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		Saab Sonett V4 #550

The previous owner already started the renovation of this car. All the rust was welded and I bought the car in parts in July 2004. I just happened that the renovation of my sons Sonett was at the same level so we continued to do the work in parallel.

2 November 2007 Last trip before the winter


Top
Made the last trip (?) for this year before the winter comes. Looking back at the first year with the car I´m very satisfied. I've been to a lot of places. I have had only some minor problems but of course there is a few things for the winter in the garage too.

11 May 2007 Test at the "Swedish Motor Vehicle Inspection Co"


Top
At last it was time for the mandatory Swedish car test at the "Swedish Motor Vehicle Inspection Co". Was a little bit nervous but everything went fine.

6 May 2007 Pictures for the insurance




Top
I took some pictures for a special vintage car insurance that I will apply for.

15 April 2007 Windshield and rear window mounted


Top
Now when the windshield and rear window was back in the car again, it was possible to wash the car. The car is almost ready now, except some small details. I have taken the car out for some short test rides and most things works ok. I have to buy a new heating valve, the old one started to leak.

27 March 2007 Spare tire and signs


Top
We placed a larger battery than standard in the luggage compartment and we found out later that we didn't have enough space for the spare tire. We had to find a 15" tire with lower profile. The spare tire from Saab 900 was perfect. The factory signs with the VIN-code were in a very bad shape. So I scanned the plates and restored them in the computer.

28 February 2007 The upholstery is mounted


Top
Now the upholstery is finally mounted. I have tested the seats and the carpets before but this time it´s for good.

8 January 2007 Working with the upholstery


Top
Now the work with the upholstery has begun. It's not easy to make it all fit. I have used the old upholstery as a template but I have to modify it anyhow.

25 September 2006 Headlights and bumpers mounted


Top
Now the hood is mounted with new bumpers.

13 September 2006 Small movie from the first test ride

	Small movie from the first test ride
Top
First test ride. The engine sounds good so far. It was a very nice feeling.

30 July 2006 Engine back in the car


Top
The engine is back in the car. The Weber DGV is also mounted now.

14 July 2006 Back home again from the paint shop


Top
I picked up the car at the paint shop today. I’m very satisfied with the result. I’m looking forward to mount the rest of the parts now.

30 May 2006 In the paint shop


Top
Was over today to the paint shop to see how the work proceeded. It looked very good.

10 May 2006 Ready for painting


Top
It’s time now to send the car to the paint shop. Here you can see how short a Sonett is if you look at the space behind the car.

22 April 2006 Renovation of doors


Top
It’s a lot of work with the doors. We were lucky because it was not that much rust on the doors. We had the sand blastered. We welded a bar right across the door to get some better protection. This was standard on later Sonett’s.

16 January 2006 Mounting the body


Top
I tested to mount the body just to see how it fit. Now it looks like a car.

8 January 2006 Starting with the body


Top
Now it’s time to work with the body. From the beginning the car has the colour “Charmonix white”. It’ possible to see that behind the rear bumpers. Later the car was painted in the colour “Midnattsblå”. Haven’t decided yet what colour to use. After consulting some people who have renovated Sonett cars earlier we decided to paint it with the body mounted.

4 December 2005 New 1815 engine




Top
During the renovation of the 1700cc engine I got the possibility to buy an 1815cc. It was renovated with all new parts. - 93mm pistons and 1700 crank means 1815cc - 7.2 camshaft - All bearings is new - Weber 32/36 DGV

26 October 2005 Carpets and upholstery


Top
We cut out the carpets from the old ones. We tested also the new upholstery and the seats to see how they fit.

2 October 2005 Renovation of the V4 engine




Top
Now the time has come for renovation of the engine. I’m going to change the crank and pistons to 1700 and a 7,3 camshaft.

25 September 2005 Carpets and seats


Top
The upholstery in #550 was in pretty good shape so after cleaning it looked good. We are going to use it in #950 and also as a template for a new set for #550.

25 August 2005 Dashboard and steering wheel


Top
Steering wheel mounted, all electrical wiring completed. It’s a lot of wires to connect inside the dashboard. The small slot on to of the dashboard is used for changing bulbs in the instruments.

