Something slightly different in the shop

[Luke]

I've been working on a something a little out of normal 99/C900 realm this week. A local guy had a car that needed a tune up and some brake work done so I took on the job since a little after-holiday cash is nice to have.

Overall it was a pretty fun car to work on, but pulling the brake master cylinder isn't too fun.

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[Jordan]

And so it begins...

How did it yump?

[DrewP]

Brake master is cake compared to the clutch master on those. You practically have to take the LF suspension links off and straddle it like a 3rd date.

Those are fun, I like the look of the II's much better than the III's. Very cool, that one looks extremely clean too. I love the Sonett guages.

It's too bad they sort of feel like driving a refrigerator, they look so cool!

[DrewP]

Is this the car for sale at the top of the SaabNet classifieds??


http://www.saabnet.com/tsn/class/sonett.html

[V4_guy]

Very nice Sonett V4 there. I really like those Cromodora wheels, they are kind of rare and go for big bucks. Looks like it has some skinny 155R15 tires. I have one of those wood steering wheels, I'm kind of tempted to sell it as they easily get $500 on eBay.

[SwedeSport]

I really like those Cromodora wheels, they are kind of rare and go for big bucks.

What kind of big bucks do they go for? I have a set that I bought for a Sonett that I will likely never own. If the bucks are big enough I may be coaxed to part with the wheels.


Luke,
That car would look really nice sitting next to the 79 900 and the silver rally car in the garage. I think you should make him an offer.

[Luke]

Yep, it's the same one thats for sale on SAABnet. Looks like he may have a buyer for it now. It is an older frame off restoration, that was done quite nicely. It runs and drives well. Being able to open the hood and sit on the tire while working on the engine is pretty bad-ass, the II is so much cooler than the III.

[nutcase]

Oooh :)

Such a shame Saab never offered the Sonnett (in any guise) in England

[Geoff]

Nice car, I want one!

I like the looks of the Sonett II and Sonett V4 much better than the Sonett III but the Sonett II and V4 are really sketchy kit cars. Most of the frame pieces are made out of SAAB 96 or 95 scrap pieces. I was at Bruce Turk's house when he had his '66 stripped to the frame and up on his (even sketchier) rotisserie. There were parts of the frame where the people that built it couldn't fit the engine or transmission in so they cut the frame freehand with a sawzall and hammered metal out of the way. The hole in the rear bulkhead for the gas filler? They didn't have a stamp or hole saw the right size so someone drilled a bunch of 3mm holes in somewhat of a circle and then cut between the holes with tin snips, leaving a lovely serrated edge. The door jams in the frame have multiple drill holes from where they were eyeballing the door hinge placement, got it wrong, and re-did it. The fabricators learned to weld while building the cars too, so there are all these cold welds and chunks of welding rod. Below is a photo of the underside of the car. I think what the little protrusions you see along the rail are spots where the fabricator was practicing welds.

Sonett II underside before restoration

Of course Bruce's car is one of the prototypes, #23 I think, so the fabrication got better over the next 1800 cars. But when the Sonett III came out, there weren't many people dissapointed to see the II/V4 go away. Don't misunderstand me I'd love to have a Sonett II. The ring of the two stroke in a cool '60s sports car body?

Another picture of the car, after some repair, clean up, paint, and assembly:

[DrewP]

I had never heard any of that, that's too funny. Manufacturing is so boring now....

[Sean Tennis]

Geoff, I believe what you are seeing is someones (attempted) repairs, not something from the factory. I have several of these cars spanning many different years (close serial number to the one mentioned, also have worked on lower serial numbered car), non have anything like what is being described…

The Sonett was not by any imagination any more of a "Kit car" then say a Saab Combi (wagon back) is compared to a sedan… If sharing components makes it a kit car then most manufactures cars would be considered "kit cars". It is common practice to alter floor pans, firewall, wheel base etc. and add a different body. In fact that is the modern auto manufacture product line. Not to mention GM's (and many others) business model throughout the 50"s, 60"s, 70's, 80"s, 90's, 00's… LOL

Got to give it to Bruce, he does get things done!

[Geoff]

Sean, I think Bruce said that he thought the car he's working on was pretty much unmolested when he got it. I've always heard that the first Sonett IIs were built by a team that was learning to weld as they worked on the cars, hence all the shady welds. When I saw that car it was pretty obvious that sheet metal from other cars was hacked up and bent to make things, like the drivetrain, fit. Maybe after the first 25 cars dedicated sheet metal dies were completed and used to make the production cars... The workers were probably given hole saws too, haha!