Here we have a cool, largely forgotten classic, the Saab Sonett. In this case, it’s a Sonett III, the last of the breed. Stylistically, these are the least funky Sonetts and they lack the two-stroke engines of the earliest models. Still, we wouldn’t mind having one here at HQ.
What happened to the V4 engine layout? It makes sense from a packaging standpoint but it does seem a balance shaft is required, so it must not be as balanced as other layouts.
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Bolivar, OH
$750 with no bids
Update: SOLD for $1,100 with 18 bids
This is no show car, but it appears to be ‘all there.’
The theme of originality carries over to the interior.
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I bought this 1971 Saab Sonett Model 97 in 1985 as a “retirement” project. However “retirement” has other projects.
Mileage is 52,238 miles. This is one of only 1265 produced. These were essentially handmade. One interesting discrepancy is that the VIN on the door post is 71500273, while the VIN on the dash is one number different. Oops.
The interior is excellent. There is little visible wear in the interior, and everything is intact, including the covering over the rear hatch latch mechanism. There is some driver’s seat wear, but less than I have ever seen in any other Sonett of this vintage. The only other interior issues are that there is some seat fabric and carpet sun fading, and the headliner needs re-glued.
When I bought the car there was no operating clutch. I put the clutch back together while still on the car lot, and then drove it home. I drove it about 45 miles before parking it. It ran very well. There were no mechanical problems other than the clutch and a missing muffler. It has since been parked for 27 years in my heated garage. As far as I know, everything worked when it was parked.
The exterior is complete, including the difficult to replace bumpers. They are damaged, but possibly restorable. There are a few places the fiberglass has been damaged, such as right rear under the bumper, the right hand lower rear hood and passenger door, and the trim over the passenger door. I don’t find cracks anywhere. Overall, the fiberglass is good.
Everything is there except the exhaust system from the Y pipe back, and the chrome trim rings around the headlamps.
The major issue is rust, but the rust is typical or less than that of some other Sonetts that I have seen or owned of this vintage from Northern Ohio. The driver and passenger floor pans are still intact, which is unusual. The rear hatch floor is rusted around the edges, but still there. The driver’s side rocker is intact, with repairable rust damage in both front and rear left hand wheel wells. The passenger rocker has been caved and is essentially totally rusted. There is major rust damage in both front and rear right hand wheel wells at the rocker area. The right hand rocker needs total replacement.
This 1971 Sonett has recently lost it’s long-time storage spot in the garage. I want to find it a good home.
Thank you for your bidding.