Holy Barn-Find Batman!

Old-school Saab.

This may be old news, but I didn't see anything on here about it, so I either missed it, or it hasn't been shown yet.
Its a 1974 SAAB craigslist find. Looks kinda bad-ass.

Just stupidity's sake...

These are FF cars, yes? Anything weird about motor layout that would prevent putting a modern FWD drivetrain in it?

If I wanted an old front wheel drive car, I'd look...everywhere. At least it looks kinda neat.

93celicaGT2 wrote: Just stupidity's sake... These are FF cars, yes? Anything weird about motor layout that would prevent putting a modern FWD drivetrain in it?

It's got a Ford V4 so I'd guess space is rather limited.

93celicaGT2 wrote: Just stupidity's sake... These are FF cars, yes? Anything weird about motor layout that would prevent putting a modern FWD drivetrain in it?

As said it has a V4 and is mounted longitudinally.

I like Sonnets. Wanted to buy one off of CL local to me but of course lacked the disposable cash at the time. Very neat cars, love those "soccer ball" wheels.

Sweet find!

There's at least one of these cars running around with a classic 900 Turbo engine/tranny, so it can be done. If you haven't seen a Sonett up close, they're tiny. No way you'd ever by able to put a transverse set-up into the car.

More Sonett stuff for the bored or easily distracted:

http://www.vintagesaab.com/sonett/

http://jalopnik.com/5442284/saab-on-the-brink-mr-smith-sonett-goes-to-washington-motown

I love these cars, but that is too much to pay for that car. They frequently show up for half that price.

Sweet little car. I had one before and I really miss it. Coolest feature was the front strut tie bar that doubled as a coolant expansion tank. Also had a push pull rod to raise and lower the headlights. The car incorporates a stamped steel pan like a VW and has a really flimsy fiberglass body that sits on top. Whole front end comes off in a flash to work on the engine, because the hood isn't much bigger than a pizza box. $2K for a car with a rust free pan is well worth it.

I always wanted a Sonett - although I can't tell you exactly why. Maybe because it's small, light, and weird - check, check, and double check. What do I know though? I seem to keep getting myself in over my head with weirdish old cars. (how else will I learn how to swim?)

When you look at early Saabs and Subarus, you can really tell where Fuji was looking for inspiration... so I'd wonder how hard it would be to fit a Subie FWD (or even AWD?) drivetrain into a V4 Saab... considering the configuration is identical.

Guy back in the 70's had a Sonnet with a 911 engine of some sort up front. Pretty fast ice racer.

Argh. I either need to find a good pan for mine or just strip the damned thing. Everytime that I see another one for sale, it makes me want to fix it.

If you want a Swedish Sports car... find a Volvo 1800. Far easier to maintain and drive...

Opinions are like...

Oh, nevermind.

In reply to oldeskewltoy:

+1 for the volvo love. The 1800 is all around the better car, too. We learned early on in life that FWD sucks when we tried to take a corner in our Big Wheels trikes while pedalling and either a) flipped over b) kept going straight, or c) spun out.

MiatarPowar wrote: Argh. I either need to find a good pan for mine or just strip the damned thing. Everytime that I see another one for sale, it makes me want to fix it.

I feel the same way about 1800's... especially ES versions... so little space... so little time/space/money...

We're still kicking ourselves for not picking up a Saab 95 a few years ago... such a neat car... it was even the same year and color as our green '73 ES (although it needed paint). And they have a column shift 4 spd! Ya just gotta love 'em!

Ian F wrote: We're still kicking ourselves for not picking up a Saab 95 a few years ago... such a neat car... it was even the same year and color as our green '73 ES (although it needed paint). And they have a column shift 4 spd! Ya just gotta love 'em!

Yes. I love driving my 95. Maybe I should get it out and go for a drive Saturday morning. Damn this weather.

volvoclearinghouse wrote: In reply to oldeskewltoy: +1 for the volvo love. The 1800 is all around the better car, too. We learned early on in life that FWD sucks when we tried to take a corner in our Big Wheels trikes while pedalling and either a) flipped over b) kept going straight, or c) spun out.

Yes it's true big wheels and their handling characteristics are totally the same as a front wheel drive car.

Joey

joey48442 wrote: Yes it's true big wheels and their handling characteristics are totally the same as a front wheel drive car. Joey

I wish I could '+1' that more than once.

MiatarPowar wrote:

joey48442 wrote: Yes it's true big wheels and their handling characteristics are totally the same as a front wheel drive car. Joey

I wish I could '+1' that more than once.

it's funny, two rear wheel drive guys (I'm assuming you have a miata, I know I have 2 and a half) and we're defending the handling of fwd cars!

Joey

Joey

joey48442 wrote: it's funny, two rear wheel drive guys (I'm assuming you have a miata, I know I have 2 and a half) and we're defending the handling of fwd cars! Joey

Yep.

I have a Miata, a 2WD GMC R15 and a 2WD Toyota Pickup. Also had a couple of MR2s, LS400, etc. I've also had a ton of FWD cars and one AWD.

Different drivetrain layouts are good at different things, bad at different things. All that matters is how you drive them, really. Some people just don't leave their box long enough to realize it.

A rotary should be simular to a V4 is size / weight and won't put out so much torque that a stronger transaxle would be required.

What year is the cut-off for smog?

A stock 12A or 13B would make that thing move...a bridge ported, no smog set-up with either engine would make that thing fly.

There's a guy who has a more modern Saab powered Sonett. Only his is now mid-engined, and fender flared.

http://www.martin-roth.com/

He also has an incredible 96.