1 August 2005 Steering wheel, heating coil and fan mounted


Top
Nice to be able to do some work before the engine is mounted.

1 August 2005 Renovation of windshield wiper motor


Top
The windshield wiper motor worked ok but was in terrible shape. Total renovation was necessary.

11 June 2005 Fuel tank mounted


Top
Now the gas tank is mounted. The sensor was broken and Sonett has a special type of sensor, not easy to find. I took parts from a new 96 sensor to repair the old one.

26 May 2005 Outside the garage


Top
We took out the cars to clean them and the garage from dust and dirt. Took some pictures at the same time.

23 April 2005 #550 on wheels


Top
Now the car is on wheels. Nice feeling.

23 February 2005 New rims and tires


Top
4,5 inch Sonett rims. We had the rims renovated and powder coated. The difference is big. We bought Firestone F560 R15 82T tires.

25 January 2005 Front suspension and breaks


Top
The front suspension is now ready.

8 January 2005 The fun part starts


Top
This is the result for the nuts and bolts after they were electro zinc plated. We had it done for approx. $ 35 per car. It’s difficult to find UNC and UNF bolts in Sweden but my local store had it. Here we have started to assemble the front suspension.

2 December 2004 Painted parts


Top
Today I picked up almost 100 powder coated parts from the paint shop. The result is fantastic.

15 November 2004 Sorting out the parts


Top
The car was bought in pieces so it was a little bit difficult to see what you had and what was missing.

6 October 2004 Storing the cars temporarily


Top
For a short period we had to put the cars on top of each other because we needed more space in the garage.

3 October 2004 Just finished to spray the undercoat


Top
Both cars are now treated with undercoat. We decided to do that because it’s then possible to drive on gravel roads and it reduces road noise also.

14 September 2004 Painting the chassis


Top
We built a tent inside the garage when we painted the cars. It worked out pretty good but the lights and ventilation could have been better.

14 July 2004 The car is home in the garage


Top
Back home in our garage, here together with #950. It’s time now to paint both chassis.

03 July 2004 Buying the car


Top
Here is the car, on the front page of Club Sonett Swedens magazine, standing in the previous owners garage. All rust is repaired and the chassi is painted with primer. We packed all the parts on a trailer and drove back to Tyresö.

Mail to: saabsidan@bredband.net			© Tomas Gustafsson

Saab Sonett V4 #550

The previous owner already started the renovation of this car. All the rust was welded and I bought the car in parts in July 2004. I just happened that the renovation of my sons Sonett was at the same level so we continued to do the work in parallel.

2 November 2007 Last trip before the winter

Made the last trip (?) for this year before the winter comes. Looking back at the first year with the car I´m very satisfied. I've been to a lot of places. I have had only some minor problems but of course there is a few things for the winter in the garage too.

11 May 2007 Test at the "Swedish Motor Vehicle Inspection Co"

At last it was time for the mandatory Swedish car test at the "Swedish Motor Vehicle Inspection Co". Was a little bit nervous but everything went fine.

6 May 2007 Pictures for the insurance

I took some pictures for a special vintage car insurance that I will apply for.

15 April 2007 Windshield and rear window mounted

Now when the windshield and rear window was back in the car again, it was possible to wash the car. The car is almost ready now, except some small details. I have taken the car out for some short test rides and most things works ok. I have to buy a new heating valve, the old one started to leak.

27 March 2007 Spare tire and signs

28 February 2007 The upholstery is mounted

Now the upholstery is finally mounted. I have tested the seats and the carpets before but this time it´s for good.

8 January 2007 Working with the upholstery

Now the work with the upholstery has begun. It's not easy to make it all fit. I have used the old upholstery as a template but I have to modify it anyhow.

25 September 2006 Headlights and bumpers mounted

Now the hood is mounted with new bumpers.

13 September 2006 Small movie from the first test ride

First test ride. The engine sounds good so far. It was a very nice feeling.

30 July 2006 Engine back in the car

The engine is back in the car. The Weber DGV is also mounted now.

