1969 saab 96 baja 1000 ZPOYLY

[@vonlist925]

Thank you that was wonderful. My dad raced in his yellow Baja bug

[@Valko67]

thanks for the share , i really enjoyed a lot

[@jtolearydesign]

This video gets weird and creepy at the 10:20 mark. Erik tries to swallow that poor girl on stage.

[@Simik206]

Amazing Video ! I was lucky to meet Mr, Eric Carlsson (RIP) at SAAB owners Convention in Oregon USA, 2014 !

[@DanArnets1492]

Considering how stupidly tough the Safari Rally used to be, that era of the Baja 1000 doesn't look that exceptional! 7:30 That's a Citröen Mehari, very popular beach car in Europe

[@WilliamBajaBillFuentes]

OUTSTANDING! PERFECT! A great tribute to your brother, Moises! Muchicimas gracias!

[@zpoyly]

its an honor Mr Fuentes check this out This all happened in November of 1969 in LaPaz, in Mexico's Baja California Sur province. We were waiting for the start of the prize ceremony for the 1969 Baja 1000, an "off-road" race which Steve McQueen had not been able to finish, and in which Jim Garner, driving a seemingly giant Oldsmobile 4-4-2 was only able to finish second in class...behind a Saab V4.California Saab dealer Ingvar Lindqvist, a Swede who had lived in California for many years and was known as Mr. Saab of Southern California, since he had been servicing--and sometimes selling--Saabs there, long before they were generally available, had run the Baja 1000 the year before in a Saab 96 and had placed first in the passenger car (two-wheel drive) class. Saab Motors had just introduced the Saab 99, and I had the honor of travelling with Erik Carlsson on the West coast in that connection. In several places, most importantly at the offices of what was then Competition Press (nowadays AutoWeek) near San Francisco, people told us that Saab would do well with a serious effort in Baja. Someone even set up a meeting for us with the head of the organizing body, NORRA (National Off-Road Racing Association), so we could see films from earlier events, and learn more about the 1969 running. Listening to these people, and to Ingvar Lindqvist, we felt that maybe they were right. Erik had retired from active rallying a few years earlier, but wanted to return to the action. We decided that he would suggest a Baja entry to the Saab powers in Sweden, while I would try to convince Saab Motors President Ralph T. Millet in Connecticut. We both succeeded. I got the necessary U.S. support, and some funds; Erik got the rest of the money, manpower, and a couple of quite different Saab V4s. One of the cars was taken off the assembly line in as rudimentary a state of finish as was possible. It went straight to the Trollhattan competition shop, where it was totally taken apart, and put together again with a few extras, like: Heavy duty parts wherever possible; special exhaust system, with the tail pipe along the side of the roof; handlebars and footrests for someone to ride on the back, just in case. Of course, the engine had been tuned as much as was possible, still retaining reliability. The second car was somewhat simpler. It looked like the real thing, white paint, roof exhaust, decals and all, but it was otherwise a pretty stock V4, in this case designated as a practice and eventually photography car. Both cars were air freighted to Los Angeles, and the Saab team, with Erik Carlsson, co-driver Torsten Aman (today PR manager for Saab Sweden), and super competition mechanic Leif "Malin" Melin, set up shop at Saab's regional office in Torrance. While Malin prepared the race car, Erik and Torsten did something very few Baja competitors at the time bothered with. They practiced in the other car, and reconnoitered the entire route--twice. Torsten wrote copious road notes, covering practically every yard of the way, the way they used to do it in Europe. At the start in Ensenada a few weeks later, Aman's notes were admired by many, and he could probably have made good money selling copies. One thing the two of them discovered was that the Baja peninsula is rough country. Roads are really non-existent. What there is are dusty trails and tracks, with lots of rocks and bumps. The bumps were so tough that Erik felt he needed something like a kidney belt for the race itself. The wife of a friend made one--from tow of her old girdles. Aircraft came into service a lot during the Baja--and still do, although I assume there are many more helicopters these days. By the time the race started we actually had the services of four aircraft, two of which were paid for. But a big problem was that aircraft are not allowed to fly in Baja at night because there are no illuminated landing strips..and it was at night that we could have used their air support. Air strips are also pretty far apart, and whoever had heard of a race car breaking down at a service point. (At one point our pilot actually planned to set down right on the "road." Fortunately his passengers were able to stop him.)The 1969 event was the third scheduled Baja 1000, if I'm not mistaken. The earlier ones had drawn mainly four-wheel drivers, one of whom was Bob Sinclair, who drove a Volvo-powered dune buggy, and finished both times he entered, once on only three wheels. By 1969 there were big bucks and big names around, like Jim Garner with his Olds, and Steve McQueen's monster vehicle that looked like the Humvee of Desert Storm renown. At lot has been written about Saab and the actual running of the 1969 Baja 1000--the best account I believe is told by torsten Aman in Anders Tunberg's excellent Saab racing and rally history "From Two Stroke to Turbo". I can't add much to that, since I spent most of the time in an airplane rather than on their ground. Suffice to say that Jim Garner was pretty surprised, when he was passed, time after time, by Erik. That was between the times that Saab was stopped because of recurring driveshaft problems. When Garner finished, he believed he was way ahead of the pesky Swede and had the class won, only to learn that Ingvar Lindquist with co-driver Sven Sundquist had passed him--using a different route, (and driving a car that Ingvar had used in Baja the year before, as well as for some other similar excursions). McQueen wasn't able to finish at all. The final results included three Saabs: Lindqvist/Sundqvist first in class; Carlsson/Aman third in class; and in sixteenth, a Saab 99 entered by the Saab Rocky Mountain distributor. Which led us to the LaPaz gathering. Jim Garner, a true gentleman and sportsman--and a pretty good driver to boot--explaining to an admiring Saab service crew how he starred in Grand Prix. And Steve McQueen showing his 'Bullitt" type driving and scaring the wits out of Erik Carlsson by driving a very hot Saab V4 Baja racer through the streets of LaPaz at full speed--chicken, pigs, but thankfully no humans, scattering out of the way. And then the prize ceremony, with lots of Margaritas and Miss Hurst Shifter, Linda Vaughn, presenting some pretty ugly trophies. I wonder whatever happened to them, especially the big silver bull.

[@UberLummox]

Can't thank you enough for this! More SAAB fans should see it. And your epic comment below to William Baja Fuentes is gripping!!! Jim Garner's Olds was no where near as stock as the SAABs. It had a much shortened wheelbase custom chassis w/a fiberglass body and it's ending was mounted about 12 inches rearward. It only LOOKED like a passenger car! Though Garner was certainly a real gentleman. I have owed more 96/95s than I can count and love them in the snow!. Hope you are well!

[@DanArnets1492]

RANDOM GUESS = Back in the 1960s, Ford considered buying SAAB and even gave them some engines (the 96 V4 uses a Ford V4 engine, way better engine than the originals). My guess is that Ford proposed SAAB to do the Baja 1000 as a way to prove their car quality and Ford's engine reliability.

[@AmesiesCorner]

Could I please have a copy of this?

[@zpoyly]

address?

[@AmesiesCorner]

Dropbox?

[@AmesiesCorner]

17 Danville rd Plaistow NH 03865 U.S.A.

[@AmesiesCorner]

Nice!