Being Swedish – ok, half Swedish, or my ancestors were on my mom’s side.. wait, what was I talking about again? Oh yeah, being half Swedish I’ve always wondered how I have never owned a Saab. They were such unique cars and this 1971 Saab Sonett III is no exception. This project car is posted on Craigslist in Salem, Virginia with a $3,000 asking price. Actually, it’s not an asking price, it’s a firm price. Thanks to Doug M. for submitting this find!
Inga fenders och dörrar? This shell of a Saab Sonett is a project as you can now see. It looked good in the first photo when it was on the trailer and all together. The seller says that it “is a project but mostly complete and in decent condition.” It sounds odd to say that a car being shown with no front clip and no doors or seat looks pretty good, but it does to me. There are only four photos (I know) and there’s a fair amount of work to do on this Sonett but Hagerty lists a #3 good condition car as being worth $6,100 and a #2 excellent car as being $10,000. If a person were a Saab fan and did most of the work her/himself I would think that it’s possible to restore this car without being too far upside down.
The interior photo looks scary, maybe because the flash photo highlights the wiring and hoses and various things under the dash. That “stuff” is normally hidden in the shadows, like Charles Bronson waiting for a crazy-eyed gang member to take apart with his bare hands. The seller’s interior to-do list is as follows: “Headliner needs replacement, carpet needs replacement, seats are in good condition, rubber door and window seals probably need replacement, have interior door panels, but need work.” Some parts are available but as always, the next owner will have to search the internet. Something we didn’t have the luxury of doing even as recently as two or three decades ago.
This 1.7L V4 “was rebuilt about 3000 miles ago…..in 1985. I have all the papers. The car was running until about 2009 or so.” They say that this is the “Original Ford V4 Engine. Currently does not run.” It’ll need: “brake lines to rear brake (rusted in middle, need to replace from master cylinder to joint behind rear seat. fuel tank is good, but a new line from fuel pump to the tank is needed. I have a new fuel filler neck. Carb needs to be rebuilt or replace carb (per previous owner….. the reason it stopped running).” No problem for any of the Barn Finds readers. This would be a fun weekend project and it’s small enough to fit in a single-car garage during the restoration. Are any of you fans of sweet Swedes like this Saab Sonett III?
I like these, but once you take it apart and try to sell it the price goes down. I think this is a 1k to 1200 dollar car, and it will take a lot of time.
“This would be a fun weekend project “
Well it would have to be a four day weekend at the least.
At least you can see the clean looking chassis on this one, and these do rust so that’s good.
Like the car, but could never get past those, and I rarely use this word, UGLY wheels. Probably has a bolt pattern that nothing else will fit. Have fun getting parts. I knew a guy that had 2 of these back in the 90’s, and one was laid up back then because of a parts issue.
Yes. A SAAB only bolt pattern. The only aluminum wheels that fit are from SAAB. This car actually has wheels from a ’74 . These ”soccerball” wheels first appeared for the ’72 model year. They were all silver for 72 and 73. The black accents were added in 74 to match a similar wheel on the 99 EMS. As far as ugly? Eye of the beholder and all that. These wheels are very strong. SAAB used a version with part of the webbing milled out on rally cars.
One of my college roommates really wanted one of these, and at the time I’d never heard of them. With the Kamm rear, wedgey front end, and unusual V4 engine, I initially thought it was pretty cool. Then I realized they were front-wheel drive, and that killed it for me.
$1200 car. Love Saabs (obvi) and love the Sonett (prefer the 2 over the froggy 3 and one day I will have one for the stable) but with top grade cars barely edging 5 figures…and that’s for a top grade car…projects are difficult to sell unless much of the work has been completed. And this one needs a lot of work to get there.
$3k is too much, but the flipper dude may have overpaid…or he thinks he’s sitting on a lottery ticket. A scratcher ticket, not a powerball ticket
Exactly ! My 74 in these colors has no needs,meticulously restored (by someone else),and I’d sell it for 10.Subject car is 15-20 grand from that point,if mostly DIY
I was ready to buy a three year old twin to this car. Low miles and like new. The more I studied it the more weird things I found. Like the “wires and hoses” dangling under the dash, the flimsy feel to everything and the ugly wheels.
I went to a lot down the road and bought a nice, nearly new BMW 2002.
And I was happy at that.
“…will have to search the internet. Something we didn’t have the luxury of doing even as recently as two or three decades ago…”
well, some of us did (’87), but ur right the last 21yrs have improved it due the number of sales ppl on-line now.
Parts are rare and criminally expensive. The little V4 is an engineering masterpiece / nightmare depending on how you look at it. In this condition $1000 would be fair price.