Mike St. Pierre's Bullnose 96

Bullnose, 95/96, 97, Saab Life, Q&A

E-Mail me at: tahoesaabs@wiredinstructor.net

Tomorrow's my day off, and once again the streets of Brunswick will be filled with the sweet smell of 2-stroke exhaust. I just had a fantastic weekend at Bruce Welch's, where he taught me how to tear down an 850cc, the spare engine for my car. We think it's going to be a great engine, but there is one problem...

I had one of the guys at work (a domestic car dealership) try to free the stuck piston, and low and behold he tried to pry it out with a crowbar and scarred up the half circle at the rear of the block. Bruce smoothed out the rough edges and thinks that it should be OK without any noticeable loss of compression. I'm glad I didn't see the guy with the crowbar because I probably would have used it on him!!

There's not a lot I can tell you about the history of my car. It originally came from a man in Nobleboro,Maine who only drove it in the summer. The last time it was registered before I bought it in January of this year was 1979. It was parked, without proper pickling and the engine was stuck when I first looked at it.(The now famous crowbar engine") I have a 1963 parts car and have borrowed the engine out of that one for now. It runs pretty well, but has an intermittent noise that kind of concerns me. Anyway, the car was put up in good dry storage and is almost completely rust free. As you can see, the interior is near perfect--the seats were reupholstered ainstakingly in an exact match to the doors.

The first time I took it for a drive this spring, I had the inevitable happen--the water pump let go. Thanks to my spare car I was able to put on a water pump that worked, but then realized the generator wasn't working. I was able to find new brushes, still in the time faded box, and now have a working water pump/generator! A couple of trips later, I started having brake problems, but was able to get a former SAAB dealer to fix them for me. He said the wheel cylinders were like new, and a used drum and a couple of clips later I was on my way. I use the car as my main mode of transportation on my days off, and living in New England always run into people who owned these cars in the 50's and 60's. Usually they ask me if they can sit in to reminisce and occasionally I'll offer a ride to them. You should see the smiles!

A Final Word From Mike:

Oh yeah, the car's a 3 speed with 42,600 original miles. I did own two 96's in the 1960's-both three speeds-one red 1963 96 and one dark blue 1964 96. I just ordered some radials for it--Do you think it will spoil the looks?

Contact Mike directly at:...Mike St. Pierre

Sure signs of Saab Addiction: Mike and a buddy are founding the Maine Saab Club: Want to Join?

More signs fo Saab Addiction: Mike's own Saab 96 Page!

Bullnose, 95/96, 97, Saab Life, Q&A

E-Mail me at: tahoesaabs@wiredinstructor.net