I picked up a new project today. Well, actually, I'll be bringing it home tomorrow. BABE rally maybe?
1972 Saab Sonett III - priced to drive home at $450. Sure, a bit rough, but it runs great. Tiny points of rust bubbling under the battery, and one hole in the passenger rocker that should be easy to patch up. The rest of the chassis is wicked solid.
It comes with an entire carload of parts. BA/BE starts at the beginning of June... I could be ready! Maybe!
Nice!
any swaps for the V4?
I've seen lots of people say that it is space-limited. But I would love to do a bike-engine swap.
Personally, I would love to do a Ducati 999 Desmo engine, paint the car gray and paint the wheels red ala Senna edition.
Maybe a Honda VFR V4?
Rotary?
Who knows? I am so excited!!
Want.
I think a vmax engine would go nicely in one of those.
Its a Cologne Ford V4, right? Is that not the same architecture of the 2.8 V6, which would also be similar to the 4.0 used in Ranger trucks? I see a mild nose stretch in your future.
Or am I completely wrong?
I approve 
Why not drop in (2) V-Twins?
The first thing that came to mind was the 850GT. Seen one of those parked behind a shop, never moved for years and had the factory repair manual in it.
These have always looked interesting. Also, there's one about 5 miles from me that has been sitting for years...
How did it drive assuming you drove it home?
Just so you know, before you replace the battery look very carefully. It is a positive ground system.
Let me repeat that - it is a positive ground system, not a negative ground. If you were to replace the battery and accidentally hook the ground cable up to the negative you will get little fires everywhere, the whole interior will fill up with smoke and it will cost you a bundle to fix it.
This is one of those facts I wish I didn't know so well.
just to be weird... a big MotoGuzzi V2, or perhaps a 2.3L Triumph Rocket III engine?
Spinning triangles?
How the *(^%$$#%^&^ do you people find deals like that?????!!!! $450 and it RUNS??!! Dammit!
oh, ahem, yeah, cool man.
As cool as all the bike engine swaps sound, I really wonder if that's one of those cars that could be worth a good bit in the fairly near future due to it's relative rarity. I might just keep the v4 assumin it's worth saving.
My buddy has a saab sonnet for ice racing with a supercharged rotary and a planetary transmission. We replaced the rotary/ porsche combo it originally had and the car became much better balanced by reducing the front overhang.
ultraclyde wrote: How the *(^%$$#%^&^ do you people find deals like that?????!!!! $450 and it RUNS??!! Dammit!
exactly what i thought ^^^^^
I couldn't believe this deal lol
I've been looking for a challenge car and love the lines of the sonnet III, and we're gonna put a v8 in it anyways (lol) so the engine doesn't matter
can't believe the steal the op got though..
Saab Sonett thread on GRM forums.
-half the people spell Sonett wrong, check
-v6 ford engine swap gets mentioned, check
-rotary engine swap gets mentioned, check
Good luck to the OP! Sounds like quite a challenge.
Chris H.
I didn't spell Sonett wrong!
Chris, you need to write a profile on the Sonett for the magazine, then my apparent trend of having whatever you're writing about will continue!
The $450 thing isn't that tough. All of my cars are deals like that. Some include: '91 Miata - $500. '94 Swift GT - $500. '94 Volvo 854 T5 - $700 (the kid said he'd take $600 but I felt so bad for him). Three of my B-bodies have been $350, running. '91 325is - $500. All of these were either drivers already or very nearly so.
Oh, and the Saab doesn't have functional headlights yet, so I didn't have the daylight left again today to bring it home. I may end up having to have it towed, as I no longer have a tow vehicle.
Unless there are any Chicago GRMers here with a truck and trailer who would like gas money, dinner, and some good company for a couple hours...
Nice find! Looks pretty decent for the price. Soccer balls alloy wheels too.
got a truck - the trailer is iffy - 10ft landscaper (currently loaded with crap). If you can beg, borrow, steal, rent a trailer we can go get it.
I could rent a dolly from Ed's Rental. It's fwd, after all...
Slyp_Dawg wrote: just to be weird... a big MotoGuzzi V2
+1. Partly because I am fairly sure a bunch of the Moto Guzzi bikes had external transmissions and that should make your life easier.
I thought this thread was going to be about the OPs choice in women.
Ignorant wrote: I thought this thread was going to be about the OPs choice in women.
Nah, I'd have put that in Off Topic.
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