14 July 2006 Back home again from the paint shop

I picked up the car at the paint shop today. I’m very satisfied with the result. I’m looking forward to mount the rest of the parts now.

30 May 2006 In the paint shop

Was over today to the paint shop to see how the work proceeded. It looked very good.

10 May 2006 Ready for painting

It’s time now to send the car to the paint shop. Here you can see how short a Sonett is if you look at the space behind the car.

22 April 2006 Renovation of doors

It’s a lot of work with the doors. We were lucky because it was not that much rust on the doors. We had the sand blastered. We welded a bar right across the door to get some better protection. This was standard on later Sonett’s.

16 January 2006 Mounting the body

I tested to mount the body just to see how it fit. Now it looks like a car.

8 January 2006 Starting with the body

4 December 2005 New 1815 engine

During the renovation of the 1700cc engine I got the possibility to buy an 1815cc. It was renovated with all new parts. - 93mm pistons and 1700 crank means 1815cc - 7.2 camshaft - All bearings is new - Weber 32/36 DGV

26 October 2005 Carpets and upholstery

We cut out the carpets from the old ones. We tested also the new upholstery and the seats to see how they fit.

2 October 2005 Renovation of the V4 engine

Now the time has come for renovation of the engine. I’m going to change the crank and pistons to 1700 and a 7,3 camshaft.

25 September 2005 Carpets and seats

The upholstery in #550 was in pretty good shape so after cleaning it looked good. We are going to use it in #950 and also as a template for a new set for #550.

25 August 2005 Dashboard and steering wheel

Steering wheel mounted, all electrical wiring completed. It’s a lot of wires to connect inside the dashboard. The small slot on to of the dashboard is used for changing bulbs in the instruments.

1 August 2005 Steering wheel, heating coil and fan mounted

Nice to be able to do some work before the engine is mounted.

1 August 2005 Renovation of windshield wiper motor

The windshield wiper motor worked ok but was in terrible shape. Total renovation was necessary.

11 June 2005 Fuel tank mounted

Now the gas tank is mounted. The sensor was broken and Sonett has a special type of sensor, not easy to find. I took parts from a new 96 sensor to repair the old one.

26 May 2005 Outside the garage

We took out the cars to clean them and the garage from dust and dirt. Took some pictures at the same time.

23 April 2005 #550 on wheels

Now the car is on wheels. Nice feeling.

23 February 2005 New rims and tires

4,5 inch Sonett rims. We had the rims renovated and powder coated. The difference is big. We bought Firestone F560 R15 82T tires.

25 January 2005 Front suspension and breaks

The front suspension is now ready.

8 January 2005 The fun part starts

This is the result for the nuts and bolts after they were electro zinc plated. We had it done for approx. $ 35 per car. It’s difficult to find UNC and UNF bolts in Sweden but my local store had it. Here we have started to assemble the front suspension.

2 December 2004 Painted parts

Today I picked up almost 100 powder coated parts from the paint shop. The result is fantastic.

15 November 2004 Sorting out the parts

The car was bought in pieces so it was a little bit difficult to see what you had and what was missing.

6 October 2004 Storing the cars temporarily

For a short period we had to put the cars on top of each other because we needed more space in the garage.

3 October 2004 Just finished to spray the undercoat

Both cars are now treated with undercoat. We decided to do that because it’s then possible to drive on gravel roads and it reduces road noise also.

14 September 2004 Painting the chassis

We built a tent inside the garage when we painted the cars. It worked out pretty good but the lights and ventilation could have been better.

14 July 2004 The car is home in the garage

Back home in our garage, here together with #950. It’s time now to paint both chassis.

03 July 2004 Buying the car

Here is the car, on the front page of Club Sonett Swedens magazine, standing in the previous owners garage. All rust is repaired and the chassi is painted with primer. We packed all the parts on a trailer and drove back to Tyresö.

During the renovation of the 1700cc engine I got the possibility to buy an 1815cc. It was renovated with all new parts.
- 93mm pistons and 1700 crank means 1815cc
- 7.2 camshaft
- All bearings is new
- Weber 32/36 DGV