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Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 22:57:49 -0500
From: "Ben Millard" <bmillardnopsamraccess.com>
Subject: Re: Thinking about buying a '73 Sonnet III


Reg Tulk wrote in message <3630DCC2.3719nopsamenet.com>... >Anyone got any input (pros/cons) to owning an older Saab? I've been >told some(most) parts can be hard to find or co$tly I've had a 95, Sonett V4, 3 99s, and now a 900. The old (V4) models have SEVERAL problems, but as with any old car--more than 20 years--you want to buy someone else's project car. As long as they don't have illusions of 100-point concours trophies, the price will ALWAYS be cheaper than your cost of reaching their level of development. The things that will flat out kill the project are the transmissions and--surprise!--structural degradation. BTW: Why not the engines?! The Ford Taunus V4 is, I'm told, powering more than few Bobcats. It is not much of a racing engine but 100k Before Major Overhaul is to be expected. It is really tough except for the fiber timing gears. A/C is to be avoided at all costs. The only weak link in the engine's ancillaries is the water pump. I recommend examining the electrically powered external water pumps used for racing. The trannies were EXTREMELY low-geared, producing surprisingly rotten sports cars. (But I love em. Anyone got a 69 Sonett FS?) 100k BMO is possible, with careful driving. They actually had a free-wheel system that disconnected the tranny when you let off the gas. This thing is fun to drive, but a piece of junk for longevity. Various methods of bypassing it were not terribly successful. (Simply welding the locking piece to the freewheel is not useful: the entire torque of the tranny is carried through SIX teeth in a t-shaped piece of steel less than 1/4" thick.) The structure is just the usual: a rusted floorpan is, of course, the beginning of the end. (The guy who bought my Sonett probably has a contract out on me. Sorry, Flip.) In short, the little stuff will drive you nuts, but the big stuff will stop the show. Go for it: we all need projects. Buy someone else's, and carry on.

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