Tempted by a Sonnett III?

I have always liked the Sonnett III, and I have found one for sale but needing a few things.

The asking price is actually pretty fair if the description is accurate, I won't see it until Sunday. These are uncommon cars and definitely a minority taste. I've seen fully restored examples sit for sale for over a year with reasonable prices even when the economy was good. Its a also a car that I would drive a bit and re-sell or stow away. I can't carry a larger car load full time.

Anyway, I know very little about the V4. Has anyone here had any experience with these? I called the seller and he was very enthusiastic about the quality of the car overall, and it has apparently been driven a good bit. I'll post pics after I look it over.

Just wondering...

Neat, offbeat cars. They came in some really wacky (and very 70's) colors too.

Although the body is fiberglass, they are prone to rust underneath. Make sure you get a good look underneath the car.

My best friend's neighbor had one when I was a teenager, it never moved, but sure looked cool sitting there!

Neat, different cars.

I still regret not buying the one I test drove when I got out of college.

And you're correct about the prices. To me they seem undervalued and almost cheap compared to classics that are far less desirable

I won't say which ones.....don't want to start trouble

The pushrod V4 engine is a German Ford engine related to the V6 used in the old, German-built Capris and later used in Aerostar vans and Ford Rangers. I saw a SAAB ice-racer once that had a 2.6 V6 swapped in to replace the V4 (but I'm not suggesting that.....the V4 is a fine engine).

I vintage race with a guy who has a Sonnett V4 (his is even more strange because he cut the roof off it). It goes really well!

You can see it pass me at the start of this ~Video~ (unfortunately, low quality video).

Interesting car, front wheel drive, fiberglass, and very cool.

Good luck.

Do look for rust. Rockers and floorpans are quite prone. One person you will need to know is Jack Ashcraft, he is the guru of V4 Sonnets. I believe his son has written a few articles for GRM. The V4 can be a little funky to get parts for, since not much other than early Saabs used it in cars, but it's a real common engine in industrial use (airport tow motors come to mind).

First off...Sonett, not Sonnett.

Since I was mentioned...this is Chris Hartman. Part time GRM contributor, though most of my articles were published several years ago.

I grew up working on Sonetts and V4s. One summer, age 15 I think, I had the task of tearing down, cleaning, and cataloging about twenty V4 engines. My first car was a 1970 96, and my first autocross was in Fast Freddy, which at the time was a fairly stock '68 Sonett.

My stepdad is Jack Ashcraft, and as of about 8 days ago, has retired from the world of old Saab parts. But, luck would have it that his oldest son Mark has purchased the business, and just moved up to Oregon to Jack's old place. He still has the inventory of parts and tools, and the best part is Mark has a good deal of knowledge on these cars too, having grown up around the Saab dealership that Jack owned when the V4s were new. Also, for the Saab buffs, Mark worked for Saab in the early 80s. He's a graduate of Art Center College of Design, and actually did much of the design work on the original 900 convertible, and the SPG body kit.

Jack will be helping Mark work through the day to day side of the business for a while. He's only a few hours away, and will probably still be building the engines and transmissions when they come in on an order.

http://www.jackashcraft.com/

The web site is sorta funky, having been put together by a friend of Jacks. I'll be helping Mark get it up to snuff over the winter.

Anyways, shoot Mark an e-mail with your questions. Jack is monitoring the e-mails for a while too, so I'm sure you'll get a response.

Have any pics of the Sonett?

Here is one of me, age 16, day of my first autocross:

Chris H.

Two strokes sound cooler.

rinnnnngggaaa rinnngggaa rinnnnnnnnggggggggggg....

Hmm... define "sound cooler"... My experience with the 2-strokes is a guy who does PA Hillclimb races... I never thought something so loud could be so slow... and his is apparently reasonably modified...

Personally, I'd go for the later V4... I still regret not buying the '73 95 we looked at a couple of years ago.

I got one sitting in a garage next to a merc pontoon w/open sunroof . The saab is super cool I need a rear glass for it as it was broken when I was away on vacation . try saabnet.com http://www.saabnet.com/

Ian,

I just think that the sound of a two stroke coming from a car is unique. My brother drove a two stroke 96 and then a V4 95. I guess I associate the sound of the two stroke with him.

Just in case someone hasn't heard a 96 at "speed" (speed being a relative term) here is a little video: 2 stroke singing

"unique"... yeah, I'll give you that...

I daily drove a Sonett III for several years... had a very warm engine in it... would spin the tires readily in 1st or 2nd just by goosing it...

Traction was my main issue (limited by stock fenders to skinny tires) but keeping a ring/pinion in it was a close second. Even with just the occaisional autocross (where the car did not do well due to my poor autocross skills and the aforementioned traction issues) and running the best "race hardened" pieces with the freewheel welded out, I was still replacing ring/pinion almost annually... got very old and I ended up selling the car primarily to this problem.

Rust is a huge issue on these... the trunk likes to rust out quickly (leaking rear window seal combined with the rear placement of the battery is an issue...) as do the floors and rockers. (if the rockers are smooth and not stepped they've been replaced)

However, a later Sonett III was one of my best buys in a car... completely original 30k mile car (original gelcoat, never repainted) bought it from an estate... just a little trunk rust, otherwise solid.

Transporter tied it down poorly and it came loose on the truck 5 miles from my house (after a 1500 mile trip), demolishing the entire front clip/front end.

His insurance company paid me off fully (what I paid for the car plus the transport fee) then sold the car back to me for under $100.

I put it on Ebay and it sold for what I initially paid for it. Guy shows up with a car carrier, pays me in full for it, tells me he's headed to San Diego where I've just sold two cars and a trailer to... he gets on the phone, works out a deal with the buyer, picks up the cars (leaving him no room for the SAAB), delivers the cars in San Diego, then disappears off the face of the earth.

For two years I tried to find him... no luck. Phone, email, etc all dead.

When I moved from Chicago I "sold" the car to my storage place (in exchange for a years storage on my cars there... about what I paid for the Sonett in the first place) and their intention was to get a mechanics lien for the title... never heard if it moved after that!

But in all, a nice investment! Bill