Dating saabs probably isn’t has hard as dating minis. Some late model minis were imported as older model years illegally to get around licensing and DOT restrictions. One way you might be able to tell what year mini you have is to look at the back of the Lucas wiper motor. Interestingly, SAAB 99s use a similar Lucas setup. My SAAB was built in the fall of 1976 as a model year 1977 and the Lucas wiper motor shows a 1976 build as well.
(after much cleaning .. too bad its crammed up in the cowling)
