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Santafe · 06-15-2015, 02:53 PM

Having rallied SAAB 96's and a few 99's for years I always fancied owning one of the last production Sonett 3's which were built in 1974 , basically all the oily bits are from the SAAB 96 all squeezed inside a steel floor pan and frame clothed with a fiberglass body shell , they were powered by a German built Ford 1700cc V4 engine driving the front wheels through SAAB's own 4 speed gearbox complete with a switchable freewheel device to aid fuel economy , the Sonett was built purely for the USA market to compete with the MGB .
I purchased this particular car about 12 years ago from a Naval guy in Pearl Harbor who kindly shipped it to San Diego for me, I then arranged to have it shipped to the South of England whereupon on arrival I would meet it off the ship and drive it Northwards to Scotland then a short ferry crossing home. Then EVERYTHING went pear shaped , when the ship entered the Panama Canal the shipping company went bust, the whole ship was seized & tied up for 18 months with my car on board inside a container, but eventually it arrived in England, my wife & I pushed it out of the container @ Chatham Docks down in Kent, hit it with a set of jump leads and it started first times but whilst driving around the London ring road the engine managed to put a piston out through the cylinder block, the rest is to long a story, but thats why when I eventually got it home I covered it up and haven't looked at it until now .
P.S. I just rebuilt a new engine for it but haven't fitted it yet, the Boxster's to much fun.

06-15-2015, 02:53 PM	#8
Santafe Registered User Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: N.Ireland Posts: 120	A bedtime story Having rallied SAAB 96's and a few 99's for years I always fancied owning one of the last production Sonett 3's which were built in 1974 , basically all the oily bits are from the SAAB 96 all squeezed inside a steel floor pan and frame clothed with a fiberglass body shell , they were powered by a German built Ford 1700cc V4 engine driving the front wheels through SAAB's own 4 speed gearbox complete with a switchable freewheel device to aid fuel economy , the Sonett was built purely for the USA market to compete with the MGB . I purchased this particular car about 12 years ago from a Naval guy in Pearl Harbor who kindly shipped it to San Diego for me, I then arranged to have it shipped to the South of England whereupon on arrival I would meet it off the ship and drive it Northwards to Scotland then a short ferry crossing home. Then EVERYTHING went pear shaped , when the ship entered the Panama Canal the shipping company went bust, the whole ship was seized & tied up for 18 months with my car on board inside a container, but eventually it arrived in England, my wife & I pushed it out of the container @ Chatham Docks down in Kent, hit it with a set of jump leads and it started first times but whilst driving around the London ring road the engine managed to put a piston out through the cylinder block, the rest is to long a story, but thats why when I eventually got it home I covered it up and haven't looked at it until now . P.S. I just rebuilt a new engine for it but haven't fitted it yet, the Boxster's to much fun.