Saab 96 - Engine

Engine

The Saab 96 had a longitudinally mounted engine layout, as first designed, it had a 750 cc, 38 hp (28 kW) three-cylinder Saab two-stroke engine. By 1963 this was increased to 841 cc, 40 hp (30 kW). An optional 57 hp (43 kW) version of the engine, with triple carburetors and oil injection, was used in the Sport and Monte Carlo models. The additional power was obtained from a modified cylinder head and filled crankshaft counterweights offering higher overall compression ratio. The SAAB 96 of 1964 was tweaked to 42 hp (31 kW). For 1966 models, the standard 96 841 cc, 46 hp (34 kW) engine, using pre-mix oil, appeared with a three throat Solex carburetor in which the center carburetor handled start, idle, and low speed functions. The same carburetor had been used in the Monte Carlo and Sport models. A common throttle shaft minimized carburetor synchronization problems.

In 1967 the 96V4 appeared, with the Ford Taunus V4 engine, a four-stroke 1498 cc V4 engine, originally developed for the 1962 Ford Taunus 12M. Saab's project to source a four-stroke engine was dubbed 'Operation Kajsa'. Four-stroke engines had been tested earlier. Between 1962 and 1964 Kjell Knutsson and Ingvar Andersson under Rolf Mellde tested three different engines, Lloyd Arabella 897 cc and 45 hp, a Morris Mini 848 cc, 33 hp engine and a Lancia Appia engine of 1089 cc and 48 hp. However Rolf Melldes view that Saab needed to switch to a four-stroke engine was stopped higher up by CEO Tryggve Holm. Mellde then went behind the back of Holm and made contact with Marc Wallenberg, son of Marcus Wallenberg, Saab's major stockholder. The coup succeeded and testing could begin. The engines tested was Volvo B18, Ford V4, Triumph 1300, Lancia V4 engine, Opel, Volkswagen and Hillman Imp. The B18 was the most reliable, but the Ford V4 was not far behind and significantly easier to fit into the engine bay of the 96. The testing was done in secrecy. Rolf Mellde took a leave of absence and said he was going to run his father's paint shop. In reality he went to Desenzano in northern Italy with a 96V4 prototype for testing. With five months to go before production only seven persons knew about the new engine. To maintain secrecy they rented a house west of Kristinehamn. To keep purchases of V4 specific parts secret they started the company Maskinverktyg AB. The ordinary purchase department at Saab was oblivious to what was going on, something that caused an incident when Rune Ahlberg cancelled the orders for cables for the two-stroke engine and the purchase department called the supplier and sharply told them to keep their deliveries. The last week of July, just before the summer holidays, the information about the new engine was given to some more people and they were informed that full scale production would start in four weeks. To keep secrecy 40 of the ordinary staff was told to report to work to fix a problem with the disc brakes. The secret was kept until a journalist some days before the official introduction noticed a lorry loaded with 96s that had V4 stickers on the front bumpers.

The first V4 engines produced 55 hp (48 kW) and 65 hp (48 kW) from 1977-1980. The car managed 0–100 km/h in 16 seconds. The two-stroke option continued into 1968. In the US, the two-stroke engine was called the 'Shrike' at that time. Its displacement was reduced slightly, to 819 cc to avoid emission regulations which exempted engines under 50 in³, while the V4s used in US cars had a 1700 cc low compression engine.