1958 Saab 93 - Jay Leno's Garage

Jay's Swedish two-stroke will get through the snow and woods with ease!

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1958 Saab 93 - Jay Leno's Garage

Jay Leno's Garage

[franzkoviakalak]

"you don't need a Ferrari or McLaren to have fun." This is more fun. These types of videos are way cooler too. Thanks Jay and team.

[MrGunzngirlz]

Finally an episode where it's just Jay talking about a cool old car. No guests. No gimmicks.

[peppegiorgou]

hello ....i'm Pantelis from Greece...i'm 51 y.o and that video made me so emotional (especially my father he's 84 y.o and we saw this video together!!!!) cause he bouth this car in 1964 and i was born inside this car in 1969 ....it was a Saab 94 construction in 1964 the older model from this car in your videiowith fuel and oil at the same tank...it was semi automatic by puting 1st-2nd and 3rd gear without pressing the clutch all you needed to do that is pulling a small lever low on the steering axle next to and above the throttle..now the car is in the experienced hands of a fanatical collector of these cars..car's counter has reset 3 times. the engine was never converted and was spotless inside out and mechanically excellent for over 30 years. thank you for this video sir....Thank you so much for this emotional experience....* sorry for my English but i;m Greek)

[DnZiG]

in sweden, that license plate GLF249 has now been recycled and passed down to a trailer, a -08 Thule D0750, owned by a contractor company located 30miles away from the very SAAB factory.

[supremefantastic]

Really respectful and interesting from you, Jay. As a swede, I'm happy that you honour an historic car from my country with this kind words and caring. You also have a giant knowledge that makes me impressed. Often I don't like american reviews (with music in background and people who don't know what they speak about) but you're interesting and serious. Respect from me to you, Jay.

[brucegray]

Boy, this brings back memories. I took my driver's test in a '59 Saab 93 in 1963. The examiner was completely baffled by the rear-hinged doors and I had to explain about the free-wheeling so he wouldn't get freaked out going down hill. I grew up in Maine (still live there) and would purposely go out on a snowy day and pass people stuck trying to go uphill. It was a fun car to drive.

[wheelie]

As a Swede I got a big smile on My face right now. These cars are bullitproof and it’s really sad Saab went down.

[fasteddie]

I enjoy most of the guests but it’s a treat to see Jay on his own, in his element.

[georgec]

Someone once asked Carlsson how he managed to beat so many more powerful cars in one of these. He replied: 'I just never took my foot off.' Marvellous.

[rbilzing]

I remember filling up my 1959 at the gas station and watching the looks on the faces of other patrons when I would pour 2 stroke oil into the gas tank and bounce the little beast up and down with my foot on the bumper for a minute. Ordinarily, I would mix it with some gas in a separate can I kept in the trunk, but sometimes you just love to do something to burn your existence into the minds in a small town. Keep doing what you do so well.

[noahman]

We drove Saabs in our family from the early 60's thru 2007. Every type...except the Sonnet. And we got our neighbors to also drive them. We lived on Main St in our town. We always had so many SAABs in the driveway that people in town thought we were a SAAB garage and occasionally someone would knock on the front door needing service for their SAAB. The other night I had a dream - I had dropped off my 2018 SAAB 9-5 Wagon at the dealer for service and was asking my good friend if she could give me a ride to the dealer to pick up my car..It'll be ready tomorrow morning by 11:00am. What a great dream it was! I miss the SAAB family. And it really was a family. Very special.

[John-pccx]

Jay captured the cleverness of Sabbs and his humorous take on who drove them was spot on. Plenty of Saab still on the road cause thoughtful people won’t let them die.

[donjohnson]

Jay’s passion for cars goes beyond the hardware and gets into the backstory. It is what makes these “garage” stories so interesting. The shutter for the radiator was neat.

[williamcharnley]

I had a '62 93, in 1972, when I was 20. They had done away with the suicide doors, but everything else was the same. It came standard with the 4 spd on the column, which was a hoot to drive. The manual suggested when parking, while camping, find a suitable sized rock to put under a tire to keep the car from rolling away. The small door from the trunk folded down and the seats folded also to make a bed. As a 20 year old guy, this was a chick magnet car, girls loved riding in it. It smoked when you didn't get the mixture just right, it went like a tank through snow, etc. It got good gas mileage on long trips. I ended up hitting a Torino, parked in the middle of the street, and put a big U in the hood. It drove fine and I was able to sell it like that. I still miss that car!

[ebwhits]

Thanks, Jay. Not sure if this was covered in all the comments, but the freewheel was there to keep from destroying the engine on deceleration. With premix, the engine relies on oil in the fuel for lubrication. The more fuel going into the engine, the more lubrication. But if you go down a long hill at 6, 000 rpm's with your foot off the gas....no fuel, no oil, no lubrication, and...no engine! With freewheeling engaged, the engine goes to idle on decel and gets the right amount of oil. In my youth, I rode 2 stroke motorcycles using premix. I was taught to pull in the clutch going down hills or approaching a stop.

[matthewrobinson]

You brought back lots of memories of my '67 SAAB 96 two stroke. I got to know every cop in San Diego County on a first name basis due to the smoke. Once I was pulled over because the cop wanted to tell me about a new two stroke oil he'd found at Fedmart.

[snmthecloser]

Somehow I am certain that Jay does his goofy foreign accents while giggling softly to himself when he is alone driving this car. Guaranteed.

[life_with_bernie]

Growing up in NYC I had a neighbor that lived down the street who had two of these, both bright robin's egg blue, and with consecutive VINs. These were some of the first cars I ever worked on as a kid, helping that neighbor do things like oil changes, setting points (one of his was a 4-stroke 4-cyl, the other a 2-stroke 3-cyl), changing filters, etc. He was a college professor and drove them to work regularly during the school season, changing over to his Vespa scooter for summer. He also owned a Citroen DS that I loved.

Many years later, when I had my own service station, I was one of the few mechanics in NYC who could/would work on Citroens and Saabs. One client even gifted me a gently used 1970 Saab 99 hatchback that I fell in love with. Saab's are really great cars. A driver's car for sure.

[erichakanson]

Thank you so much for this Jay. My dad is Swedish and the first time he took me over there in the mid 80's, my grandparents drove this exact car! Their '58 Saab actually had a glass cylinder to help you mix the gas and oil! I'm a German sports car guy at heart, but this car is my family roots! Great stuff Jay!!!

[dannilsson]

As a Swede and as a SAAB owner I got a big smile on my face while i was watching this video. My dad had a Saab 93, also 2 stroke but a newer model (1973) It’s really sad Saab went down.