Saab : Other Sonett III

Originally converted in the late '80s. updated over the last few years. Current MA sticker. clear title. 30-45 mi range (depending on how you drive it!). top speed >65 mph. Ten 12v batts (120vdc system). ElCon charger (on board). ElCon DC-DC converter. 350A Curtis controller. ADC 4001 e-motor. forced-air cooling. recent tires. Read more about it at saab-e. com (you can have the domain name if you buy the car); more than 200 more pics and a history of the thing.

As is. where is. I'll help arrange shipping. or deliver it within a hundred miles or so for $1/loaded mile.

Feel free to ask questions. Thanks for looking.

Oh. and from saab-e. com. here are the things you might do. or that I was going to do.

What it needs: Nothing immediate; I commute in it about once a week. a 20 mi round trip. (Takes about 7kW-h from a 110 outlet to charge after 20 mi. btw. Five or six hours. ) But. here are the things I haven't done but could or should or was planning to do. in order of *my* priorities.

- transmission oil change - never been done since I've owned the car; I haven't taken the drain out because I fear it is cross-threaded. I'll update this one soon.

- 40-year-old ailments - there are a couple of pieces of loose weather stripping. and some squeaks here and there. some surface rust on the belly pan. And the Curtis "fuel" gauge isn't working. you know your pack voltage from the analog meter on the dash. but it would be nice to debug that old piece of hardware as it was a piece of the original conversion.

- Inertial safety switch wiring - the switch is installed. but not wired in. (A piece of safety equipment for EVs. if the car gets in an accident. the inertial switch cuts power the contactors and the system enable circuit; isolates the batteries and stops the motor. )

- dust cap. front left hub - the dust cap popped off the front left wheel a while back. and I haven't found a replacement. (You can see the hub nut in the pics. )

- e-motor brake - whether mechanically or electrically. it would be cool to be able to slow the e-motor for upshifting. (The Sonett has the over-running clutch which is a great thing for low-resistance coasting. and means you can downshift any time. any speed. any gear. But on the other hand. you can't upshift until the motor slows down to the same or lower speed as the transmission main shaft. Means you can't crank up to top speed. through the gears. as fast as you otherwise could. )

- a couple of cool finishing touches - I've wanted to make the original tachometer show the e-motor rate of rotation and to make the original gas gauge reflect the state of charge of the battery pack; it would be cool to make a nice bezel for the two analog gauges (battery pack voltage. motor current)

- complete wiring diagram - I have some of the system mapped. but not the whole thing. It's very conventional EV stuff; no surprises. But. of course. it would be good!

- change it to Lithium - Kriss Motors has done some classics (like a Porsche) up with lighter batteries. When I put batteries in. lead-acids made the most economic sense. Battery technology and prices are changing fast. though. and I would look at changing to lighter batteries for the next set. The charger would have to be reprogrammed by the manufacturer. but that's not a big thing.

Want to buy this car?