
- an almost comic contrast between the engine’s willingness to turn and the car’s overall neglected state
The biggest surprise, repeated in the episode, is that the engine was not seized after decades. That is not a guarantee of health, but it changes the project from “rebuild required on day one” to “triage, verify, then plan.”
The paper trail: 1978 inspection failures and a working-life footprint
While the engine work happens, Karl digs through the glovebox and finds what many Saab restorers secretly hope for: documentation that makes the car feel like a person’s tool, not just a chassis.
The episode mentions inspection and tax paperwork from 1978, including a failed inspection with notes that read like a snapshot of an aging daily driver being pushed past its limits. The listed problems include a nonfunctional parking brake, a loose battery, lighting faults, and a dead horn.
The service booklet shows early services logged at relatively low mileage points, and the odometer reading is discussed in a way that suggests modest use before the car disappeared into storage.
Then there is the best artifact: a driving log with fuel entries and location notes, including recognizable Stockholm context. The group speculates it could have been used for work trips and reimbursement, because the logging is too systematic to be casual.
They even turn the “what did the owner do for a living?” question into a viewer contest tied to a tool cart prize, which fits the venue and the channel format.
Elmia 2026 plan: live paint, live pressure, live consequences
The Elmia angle is not an afterthought. It is the entire reason the car is being pushed forward now.
Custom Motor Show is set to return 3-6 April 2026 in Jönköping. Verktygsboden’s Restoration Show program is explicitly described as a Hall C environment where selected teams build and restore projects live in front of the public during those dates.
In the episode, the plan goes further than wrenching: the Saab 96 is intended to be painted live at the show using a dedicated paint tent solution that the organizers say has been done before.
That is a bold commitment, because paint is the one step that punishes shortcuts instantly under bright hall lighting. It also forces the project to prioritize fundamentals: brakes, fuel safety, cooling integrity, electrical stability, and corrosion triage, before anyone starts thinking about cosmetics.
What has to happen next for this Saab 96 to survive public work
The video ends with “mission completed” in the narrow sense: it ran. But if you are reading this as a Saab person, the next phase is the real work. Based on what we see and what they state on camera, the order of operations is hard to argue with:
1) Brakes and rolling gear: The car fought movement during extraction, which usually means every wheel-end component needs inspection and rebuild attention.
2) Fuel system safety: They already hit a hose failure. That is the warning shot. Replace lines, verify routing, confirm pump behavior, and do not let a “temporary” solution become permanent.
3) Ignition stability: They got spark after addressing fuses and contacts, but a live event build needs repeatability, not luck.
4) Carb and lubrication correctness: Whether the setup is running premix assumptions or a specific lubrication arrangement, the carburetors and fuel delivery need to match what the engine expects, not what is convenient for a first start.
5) Cooling and hoses: The video flags a coolant hose issue and general age-related fragility. Those are not “later” items.
6) Corrosion strategy: The car is openly described as rusty but fixable. The trick is choosing what to save, what to fabricate, and what to stabilize for a public schedule.
This is exactly why Elmia-style live builds are compelling: the audience sees prioritization, not perfection.
Why this Saab 96 fits the Restoration Show format so well
The Bahco Saab 9000 project we covered is dramatic because it is unique, coachbuilt, and visually odd. The Saab 96 is dramatic for the opposite reason: it is a “normal” Saab model pushed through an abnormal timeline.
A two-stroke 96 that still turns after decades, paired with a glovebox full of human-scale history, gives the build a narrative spine. You can rebuild components. You cannot fake the paper trail or the smell of first combustion after long storage.
And the creator ecosystem around it is clear. Robin’s channel positioning is built on approachable, workshop-adjacent storytelling, and he openly invites collaborations via his channel contact information. The Restoration Show structure, backed by organizers and tool-world partners, gives the project a stage that rewards progress, not polish.
Final note for Saab people watching this one
If you care about Saab history, you already know the Saab 96 two-stroke is not “rare” in the internet sense. What is rare is seeing a long-stored example handled in a way that stays honest about risk, sequencing, and the fact that a first start is not a victory lap.
This car will be on display because it is being moved from private obscurity into public accountability. From here on, every decision will be visible: the compromises, the repairs, and whether the team can turn a rough-running barn survivor into a credible live build by early April.
I drove a 1966 Deluxe with oil injection for years! I beat the heck out of that car. What a fun drive 🙂  Always kept an eye on the flashing green oil light on the dash as the pump switched from port to port. There were seven of them. Four for the mains, three for the cylinders.  We installed dual exhaust on the motor, and the power increase was noticeable. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough heat going through the two mufflers, and they caked up badly. Eventually went back to a single muffler.