I had another pair of cars picked out for today, and I was all ready to go with them, until I remembered the date. The Chicago River is green, so my car choices should be as well, right? In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, we’re going to look at two cool green cars, both perfect for driving to the pub for a Guinness or two. (But not more than that – you gotta drive home, too.) I’ll save those other picks for tomorrow.
Yesterday our choices were tiny and 4WD, and I was surprised by the amount of love that Subaru Justy got. I expected its condition and the difficulty of finding parts to fix it to scare more of you off, but the little Subaru took home a comfortable win. It sounds like more of you had concerns about driving the right-hand-drive Daihatsu Terios Kid in the US than finding Justy parts.
I could be happy with either of these, with the acknowledgement that they’re both a substitute for what I really want: a Fiat Panda 4×4. But I think I’d rather take the Terios Kid, just because it’s ready to go. I think I have maybe a couple more fixer-uppers in me, and I’m not sure a Subaru Justy is special enough to be one of them.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Any car looks better in green. But when you find exactly the right green for a car’s shape – think British Racing Green for an MGB, or Metallic Mint Green for a Skylark convertible – it’s just magical. These two jumped out at me as being exactly the right shades of green as well. Let’s take a closer look.
1971 Volkswagen Type 3 Squareback – $5,000
Engine/drivetrain: 1.6-liter OHV flat 4, four-speed manual, RWD
Location: Santa Clarita, CA
Odometer reading: 50,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives, has been sitting
I’ve never been much of an air-cooled Volkswagen guy. I had one, briefly, an orange Super Beetle, and I have fond memories of my dad’s tan ’69 Beetle, but I never really got bitten by the bug, so to speak. If I ever were to get excited over an air-cooled VW, however, it would probably be a Type 3. I like the styling, and I like the fact that they’re just a little bigger and more substantial than a Beetle. Three bodystyles of Type 3 were offered, and they’re all pretty self-explanatory: the Fastback, the Notchback (which you never see anymore), and this one, which seems to be the most common: the Squareback.
The engine in the Type 3 is the same basic VW flat four as the Beetle, with a few changes to make it fit under the floor in the rear. US-market Type 3s had Bosch electronic fuel injection after 1968, but many of them – including this one – have been converted to carburetors. Whether this is an improvement or not I’ll leave up to you. It also has aftermarket electronic ignition, it looks like, which is definitely an upgrade. This car has been sitting for a long time, and the seller just recently revived it, so there’s probably some work to do. But it does fire right up and run well, which is encouraging.
It looks like the front seats have been recovered, and the door panels have been replaced, but the rest of the interior looks original, and a bit shabby. The steering wheel is aftermarket, of course, but it’s a nice addition. I bet it feels better in your hands than the thin-rimmed stock wheel.
The kelly-green paint isn’t original; this car was blue to begin with, as you can see in the door sills and engine bay. But I think the green suits it. The seller says it’s pretty much rust-free, and that the floors are solid. That’s good enough for a weekend driver.
2002 Saab 9-3 SE Convertible – $6,000
Engine/drivetrain: Turbocharged 2.0-liter DOHC inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Burbank, CA
Odometer reading: 93,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives, but needs front end work
Say what you will about California and its troubled relationship to automobiles; there are some absolutely beautiful places there that are best seen from a convertible. This car is for sale in the middle of Burbank – which if you’ve never seen it is just one big continuous strip mall – but the photo site for this ad, wherever it is, is within an easy drive of there. And there are worse ways to get there than in a sage-green Saab convertible.
The 9-3 is powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter four, and this one has a five-speed manual transmission like a good Saab should. It runs well, but the seller says it needs front end work. That could mean a lot of things, and I guess a test drive and an inspection is the only way to find out exactly what it needs. Front end work is labor-intensive but not particularly difficult if you have the right tools, and the parts are cheap.
Saab interiors from the late ’90s and early ’00s are really nice places to be. The seats are comfortable, and the controls are ergonomic, though a bit button-heavy as you can see. This one is in good condition, though the stereo “needs to be rewired,” whatever that means. The air conditioning and the convertible top both work just fine, though, so you can stay cool in a couple of different ways.
