'74 Saab Sonett III - $1500

[The Red Scourge]

No mine.  I almost never see these 2 stroke Saab's for sale.  Someone go get it!

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/880726059108263/

[The Red Scourge]

Upon further digging, it looks like only the '67 Sonett had the 2 stroke.  Still a funky little car though.

[Dvsrd]

Upon further digging, it looks like only the '67 Sonett had the 2 stroke.  Still a funky little car though.

Pretty sure the one in the ad has a 1500 cc Ford pushrod V4.  Still sounds way different than an i line 4

[85RZwade]

According to the lore of my father, who owned a '69 Sonnett, Ford sliced two cylinders off the Capri V-6 to make a V-4 that saw industrial use primarily. Also used by Saab and maybe another European car...? IIRC, pistons, valve gear, oil pump were same parts as the Capri engine and available on the shelf at the corner auto parts store, while V-4 specific parts came from the tortuous Saab parts "system". It was a fun little car to drive, with a four speed on the column and a rev-happy engine that sounded so good. Why my dad let 18 year old me drive it is still a mystery, but it came through its time with our family unscathed.

[Dvsrd]

According to the lore of my father, who owned a '69 Sonnett, Ford sliced two cylinders off the Capri V-6 to make a V-4 that saw industrial use primarily. Also used by Saab and maybe another European car...? IIRC, pistons, valve gear, oil pump were same parts as the Capri engine and available on the shelf at the corner auto parts store, while V-4 specific parts came from the tortuous Saab parts "system". It was a fun little car to drive, with a four speed on the column and a rev-happy engine that sounded so good. Why my dad let 18 year old me drive it is still a mystery, but it came through its time with our family unscathed.

AFAIK,  Ford Europe made pushrod V4 engines in 1.2, 1.5 and 1.7 liter versions. Pushrod V6 engines were made in 2.0,2.3, 2.6, 2.8 and 3.0 liter. The 2.6 and 3.0 were made in UK, possibly also the 2.0. The 2.3 and 2.8 were made in Germany, and supposedly a little more hp/liter. And they made a 2.9 V6 for the Scorpio in the mid-80s.

[Czakky]

I knew nothing of these cars but read up on them a bit today. What a cool car. It's early iteration is by far the best, but who doesn't like the animal esque sound of a v4?

[SoCal250]

There was a Saab Sonett that ran the Silver State Open Road Races back in the 1990's when I was running it. As I recall it had an engine transplant but I don't recall the details. (I need to go through my old photos). It was running over 100mph avg for 90 miles (at the least) so it obviously wasn't stock power.  Cool looking car and very small

[pdxjim]

Why my dad let 18 year old me drive it is still a mystery, but it came through its time with our family unscathed.

Off topic, but when I was 16, my Dad let me take his 1956 Porsche 356A for a few days (he and my Mom had split up a few years prior).

I went around to all my friends houses, and, of course, spun it a few times ... How I managed to not total it is a wonder looking back.

Good thing, because he still has it, and it's an easy $100k car now.

[IR8D8R]

This was the last year. I always wanted to drop a Mazda 13B rotary into one of these. Or an Opel Manta.

Interesting coolant header tank. Is that also a strut rod connector? Don't remember ever seeing one like that.

I had a neighbor with a Swedish wife who had one of these and a couple other old SAAB's. His Sonett was not driven or registered in the U.S. Still had a Swedish plate. They are fiberglass. And not particularly well done glass. Like a cheap rowboat. Crappy gelcoat on one side only.

The Sonett II was the last 2 stroke. Change to V4 midyear in 67.

Sonett I is a beautiful car that looks like an Alfa Giulietta or BMW 502. I don't think the 2T went very well. It was a 3-cyl 59hp. V4 made 65 horses according to Wikipedia. Surely you could jam a Capri V-6 in there.

Damn it's in Tennessee too. Just down the road from me. $1500 is a good price. Oops. Automatic trans... No deal.

I like this DCOE conversion pic.

IR8D8R

[1976RD400C]

A buddy of mine, when I was in high school, had the 2 stroke Saab. I remember going for rides with him. I believe it had a special clutch that let the motor drop to idle when you let off the throttle, at any speed, and coast along. 

[pidjones]

I think the auto trans is a Marketplace automatic thing unless turned off. Yes, close by me too. Back about '73 there was one in the dealership showroom in Saratoga NY. Some buddies and I took turns picking the front end off the floor. I was considering purchase if I got my lump sum reenlistment bonus. But, they wouldn't permit a test drive (go figure - three sailors - we could be trusted!) Instead, I bought my first bike!

[IR8D8R]

You are probably right pidjones. I wasn't able to find anything about an automatic trans in these either. They are either 3 speed or 4 speed column shift.

The V4 ran from 67 to 74 so this is the latest model. It should be a 4 speed manual. Automakers did a lot of dumb things to sell cars in the U.S.

Porsche, VW, and BMW put autos in their cars for the U.S. market. So did Jaguar. So it was believable. I've worked on an E type Jag 2+2 with an auto. Abomination.

This would be a new branch on my motor vehicle tree. Not sure if I'm ready... In a way it would be more interesting if it was a 2 stroke. Yeah I'm that dumb.

IR8D8R

[m in sc]

just needs a polaris 900 motor & a 5 speed. 

[85RZwade]

My dad's was fun; made good noise and seemed fairly quick ( they're stupid light cars), but they're front wheel drive. Even as an unskilled youth I could push the front tires without too much drama.

[m in sc]

my soul needs a subaru 360.