I have always been the sort of person who enjoys taking things apart and putting things together. My parents figured that out early on, and the majority of my Christmas toys arrived unassembled: model kits, Lego sets, Erector sets, those Radio Shack electronics kits with the spring-loaded terminals and bits of wire to connect stuff, things like that. I still enjoy it, which is why I’m so involved in the RC car hobby. And I think I’d enjoy putting one of these two cars back together, too.
Yesterday’s choices were complete and functional. We looked at the red-headed stepchild of the air-cooled Porsche family, and the rock star of Dodge’s Neon range. This was a close one, but in the end, the Neon took the win. Quite a few of you said that the Porsche 914 felt like too much of a collector’s item already, and that the Neon would be more carefree fun.
I have to agree. I love the 914; I’ve driven one, and it was an absolute delight. But I fear that these days, you can’t just have an air-cooled Porsche, even a 914; you have to be an “air-cooled Porsche person.” I just got away from being a “British car person,” and I have no desire to become a part of another automotive cult like that. I’d rather just have a happy little yellow Dodge.
Taking a car apart and putting it back together is no mean feat. You need time, space, a good sense of organization, a lot of perseverance, and an understanding spouse. I personally have never stripped down a car quite as far as these two, nor have I ever bought a project in such a state. But I think if you approached it with the right attitude, and didn’t spend too much money on it, it could be a lot of fun. And going through all those cardboard boxes full of parts would be kind of like Christmas morning anyway. So let’s take a look at a couple of cars in kit form – not to be confused with kit cars – and see which one you’d rather put back together.
1971 Saab Sonett III plus parts car – $500
Engine/drivetrain: 1.5-liter OHV V4, four-speed manual, FWD
Location: Reseda, CA
Odometer reading: 65,000 miles
Operational status: Disassembled
Old Saabs are a bit of an acquired taste. They’re not as accessible as other classics; with their front-wheel-drive layout, two-stroke inline 3 or Ford V4 engines, and weird styling, they only appeal to a certain type of person. But just about any gearhead can appreciate them, even come to love them, with a little familiarity. It’s a bit like playing a Tom Waits record for a Billy Joel fan: At first, they recoil and make a face, but slowly they start to understand and appreciate how cool it really is.
What we have here is an offer for two Saab Sonett III sports cars, one of which has a good body but a rusty chassis, and the other has a solid chassis but a rough body. The Sonett is based on a steel chassis with a fiberglass body dropped over the top, so you can mix and match parts to make one good car. Both cars have had their bodies removed, and some other parts disassembled – the photo above does not represent their current condition. The seller says there are easily enough good parts to build one solid car, and have a bunch of spares to keep it going.
The Sonett’s unusual V4 engine comes from the German Ford Taunus (that’s Taunus with an N, not to be confused with Taurus), driving the front wheels through a four-speed gearbox. These cars are pretty rare, but they have a strong enough following that finding parts – and advice – shouldn’t be too hard. And with two whole cars to pull from, you’re ahead of the parts game from the start.
Once you get everything sorted out and reassembled, you’ll be treated to a really neat and unusual little car. It’s got a legitimate racing pedigree, and the sort of “if you know, you know” cool factor that classic Mustang owners can only dream of. Oh, and pop-up headlights operated by a lever! You’ll be the popular kid at any sports car gathering with those – unless an Opel GT shows up.
1982 Mazda RX-7 former race car – $1,999
Engine/drivetrain: 1.2-liter 2-rotor Wankel, five-speed manual, RWD
Location: Encinitas, CA
Odometer reading: unknown
Operational status: Drivetrain is out and engine needs rebuilding
Mazda tried its rotary engine in all sorts of vehicles early on: luxury cars, pickup trucks, even a small bus. But eventually, the rotary engine’s one true believer realized that the high-revving, low-torque engine was best suited to sports cars. The RX-7 kept the rotary faith for more than twenty years, starting with this sleek, trim little number. The first-generation RX-7 had a long and distinguished racing career, and secondhand examples often found their way onto race tracks as well. This one is a retired race car, with full SCCA approval. It was last raced in 2006, and is in need of a full mechanical rebuild.
The 12A rotary engine and five-speed transmission are already out of the car, and the engine has been stripped down to – I guess you’d call it a long block? Without a cylinder head, the lines between different levels of engine completeness get a little blurry. The rotary engine has always fascinated me, ever since I built an Entex model kit of one as a kid. Rebuilding one actually sounds like a lot of fun.