It’s clean as a whistle outside; the only issue I see is that one headlight wiper is parked in the wrong spot. It might be an easy fix, or it might not. But it won’t keep you from enjoying the car if you ignore it. The paint looks great, and this is just about the best color Saab ever put on a car.
This is another one of those matchups that nobody would ever actually cross-shop, but when has that ever stopped us? They’re both cool, they both need just a little bit of work, and they’re both green. That’s enough to tie them together. So what’ll it be: the vintage Volkswagen, or the modern classic Saab?
I’m a bit of a Type 3 snob and personally feel that all of them built from ’70 onward are only good for parts to fix earlier cars. The nose that only a mother could love, coupled with the gigantic rear taillights and monstrous bumpers really hurt the aesthetic. That’s why all mine are ’69 and earlier.
Anyway, setting my bias aside, even though it’s shiny, it’s “poor” in several areas. I’m going Saab on this one because it’s a nice spec, decent mileage, and a cool color.
I understand but feel what the 70’s later models lose in detail they make up in beach buggy chunk looks. Like the difference between a splitty and a bay window.
I always felt this way too. I had ‘69 that I got cheap from my dad, which had been a replacement for our type 4. As for that Saab, I have a strong disdain for GM era Saabs. At least the early ones aren’t just rebadged Opels. But still, what a tragedy that was.
Tough choice, but I tend to veer away from convertibles.
As much as I love Saabs, I’ve never even driven a VW aircooled anything. And they aren’t making any more of them, so if the opportunity presents itself, well then.
Squareback for me.
I hope you have fun with such a thing. My one and only test drive of an early-70s Beetle had me thinking “I can’t deal with anything THAT antiquated.”
Seeing them on the road always makes me grin, though.
One of my dailies is the last carbureted truck that was left on the lot at a local Toyota dealer. Me and antiquated, we get along okay.
That Squareback would look amazing parked alongside my ’72 Super Beetle. And that’s not a bad price at all for one! Some air-cooled VWs go for a lot of money these days, so $5k for a Squareback seems to be a good deal.
Um, both, please, and for vastly different reasons. But I voted for the VW, since finding one in this shape is hard to do, and fixing it up is a lot cheaper than getitng Saab parts.
There’s something profoundly groovy about an early 70’s green VW wagon…
I wonder if the “radio needs rewired” means that the pixels are burned out. I loved my 9-5 wagon, but when the squareback is sitting there with all that character, how can you pass it up?
Failure rate on those displays has to be damn near 100%
I sent my 9-5 display off for repair back in the day
93% – 95% at least ????
Taking the Saab just because it has me daydreaming of an aimless cruise on this dreary false spring day.
I love me a squareback and that green is fantastic but a stick shift Saab? Gimme!
If they were willing to do a door-shut respray to a colour that doesn’t even attempt to blend with the original, I can only imagine what other corners they cut.
I’ll take the Drop Top Saab.
My thoughts exactly.
Agreed 100%
I’ve never been much of a VW guy either, but this one gave me pause. It’s good enough to be good enough. The thing that gives me further pause is that it’s never going to be…well…fun. A Saab that needs undetermined front end work probably shouldn’t be $6k, but it does look really good – and with a drop top and 5-speed, it would be fun.
I’d go Saab if the “front end work” is just some suspension refresh. This is the right engine to have, a manual trans, and looks to be in great shape. Those wheels are awesome too.
The type 3 looks great too but those just don’t really do it for me. As I’ve found out, simply growing old doesn’t make you cool.
Both?
I do like the green on the VW, but having blue sills would bug me every time I opened the door. Every single time.
Hopefully the SAAB has a lot of parts in common with GM cars. We’re keeping an ’06 convertible alive. It’s an aero V6. At least for having the 4, it’s a manual. Definitely more fun to drive than the squareback. Seats are very comfortable and if it’s like our car, it has the coldest air conditioning of all our cars. I voted SAAB.
