This Saab Makes Us Wish Winter Was Here A Bit Longer

Owner and photographer: Andrew Hutzel

Year, Make, and Model: 1969 Saab 95

Location: Eagle River, Alaska

Mr. Andrew Hutzel (Nutzel on YouTube, as he’s nuts about cars) recently purchased this 1969 SAAB 95 from local friends, Boyd and Shirley. Sadly, Boyd’s health no longer allowed him to complete the restoration project and knowing that Andrew was a Volvo fanatic (over the years Andrew has owned a 544, numerous 240s, and currently a 1988 760 wagon and a 2005 Volvo X Country with 16,000 miles) Boyd and Shirley believed he might be interested in a project.

The timing was right for Andrew as he recently retired from working for the State of Alaska as the airport manager at the Lake Hood Seaplane Base in Anchorage. This SAAB 95 has a Ford V4 engine, four-speed shifter on the column, front wheel drive, free-wheeling carried over from early Saab two-stroke days and a third seat in rear for carrying children (or small adults). The front wheel drive makes the Saab sure footed during the long Alaskan winters and ensures that Andrew can get to Saab meets.

Although Andrew grew up on muscle cars and for a short period of time owned a 1955 Chevy, and before joining the Air Force, a 1962 Chevy with a 409 and two four-barrel Weber carburetors. But his first car while in the Air Force was a 1958 VW Bug with cloth sun-roof, that he bought for thirty dollars. And later fell in love with European cars completely when a friend drove him around in his red 1966 MG. He bought his own 1961 Austin Healey 3000 MK II with a great paint job and mechanical issues, but deployed to South Vietnam and parked the Austin Healey in his Grandfather’s barn for a year. When he returned he traded the Austin Healy for a Triumph 500 motor cycle.

Andrew believes that this SAAB 95 may be the only surviving, road worthy 95 in Alaska, and thus people notice it whenever he’s on the road in the area. Editor’s note: As you can probably tell, the backgrounds in the majority of the shots are different and we’d like to thank Andrew for going out of his way, literally, to shoot photos for this piece so that we could feature his car on our schedule.

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