Tim W. had emailed us months ago about a former ice racer that he has had sitting in his barn for the past 15 years. We never got around to featuring it, so Tim pulled it out and cleaned it up a bit before listing here on eBay with no reserve. It gets really cold up in Duluth, so he hopes to get it sold before winter sets in.
With front wheel drive and narrow tires, SAABs were great in the snow, so they were also the natural choice for ice racing. Danny Page of Duluth raced this Sonett in the International Ice Racing Association series during the early 1980s with several wins. It was then sold and saw a few more races in the 90s. Tim had hoped to restore the car to use in vintage racing, but was deterred when he realized he was a little too tall to fit comfortably inside.
This is going to be a big project, but the sale includes many spares. We love the looks of the early Sonetts and even though we normally prefer stock cars, we hope this one can be updated and returned to racing duties. There aren’t too many places you can ice race, so perhaps someone in the area can save it and keep it in its natural habitat!
I always liked the look of theses.
One of the Editor/writers for hemming sports cars rally races these.
common problem that we longer fit in the cars that we could when we were 20 years old.
tried sitting in a sprite in college and new it was to small for me ( I was 5-10 140 lbs then)
Is that Tim W as in Tim Winker? That looks like is ITB Saab 99 in the background. If so, Tim’s a pretty massive Saab-o-phile (troll?), friends (last I checked) with the legendary Satch Carlson, also a massive Saab-o-phile.
This is likely a pretty interesting Saab, then.
The 99 in the background is the legendary NINE-T9, a project car that I built when I was editor/publisher of NINES magazine. it is pretty rusty underneath and needs everything mechanical. Its twin sister, the ITB 99 racecar, was sold many years ago.
I will still have a couple of competition Saabs: a 900S for ChumpCar racing (Fart-hunder Racing or Vintage Ice And Gravel Rally Racing Association), and a 1960 SAAB 93F ice racer that is slowly being turned into a hillclimb and vintage rally machine.
Glad to hear you’ll still have your share of Saabs! Need to get my dad (Bruce Tabor) to do something with his 67 2 stroker 96s, before they rot away…
Jon, I spoke to your dad about some 2-stroke parts I had and let him know when they were going up for sale. Still have a few later (1965+) engine blocks and heads, and keeping some earlier engines as spares for my 1960 SAAB.
This poor little Sonett has clearly had the snot kicked out of it, and for quite a long time.
A couple of additional notes about this Sonett:
The chassis number is 001252.
Tried to start the car this morning but the fuel lines were too rotted. The electric fuel pump does click like it should. The engine turns over. It appears the clutch has given out and the transmission is now stuck in gear.
After repair of the brakes and clutch, and maybe a few other items I do not know about, I would not be afraid to take this car as is to an autocross or ice trials.