It has a full roll cage inside, and a racing seat that has been removed. But most of the rest of the interior is still there. I don’t know what’s involved in putting a former race car back on the street, but I have a feeling that that was the plan here. The seller says his son bought it, but realized the project was too much for him. We’ve all been there. It sounds like everything is included to at least get it back up and running, if not street-legal again.
It’s in good shape outside, with cool Panasport wheels and ’80s-tastic Dixie-cup-looking graphics. The hood and front bumper are removed, but included. And it does have a title, which race cars sometimes don’t have, and it’s on non-op registration with the California DMV, so getting it back on the road should be a matter of making sure you’ve got the right seat belts, and that all the lights work.
These are both major projects; no one is denying that. But with all the stuff that’s included, they also feel like good deals. That’s not to say that you won’t need to buy anything else, but you shouldn’t have to buy much. Which one looks like a better use of some quality garage time to you?
Two Saabs for me.
Much higher novelty factor and also that RX7 being set up as a race car is probably only suitable to be used again as a race car. Getting a former race car back to street spec probably isn’t worth it.
Plus the 2 Saabs are cheaper.
I love Saab Sonnets, so it almost wouldn’t matter what the other car was, never mind something boring looking, rotary powered, and with a live axle that all made it inferior to the earlier Datsun Z, which I had two of and would also choose the Saab over (which would be a reversal of the past where I bought a 240Z, but was actually there looking at a Sonnet III that had too rotted of a chassis). It seems like Sonnets are sold in three varieties: in pieces with a parts car, mostly intact with a parts car, or fully restored. IRL, I’d go with the latter option, but that’s not the question here.
It’s a common misconception that California requires safety inspections. You might be astonished by the absolute heaps driving here and people driving home with one headliiiight.
Also, $500 the Saabs is basically free! Glad these aren’t closer to me…
Both projects look like heartburn on wheels. I’ll go with the Saab. At least I’m only out $500 when things go t!+s up.
$500 for the pair of Sonnets! I tried to put together an entirely disassembled early 50s Lambretta from boxes once, it was tough because it was not a model ever imported to the US so I had a tough time finding a manual/resources. Long story short I was unsuccessful and need to redeem myself. The pair of Sonnets is just too cool for the money, I love the rx7, but I don’t have much interest in a car with a tube frame roll cage.
I’m in California, the RX-7 will have to pass smog, the Saab is old enough to be exempt, plus I’ve always thought they were cool.
Another easy one. I’d go for the SAAB.
I learned to drive in a SAAB 96, and have a bit of time under the hood of one. The Sonett is essentially the same car, drivetrain-wise. There’s a fairly deep knowledge base among enthusiasts, not to mention a modest bit of go-fast mods that are accomplished without too much trouble. The Sonett is lively – especially for the period – and really wakes up with just a tiny bit of massaging. Do that, and ice racing dominance is just there for the taking.
I’ve always thought it would be fun to have one of those old Sonnets. I’ve got a shed I could clear out and set up a workspace in order to convince myself I’d get to this project. Of course, it would have to wait until I’m finished with the ’54 Ford truck street-rod project I started around 10 years ago.
Oh man these are both super tempting! These are both cars that are high on my list of classics I’d love to own someday! Any I’d recently been toying with the idea of putting a Honda ST1300 powertrain in a first gen RX7, and a former race car with a title but a blown motor seems like it’d be just about the perfect candidate…too bad I don’t have the money/space right now…
I like RX-7s better but don’t want a former race car, and decent street cars are still cheap enough to be a better option. The Saab twofer is a screaming deal, might be quite fun to build up, and would be a hit at shows. Weird for the win!
I am abstaining on the vote as I am not wanting either one. If a gun were placed to my head I would take the RX7 as I would not have to make it street legal.
In the choice between two similarly difficult paths, find the one that’s easier. In my case, that means the RX-7. The stuff is mostly there, but just as importantly I think there’s probably a far bigger community of support and parts availability that could be tapped to help the project to completion. I also dig RX-7s so there’s that as well.
Rotary engines suck and are wonderful and are dirty and sound amazing and get bad mileage and are smooth like cream.
The Saab(s) look(s) neat but that’s an “entire garage, for 10 years” project for a hobbyist vs. an engine stand and one spot. Maybe if you were a professional and storage/workspace was ample, but ‘two into one’ sounds like a TV show premise.
Real world limitations and consequences? Nah!
