Needless to say, as a fan of the classic Saab 900, I’ve always longed for a Toppola camper. I knew it was manufactured for a short time and very few were made. Because of this, it’s seemed unreachable for me.
I used to travel regularly to Sweden where I was visited my friend Laszlo. He had a Saab car service in Helsingborg. In January 2016, we were driving to his place from the Swedish airport. We had a good and long conversation about cars when I said I hopelessly wish to have a Toppola. Surprisingly he said it is not hopeless at all because he knew a place where one of these is parking. He remembered it is standing in a hobby garden area near Landskrona. We’ve quickly decided to stop by and have a look.
After a short search in the area, we found it behind a wooden house. It’s looked like it was standing there for the last few years, there was moss all over it and the owner used it as a shed. Of course, there was nobody around this place in January, all we could do was leave a message.
In the same year in May, I got great news from Laszlo. He said there is a classic 900 from the lastly manufactured model. He said, ‘ it’s so beautiful, so beautiful … oh, and the Toppola is in my yard! ‘
It has happened that the previous owner – from the place where we left the message on the Toppola – went out to his plot and found our message. Laszlo droves over to meet with the owner and after a bit of chat, he was able to start negotiating the price. The owner was an old Polish man who was living in Landskrona at that time. He travelled with the Toppola in Europe in the eighties, and he has visited Hungary too. At first, he asked for a higher price for it but when he found out the new owner would be a Hungarian man, he was happy to lower the price. The Toppola was on its way on a trailer to Laszlo’s workshop.
Polak, Węgier, dwa bratanki, i do szabli, i Toppola.
In June 2016, I was happily standing next to my Toppola in Sweden. It was worn out and a bit shattered inside, dirty outside but overall, it was in one piece in a good condition. It also had the lifting and the Waallas cooker which the old owner kept wrapped in. At this time, I was taking a closer look at the nice white 900 which was from another careful owner, and it was in really good condition. I’ve also found in the car some plastic boxes with spare parts in them. There was a bit of work while we fitted the Toppola to the 900 because in addition to a bunch of Saab parts we’ve also packed a complete transmission in it. Plus, I also wanted to bring back to Hungary the dismantled back door. The first Toppola’s wash was done, and the body wasn’t that bad at all. There was some kind of deep dent on the top, both sides. Looked like the previous owner drove under something and that something was not high enough which caused those deep dents. It probably happened a few times as the dents were repaired in two different ways.
It was a very exciting and good trip back to Hungary. I was surprised at how stable the superstructure is. I admit I didn’t expect that. The 2.1 engine carried it easily even when loaded up. It doesn’t want to flip over or fly off the road. Many doubts that the stability of the vehicle will be not stable on the road with this superstructure. Aerodynamically it is a well-thought-out construction. Thanks to the strange nose design; the travel wind does not lift it at all.
Originally, the plan was not to leave together with the white 900 and the Toppola, but fate still brought it that way. I carefully considered and sacrificed my other big love which is my OG 900 convertible. I’ve already owned this car and because of the new incomings, I decided to sell to a friend. In the meantime, it turned out that the 2.1, 3-door OG 900 was primarily a Swedish domestic market model, and there is no such thing in Hungary. The registration of the Hungarian authorities took a long time, and it costed a little more than we were expected. Thanks to my friend Gabor who helped me, and he also gave up his Toppola’s desire for my good.
I immediately started researching after my Toppola. The official toppola.com site helped with the most authentic info. The site operator Bernt Tornefjell has identified the year of my Toppola. He said it was probably built between January and October 1984. He also said in the late fall of 1984 the color of the lower part was changed from black to grey so is positive that the Toppola was manufactured before autumn of 84′. Models built in 1984 were the most equipped and sought-after models. They are characterized by wooden interior furniture, small round sleeper cab windows and a four-window rear.
After a thorough cleaning, I tidied up the kitchen counter and fixed the water supply. Then we were put it to use immediately in its original condition. We first introduced it to Saabs fans at the 27th Saab meeting in July 2016 and then it received the first prize at the 2016 Saab Session Slovakia Meeting.
Our family goes on a big trip with Toppola every year. My wife and I sleep upstairs and on the lower level (after tilting the back seats) sleeping our twin children. Initially, we’ve removed the Toppola for the wintertime and used the Saab without it but lately, we don’t use the car in the wintertime. It is having a winter rest in our parking yard.
We feel there is no disadvantage other than the height restriction while we are travelling. We can go wherever we can with this car and all fees are applied to the car only. The 2100cc engine consuming 9 litres while I am driving a max 90 km/h speed. But if it’s necessary, we could easily maintain a speed of 130 km/h on the highway.
It’s a wonderful experience to travel with such a weird camping structure, it’s a lot more fun than I thought. Wherever we go everyone welcomes us with curiosity and joy.
Without luck and the help of my dear friends, I wouldn’t have a Toppola in Hungary. Thanks.