There was a Saab 96 in the junkyard...

...so I took a taillight.

I have one of those hitch cargo carrier things. It's black, and I worry that some idiot tailgating is going to hit it at night. Plus, when it's full, you can't see my license plate, and that's sort of illegal.

So, I'm going to take the taillight, weld up a mounting thing with scrap stainless at work, buy a generic trailer wiring harness, wire it up, and then mount it to the basket. It has two bulbs, one will be a backmarker light so people know the basket is there, and will also illuminate the license plate below it (I'll have to Dremel a hole in the bottom of the housing), and the second bulb will be an extra brake light, like on a trailer.

I think it's a good re-use of a something off of a cool old car. And it'll give me a chance to practice welding.

I saw an '84 Saab advertised this afternoon on CL, was very tempted to call the owner but someone on here posted recently that parts to fix a near new Saab were "unobtainium" so thought better of it. Too bad, too, as it was one the VERY few I've seen on CL with a manual transmission.

New SAABs suck. (Find me a wiper blade for a new 9-5! PLEASE! Nothing generic will fit!)

The older stuff, you should have no problem with, any more than any older car. Some stuff is generic Bosch/TRW/whathaveyou, some is picked up by the aftermarket, the rest is scrounging.

That's a lot cooler than some generic trailer light.

That is not a SAAB 96 tail light.

Looks good and glad it will be put to good use.
But I agree....it doesn't look like the light from the rear of a 96 (or even a 93)

Looks like it's from a 95 wagon.

saab 97 maybe?

Oh! It was the wagon, a 95. Sorry. I get all of those mixed up. It is an upper taillight, a two-bulb one. The bottoms have three bulbs. The one I saw didn't have nice chrome trim around the lights, just some really old rubber.

It was a sweet '70s color of green, with awesome patina showing through on the roof. Had the V4 engine still intact, most of the interior, only minor rust on the body panels, none that I could see on the frame. The clutch pedal was still operational, and actually had a great feel to it. I was actually a little annoyed it was in a boneyard!

Also, one thing I noticed when I took it apart. There was no 'weatherpak' style connectors, nothing really fancy, just some wires run through the back of the lamp housing, and Radio Shack quick-disconnect terminal connectors to connect everything up. Pretty low-tech and definitely hand-built.

There's a SAAB 95... in the junkyard? In 2012?

Yea. And an original Beetle. And a NA Miata. And a '60s-era Land Rover Disco. And a Jeep Wagoneer. Come to think of it, there were a lot of sweet cars. Weird.

dare I ask where this yard is?

Harry's U-Pull-It, Hazleton, PA. They say it's the biggest you-pull-it on the East Coast, and I am tempted to believe them. Their awesomeness selection isn't usually that high, but they usually have at least one or two cool cars. It takes hours to look at everything. They also put the cars up off the ground for you, which I like.

Also an old Merc 300SL. Forgot about that one. Not a gullwing, like an early '80s one. And about 15 Volvo V40s that still had turbos in them. Only some Swedish genius put them right up against the firewall, so they're impossible to take out with the tools I had with me. Boo.

integraguy wrote: I saw an '84 Saab...but someone on here posted recently that parts to fix a near new Saab were "unobtainium" so thought better of it

Wait, what?

Twin_Cam wrote: Harry's U-Pull-It, Hazleton, PA. They say it's the biggest you-pull-it on the East Coast, and I am tempted to believe them. Their awesomeness selection isn't usually that high, but they usually have at least one or two cool cars. It takes hours to look at everything. They also put the cars up off the ground for you, which I like. Also an old Merc 300SL. Forgot about that one. Not a gullwing, like an early '80s one. And about 15 Volvo V40s that still had turbos in them. Only some Swedish genius put them right up against the firewall, so they're impossible to take out with the tools I had with me. Boo.

that's dangerous.. only a couple of hours away from me

I wish it was closer for me. I'd really like to look over that 95.

saab 95 at the cove watering hole video

SlickDizzy wrote:

integraguy wrote: I saw an '84 Saab...but someone on here posted recently that parts to fix a near new Saab were "unobtainium" so thought better of it

Wait, what?

Yeah, fear not for older Saabs, especially the ubiquitous c900. It's business as usual on that front.