First project - a Saab Sonett III 1971 (2 of 7)
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So it was not appropriate to take it home, because of a severe winter.

My plan from the beginning was together with the painting was little mechanical things, gearbox and clutch. A restored gearbox was in stock at home.

So did also two modified cylinder heads and a sharper camshaft. Kjell at KN Plåt  & Lack lent me his workshop available during the winter.

This also included some help from Anders Loberg who never before done mechanical work on a Sonett stood as a mechanic at evenings and weekends.

In late January, we began to pick off everything to replace the gearbox. A sixth sense turned up before we ripped too much. We took a compression test, it showed us that one cylinder had only about 50% compared with others.

This could explain the difficulty at cold start, bad idling and lack of performance.

The engine had to be taken out but it was not meant to do so much more.

Next headaches arose. Who should be able to look at the poor V4?

KN Plåt  & Lack had no resources for qualified engine jobs so it had to be someone else

ELWA-motors and Kjell Wallin got the assignment after a fairly long exchange of e-mails. After a few days did Kjell called from ELWA-motor and he told me that both cylinder heads would probably need to be fixed up if they would be okay. By this was meant levelling and replacement of valve seats, then the engine later come capable of using unleaded gasoline.

Said and done, ELWA-motor got to do everything that was considered necessary and three weeks later the engine came back, washed and naked. All gaskets were exchanged and that a new water pump was installed. 

Meanwhile, we had begun to wash everything else loose and painted up virtually all of the details. 

You must realize you it's an old car with the same old details such as hoses, tubes and assorted screws that suddenly looks bad even if they not are bad.

This also includes the radiator, a pressure test is certainly good was my thought. The radiator has certainly never leaked but on my Sonett III and it is better and easier to do such an operation in the "front of-mode". The Radiator shop condemned the cooler with the words that: "It is getting better but not good, it's too old."

The proposal was to replace the cell package, there is really the only the option for an old radiator.

Moreover, it became about 4 mm thicker, which fits and provides better performance. 

While we're talking coolers, how did they think at Saab when they designed the cooler with the lower hose to water pump? 

To find a 90-degree molded tube with the correct diameter was not easy.