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1964-1974 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Larry,
If you have that much rust, you will need to remove the entire body to repair the chassis properly. This is not as difficult as it may seem and will not bend or damage your chassis as long as all structural areas are sound. Of course you would need a garage, or access to one, to do this. If the rocker panels are weak (rusted away) you will need to weld or bolt braces across the inside of the door openings before removing the body. In your case (rusted away trunk floor)you may need to x-brace the trunk area before removing the body. A Haynes Saab 95/95 manual combined with the Sonett Factory supplement manual provide all of the information you need to disassemble and reassemble the car. If you do not have a Sonett supplement manual, you can buy a high quality reproduction from Chip Lamb at West of Sweden for about $35.00. The originals that come up on e-bay from time to time typically go for two times what Chip charges for a new one. You can quite often find the Haynes manuals (NOS) on e-bay for less than $20. Or you can buy a reproduction Saab 95/96 Factory manual from Chip for about $35.00. Or you might be able to get them on the cheap from another Saab owner. These manuals are well worth the investment. Nearly all mechanical parts are still available new with certain notable exceptions such as brake drums. Many metal parts such as inner and outer rocker panels and trunk floors are available from Jack Ashcraft, OR. Jack Lawrence, Motorsport Service, NY has galvanized outer rocker panels available. If you want a safer car, you will inevitably need to add weight. This is a problem for a car with a 65 HP engine read: it makes a slow car even slower (yes the sonetts are slow when stock ~ 0-60 in 12-14 seconds depending on model). So, if you are going to add weight for things such as roll cages, you will need to either remove weight elsewhere or increase hp to maintain your current level of performance. Here is a link to Dave Shindle's project that is a good example of what can be done to strengthen the chassis: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/803556/5. Jack Lawrence also used tube steel to stregthen his racing Sonetts and once ran into a wall at 80 mph and walked away with no injuries. If safety is important to you, you can make considerable improvements without resorting to the heavier doors (harder to keep in alignment) and ugly big bumpers. My solution: don't use a Sonett for day-to-day transportation and avoid rush hour traffic to limit your risk. My opinion: the earlier Sonetts are more fun to drive than the 73 and 74 when stock. Sounds like you have some welding skills. For the most part, the Sonett is a simple and easy car to work on and deserving of restoration if not a basket case.
posted by 68.69.1...
, Tue, 28 Mar 2006 16:33:32
, Tue, 28 Mar 2006 12:50:13
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