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?
My dad had a ‘73 Sonnet when I was 16. Loved it. Would jump at this one if I had the garage space.
As someone who has converted a few street cars to race cars I can say unless the car is a fabulous example of something that will be valuable when completed the trip from street to race is a one way trip.
Saab(s).
I’m assuming I have the skills to rebuild one, so hopefully I’d have the skills to build a rwd chassis to stuff under the second body.
Man I get the idea of a project but if someone else took it apart and didn’t sort and label it properly it’s like putting together a jigsaw puzzle with no picture. I voted Saab but I would not touch either for free. I had the pleasure of trying to put a car back together with out proper labeling and it was a nightmare. I would have killed the SOB who did it except for it was me.
Both? No seems wrong. All three.
I think I want a Saab story. I like both cars, but I’d rather build a,stock Sonnett from a kit than undo a race car. Extra bonus, I can do a Cologne V6 swap, like an ice racer I read about.
The last thing I assembled was my Xmas tree.
I think these are a bit beyond me.
Saab(s). Both are laborious and definitely on the risky side of never being completed, but I do love the quirkiness of the Sonnet. If the RX-7 were still in street car guise, I would consider it for a V8 swap, but an abused race car isn’t my ideal starting point for anything but a race car (which I have no desire to build).
ok, all the Youtube revivalist need to try for the Saab. outside of Derek Bieri getting a Sonnet to start a few years back, I have never seen one actually run. and I have seen a few IRL back int he day as well.
I’ve seen Sonnet’s in the wild, but never been in or driven one. Always thought they were really interesting, but at my height, I don’t think I would fit. Sigh.
Oh you can fit. The trick is getting a person willing to chop you up into little bits.
I have had lots of small cars, including two or three Austin Healey Sprites. The Saab is the only one I had trouble hitting just one pedal with my size 11 feet. At 6’0″ I fit, barely, didn’t fit with a helmet on (tried autocrossing it).
Pass the Doritos. My neighbor has a running RX-7 in their garage. Plus they’re always wrenching on something. They’d lend an ear and some advice, having borrowed and returned tools before.
I’ll take one SAAB and trade the other for the E46 M3. That’s how this works, right?
Saab for sure. Parts car included for only $500. Though probably means there is something very rare expensive and important missing. But still better than dealing with old worn out old Doritos
Almost anything on this is rare and therefore expensive. At least if you ever decided it was done and it ran you’d have something special.
I’ve had two ’69 Sonett V4s. I prefer that older style but the newer ones like these have their charms. If that deal was local to me I would be all over it. Would be a great retirement project for someone who likes to tinker, and having two doubles the chances of not needing to buy a polished unobtanium part from the greybeard Saab dudes who hoard them. But sadly I am not yet retired and they are on the other side of the country.
I like RX-7s too – but a worn out racecar is not my idea of a good time in any possible way.
This is hypothetical money, and not much of it. So SAAB(s) it is, a giant box of unobtanium for only $500! And my brother has a barn, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind having a big pile of SAAB bits cluttering it up for the next 10 years or so. Many years ago in college I had a ’68 96 V-4 that I drove all over the inter-mountain west getting odd looks from the locals. It was a good car, other than the pucker factor if you accidentally kicked the lever on the floorboard into freewheel when you were going down a steep, winding mountain grade. Side note – the yellow car has steel wheels which I’ve never seen on a Sonett III, they all came with the soccer ball alloys. These are from a 96 or Sonett II, I think.
As a total lover of FB RX7s, the Saab is the obvious choice today.
Even if you only got one Saab it would be the better buy.
2 “sports cars” with weird engines. Love me some rotary power but 2 stroke wins.
Edit: Oh wait, these didn’t have the 2 stroke. V4 is still interesting though.
I like the Mazda owners taste in BMW M3s but I’ll take the Saab thank you very much. There’s something about those Sonnets I love and what could possible go wrong for the $500 BoGo price.
The wheels on that Sonnet are worth the price.
I’ve seen an RX-7 with a junkyard 6 liter LS swap + nitrous that was scary fast and this has the roll cage to make it drag strip legal. Some of the best acceleration per dollar out there.
I voted Saab because yellow is objectively the best color, and there’s TWO!! Both yellow!
It would seem that two Sonnets are the absolute minimum required to keep one working. My bud in flight school had two, same thing, one for parts and one to theoretically drive. It was an interesting car, defiantly an acquired taste. Fun if you want to sound something that sounds like a chain saw, complete with clouds of blue smoke. Kind of worked out to tinker with it for two hours, drive it for one. We all seemed to have at least one car to keep us busy. I had my 1968 Land Rover Series IIa, so I could not criticize him. Rather it was shared sympathy. We had loads of spare time, since the aircraft the Navy had for us to learn in were even less reliable than the cars we tinkered with. Needed some kind of project to keep from going mad. The Sonnet defiantly kept Steve busy.
That was a Sonett II. The III only came with a 4-stroke V4 (though, the II was also sold at the end of the run with a V4).
Mr. Pedantic here, Saab called the Sonett II with the v4 the Sonett V4, despite the interruption in the numerical series, the new body style was called the Sonett III. In hindsight (and probably in the day too) it is easy to see why all the II bodystyles were generally just referred to as Sonett IIs.
Correct, I just didn’t think it was worth making the distinction. It’s like the Ferrari Daytona was never officially called that, but a lot more people know what you’re talking about if you call it “Daytona” rather than the official “365 GTB/4”, plus it’s easier to type or say (which is probably how these things become commonly used).
Is it a Miata or an MX5? Cheers
I always wondered what is worse than driving a unreliable old sports car. You answered that question flying a unreliable beat up airplane. I’d rather take a shot in a Top Gear home made submarine car.
Two pieces of shit are still TWO pieces of shit, it’s a logistical/storage thing for me. Give me the one piece of shit that has an easier slate to wipe clean and start fresh
Former racecar is only useful if you plan to race it. Which I don’t.