Thanks to Erik in Sweden for helping me with these.
December 1, 2012
November 15, 2012
Getting the glass back in
One of the windshields I bought in Lewiston ID turned out to be about 1/8″ too thick. I believe it came from a 1971 99 which would have used a different gasket. We tried installing it first and it almost looked as if it could work, but gave up. The other windshield was from a 1978 which had some bubbles in the lamination. While the windshields appear to be identical, they’re not interchangeable.
November 3, 2012
door strikers zinc plated
The door strikers and the windshield wiper nut/washers were corroded quite a bit so I had them cleaned up and zinc plated.
October 9, 2012
Brake lines flushed and bled
In getting the car ready for the road and still having time to work on it, I decided to completely flush the brake lines and put in new fluid. I did not know when the last time this was done, but there was a major brake job in 1996. Brake fluid is hygroscopic so it will eventually keep water and should be flushed especially on a car that has been sitting. When I opened the nipple on the left rear caliper I could immediately smell a musty odor and the brake fluid was gray. I used a hand pump along with the brake pedal to pump out the old and topped up the reservoir several times. When the fluid started looking as good as it did coming in, moved to the right rear and repeated with the two others. I didn’t think the brakes were terrible, but I noticed a dramatic difference in the responsiveness afterward.
September 15, 2012
tool kit clean up and paint
I had the tool kit (except for the jack) media blasted at Alternative Blasters back when the car was done. I had a mix of tools, but at least the large crow bar and jack crank are originals. There was quite a bit of rust/corrosion on them. I used the POR-20 I had left over from the manifolds to paint them. Its a fairly durable paint that loves anything rusty. I used Duplicolor light blue from Schucks/O’Reilly which looks pretty Swedish. Since the stow-away area has been bed lined, I’ll have to figure out how I want to store these. The tools and jack were never clamped down like you’d see in other cars, thought later models had a special box or case for the parts. Before and after.
September 8, 2012
upp och gå!
I finished up the basic wiring, replacing a few of the crimp on connectors and started up the motor. There was still water in the block, but I needed to add coolant for the radiator and heater. There is a bleed nipple near the heater valve which I ran a hose from to the coolant jug. I ran the car for about 30 minutes to let the thermostat open to cycle the water and force the air out. It took just over one jug of new coolant. The system was flushed April before last when the water pump was rebuilt. The new fan switch and the serviced fan worked great. I had installed a switch that operates at 92C and thermostat which operates at 88C. There are ones that operate at cooler temps, but after I had the header core rebuilt and removed the intake bellows ‘anti-freeze’ collar (which was 100% blocked anyway!) along with the flushed radiator, things should be running cooler. At idle temperature the fan would kick in for 25-30 seconds every couple of minutes, which seems very good.
I still need to get the EGR Proportional completely hooked up, but after that I can finish up with the engine and put the lights in place.
September 2, 2012
servicing the electric fans
The SAAB 99 uses two identical Electrolux motors for the blower box and the radiator fan. They are very good quality motors and are easy to service. There are two sleeve bearings which should be cleaned an oiled. The brushes and commutator should be inspected and cleaned. I discovered the fan on the radiator was loose (and open just a bit) so some of the media blasting material got into it. There was also plenty of oil/grease/dirt to be cleaned up. After servicing, both of the motors run very smoothly and quietly. I was concerned about the state of the radiator fan motor because the previous owner had the fan switch leads shorted (permanently on!) due to over heating. I believe I was able to resolve the over heating issues by removing the anti-freeze throttle housing collar recall and having both the heater core and radiator serviced. The blower box also has a sleeve bearing on the opposite end of the impeller which should be cleaned and oiled.
To keep the brushes in place while the motor is put backed together, I used Western Electric waxed cord.
August 31, 2012
wheels repaired and powder coated
I had the wheels repaired for curb rash and had them powder coated. The new tires are Michelin Primacy 195s. It was fairly expensive to have this done, but at this point it seemed like the right thing to do. Pictures show before and after.
August 12, 2012
gifts from Sweden and progress
I’ve made a trade deal with another SAAB friend in Sweden and was able to get a few Old New Stock items. Today we installed the wheel arch trim which was tricky due to 3 of the wheel arches needing significant reshaping. The wheel arch splash area have all been sprayed with undercoating. The rear and hide-a-way trunk have also been sprayed.
The new locking gas cap / filler is hooked up, the blower box and wiper are in place, the EMS steering wheel is installed, the emergency brake housing is painted and the 1976 shifter knob is installed. For the blower box, I used two layers of 1/4″ foam rubber insulation on either side of the upper firewall. I recommend that anyone that goes this far with a tear down go ahead and replace all the foam rubber where needed. It was basically musty and dusty in this car.
August 4, 2012
Putting it back together
Got the blower box back in .. so much easier getting it in than taking it out. Again, the key to taking it out you’ll need to take it apart completely by removing the fan motor, cover and the heater core/valve assembly. When replacing it, I used 1/4″ rubber foam insulation on both. The hood is back on, the hatch is back on. Some of the rubber is back in place.