I don’t know the pros and cons of the different years of squarebacks, but 71 won’t have battering ram bumpers, and it won’t need to be smogged in CA.
A few points:
So using car logic my choice is neither because they are green. With imaginary Autopian Bucks or whatever the currency is called I’m buying both. So there.
Of course I actually voted for the Saab. Duh.
I knew green cars were bad luck. Old Indy 500 superstitions don’t lie…
I too have totaled a green car. Of course, I’ve totaled a few other colored cars too.
Given the highly visible rust in the engine bay of the Squareback, I guess “pretty much rust free” has a looser definition here than I’m comfortable with. I think that new green paint is hiding things. New seats covers or not, the rest of the interior is pretty thrashed.
Saab. Easy. Looks nice and we get enough convertible weather here to enjoy it, and it would be fun to drive with the turbo and manual. And unlike the VW, I won’t be mutilated in a low speed impact with a Corolla. Self-preservation is still a thing for me.
I’ll disagree a bit with the statement that Saab interiors are “really nice places”. The seats are indeed very good but these and the 9-5 have always felt pretty cheap inside for the price point. Materials aren’t that nice, the fit and finish isn’t very tight. They feel on par with the top trim of a mainstream car rather than an entry level luxury brand.
In Air-Cooled-Land, surface rust doesn’t count, it’s just the baseline assumption. Type 3’s are particularly prone to real seeiing-sunlight-through-it rot, as the fenders and rear valence are used as air ducts for engine cooling, and the rockers are the ducts for the heater boxes, so the whole side of the car is constantly having air pumped through it. Wet, gross air.
I still voted squareback because of my general disinterest in 2+2 convertibles (I’d rather have a lighter/stiffer roadster or a proper land-yacht), but the Saab is still tempting.
All the Notchbacks are in SoCal (I see them MORE than the other two Type3s these days); the VW’s seats might have been redone and thankfully it is the correct upholstery. But it’s the wrong year for me, so I voted Saab since the VW’s likely to win anyway.
The “front end” issue and anything needing rewiring are huge red flags. I would vote for the Saab, I love the color and look of it, but there is too much going on. Squareback for me.
An openly-rusting badly-repainted trashed-interior 55 year-old VW with the description “registration status is Non operation been sitting for a little while but we just got it up and running” is your refuge from “huge red flags”?
Less likely to be surprised.
Always wanted a square back, in orange, yellow, or green since I was a kid. I wouldn’t throw that Saab out of my garage either.
Longnose squareback [heart emoji]
VW, no contest!
If it was within 200 miles of me, I’d be on my way to buy it…I’m jealous of California cars!
Let’s see…
ACVW
Dual Carbs
Won’t cause me to lose any hats/get scalp sunburn
I see so many more Saabs than Typ. 3s.
Yeah. Funky Square today by a long shot. Put a set of Compes on it and that’s all I need. ‘N maybe change the color back to blue eventually. Green cars are supposed to be unlucky and I’m of Scots descent anyway.
I was all set to go with the VW, but I realized that I’d only really want to use it to drive to events and such where people would want to see something like that. Going just about anywhere in good weather would be fun in that Saab, so that’s where my vote went.
Having bought, mostly fixed, and sold a nearly driving green squareback that was also post-facelift, I’m absolutely sold on this one. Pretty sure this is less than I sold mine for, and the paint was worse, had a janky aftermarket carb/fuel pump setup, and needed shift bushings which are a pain on these.
That said, a car this clean on the east coast would be worth at least an extra 50%, and my nostalgia for that car, it’s an easy win, so much so that this one has me thinking that maybe I’m ready to be hurt again by a sketchy Type 3.
That Type 3 is stunning. If it doesn’t win, you’re all dead to me.
(Never mind that everyone is still dead to me for not buying me a Paris-Dakar 959. I mean EXTRA DEAD to me!)
I voted Saab – but can I have both?
I voted VW-but I’ll take both as well (too bad I’m on the East Coast)