Not in my fantasyland! Bring on the Sonnets and my nitrous ego fueled imagination will instantly and effortlessly transform those two husks into a single, shiny, perfectly tuned, lightning rod of positive attention, dare I say adoration from uberhot auto groupies.
What happens to the leftovers? 100% easy profit! The mess? The chaos? The blood/sweat/tears? Never happened. Where does it go? It slots perfectly between my other two cars in my two car garage. I can even open all the car doors at the same time!
Try it. You’ll find these projects are a lot more fun this way.
But… rotary…
There’s plenty of room for Sonnets and rotaries.
Limerick for a Sonnet*
There once was a Frankenstein Sonnet
It had orange doors and a tan bonnet
it beat an RX and fanboys were vexed
‘Cause the RX had Panasports on it
(*because I’m too lazy to write an actual sonnet)
About 9 billion years ago, I was given a 1957 Alfa 750 series spider–in boxes. It took me 7 years to get it back together as a full restoration doing most of the work myself in a series of rented garages. I now have a space of my own to do that kind of work. I’d take the Saabs.
I’ve driven a Sonett (Yellow identical to the one up top) it’s a nimble reactive machine. I’ve also driven that era RX-7 both very cool cars. The Saab is more elemental, visceral In this case for me it’s 100% the Saab.
…I presently have, next to my desk, the parts of a 1:48 Greenlight Kings of Crunch monster truck model and a Warhammer 40K Ork Trukk to kitbash together into a “Krusha Trukk.” I also have a Hudson Hornet 1/24 model to drop an eBay special resin 2JZ model into. So maybe you can see why I want all of them, so I can have maximum ’70s futurism with a rotary Saab, and maybe use the leftovers to make the world’s most roundabout way of getting an 8-cylinder RX-7. Or make one nice Saab, one junky rotary Saab, and one V4 RX7 LeMons car for maximum Index of Effluency. Or just play everything straight and swap nothing.
But we must choose. I think the V4 Sonnett project sounds more like what I’d like to own and drive. I saw one owned by an organic farmer at the state fair one year, and thought it really cool, so I’ll have that over Doritoes.
I don’t have the space for either of these — so if we were to assume that wasn’t an issue, I’d go for the Saabs. It’s cooler, rarer, and likely to be more usable at the end of the day…plus I don’t live anywhere near a track or autox so unfortunately a track car would be pretty useless.
Neither? If it had to be one or the other I’d go RX7 and 302 Ford swap it. It’s almost a bolt in conversion and it fixes the RX’s biggest problem.
The first gens don’t really benefit from engine swaps (unless the engine is toast, and it’s hard to know for sure if it doesn’t run). The NA rotaries will easily last 100k between rebuilds and they’re easy to work on, not like the complicated and unreliable mess that are the turbo cars. Plus, why buy an RX7 in the first place if you don’t want a rotary?
I am nearing completion of putting back together a car I did not take apart. I do not wish to do that again. I’ll chose the Mazda, because it’s closer to being an actual car again, and it’s a car I actually desire to own, but really I wouldn’t have either.
Mazda. The much needed engine swap is already mid-way. Get something light and punchy and be generally happy.
(The animated gif of Homer backing into the shrubbery). Nope, I am not a fan of any of this. I have a Miata partially disassembled while we chase a short in a circuit and I hate it.
RX7 solely because parts are more available and I might have the chance to actually finish it in my lifetime.
Went SAAAAAAAB!
I’ve told the story before but I passed on buying a 66 Mustang Fastback, 289 Hi po, 4 speed, rolling chassis that was completely restored, rust repaired, engine rebuilt, just needed assembly. They were a Mustang family moving away and had too many projects. It was the mid 90s and I didn’t have a proper shop to work on it so I passed. I was also concerned that I knew nothing about Mustangs and wouldn’t know what went where and what might be missing. Still regret it…
I had a 66 Mustang K Code (289 Hi-Po) back in the day…I believe I bought it in 1991. It was a white coupe. I found a 66 fastback a few years later and passed on buying it. BIGGEST mistake for me at the time. I always loved the fastback. Never did find another one until years later and prices exploded. When I bought my 66, prices for a no rust, good/great condition daily driver (mine) were very affordable.
Yeah, the first gen fastbacks are my fave but that ship has long sailed. I think they were asking $4k for that project car, sigh…
Give me the SAAB!! I have wanted a Sonett for about 30+ years. I got to drive 2 different series of Sonett and fell in love right away. They are so fun. Someday I may buy one.