1964-1974 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Why can't you apply enough fiberglass to the rocker panels to make the car stiff enough to drive? Basically, because the cross-sectional area of the rocker panels isn't large enough to overcome the lack of stiffness of fiberglass. It's possible to design a car with an all-fiberglass chassis -- the original Lotus Elite had one -- but you have to dimension everything specifically for the characteristics of that material. In a Sonett, fiberglass rockers large enough to be adequately stiff would be inconveniently large for such things as getting in and out of the car (which is hard enough to begin with!)
Since steel has a lot more inherent stiffness than fiberglass, you can get the required total stiffness with a smaller part... and you'll find that if your Sonett has rusty rocker panels, it's a lot easier to fix them by applying a small amount of metal than the huge amount of fiberglass that would be required. New replacement rockers are still available from a variety of sources and aren't hellishly expensive compared to most of the other stuff that can rust out on a Sonett, so this wouldn't necessarily be a show-stopper provided that either you can weld on the new ones or are willing to pay someone to do it.
The exhaust system is a piece o' cake, comparatively speaking. The bottom of the car is flat, the routing of the pipes is pretty simple, and there are several options for getting the parts. Probably the easiest overall, both in terms of obtaining and installing, is to get the tuned "Y-pipe" system sold by Motor Sport Services of Jamestown, NY. It converts the system from the factory-original dual pipes to a larger-diameter single pipe, so there's less plumbing to do under the car yet (IMHO) no loss of performance. If you're going to be driving the car primarily on the street (rather than racetracks or back roads) I'd suggest getting the version of the MSS system with two mufflers, as the exhaust note of the single-muffler version is kinda piercing.
So, if that kind of stuff doesn't bother you, yes, you're nuts enough to be a Sonetteer... provided you PROMISE us all to learn to spell "Sonett" correctly!!! To help you remember, memorize this parody of Ogden Nash poem that somebody posted here a while back:
The one-N Sonett, he's a Swede;
The two-N sonnet, verse you read;
But I will bet
an Easter bonnet,
There ain't no two-N, two-T Sonnett!
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.